Citi ThankYou has just launched its first transfer bonus of 2023, which could represent a great deal.
In this post:
Transfer Citi points with a 30% bonus
The Citi ThankYou program in the United States is offering a 30% bonus on points transfers to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club from February 19 through March 18, 2023.
Ordinarily points transfer at a 1:1 ratio (in 1,000 point increments), while through this promotion you’d get 1,300 Flying Club points for every 1,000 Membership Rewards points transferred.
We see transferable points currencies frequently offer bonuses on transfers to Virgin Atlantic, and we’ve seen such promotions from Amex Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards in recent months. However, we last saw such a transfer bonus from Citi ThankYou in 2019, so it has been a while.
There are several great cards earning Citi ThankYou points, including the Citi Premier® Card (review), and it’s easy to combine points between the cards.
Should you transfer Citi points to Virgin Atlantic?
Virgin Atlantic is definitely a frequent flyer program with more niche redemption opportunities. In addition to being able to redeem Flying Club points for travel on Virgin Atlantic, there’s also good value to be had for redemptions on Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways, and Delta.
If you want to redeem Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points for travel on Virgin Atlantic, below is what you can ordinarily 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 |
While Virgin Atlantic’s redemption rates are fair, the issue is the 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.
If you want to maximize value, Flying Club is also offering 30% off select award redemptions through February 28, 2023. A 30% transfer bonus combined with a 30% award discount represents an excellent deal.
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. You can find the redemption rates below.
Paying 95,000 and 120,000 points (respectively) for business and first class roundtrip between the United States and Japan 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 Citi points, respectively.
All Nippon Airways’ new first & business class are amazing products as well. The major catch is that availability can be really tough to come by.
Bottom line
Through March 18, 2023, the Citi ThankYou program is offering a 30% bonus on points transfers 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 value is for travel on All Nippon Airways, as you could fly ANA first class roundtrip to Japan for 93,000 Citi points, assuming you can find availability.
Do you plan on taking advantage of this Citi transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club?
Has there ever been a transfer bonus when transferring TY points to LifeMiles?
yes, we've seen 25% and 30%
@Omar: thank you, good to know. I am hoping there would be one soon
Ben, have you checked out the Boeing 737 MAX 8 that was spotted earlier this week in QR livery? Turns out it was originally intended to be delivered to S7 Airlines.
https://twitter.com/lonewolf2122/status/1626722752668246017?s=20
You write:
"...while through this promotion you’d get 1,300 Flying Club points for every 1,000 Membership Rewards points transferred."
I think you "for every 1,000 Thank You points transferred."
huh?
Membership Rewards is the American Express currency - Thank You Points are from Citi. This is a post about how Citi Thank You Points transfer with a 30% bonus - but Ben said Membership Rewards in this post. I was just pointing that out.
First reaction to this is "Great, I can finally use up some of my Citi TY points."
But the second reaction is one of hesitancy. Just have a feeling that Virgin Atlantic will make negative redemption rate changes to their award chart soon now that they are joining Skyteam. Probably won't happen immediately but since I don't have any redemptions planned for the near future I will wait a bit first...
I have the same feeling. Yes, there's a bonus, but I expect every sweet spot to evaporate within the coming year. I'd only consider this if I had an imminent redemption.
You should never transfer points speculatively. 1. Transfer bonuses are offered all the time, and 2. Like you said, devaluations happen. You should only ever transfer for a specific redemption that you are going to make at the time of the transfer.
I commented this on 2/9, and just last week, SkyTeam join confirmed for 3/31 with VS. Meanwhile I booked a last-minute trip to Japan for two to burn down my VS point balance. One more trip and then I'll be mostly spent.
...or I could wait and see if it costs me eleventy bajillion virgin red points to take Delta from SFO to NYC in business.
Ben would be great to talk about the 737 crash here in Australia?
WHY?
Since we are asking ridiculous unrelated questions in the comments here - can anyone let me know of a great place to stay in Da Nang? Four Seasons is sold out.
Hyatt is quite nice.
Intercontinental Danang is spectacular. Beautiful resort and service was impeccable. Was just there last week