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Ashley Maready
Based in the United Kingdom, Virgin Atlantic is one of the international airlines partnered with the Chase Ultimate Rewards program. It offers a high-quality travel experience and several worthwhile partners of its own, so you can find excellent award airfare when you transfer Chase points to Virgin Atlantic.
This guide will explain how to transfer Chase points to Virgin Atlantic, as well as the best ways to redeem your points after you do.
What you need to transfer Chase points to Virgin Atlantic
Before you can transfer your points, you'll need an account in the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. You can sign up free of charge on the airline's website. You also need a Chase card that lets you transfer points to travel partners. Any of these Chase credit cards qualify:
As of Apr. 16, 2024
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| Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | Chase Sapphire Reserve® | Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card |
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Rating image, 4.50 out of 5 stars.
4.50/5
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
= Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair = Poor |
Rating image, 4.50 out of 5 stars.
4.50/5
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
2 stars equals Fair.
1 star equals Poor.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
= Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair = Poor |
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Credit Rating Requirement:
Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending decisions.
Recommended Credit Score required for this offer is: Good/Excellent (670-850)
Good/Excellent (670-850) |
Credit Rating Requirement:
Falling within this credit range does not guarantee approval by the issuer. An application must be submitted to the issuer for a potential approval decision. There are different types of credit scores and creditors use a variety of credit scores to make lending decisions.
Recommended Credit Score required for this offer is: Good/Excellent (670-850)
Good/Excellent (670-850) |
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Welcome Offer: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠. 60,000 bonus points |
Welcome Offer: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Travel℠. 60,000 bonus points |
Welcome Offer: Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Earn 100,000 bonus points |
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Rewards Program: Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases, $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit, plus more. 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining and 2x on all other travel purchases |
Rewards Program: Earn 5x total points on flights and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3x points on other travel and dining & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases. 5x points on flights and 10x points on hotels and car rentals through Chase Travel℠. |
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Regular APR: 21.49%-28.49% Variable |
Regular APR: 22.49%-29.49% Variable |
Regular APR: 21.24%-26.24% Variable |
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Annual Fee: N/A $95 |
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How to transfer Chase points to Virgin Atlantic
It doesn't take long to transfer Chase points to Virgin Atlantic online. Here's what to do:
1. Go to your Chase Ultimate Rewards account.
The simplest option is to log in on the Ultimate Rewards site. You can also access the Ultimate Rewards program from your Chase credit card account. If you have multiple credit cards with Chase, you'll need to select one when you log in. You'll transfer Chase points to Virgin Atlantic from the card you choose.
Image source: Brooklyn Sprunger
2. Select "Transfer to Travel Partners" from the Ultimate Rewards home screen.
This option is in a dropdown menu you can open by clicking "Earn / Use" at the top of the page.
Image source: Brooklyn Sprunger
3. Go to the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club listing and select "Transfer Points."
Chase divides its travel partners into airline and hotel sections.
Image source: Brooklyn Sprunger
4. Choose a recipient for the transfer.
The recipient must be either you or an additional household member who's an authorized user on your Chase credit card account.
5. Decide on a transfer amount.
The minimum is 1,000 points, and you're also only allowed to transfer in increments of 1,000. You get a transfer ratio of 1:1, which is the same as the standard transfer rate with every Chase travel partner. So, 1,000 Ultimate Rewards points is worth 1,000 Virgin Points.
6. Submit the transfer.
On the review screen, you can look over all the specifics about the transfer before you finalize it. Transfers are instant, so once you hit "confirm" on this page, you'll have your Virgin Points. Keep in mind that transfers are also final. There are no cancellations after you transfer Chase points to Virgin Atlantic. Pick the award airfare you want before transferring points.
How to book award tickets with Virgin Atlantic
There are two ways to book award tickets with Virgin Atlantic:
- On the Virgin Atlantic website
- By calling the airline at 1-800-365-9500 (if you're in the United States)
For flights with Virgin Atlantic, you can book with points online. But if you want to fly with one of Virgin Atlantic's airline partners, such as All Nippon Airways or Delta Air Lines, then you may need to call. Virgin Atlantic's website doesn't show all the award airfare availability with its partners. (Here's the full list of Virgin Atlantic partner airlines).
If you think one of those airline partners flies the route you want, but you can't find it on Virgin Atlantic's website, try searching for flights you can book in points on the partner's website. If you find one, call Virgin Atlantic and ask to book the flight using points by phone.
Booking award tickets online
For flight bookings on the Virgin Atlantic site, it's just like booking with cash. Fill out the search form with your departure city, destination, and travel dates. Click "Advanced search." This gives you the option to view prices in money, points, or points plus money. Select the one you want and perform a search.
The search results will display available flights, one leg of your trip at a time. Each flight includes its total cost in points plus any surcharges. The airline will prompt you to log in to your Flying Club account if you haven't already, and then you can complete the booking.
