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This used to be a big no, no. Now? I see opportunity.
I’m always looking for better ways to fly like a baller for fewer points. Last night I was fiddling around on SingaporeAir.com and came across a Virgin Atlantic chart that I’ve never seen before. That being said, I don’t regularly check SingaporeAir for Virgin Atlantic redemptions, so maybe it changed awhile ago, but I looked for other blogs reporting this and only came across old links to an inferior chart. It also states that this chart has been valid since August 1st, 2017. Let’s take a look at Singapore Airlines Krisflyer VERY ATTRACTIVE redemption options for Virgin Atlantic Upper Class.
The One Way Chart
- North America to Europe for 50k Singapore Krisflyer. That’s fantastic ( compares to 47.5k to 67.5k with Virgin and 85k with Delta – see below)
Region definitions:
There is a Companion Roundtrip Chart as Well
Update – the value of a companion is iffy seeing as though you’d need a full fare upper class ticket to attach it to, but here’s the info.
- Must be Roundtrip. Must have Same itinerary as principal ticket
- Roundtrip North America to Europe for 75k
- Roundtrip Europe to Hong Kong for 105k
- Roundtrip Europe to South Africa for 90k
Terms and Conditions
How do these rates compare?
Here’s Virgin Atlantic’s Own redemption standard chart
Virgin’s rates from the U.S. vary from 95k roundtrip to 135k depending on where you originate in America. Singapore charges a flat 50k.
Delta charges 85k to Fly Virgin Upper Class from U.S. to London, and 80k London and Hong Kong
I called into to check Taxes and Fees.
The first rep that I spoke to said that points couldn’t be used to redeem Krisflyer on Virgin only earn. That’s wrong. I had her check and when she got back on the phone she confirmed that I was right and redemption was possible and that one way awards were also permitted. The only problem was that she couldn’t see any space available whatsoever. I asked about various dates that I saw as avail on both VA and Delta – none showed up. Very strange. Then I had her check a whole month’s worth of dates. No dice.
I’m planning on calling back when it’s not the middle of the night and having a rep manually punch in flight information, but it could be that Virgin blocks a lot of space from Singapore. Or…it could be that this is a fairly new or unusual ask for Singapore reps and that’s the reason for the kinks. Either way, I want to suss what the taxes and fees would be on various tickets to figure out if this, in fact, offers an attractive redemption alternative.
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 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℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
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.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
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.
The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.