American Express and Virgin Atlantic transfer bonus: Get 40% more Virgin points when transferring Membership Rewards points

06.12.2024 - 02:03 / thepointsguy.com

Looking to travel to Europe? Is an island vacation on your bucket list? Want to finally make that dream trip a reality?

If so, there's good news: For a limited time, eligible American Express Membership Rewards® card members can receive a 40% bonus when transferring points to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.

Usually, cardholders can transfer Membership Rewards points to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club at a 1:1 ratio, but the 40% bonus available now through Dec. 31, 2024, means you'll receive 1,400 Virgin points® for every 1,000 Membership Rewards points you transfer. Terms apply.

Here's how this transfer bonus works and ways you can use it to travel more for less.

With more transfer partners than any other major U.S. credit card rewards program, American Express is the go-to issuer for many travelers. Here are several popular Amex cards that earn transferable Membership Rewards points:

If you have one of these cards or another eligible American Express Card that earns Membership Rewards points, you can utilize this transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic. If you aren't yet familiar with how to transfer Membership Rewards points to hotel and airline partners, such as Virgin Atlantic, here's a guide to that process.

Virgin Atlantic is a member of the SkyTeam alliance, making it possible to earn and redeem points when flying with Virgin Atlantic or the carrier's partners, which include Delta Air Lines, Air France, KLM and Korean Air. Virgin also partners with several other airlines outside the SkyTeam alliance, so your flight redemption options are seemingly endless.

As part of the new loyalty offering from Flying Club, Virgin Atlantic now makes all available seats on Virgin Atlantic-operated flights available to book with Virgin points, including upgrading tickets, giving you limitless choice and flexibility. Flights are priced dynamically in accordance with demand (as with cash tickets).

Virgin Atlantic recently introduced Saver reward seats, the lowest-priced seats available to book with Virgin points. One-way Saver reward flights from New York to London start from just 6,000 Virgin points — plus taxes, fees and carrier-imposed surcharges* — each way for Economy Classic seats.

*Price correct as of Oct. 30, 2024. Example price is for a one-way reward seat to London from New York in Economy Classic in the standard season. Seats at Saver price points are subject to availability and will not necessarily be available in every cabin or on every flight. Taxes, fees and carrier-imposed surcharges apply, which will vary according to choice of cabin, departure airport, destination and date(s) of travel. The price of reward seats is variable and will be displayed at the time of booking. Flying Club Terms and Conditions