The Chase Final Rewards program is providing a 40% switch bonus to Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Membership program till Feb. 28, which suggests each 1,000 Final Rewards factors you switch turns into 1,400 Virgin factors. Chase factors have to be transferred in multiples of 1,000, with a minimal of 1,000 factors.
If you happen to’re new to Virgin Atlantic Flying Membership, it is value figuring out that the airline has shifted to dynamic pricing for its personal flights. Whereas the transfer made each seat bookable with factors, it additionally launched some painfully excessive redemption charges on peak dates and common routes, particularly in premium cabins.
The excellent news is that associate airline redemptions by way of Flying Membership are a secret weapon, as they comply with conventional award charts. Meaning extra predictable pricing, wider availability and, in lots of circumstances, dramatically decrease surcharges.
Here is why you must take into account reserving associate awards with this switch bonus.
Virgin Atlantic’s dynamic pricing produces some shockingly excessive charges
When Saver seats can be found, they’ll provide distinctive worth if you happen to can abdomen the surcharges. Economic system Saver fares to the U.Ok. can price as little as 6,000 factors from the northeastern U.S.
One-way Higher Class pricing from choose U.S. cities to London begins at simply 29,000 Virgin factors at Saver charges — the most affordable business-class redemption to Europe of any main loyalty program.
Associated: Combining a switch bonus and Virgin’s Saver fares: How I booked lie-flat business-class seats to London for simply 21,000 factors
The issue is that Saver seats are strictly restricted in capability.
In my expertise, they don’t seem to be out there inside 30 days of departure, and they’re very tough to search out on peak journey dates similar to summer time holidays, college breaks and round Christmas.
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And that is the place issues get costly.
When dynamic pricing kicks in, the price of Virgin factors for Virgin-operated flights will be staggering. Check out what I discovered when looking for a Virgin Atlantic flight from Orlando Worldwide Airport (MCO) to London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) in August.
Whereas I am not a fan of how Delta SkyMiles dynamically costs flights to Europe, at the very least that program would not impose surcharges.
Why associate airline redemptions could be a higher possibility
Virgin Atlantic Flying Membership has partnerships with quite a few airways, together with all SkyTeam carriers as of the airline becoming a member of the alliance in 2023, and these associate redemptions are priced utilizing fastened award charts.
If in case you have Final Rewards factors, you may pay even much less by taking benefit of the present switch bonus.
Listed below are some nice associate offers out there proper now with this Chase switch bonus:
- Air France enterprise class from Detroit to Paris: E-book this route for 58,500 Virgin factors plus $302 in taxes and charges. With the 40% Chase switch bonus, you’d must switch simply 42,000 Chase Final Rewards factors to cowl that fare.
- SAS premium financial system from Atlanta to Copenhagen: Lock on this flight for 47,500 Virgin factors plus $5.60 in taxes and charges. That is a direct transatlantic flight in premium financial system for a complete money outlay of below $6. With the switch bonus, you’d must switch 34,000 Chase factors.
- LATAM enterprise class from New York to Lima, Peru: E-book this feature — probably the greatest associate redemptions you can also make by way of the Flying Membership program — for 50,000 Virgin factors plus $55 in taxes and charges. The flight is roughly eight hours, and I discovered a number of dates out there. With the 40% switch bonus, you’d must switch simply 36,000 Chase factors for a lie-flat business-class seat to South America.
- Delta enterprise class from Seattle to Seoul, South Korea: Whereas American Specific Membership Rewards factors do switch to SkyMiles at a 1:1 ratio, Amex has not supplied a switch bonus to the Delta Air Traces program in current reminiscence. As a result of Virgin and Delta are SkyTeam companions, you need to use Virgin factors to guide Delta-operated flights. I discovered nonstop Delta business-class flights from Seattle-Tacoma Worldwide Airport (SEA) to Incheon Worldwide Airport (ICN) in Seoul for 130,000 Virgin factors plus simply $5.60 in taxes and charges. This redemption solely requires transferring 93,000 Chase factors with the bonus.
- Home Delta flights: Flights on Delta begin from simply 7,500 Virgin factors plus $5.60 in taxes and charges for routes like John Wayne Airport (SNA) in Orange County, California, to Harry Reid Worldwide Airport (LAS) in Las Vegas. With the limited-time switch bonus, you may want simply 6,000 Chase factors.
earn Chase Final Rewards factors
If you wish to earn extra Chase Final Rewards factors, the next Chase playing cards have nice welcome bonuses so as to add to your pockets:
Backside line
The 40% Chase switch bonus to Virgin Atlantic Flying Membership is a good way to spice up your Virgin factors steadiness.
Virgin Atlantic’s personal flights can provide terrific worth at Saver charges — there isn’t any denying that 29,000 Virgin factors for Higher Class to London is tough to beat. However these seats will be onerous to search out, and even with a 40% switch bonus, paying greater than 300,000 Virgin factors for a one-way flight to London on peak dates is not an awesome deal, particularly when surcharges additionally apply.
As an alternative, take into account the wide selection of associate airways you may redeem Virgin factors with to maximise this Chase Final Rewards switch bonus till Feb. 28.
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