Travelers with Chase Ultimate Rewards points from cards like the *chase sapphire preferred* or the *chase sapphire reserve* , pay close attention: There's a huge new transfer bonus you might want to consider.
Chase just rolled out a massive 40% transfer bonus when sending Ultimate Rewards points to Virgin Atlantic. That's up from the normal 30% transfer bonuses we see to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club once or twice a year. Aside from Bilt's occasional, one-day-only promotions, a bonus this big is practically unheard of.
And you've got more than a month to make use of it: It ends Saturday, Nov. 30.
But keep in mind: It's rarely a good idea to transfer points speculatively without a redemption in mind … and that advice is even more prudent right now. Virgin recently announced some major award chart changes coming at the end of the month that could make these points far less valuable.
But if you've scoped out a way to redeem Virgin points in the short term, this 40% bonus is fantastic and well worth taking advantage of while you can.
Using transfer partners like Virgin Atlantic is one of the best ways to use Chase Ultimate Rewards points for even more value. And these transfer bonuses make it even better – think of it as a way to get some free airline miles. Thanks to some excellent partnerships, you can use Virgin Atlantic miles to book Delta flights to Europe and save a ton of SkyMiles or even a lie-flat seat to Japan and back at an enormous discount, among other opportunities.
This bonus just makes things even sweeter.
Read our guide on Chase transfer partners and how they work!
The Basics on Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic is a quirky airline with a quirky frequent flyer program. The airline flies from several U.S. gateways to London-Heathrow (LHR), as well as between several international hubs like Dubai (DXB), Cape Town (CPT), or Mumbai (BOM). But you’ll rarely see us recommend using Virgin Atlantic miles to fly Virgin Atlantic flights.
While its award chart offers some pretty decent rates for getting to Europe and back, the fees it charges on award tickets are exorbitant. You can expect to pay $500 or more for just an economy roundtrip ticket flying in and out of London. That’s typically not worth it … even with a big transfer bonus like this.
Luckily, you can book flights on more than a dozen other airlines using Virgin points … and save a ton of miles while paying reasonable fees, too. Add in this transfer bonus from Chase, and it’s a no-brainer. You can transfer points to a Virgin Atlantic account from Amex, Chase, Capital One, Bilt, and Citi as well as Marriott. All of them (with the exception of Marriott which transfers at 3:1), transfer on a 1:1 basis.
However, with this current 40% bonus, Chase shoud obviously be your go-to. If you transfer 50,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points, you’d get 70,000 Virgin Atlantic points. These transfers generally clear immediately – meaning the points will be available in your Virgin Atlantic account as soon as you make the transfer.
But there's one big exception. If you're just setting up a Virgin account, your transfer could be delayed by 24 hours or more. That's a recurring problem with Virgin, which requires new accounts to be verified before they can accept these transfers.
Read more: Points Stuck in Limbo? Why & What You Can Do?
Virgin Atlantic’s website can be a tad difficult to navigate. Getting award flights to show up on a given route can take a few tries. One good trick is to search for airports by country or region and pick them, rather than manually typing in the city name or airport code.
The Best Ways to Use This Transfer Bonus
So what can you book? In two words: A lot.
Big Delta Deals
We don’t need to tell you that trying to understand the value of Delta SkyMiles can be frustrating. There’s no award chart, so the airline’s pricing when booking a flight with miles can be all over the map. Often, a Delta award flight can be obscenely expensive – especially if you want to fly business class.
Enter Virgin Atlantic. You can often use Virgin Atlantic to book the exact same Delta flight and save a boatload of SkyMiles. The London-based airline offers a far more stable – and frequently cheaper – alternative to book Delta flights than using SkyMiles outright.
Case in point, it’s next to impossible to find decent rates flying Delta One business class using miles. The airline regularly charges 400,000 SkyMiles or more for a business class seat to Europe, including the new Delta One suites.
Even after Virgin soured this longtime sweet spot, by raising rates, introducing peak and off-peak pricing, and tacking on hefty fees, you can oftentimes still find a better deal booking through Virgin – albeit with higher cash costs.
Still, there's value to be had with redemptions to Europe. Though you'll have to be flexible – finding these business class awards at such cheap rates through Virgin Atlantic has gotten much harder recently – it can be a steal.
Take a look at this: The airline is currently charging a whopping 375,000 SkyMiles for a flight in Delta One from Dublin (DUB) to Atlanta (ATL) in December … each way. Woof.
But you could book that exact same Delta One flight home from Ireland – same day, same plane, exact same lie-flat seat – for just 47,500 Virgin Atlantic points. That's nearly one-eighth of the cost! Factor in this 40% bonus, and you'd only need to transfer 34,000 Chase points to make it happen.
Just remember: Never transfer points to Virgin Atlantic (or any airline) until you know the flights you want to book are available. These transfers are a one-way street – once you send them to Virgin, you can't get them back to your Chase account.
