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There is a new 30% transfer bonus for transfers from Citi ThankYou points to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club that will be starting on 2/18/24. This could make some of the best uses of Virgin Atlantic points significantly better if you can find availability that matches your needs.
The Deal
- From February 18th through March 16th, 2024, Citi ThankYou rewards is offering a 30% transfer bonus when transferring points to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
Key Terms
- Not live until February 18th, 2024.
- Expires at 11:59pm Eastern Time on March 16th, 2024
Quick Thoughts
This can obviously be a great deal if you’re able to find availability that matches your needs.
Here are some common best uses of Virgin Atlantic points — keep in mind that this deal means you’ll pay about 23% less given the 30% transfer bonus.
- ANA First Class from the US for 72.5K (West Coast) - 85K (East Coast). For a long time, the sweetest of Virgin Points sweet spots was for First Class awards from the US to Japan on ANA. Unfortunately, Virgin devalued those awards in March 2023, but even with substantial increases these awards are still a solid value if not the amazing value they used to be. ANA has one of the best first class products around, often selling for over $20,000. This is an incredible points value...especially now that you can now book one-way awards for half the price shown above. It's worth noting that ANA flights can't be booked on the VA website, so you have to call or message via Twitter (see below).
- US to UK Economy for 10K (East Coast) - 15K (West Coast). Virgin Points can be used to fly to London at great value. Virgin Atlantic offers the same pricing whether flying Delta or Virgin Atlantic, but fees are higher when flying Delta. Flying from the US to London for 10K to 15K during standard season is a bargain even after accounting for moderate award fees ($150-225). Note that flights originating in the UK have considerably higher fees.
- Delta Business from US to Europe for 50K. Virgin Points can be used to book Delta business class from the US to Europe for only 50,000 points one way, with minimal surcharges when flying from the US. Flights to/from the UK and originating in Europe include extremely high award fees. Mixed Partner Awards can be an excellent value as well.
- Air France or KLM flights within Europe. Virgin Atlantic has great rates for nonstop flights within Europe on Air France or KLM. They charge between 4K and 8.5K for nonstop economy flights under 1250 miles in distance (which is most within Europe), and between 8K and 9K for business class flights under 600 miles in distance. Details here: Air France & KLM across Europe for less.
It might also be worth keeping your eye on the Virgin Red app as Virgin Red sometimes offers Virgin Voyages cruises for 80,000 or 100,000 points for double occupancy. You can link your Virgin Atlantic points to Virgin Red and redeem your Virgin Atlantic points for a cruise. Just be careful — clicking the redeem button redeems the points instantly (we’ve had reports from a few readers who expected the page to advance to show more detail before a final double-confirmation, but it just redeems your points when you hit redeem). I am not seeing any cruise deals at the moment, but I’ll keep an eye out for one during the validity of this transfer bonus (not for me since these cruises are adults-only, but I’ll post about it if I see these available).
We have added this to our list of current point transfer bonuses.
H/T: OMAAT
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I don’t see this offer on my CITI portal. Should I try something different? Do they ever cancel their promotions before the scheduled date?
It didn’t show up on the mobile app for me, but was there on the desktop version. Very odd…
Will the bonus post instantly?
Don’t have Citi, but Amex, Chase and Capital One transfer to VA are instance and bonus also get credited at the same time.
Data point: Citi Thankyou transfer (base + bonus) to VA posted within ~5 minutes for me.
Any idea why Citi promoted this transfer bonus early? It’s like Citi saying “Don’t transfer to Virgin Atlantic right now, a better deal will be available on 2/18.’
Does Citi usually announce transfer bonuses ahead of time? Do Chase, AMEX, or Capital One announce transfer bonuses early too?
Bilt certainly does
[…] 30% transfer bonus from Citi to Virgin Atlantic through October 14 […]
I Have a citi premier due in 2 months with 95k thank you points sitting there. Should I speculatively transfer them out? no futures trips planned yet.
I know i cant transfer thankyou points if I downgrade to the no annual fee card.
I know flying economy is not popular, but with a 30% transfer bonus to VS, I can fly nonstop from LAS – LHR for 10.5K + $151 in taxes (available almost anyday). Cheap is cheap and sometimes it just makes sense to sit in the back.
It’s not that it’s not popular, it’s just not something I think about often because it doesn’t always present outsized value. For instance, being east coast based, I can often buy a one-way ticket from New York to London (Gatwick) for ~$130 in economy on Norse Atlantic or $251 in premium economy, no miles required. On other airlines, I can almost always find a ticket for $400-$500 round trip, sometimes in the $300-$400 range. Paying ~$300 round trip in taxes plus miles doesn’t feel like getting outsized value to me.
Of course, I recognize that you won’t have $130 nonstop one-ways from Las Vegas, so I could absolutely see that being attractive in that case. I’d still probably mentally consider that I could probably fly from LAS to New York for ~$150 and then pay less than $150 for that Norse Atlantic flight, so to me a one-way economy redemption is saving me about $300 and gaining me a nonstop and probably better in-flight experience. That certainly can be valuable (flying on separate tickets comes with potential for headache beyond just the inconvenience of checking in twice, going through security twice, etc). So, again, I can see valuing it. I don’t tend to think of it as a best use of the miles because the savings isn’t the same as it is on a business class redemption (and a business class redemption comes with a significantly elevated overall experience) — but that doesn’t mean it isn’t sometimes a good or even very good redemption. And the wide availability is a great point.