OCBC offering 15% transfer bonus to British Airways Avios

OCBC has launched a new transfer bonus for British Airways Executive Club, which grants an uncapped 15% bonus on all transfers completed by 14 July 2024.

With other banks, this would be a pretty good deal to take advantage of. But unfortunately, OCBC’s regular conversion rates to British Airways already entail a 10% haircut compared to other partners like KrisFlyer. Therefore, the “real” bonus is a much more underwhelming 3.5%!

That said, if you’re flush with OCBC points and have been hoping for an opportunity to cash them out to British Airways, this is as good as it gets.

OCBC offering 15% transfer bonus to British Airways

From 15 June to 14 July 2024, OCBC cardholders can redeem 90°N Miles, OCBC$ and VOYAGE Miles for British Airways Avios with a 15% bonus.

1,000 90°N Miles	900  1,035 Avios
1,000 VOYAGE Miles	900 1,035 Avios
10,000 OCBC$	3,600 4,140 Avios
A minimum transfer of 1,000 90°N /VOYAGE Miles and 10,000 OCBC$ is required, but subsequent conversion blocks are 100 90°N /VOYAGE Miles and 1,000 OCBC$.

The bonus will be applied automatically, with no registration required. There is no cap on the maximum bonus Avios that can be earned.

Base and bonus Avios may be reflected in two separate transactions. However, both base and bonus will be awarded at the time of transfer, and conversions should be more or less instant. 

Remember, to transfer OCBC points to programmes other than KrisFlyer, you’ll need to visit STACK Rewards platform (KrisFlyer transfers remain on the legacy OCBC Rewards portal). Click on the Points Exchange tab, and scroll until you see British Airways, then proceed with the transfer.

Contrary to the push notification that OCBC sent out, a S$25 transfer fee applies to all conversions. Come on guys, at least update your templates…

Terms & Conditions

The T&Cs of this offer can be found here.

Is it worth it?

While a 15% bonus would be good under normal circumstances, we need to remember that OCBC transfers to British Airways are already starting at a disadvantage.

With other banks in Singapore, you can convert points to British Airways at the same rate you would KrisFlyer, but with OCBC, the starting point is a 10% haircut.

This means you really take home a 3.5% bonus, all things considered. It’s better than the status quo I guess, and not nearly as awful as the Asia Miles transfer bonus we saw in November 2023 (which was capped at just 2,500 miles).

But the main problem with OCBC is that so many of its transfer ratios are just fundamentally unattractive, making me wonder why they bothered adding new partners in the first place. Here’s the ratios for OCBC’s transfer partners, under normal circumstances. 

Transfer Partners
	90°N Miles & VOYAGE Miles	OCBC$
	1:1 (VOYAGE)	25,000 : 10,000
	1,000 : 1,000 (90°N)
	1,000 : 1,000	10,000 : 4,000
	1,000 : 1,000	10,000 : 4,000
	1,000 : 1,000	10,000 : 4,000
	1,000 : 900	10,000 : 3,600
	1,000 : 900	10,000 : 3,600
	1,000 : 750	10,000 : 2,900
	1,000 : 700	10,000 : 2,800
	1,000 : 500	10,000 : 2,000
All ratios expressed as OCBC points : partner miles/points

Conclusion

OCBC is now offering an uncapped 15% transfer bonus to British Airways Avios till 14 July 2024. If you’re holding on to OCBC points and were looking for a way to cash them out to British Airways without suffering the penalty, this is as good an opportunity as any, but given the regular 10% haircut, you’re really only ending up about 3.5% better off.

Will you be taking advantage of this offer?