TLDR: February 2026 brings three notable transfer bonuses, but the clear winner is the Capital One → JAL Mileage Bank 30% bonus, which turns a weak 4:3 transfer rate into a near 1:1 and unlocks excellent value for Japan Airlines awards.
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Award travel is always an exciting opportunity to take advantage of. By using your points, you can save hundreds to thousands of dollars on your flights, unlocking limitless opportunities to travel around the world. However, just like cash, points are finite and are often extremely valuable due to the potential value they can unlock.
If you have a lot of points (credit card points, not airline points) sitting around, let these points sit in your account until you find a suitable and perfect opportunity to redeem them. To determine whether or not it is worth it to redeem your points to book a specific itinerary, you’ll often need to employ the CPP method, where you calculate the cent-per-point value you’d be achieving with your points for the specific reservation.
A hidden tip many people don’t know about is that you can maximize your cent-per-point value by utilizing/waiting for transfer bonuses, where you can transfer your credit card points to a specific loyalty program for an increased rate higher than the usual standard rate. While not all loyalty programs offer transfer bonuses, you still might be able to take advantage of a transfer bonus if you have the privilege of being patient when booking your itinerary.
For February 2026, there are currently 3 transfer bonus pipelines that cardholders can take advantage of. One of these transfer bonus opportunities is a pretty unique one, as the airline has only two banks it partners with for point transfers, and the airline is known for unlocking great value with its redemption prices.
For February 2026, only two banks/credit card issuers are offering transfer bonuses, with a total of three distinct transfer partners. Here are the transfer bonus pipelines:
Sender | Recipient | Bonus Details | Start Date | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Capital One | Avianca LifeMiles | 15% transfer bonus (1:1 ⟶ 1:1.15) | January 12, 2026 | February 11, 2026 |
Capital One | JAL Mileage Bank | 30% transfer bonus (4:3 ⟶ 1:0.975) | February 1, 2026 | February 28, 2026 |
Chase | Marriott Bonvoy | 50% transfer bonus (1:1 ⟶ 1:1.5) | February 1, 2026 | February 28, 2026 |
With these transfer bonuses, you can unlock some serious value, especially when it comes to the transfer bonus from Capital One Miles to Japan Airlines’ JAL Mileage Bank.
In fact, JAL Mileage Bank is the highlight of these transfer bonus offerings, especially because JAL Mileage Bank is new to the transfer points space. Additionally, Japan Airlines allocates award seats to its own members first before opening up availability to bookings on partner airlines such as American Airlines and Alaska Airlines, making it valuable to be a JAL Mileage Bank member if you want to book an award flight on Japan Airlines.
Just to highlight how powerful JAL Mileage Bank can be, the standard transfer rate from Capital One to JAL Mileage Bank isn’t even the standard 1:1 rate you think it may be. Currently, the standard transfer rate is 4:3, meaning that you’ll only earn 750 JAL Mileage Bank points for every 1,000 miles you transfer from Capital One.
JAL Mileage Bank also only partners with Bilt and Capital One for point transfers, making it a bit of a lucrative point loyalty program. Even though you can transfer Bilt points to JAL Mileage Bank at the standard 1:1 rate, Bilt points are considered more valuable and difficult to obtain compared to Capital One Miles. I recommend saving your Bilt points for Bilt Rent Day transfers to maximize the value of your points.
With the 30% transfer bonus from Capital One to JAL Mileage Bank, the transfer rate of 4:3 bumps up to 1:0.975, making it a nearly 1:1 rate. This allows Capital One cardholders to really unlock the value of their points via exclusive JAL Mileage Bank bookings.
As indicated by the award chart above, you can see that JAL Mileage Bank is easily the best way you can book travel on Japan Airlines. In the past, I’ve only ever been able to book award redemptions through American Airlines or Alaska Airlines, with economy tickets from North America to Japan costing 35,000 miles and 37,500 points, respectively. However, JAL costs just 27,000 miles!
If you wanted to book business class flights on Japan Airlines through a partner, you’d have the most luck booking via American Airlines, with prices from North America starting at 60,000 AAdvantage miles. But booking with JAL directly, you can get business class seats for just 55,000 points one way (that's awesome).
Additionally, on top of being able to book flights with Japan Airlines through JAL Mileage Bank, you can book flights with several Oneworld alliance member airlines, such as American Airlines, British Airways, Qatar Airways, Emirates, etc.
