Transfer Citi ThankYou Points to Virgin Atlantic With a 25% Bonus
In the return of a promotion that'll pop up from time to time, Citi is offering a 25% bonus for transferring Citi ThankYou points to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles. The promotion runs now through March 2, but if you're looking to redeem Flying Club miles for peak travel times, you'll want to jump on this promo within the next week.
Virgin Atlantic is in the midst of a program devaluation announced last October. As part of the change, you can no longer redeem Virgin Atlantic miles for Virgin America flights, leaving Delta as the only partner available for US domestic flights. This change was the major catalyst that led TPG to reduce our valuation of Flying Club miles from 1.5 cents per mile to 1.3 cents each.
For redeeming miles on Virgin Atlantic's own flights, there's 10 more days until the award chart goes through a mixed bag of changes. With the addition of off-peak awards, Flying Club miles will become more valuable than before for certain redemptions. However, other award prices are generally going up.
If you're looking for a once-in-a-lifetime redemption, one of the absolute best uses of Virgin Atlantic miles is redeeming 1,200,000 miles for a seven night stay on Richard Branson's Necker Island. With this 25% transfer bonus, you'll only need to transfer 960,000 Citi ThankYou points to have enough for this luxurious redemption.
No matter what you plan to do with your Flying Club miles, there's no lack of transfer partners. Virgin Atlantic is a 1:1 partner with all four major transferable currencies: American Express Membership Rewards (value: 1.9 cents), Chase Ultimate Rewards (2.1 cents), Citi ThankYou points (1.6 cents) and Starwood Preferred Guest (2.7 cents). Based on current TPG valuations, you can see that Citi ThankYou points are already the best source. With this transfer bonus, ThankYou points are the clear winner.
That said, if you want to snag some award bookings using the current award chart, you'll want to start transferring Citi ThankYou points soon. Our testing shows that points take about 2 days to transfer to Virgin Atlantic, and the last day to book awards using the current award chart is January 15.
Bottom Line
This transfer bonus isn't a great deal. But if you're looking to top off your Flying Club account for some last-minute redemptions before the award chart changes, this is a great opportunity to do so.
H/T: One Mile At A Time
[card card-name='Citi Prestige® Card' card-id='221410589' type='javascript' bullet-id='1']
TPG featured card
at Capital One's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.
| 5X miles | Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel |
| 2X miles | Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day |
Pros
- Stellar welcome offer of 75,000 miles after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Plus, a $250 Capital One Travel credit to use in your first cardholder year upon account opening.
- You'll earn 2 miles per dollar on every purchase, which means you won't have to worry about memorizing bonus categories
- Rewards are versatile and can be redeemed for a statement credit or transferred to Capital One’s transfer partners
Cons
- Highest bonus-earning categories only on travel booked via Capital One Travel
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Enjoy $250 to use on Capital One Travel in your first cardholder year, plus earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening - that’s equal to $1,000 in travel
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day
- Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- Miles won't expire for the life of the account and there's no limit to how many you can earn
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®
- Use your miles to get reimbursed for any travel purchase—or redeem by booking a trip through Capital One Travel
- Enjoy a $50 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Lifestyle Collection
- Transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Top rated mobile app