The Chase Ultimate Rewards program has just introduced its latest transfer bonus. Of the major transferable points currencies, Chase Ultimate Rewards has historically had the fewest transfer bonuses, so it’s always nice to see one of these offered. This is in addition to the 25% bonus currently being offered on transfers to Air France-KLM Flying Blue.
In this post:
Chase offering 30% Virgin Atlantic transfer bonus
Through Wednesday, June 15, 2022, you can receive a 30% bonus when you transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.
This promotion is being offered on Chase’s end (in the United States), and is hard coded into the transfer ratio, meaning you should see the bonus at the time that you make the transfer. You can take advantage of this offer an unlimited number of times. Transfers from Chase to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club are generally instant.
There are several great cards earning Chase Ultimate Rewards points, and it’s easy to combine points between the cards.
Should you transfer Chase points to Virgin Atlantic?
Virgin Atlantic is definitely a frequent flyer program with more niche redemption opportunities. Generally the two best uses of Flying Club points are for travel on Virgin Atlantic and All Nippon Airways.
If you want to redeem Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points for travel on Virgin Atlantic, here’s what you can expect to pay in terms of roundtrip award costs to & from London:
Route to/from UK | Economy | Premium Economy | Upper Class |
|---|---|---|---|
Israel | Standard: 18,000 Peak: 22,000 | Standard: 32,000 Peak: 40,000 | Standard: 56,000 Peak: 66,000 |
India | Standard: 20,000 Peak: 40,000 | Standard: 35,000 Peak: 55,000 | Standard: 75,000 Peak: 95,000 |
USA – Northeast (Boston, Newark, New York JFK, Washington DC) | Standard: 20,000 Peak: 40,000 | Standard: 35,000 Peak: 55,000 | Standard: 95,000 Peak: 115,000 |
Caribbean | Standard: 20,000 Peak: 40,000 | Standard: 35,000 Peak: 55,000 | Standard: 115,000 Peak: 135,000 |
USA – Midwest & South (Atlanta, Miami, Orlando) | Standard: 25,000 Peak: 45,000 | Standard: 45,000 Peak: 65,000 | Standard: 95,000 Peak: 115,000 |
Nigeria, China & Hong Kong | Standard: 25,000 Peak: 45,000 | Standard: 45,000 Peak: 65,000 | Standard: 115,000 Peak: 135,000 |
South Africa | Standard: 25,000 Peak: 45,000 | Standard: 50,000 Peak: 85,000 | Standard: 115,000 Peak: 135,000 |
USA – West (Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle) | Standard: 30,000 Peak: 50,000 | Standard: 55,000 Peak: 75,000 | Standard: 135,000 Peak: 155,000 |
Generally Virgin Atlantic’s redemption rates are on the high side, at least for Upper Class. On top of that, there are significant carrier imposed surcharges (plus the UK Air Passenger Duty), especially for travel in Upper Class. You can expect that a roundtrip itinerary from the US to UK will run you about $1,000, in addition to all the points.
Beyond that, Virgin Atlantic has several airline partners, some of which are more lucrative than others. Probably the best use of Flying Club points is for travel in ANA first & business class. Here are the redemption rates:
Paying 95,000 and 120,000 points for business and first class between the US and Japan respectively is a phenomenal value to start with. Then when you consider the 30% transfer bonus, that means you’re just paying 74,000 and 93,000 Chase points, respectively.
All Nippon Airways’ new first & business class are amazing products as well. The major catch is that Japan’s borders continue to remain closed to tourists, and it’s anyone’s guess when they’ll reopen.
Bottom line
Through June 15, 2022, you can receive a 30% bonus when you transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. This is definitely more of a niche program, but with a specific use in mind, there’s a lot of value to be had.
With the 30% bonus, some might find it worthwhile to book on Virgin Atlantic for the convenience. Virgin Atlantic is good about releasing business class transatlantic award availability, so if you value the convenience of a nonstop and don’t mind paying the carrier imposed surcharges, there’s value there.
However, the real value here is booking with partners. The single best opportunity is for travel on All Nippon Airways, as you could fly ANA first class roundtrip to Japan for 93,000 Chase points. The issue is that this redemption isn’t all that valuable right now, with Japan’s borders continuing to remain largely closed.
Do you plan on transferring Chase points to Flying Club with a 30% bonus?
Has anyone taken advantage of this transfer bonus yet? I recently moved some miles, and I've only seen the initial amount credited to my account - not the bonus 30% - I was curious if anyone else had had to wait a few days after the fact to see the entire amount hit their Flying Club account.
I think that booking transatlantic with VS miles offers great value. Sadly though, their website only appears to work only about half the time at the moment - does anyone else have the same issue?
Wouldn't it be still beneficial to utilize the bonus transfer now to Virgin and save them for later if you're planning a trip to Japan in the future as Virgin miles don't expire?
Then you're taking on the risk of a devaluation, as well as the risk of not finding ANA availability when you want to travel.
Thanks Joe, I'm fairly new to the travel/miles game so trying to learn as much as I can. Have you seen instances in the past where Virgin made devaluations? What did that look like? I just keep reading that Virgin to ANA is one of the best sweet spots for transfer so I presumed it would be good deal.
You can still transit Tokyo and separate tickets are acceptable so it still has some use. This is probably the only time you’ll ever see 2 seats in F on the JFK-HND route.
However, you wouldn’t be able to fly into HND and then have your next segment out of NRT…
Correct, there are only a few destinations that work.
(with luggage) It's probably OK to do separate tickets on same airline and MAYBE same alliance but anything else (e.g. ANA to JAL) or overnight in NRT, don't risk it - for now.