With a 30% bonus, points “sweet spots” become sweeter…
When people think of transferring points, they think about the things directly presented to them. So when Citi offers a 30% transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic, people think Virgin Atlantic, they think London and if neither of those things are for them, they miss out. Big time. Virgin Atlantic offers some of the very best rates via partner airlines, to the places you want to go – so here’s how to turn a great transfer bonus into even better uses of points…
Partner Magic
Virgin Atlantic partners with ANA, South African, Air New Zealand, Delta, Hawaiian and more. You can find fantastic rates in all cabins using points by booking flights on these airlines using Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles, and with the new 30% bonus, your points will go even further. Here are a few crazy cool options to consider before this transfer bonus expires on October 13th, 2018.
New Zealand
U.S. to New Zealand is just 125,000 points round trip in Air New Zealand business class, which is superb value. When you add in the transfer bonus, this means you could pay just 97,000 points round trip per person for some very long flights. In another amazing maneuver, all flights between Australia and New Zealand require a mere 15,000 Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Points one way for Air New Zealand flights. With places like Perth almost 8 hours from Auckland, 15,000 points could land 8 hours of Dreamliner business class. With the bonus, make it just 12,000.
Japan
If you haven’t been to Tokyo, your travel game is severely lacking. But we get it, flights can be expensive, and it’s a long way to go in economy. Via this transfer bonus, you can score round trip business class flights between the U.S. or UK and Tokyo for just 74,000 Citi Thank You Points round trip, or first class for 93,000 points. If you ask us, the 93,000 point option is too good to pass. These amounts will land you the 95,000 or 120,000 respective Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Points you’ll need to book. Sound amazing? Here’s a great guide for booking.
London
Virgin Atlantic charges pretty steep fees for tickets out of the UK, but tickets out of the U.S. can be really reasonable. Using the 1.3X transfer bonus, you could redeem just 14,000 Citi Thank You Points and $183 in cash to cover a one way Premium Economy ticket to London on Virgin Atlantic. Virgin offers a really great premium economy ride, and at these prices, there’s a lot to love.
Europe
Delta is a joint venture partner of Virgin Atlantic, which essentially makes them bff. You can redeem Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Miles on Delta at exceedingly good rates, like 50,000 one way to Europe, with no surcharges. Via the transfer bonus, you’d only need 39,000 Citi ThankYou Points for one way business class from many U.S. gateways to Europe. Here’s a guide on how to get that locked in.
Africa
Virgin Atlantic offers one of the craziest redemption opportunities for travelers who are willing to start from Washington DC or NYC. You can score round trip business class to Dakar, Senegal, on South African Airways for just just 20,000 Citi ThankYou Points each way, which is crazy value for such long flights. Dakar makes for easy onward connections to South African hotspots such as Johannesburg or Cape Town, but is also a worthy destination in itself. Here’s everything you need to know about that.
Advice
Always find something you can use before transferring your points over. Citi Thank You to Virgin Atlantic transfers are usually instant, or at least within 24 hours. Virgin Atlantic allows you to place seats on hold for up to 24-48 hours, so if you find something you can use, you can hold it and transfer points over. Otherwise, better to keep them in Citi, rather than leave them in Virgin speculatively, since there’s no way back.
