The Chase Ultimate Rewards program is offering a 40% transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club program until Feb. 28, which means every 1,000 Ultimate Rewards points you transfer becomes 1,400 Virgin points. Chase points must be transferred in multiples of 1,000, with a minimum of 1,000 points.
If you’re new to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, it’s worth knowing that the airline has shifted to dynamic pricing for its own flights. While the move made every seat bookable with points, it also introduced some painfully high redemption rates on peak dates and popular routes, especially in premium cabins.
The good news is that partner airline redemptions through Flying Club are a secret weapon, as they follow traditional award charts. That means more predictable pricing, wider availability and, in many cases, dramatically lower surcharges.
Here’s why you should consider booking partner awards with this transfer bonus.
Virgin Atlantic’s dynamic pricing produces some shockingly high rates
When Saver seats are available, they can offer exceptional value if you can stomach the surcharges. Economy Saver fares to the U.K. can cost as low as 6,000 points from the northeastern U.S.
One-way Upper Class pricing from select U.S. cities to London starts at just 29,000 Virgin points at Saver rates — the cheapest business-class redemption to Europe of any major loyalty program.
Related: Combining a transfer bonus and Virgin’s Saver fares: How I booked lie-flat business-class seats to London for just 21,000 points
The problem is that Saver seats are strictly limited in capacity.
In my experience, they are not available within 30 days of departure, and they are very difficult to find on peak travel dates such as summer holidays, school breaks and around Christmas.
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And that’s where things get expensive.
When dynamic pricing kicks in, the cost of Virgin points for Virgin-operated flights can be staggering. Take a look at what I found when searching for a Virgin Atlantic flight from Orlando International Airport (MCO) to London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) in August.
While I’m not a fan of how Delta SkyMiles dynamically prices flights to Europe, at least that program doesn’t impose surcharges.
Why partner airline redemptions can be a better option
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club has partnerships with a number of airlines, including all SkyTeam carriers as of the airline joining the alliance in 2023, and these partner redemptions are priced using fixed award charts.
If you have Ultimate Rewards points, you can pay even less by taking advantage of the current transfer bonus.
Here are some great partner deals available right now with this Chase transfer bonus:
- Air France business class from Detroit to Paris: Book this route for 58,500 Virgin points plus $302 in taxes and fees. With the 40% Chase transfer bonus, you’d need to transfer just 42,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points to cover that fare.
- SAS premium economy from Atlanta to Copenhagen: Lock in this flight for 47,500 Virgin points plus $5.60 in taxes and fees. That’s a direct transatlantic flight in premium economy for a total cash outlay of under $6. With the transfer bonus, you’d need to transfer 34,000 Chase points.
- LATAM business class from New York to Lima, Peru: Book this option — one of the best partner redemptions you can make through the Flying Club program — for 50,000 Virgin points plus $55 in taxes and fees. The flight is roughly eight hours, and I found multiple dates available. With the 40% transfer bonus, you’d need to transfer just 36,000 Chase points for a lie-flat business-class seat to South America.
- Delta business class from Seattle to Seoul, South Korea: While American Express Membership Rewards points do transfer to SkyMiles at a 1:1 ratio, Amex has not offered a transfer bonus to the Delta Air Lines program in recent memory. Because Virgin and Delta are SkyTeam partners, you can use Virgin points to book Delta-operated flights. I found nonstop Delta business-class flights from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) to Incheon International Airport (ICN) in Seoul for 130,000 Virgin points plus just $5.60 in taxes and fees. This redemption only requires transferring 93,000 Chase points with the bonus.
- Domestic Delta flights: Flights on Delta start from just 7,500 Virgin points plus $5.60 in taxes and fees for routes like John Wayne Airport (SNA) in Orange County, California, to Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas. With the limited-time transfer bonus, you’ll need just 6,000 Chase points.
How to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points
If you want to earn more Chase Ultimate Rewards points, the following Chase cards have great welcome bonuses to add to your wallet:
Bottom line
The 40% Chase transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is a great way to boost your Virgin points balance.
Virgin Atlantic’s own flights can offer terrific value at Saver rates — there’s no denying that 29,000 Virgin points for Upper Class to London is hard to beat. But those seats can be hard to find, and even with a 40% transfer bonus, paying more than 300,000 Virgin points for a one-way flight to London on peak dates isn’t a great deal, especially when surcharges also apply.
Instead, consider the wide range of partner airlines you can redeem Virgin points with to maximize this Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer bonus until Feb. 28.