Flying Delta economy to Europe using 30,000 Flying Club points each way is much, much easier. With this bonus, 43,000 Chase points miles is all you'd need to transfer and book flights that would otherwise cost $1,700 or more!
There used to be far more Delta sweet spots you could book using Virgin points, but Virgin obliterated many of them late last year with another nasty devaluation. But booking short Delta flights – 1,000 miles in distance or less – through Virgin Atlantic Flying Club can still be a great deal!
For example, this short flight from Fargo (FAR) to Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) might otherwise cost you 20,000 SkyMiles. With Virgin Atlantic, you can still book for just 7,500 points each way – just under 6,000 Chase points after the 40% bonus kicks in.
Fly in Style with ANA
You can also use this transfer bonus to score an amazing deal on a trip to Japan on one of the world’s best airlines.
ANA is one of Japan’s flag carriers, and it lives up to its five-star reputation. Its first class cabin is spacious, private, and offers some of the best catering in the aviation world. And even ANA business class is outstanding, and rivals Qatar Qsuites for #1 in the world, too.
Go figure Virgin Atlantic also has a sweet spot for booking ANA flights, and this transfer bonus makes it even sweeter. While Virgin raised award rates to fly ANA first class, it's still easily the best way to book these flights.
A one-way flight in ANA first class flight from Los Angeles (LAX) or San Francisco (SFO) to Tokyo now costs 72,500 Virgin points – just 56,000 Chase points with this bonus. Or you could get from Chicago-O'Hare (ORD) or New York City (JFK) to Tokyo for just 66,000 Chase points. That’s still substantially less than what United charges for a one-way fare in business class.
Much like booking Delta One via Virgin Atlantic, finding award availability on ANA can be a chore. First Class availability is practically nonexistent lately, so focus on a business class booking. These days, booking within three weeks of departure seems to be your best bet.
You can't book these flights online through Virgin Atlantic, which means it requires a bit of extra legwork. You'll want to search for award availability through a site like United.com and then ring up Virgin Atlantic at 1-800-365-9500 when you're ready to book. On the plus side, you can now book these awards as one-ways.
Read our guide to booking ANA flights with Virgin Atlantic miles
Of course, ANA’s business class is nothing to scoff at either – especially if you can snag the brand new business class seats it calls “The Room.”
Read our full review of flying ANA's The Room business class from Chicago to Tokyo!
Virgin Atlantic recently raised award rates for these flights, too. But just as with booking first class, Virgin remains the cheapest way to book ANA business class:
- Flights from West Coast cities like Los Angeles (LAX), San Francisco (SFO), or Seattle (SEA) to Japan now cost 52,500 points each way – just 37,500 Chase points with this transfer bonus.
- Longer flights from cities like Chicago-O’Hare (ORD) and New York City (JFK) now cost 60,000 points each way, meaning you can transfer just 43,000 Chase points with this 40% bonus
Fortunately, Virgin Atlantic has a reasonable $50 fee to cancel award tickets and get your miles back if plans change.
Fly Virgin to London & Back for 15K
Typically, we steer clear of using Virgin Atlantic points to book flights on Virgin Atlantic itself.
It seems counterintuitive, we know. But the hefty fees ($150ish for a one-way to London in economy or more in a premium cabin) means you're forking over plenty of points plus a lot of cash, too.
But this transfer bonus definitely makes the high fees more tolerable.
- A roundtrip from the East Coast to London for as low as 20,000 miles – just 15,000 Chase points with this transfer bonus!
- A one-way in premium economy isn't bad either, at just 17,500 miles – just 13,000 Chase points with this bonus.
Thrifty Tip: It’s much easier to search for Virgin Atlantic flights one-way rather than roundtrip – and unlike with many other airlines, it’ll often save you money on taxes and fees booking one-ways separately, too.
Business Class to Rome from 54K!
There's a great new way to get to Rome in lie-flat seats … and it might just be the best option on this list.
You can now book ITA Airways business class using Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points, with flights between the U.S. and Rome (FCO) starting at 75,000 points each way. Factor in this transfer bonus, and this seat could be yours for just 54,000 Chase points!
You'll find those lowest rates flying from Boston (BOS) and New York City (JFK) straight into Rome, while nonstops from Miami (MIA) start at 85,000 miles – still a bargain after this transfer bonus: 61,000 Chase points. Even longer routes from Los Angeles (LAX) or San Francisco (SFO) clock in at 100,000 miles, or 72,000 Chase points with the bonus.
Bottom Line
This new Chase transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic can unlock some of the best deals in the world of points and miles.
Whether you want to save your SkyMiles when flying Delta or head across the pond to Tokyo or Rome, a 40% bonus to Virgin Atlantic can save you a ton of Chase points. Just make sure to use it before it ends on Saturday, Nov. 30!