The Chase Ultimate Rewards program is providing a 40% transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club program till Feb. 28, which implies each 1,000 Final Rewards factors you switch turns into 1,400 Virgin factors. Chase factors have to be transferred in multiples of 1,000, with a minimal of 1,000 factors.
When you’re new to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, it is price figuring out that the airline has shifted to dynamic pricing for its personal flights. Whereas the transfer made each seat bookable with factors, it additionally launched some painfully excessive redemption charges on peak dates and in style routes, particularly in premium cabins.
The excellent news is that partner airline redemptions by Flying Membership are a secret weapon, as they comply with conventional award charts. Which means extra predictable pricing, wider availability and, in lots of instances, dramatically decrease surcharges.
This is why it is best to contemplate reserving accomplice awards with this switch bonus.
Virgin Atlantic’s dynamic pricing produces some shockingly excessive charges
When Saver seats can be found, they will offer exceptional value in case you can abdomen the surcharges. Financial system Saver fares to the U.Okay. can value as little as 6,000 factors from the northeastern U.S.
One-way Higher Class pricing from choose U.S. cities to London begins at simply 29,000 Virgin factors at Saver charges — the most affordable business-class redemption to Europe of any main loyalty program.
The issue is that Saver seats are strictly restricted in capability.
In my expertise, they aren’t accessible inside 30 days of departure, and they’re very tough to seek out on peak journey dates akin to summer season holidays, college breaks and round Christmas.
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And that is the place issues get costly.
When dynamic pricing kicks in, the price of Virgin factors for Virgin-operated flights could be staggering. Check out what I discovered when trying to find a Virgin Atlantic flight from Orlando Worldwide Airport (MCO) to London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) in August.
Whereas I am not a fan of how Delta SkyMiles dynamically costs flights to Europe, no less than that program would not impose surcharges.
Why accomplice airline redemptions could be a higher possibility
Virgin Atlantic Flying Membership has partnerships with quite a few airways, together with all SkyTeam carriers as of the airline joining the alliance in 2023, and these accomplice redemptions are priced utilizing mounted award charts.
If in case you have Final Rewards factors, you possibly can pay even much less by taking benefit of the present switch bonus.
Listed here are some nice accomplice offers accessible proper now with this Chase switch bonus:
- Air France enterprise class from Detroit to Paris: E book this route for 58,500 Virgin factors plus $302 in taxes and charges. With the 40% Chase switch bonus, you’d have to switch simply 42,000 Chase Final Rewards factors to cowl that fare.
- SAS premium financial system from Atlanta to Copenhagen: Lock on this flight for 47,500 Virgin factors plus $5.60 in taxes and charges. That is a direct transatlantic flight in premium financial system for a complete money outlay of underneath $6. With the switch bonus, you’d have to switch 34,000 Chase factors.
- LATAM enterprise class from New York to Lima, Peru: E book this selection — the most effective accomplice redemptions you may make by the Flying Membership program — for 50,000 Virgin factors plus $55 in taxes and charges. The flight is roughly eight hours, and I discovered a number of dates accessible. With the 40% switch bonus, you’d have to switch simply 36,000 Chase factors for a lie-flat business-class seat to South America.
- Delta enterprise class from Seattle to Seoul, South Korea: Whereas American Express Membership Rewards factors do transfer to SkyMiles at a 1:1 ratio, Amex has not provided a switch bonus to the Delta Air Traces program in current reminiscence. As a result of Virgin and Delta are SkyTeam companions, you should use Virgin factors to ebook Delta-operated flights. I discovered nonstop Delta business-class flights from Seattle-Tacoma Worldwide Airport (SEA) to Incheon Worldwide Airport (ICN) in Seoul for 130,000 Virgin factors plus simply $5.60 in taxes and charges. This redemption solely requires transferring 93,000 Chase factors with the bonus.
- Home Delta flights: Flights on Delta begin from simply 7,500 Virgin factors plus $5.60 in taxes and charges for routes like John Wayne Airport (SNA) in Orange County, California, to Harry Reid Worldwide Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas. With the limited-time switch bonus, you may want simply 6,000 Chase factors.
Tips on how to earn Chase Final Rewards factors
If you wish to earn extra Chase Final Rewards factors, the next Chase cards have nice welcome bonuses so as to add to your pockets:
Backside line
The 40% Chase switch bonus to Virgin Atlantic Flying Membership is an effective way to spice up your Virgin factors stability.
Virgin Atlantic’s personal flights can supply terrific worth at Saver charges — there isn’t any denying that 29,000 Virgin factors for Higher Class to London is tough to beat. However these seats could be onerous to seek out, and even with a 40% switch bonus, paying greater than 300,000 Virgin factors for a one-way flight to London on peak dates is not an amazing deal, particularly when surcharges additionally apply.
As a substitute, contemplate the wide selection of accomplice airways you possibly can redeem Virgin factors with to maximise this Chase Final Rewards switch bonus till Feb. 28.
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