Maximize value when you transfer Chase points to Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic has lots of good award airfare deals, mainly through its partner airlines. It's part of the SkyTeam airline alliance, and it has over 20 airline partners. You can book award tickets on any of its partners using Virgin Points.
You may want to go through Virgin Atlantic's list of partners yourself to see which ones fit your travel plans. Here are some of its best airline partners (where there are often high-value award tickets available):
- Air France/KLM
- Air New Zealand
- All Nippon Airways (ANA)
- Delta Air Lines
- Hawaiian Airlines
Keep in mind that award tickets with partner airlines don't always show up on Virgin Atlantic's website. To find and book an award ticket, you might need to search on the partner's website first, and then call Virgin Atlantic.
What about redeeming points with Virgin Atlantic? The main complaint is the airline's award ticket fees. These can be extremely expensive, often costing about $500 just for an economy ticket. To give you an example, the table below includes ticket prices in cash and points for a round-trip flight from New York to London, based on a recent flight search.
| Ticket class | Cost (cash) | Cost (points) | Award ticket value |
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| Economy Classic | $878.75 | 20,000 points + $494.25 | $0.019 per point |
| Premium | $3,644.15 | 35,000 points + $1,214.65 | $0.069 per point |
| Upper Class | $8,279.15 | 95,000 points + $2,274.65 | $0.063 per point |
Data source: Virgin Atlantic.
Now, even after accounting for fees, you get a high value for your points. That's especially true for Premium and Upper Class tickets. But that doesn't necessarily make these award tickets a great deal. They still cost quite a bit of cash on top of the points you're using. One of the reasons to book airfare with points in the first place is to travel in business class without paying thousands of dollars.
You could potentially find much cheaper tickets, paying in cash or in points, with other airlines. There are situations where booking an award ticket with Virgin Atlantic makes sense, but compare your options to make sure.
Should you transfer Chase points to Virgin Atlantic or redeem through Chase's portal?
Chase cards also let you use your point as cash to book travel through the Chase Travel portal. The value you get per point depends on which Chase card you have:
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: $0.0125 per point (10,000 points are worth $125 in travel)
- Chase Sapphire Reserve®: $0.015 per point (10,000 points are worth $150 in travel)
- Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card: $0.0125 per point (10,000 points are worth $125 in travel)
In most cases, you get more value by transferring Chase points and booking an award ticket. The best way to be sure is to compare award ticket costs with how much it would cost to use your Chase points as cash. Then, you can pick the one that costs less.
READ MORE: How to Use the Chase Travel Portal
Is there a Virgin Atlantic credit card?
Virgin Atlantic has airline credit cards, including the Virgin Atlantic Black Card and the Virgin Atlantic White Card. It's currently not accepting new applications for these cards, though.
For U.S. residents, there's no way to apply for a Virgin Atlantic credit card right now. Considering the airline has offered credit cards to U.S. residents before, it may launch new cards in the future. While this is disappointing for Virgin Atlantic loyalists, most travelers are better off with more flexible travel rewards credit cards, anyway.
There are Virgin Atlantic credit cards available to U.K. residents ages 18 and older:
- Virgin Atlantic Reward Credit Card
- Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Credit Card
Choosing a credit card
Don't you wish you could take a peek inside a credit card expert's wallet sometimes? Just to see the cards they carry? Well, you can't look in anybody's wallet, but you can check out our experts' favorite credit cards. Get started here:
Using your Chase points with Virgin Atlantic
The Virgin Atlantic Flying Club certainly has its drawbacks, namely those big surcharges on award tickets. There are some quality redemption options available, including with Virgin Atlantic and its sizable slate of airline partners. If you find a good deal that you can book with Virgin Points, it could be worth transferring over your Chase points.
Still have questions?
Here are some other questions we've answered:
FAQs
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Yes, Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer to Virgin Atlantic. You need an eligible Chase Ultimate Rewards card and a Virgin Atlantic Flying Club account to transfer points. The minimum transfer amount is 1,000 points, and points must be transferred in increments of 1,000 points.
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Chase Ultimate Rewards points transfer to Virgin Atlantic at a 1:1 ratio. A transfer of 1,000 Chase points will be worth 1,000 Virgin Points. The value you get after you transfer your points depends on the airfare you book with Virgin Atlantic.
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Chase Ultimate Rewards points normally transfer instantly to Virgin Atlantic, based on cardholder reports. According to Chase, most points transfers process by the next business day, but they may take up to seven business days.
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Lyle Daly is a personal finance writer who specializes in credit cards, travel rewards programs, and banking. He writes for The Ascent and The Motley Fool, and his work has appeared in USA Today and Yahoo! Finance. He was born in California but currently lives as a digital nomad with a home base in Colombia.
Fact Checked
Ashley Maready
Ashley Maready is a former history museum professional who made the leap to digital content writing and editing in 2021. She has a BA in History and Philosophy from Hood College and an MA in Applied History from Shippensburg University. Ashley loves creating content for the public and learning new things so she can teach others, whether it's information about salt mining, canal mules, or personal finance.
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