You could take advantage of these partner award options by enjoying fewer fees. For example, British Airways often charges high amounts of fees that can be circumvented by booking via JAL Mileage Bank, which usually charges fewer fees.
Avianca LifeMiles is more of a lesser-known airline loyalty program, especially because Avianca is known as one of the worst airlines in the world. A few months ago, when I was looking for flights from the U.S. to Brazil for my spring break trip, I noticed that I could book my flight with Avianca with a layover in Bogota for around $200. However, I realized that the flight didn’t come with a complimentary carry-on, and the aircraft was equipped with 28-inch pitch seats that didn’t even have in-flight entertainment.
Avianca LifeMiles really shine in their ability to be redeemed for booking flights with Star Alliance airline members, such as United, Lufthansa, and All Nippon Airways.
For example, you can fly nonstop from New York (JFK) to Tokyo (HND) on All Nippon Airways, which is highly regarded as one of the best airlines in the world, for 45,000 Avianca LifeMiles + $29 USD in taxes & fees.
While this isn’t too bad a deal, you could save on points if you took advantage of the JAL Mileage Bank transfer bonus mentioned earlier and booked a nonstop flight on Japan Airlines from New York (JFK) to Tokyo (HND or NRT).
If you play around with the Avianca LifeMiles platform, you might even be able to find a business class redemption that you could book. The options are really endless when it comes to booking flights with partner airlines. Unlike JAL Mileage Bank, Avianca LifeMiles is better for booking with Star Alliance partner airlines, whilst JAL Mileage Bank is most likely best optimized for booking with the airline itself.
For February 2026, the transfer bonus from Chase to Marriott Bonvoy is the only transfer bonus available for hotel loyalty programs as compared to airline loyalty programs. However, when taking into consideration the average value of Marriott points, I’d probably save my Chase points to transfer to other hotel loyalty programs (i.e. Hyatt!).
With the 50% transfer bonus, the standard 1:1 transfer rate increases to 1:1.5, meaning that for every 1,000 Chase points that you transfer to Marriott Bonvoy, you’ll get 1,500 Marriott Bonvoy points in your account.
When it comes to Marriott Bonvoy bookings, the cent-per-point value usually turns out to be below 1 cent. As shown in the example above, a one-night stay at the Fairfield by Marriott Montreal Downtown costs 39,000 points a night, while the cash rate of $439 CAD = $321 USD results in a cent-per-point value of less than 1 cent-per-point for this specific booking.
Even though you could take advantage of the 50% transfer bonus and only need to transfer 26,000 Chase points to make the booking, you could save much more value with your points by transferring your points to Hyatt.
For example, you could stay in Montreal at a Hyatt hotel for 12,000 points a night, with cash rates of about $400 CAD = $300 USD, allowing you to unlock point values of more than two cents-per-point.
Even though the 50% transfer bonus seems like a lucrative deal on the surface, it isn’t that glamorous when you consider that you can transfer your Chase points to Hyatt to achieve better redemption values.
I’d transfer my Chase points to Marriott and take advantage of the bonus only if there aren’t any Hyatt hotels available where I’m traveling, and/or it is cheaper to stay at a Marriott hotel compared to a Hyatt hotel. I'd also only transfer Chase points to Marriott if I needed any extra Marriott points to top off a free night award booking.
Transfer bonuses can be one of the most powerful tools in the points and miles ecosystem. While flashy bonuses like 50% or 30% may look appealing at first glance, the real value comes from understanding where your points will stretch the furthest and when it actually makes sense to move them.
For February 2026, the standout opportunity is clearly the Capital One → JAL Mileage Bank 30% transfer bonus, which effectively turns a weak 4:3 transfer ratio into a near 1:1 rate. For travelers looking to book Japan Airlines flights, this bonus unlocks outsized value that simply isn’t available through most partner programs.
On the other hand, bonuses like the Chase → Marriott Bonvoy 50% transfer bonus highlight an important reminder: not all transfer bonuses are created equal. Even with a large transfer bonus, lower average redemption values can mean you’re still leaving value on the table compared to alternatives like World of Hyatt.
As always, patience and flexibility are key. Points don’t expire quickly, and waiting for the right redemption is how you consistently maximize value. If a transfer bonus aligns with your travel plans and delivers strong cent-per-point value, it can be a fantastic opportunity. If not, there’s no harm in holding onto your points until a better option comes along.
