Chase Ultimate Rewards and Virgin Atlantic are back with another transfer bonus. This time, there are two different tiers, depending on how quickly you transfer. Until November 20th, you could earn a 40% bonus on all Ultimate Rewards that you transfer to Flying Club; from November 21st through December 5th, it dropped to 30%.
We see regular Virgin Atlantic transfer bonuses from all the major currencies throughout the year; this is the 7th such occasion in 2025. However, outside of Bilt’s 100% one-day bonuses, 40% is the best that we see, and it usually happens at the end of the calendar year.
The Deal
- Get up to a 40% bonus when transferring Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.
- From 11/7-11/20, the bonus is 40%
- From 11/21-12/5, the bonus drops to 30%
Key Terms
- Get 40% bonus Virgin Points when you transfer Ultimate Rewards points between 12:00 AM ET on November 7, 2025 and 11:59 PM ET on November 20, 2025.
- When the early bird offer ends, get 30% bonus Virgin Points when you transfer Ultimate Rewards points between 12:00 AM ET on November 21, 2025 and 11:59 PM ET on December 5, 2025.
- Bonus points will be awarded into your Virgin Atlantic Flying Club account after your transfer is complete.
Quick Thoughts
Last year, Virgin Atlantic moved to a dynamic pricing model for award flights. After the change, things actually looked pretty good, with some routes seeing a reduction in not only the number of miles required for an award flight but also in the total taxes and fees. For example, when booking economy award flights from New York to London in the past, it often cost 10,000 miles + ~$150 in taxes and fees. That route is now available from only 6,000 miles + ~$100 one way.
Unfortunately, this year’s increase in award fees for flights on their own metal now has premium economy surcharges hanging out at ~ $230 and business class at ~$550-600. Flights from the UK to the US are even worse. It’s important to keep those additional fees in mind when considering the total cost.
Personally, I’ve used a lot of Virgin points lately. Earlier this year, I took a trip to Africa with a stopover in the UK, and Virgin points were by far the best deal to the UK from the West Coast (admittedly, booked before the fee increase), from the UK to Amsterdam, from Amsterdam to Rwanda, and even between Rwanda and Kenya. It was a good reminder to me that there’s still plenty of upside to be had in the program.
Best Uses for Virgin Points
- ANA First Class from the US for as low as 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 the 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. 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 as low as 6K (East Coast) - 9K (West Coast). Virgin Points can be used to fly to London at a great value. Flying from the US to London for 6K to 9K is a bargain, even after accounting for moderate award fees (~$100). Note that the fees for flights originating in the UK are considerably higher ($200+).
- US to UK Business Class for as low as 29K (East Coast) - 41K (West Coast). Since moving to dynamic pricing, some Virgin business fares can be significantly lower than they used to be. You can fly from the US to London for 29K to 41K - even during peak season - depending on the flights. Award fees are significant ($500-600), and flights originating in the UK have even higher fees.
- SAS flights to Europe. Virgin Atlantic has decent prices for flights to Europe on SAS, and with very low fees. They charge between ~20K for nonstop economy flights and 75K for business class flights, with only $5.60 in surcharges to Europe and $50-90 on the return.
- 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 as low as 4K for nonstop economy flights under 1250 miles in distance (which is most within Europe), and as low as 8K for business class flights under 600 miles in distance. Details here: Air France & KLM across Europe for less.
Things to Know
- Virgin Points purchases are processed by points.com and DO NOT qualify as airfare.
- Virgin Points do not expire.
- Many itineraries can be booked online at virginatlantic.com. This includes some partner flights such as Delta, Air France, and KLM.
- For partner flights that cannot be booked online, it is sometimes possible book via Twitter by sending a direct message on Twitter to @VirginAtlantic. If they respond that they cannot sell any flights which do not fly via the UK, tell them that you are not looking to purchase a flight but rather to redeem points to book an award ticket.
- Virgin Atlantic charges separately for every leg of the trip. When multiple legs are required, it can be cheaper to book the same flights with Air France Flying Blue or (sometimes) Delta SkyMiles.
- Point transfers from Amex, Chase, or Citi to Virgin Atlantic are usually instantaneous. It's best to find available award space before transferring points and then transfer and book the award.
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I don’t know about award fees being more moderate. There are plenty of US to UK business class flights for 29k but for the ones I am looking at fees are in the $450-$500 range.
Oh sorry, I see now you list the higher fees elsewhere in the post. I think one of the bullets might need updating.
No worries, that was a content block that needed to be updated. I meant to do it before publishing, but forgot. Thanks for the reminder!
And yes, that increase from $250 to $450-$550 for transatlantic business class is a bummer. That was briefly one of the better deals on US-Europe business class.
Virgin Atlantic. Where your Chase Ultimate Rewards points go to die . . . because you will be long dead before you find any availability.
As of a few days ago there were some insanely cheap business class points redemptions from ATL to the UK.
I think Chase should offer a 30% bonus on transfers to Hyatt.
I think the tree in my backyard should grow $100 bills, but neither of these have a chance of happening.
How do you figure? The Hyatt part, not the tree?
People don’t need any more incentive to redeem chase points to hyatt. It will never happen. The transfer bonuses only happen for partners that want to bring in more Americans….which are basically always foreign partners.