I genuinely enjoy when multiple bloggers share their opinions on when faced with devaluation. It makes the decision of what to do less daunting.
Cue in the Geico Final Countdown commercial because the devaluation of the transfer ratio from MRs to Avios is right around the corner. Like the Supreme Court on issues of controversy, the justices of points are split as to whether it is a good idea to move some MRs at the 1:1 rate to British Avios. There are many factors to consider:
- Did you just receive the 100k British Airways card? If so, that’s 50k points coming your way pretty quickly. The other 50k comes in increments of 25k after spending 10k and another 10k. I’m not going to factor in the additional bonus since I’m already up to my neck in min spends and I have a year to meet the additional spend.
- Will there be a last-minute transfer bonus? I’m in no hurry to transfer before the deadline but if there is a bonus then I certainly will.
- Do you believe there will be a transfer bonus post devaluation? Amex has had 40% transfer bonuses which would offset the 25% devaluation. If I knew this was coming or even if a 1:1 transfer bonus was coming then I would hold off. There’s nothing worse than having points leave the general account for a specific one given the chances of devaluation.
Having said all that, there is a benefit to transferring it at the current ratio. Once the points are in the Avios account, it becomes a lot easier to use them. Shut Up & Book! is a great strategy to live by but is hard to implement when the points aren’t in the account ready to be burned.
So what am I going to do?
I still have no idea. You?
