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30% Amex to Virgin Atlantic Transfer bonus thru 6/14/23
American Express has a great list of transfer partners which unlock a bevy of incredible redemption options. Periodically, Amex will offer up transfer bonuses that sweeten the deal. Currently, there is a Amex to Virgin Atlantic 30% transfer bonus. Let’s take a look at how this could be advantageous to your future travel goals.
We see this transfer bonus occur at least once a year, in fact Virgin was a part of the dozen transfer partners offering a bonus in September, but 30% is nearly the highest I can remember ( I believe it’s hit 35% as an all-time high).
Virgin Atlantic is a program that many overlook because of Virgin’s high taxes and fees, but there are some really attractive opportunities if you know where to look.
We used Virgin Atlantic Miles 3 times in the past year, and twice flying their new A350 Upper Class ( Our written review here). Only 37k points with this promo. You’ll pay a ton in taxes and fees, but it’s a great way to fly!
Amex to Virgin Atlantic 30% Transfer bonus runs until 06/14/23
Let’s look at some Virgin Atlantic Redemption Sweet Spots
Let’s take a look at some cool uses!
If you’re going to fly on Virgin Atlantic with Virgin Atlantic Miles then you certainly want to do it out of London and experience the best Virgin has to offer including their prestigious Virgin Clubhouse and private check in.
Virgin Atlantic flights
- Redeem on Virgin Atlantic roundtrip US to Europe starting at 47.5k
- Keep an eye on taxes and fees – will run you $500+ each way
Delta One for just 39k Points to/from Europe and the USA
You can see a promotional photo of the suite alongside the calendar, and what a specific day looks like. These are bookable on Virgin Atlantic. I’d advise searching on Delta since the Virgin site is relatively clunky ( just specify non-stop on the routes you’re wishing to find Delta space on ). The other weird thing…often times these Delta prices these flights at mega rates, but Virgin still has access.
Make sure that the plane you select features the new product. You can double check this on the Delta site. Look for the icons “suite” “new interior” and the small image referring to the product flown. This is a 772 that features the new Suites.
Use Virgin Atlantic Miles to fly Air France Business Class
The Virgin Atlantic redemption rates for flights on Air France are broken into zones that are priced at off-peak and peak rates, which you can read about here. There are a lot of great redemptions, but a couple that I’d like to feature.
- East Coast to Europe, off-peak, is just 48,500 miles.
- Personal faves: JFK, BOS, or IAD.
- The second is into Israel.
- East Coast US to Israel for just 66,500
There are many Air France products but I’ve reviewed:
- Air France business class CDG to IAD on the 77W
- Air France business class ATL to CDG on A350
Let’s talk about ANA First class starting at 85k ROUNDTRIP
Note that Virgin Atlantic devalued their award chart for ANA a bit earlier this year.
- 145k from the West Coast, and
- 170k from Chicago and the East Coast.
- This amounts to just 85/95k Membership rewards to fly roundtrip in First Class. Unreal deal.
The best way to search is using United. Specify direct routing.There’s lots of avail from LAX to HND in business and first.
Currently, ANA is operating their new business and first class on the NYC route. It looks absolutely next level and those who have flown it regard it as one of the best in the sky.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a great starter card that earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based.
Welcome Offer
60k Points after $4k spend in 3 months
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex℠and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash , Ink Business Unlimited you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
- 3x on dining
- including eligible delivery services for takeout
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards – Chase Travel Portal
- $50 Annual Credit on hotel stays purchased via Ultimate Rewards/Chase Travel
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel Portal and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including primary rental car insurance, purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 13 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in the Chase Travel center for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Primary rental car coverage is my favorite
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
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