The Citi ThankYou program has just launched its latest transfer bonus, and it has the potential to represent a good deal.
In this post:
Transfer Citi ThankYou points with a 30% bonus
Between October 20 and November 16, 2024, the Citi ThankYou program in the United States is offering a 30% bonus on points transfers to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.
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 Citi ThankYou points transferred.
We see transferable points currencies frequently offer bonuses on transfers to Virgin Atlantic, and we’ve seen such promotions from all major transferable points currencies in the past year.
There are several great cards earning Citi ThankYou points, including the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card (review), and it’s easy to combine points between the cards.
Should you transfer Citi points to Virgin Atlantic?
Let me start by reminding everyone that Virgin Atlantic has announced that Flying Club will introduce dynamic award pricing as of October 30, 2024, and we still don’t know what exactly that will look like, and if it will apply to partner redemptions. So I would only recommend making a transfer with a short term use in mind, given the risk (or wait until we learn the details of the changes).
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.
Award redemption rates on Virgin Atlantic are very reasonable, and a one-way Upper Class transatlantic award will typically cost you 47,500-57,500 Flying Club points. The catch is 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 well over $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. You can find the redemption rates below.
Paying 52,500-60,000 Flying Club points for a one-way business class ticket between the United States and Japan is a phenomenal value to start with. Then when you consider the 30% transfer bonus, that means you could be paying significantly fewer Citi points. First class can also be a good deal.
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 November 16, 2024, 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 112,000 Citi points, assuming you can find availability.
Do you plan on taking advantage of this Citi transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club?
RE the upcoming changes at VA... will there really be 6,000 point one-way reward flights from JFK - LHR? If so, feels like waiting until the 30th is a good idea? Currently they are 10K points + $158.
Finding RT ANA F is a total pipe dream. This is highly suspicious VX runs a pro.o right before their not entirely clear program changes marked for Oct 30th.
I know this post is for Citi, but is it a good time to transfer with Chase with its 40% bonus right now? I can fly from SFO to FCO for <18,000 miles and $175 in fees on AF in the summer. Unfortunately, no J redemptions with Virgin or its partners the week I’m looking to travel.
@ Weekend Surfer -- Assuming that works for the dates that you're looking at, then I'd say that could be a great value. All depends on the alternatives, but it sounds good to me!
I think this bit was accurate prior to the May 2024 devaluation, but not now sadly: "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."
Now 112k Citi points (assuming West Coast).
@ digital_notmad -- Whoops, good catch, thank you! Post updated to reflect that.