It feels like we haven’t seen many credit card transfer bonuses lately. That’s why it’s worth noting that Citi ThankYou has just launched its newest transfer bonus, which has the potential to be lucrative.
In this post:
Transfer Citi ThankYou points with a 30% bonus
Between February 18 and March 16, 2024, the Citi ThankYou program in the United States is offering a 30% bonus on points transfers to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.
Ordinarily points transfer at a 1:1 ratio (in 1,000 point increments), while through this promotion you’d get 1,300 Flying Club points for every 1,000 Citi ThankYou points transferred.
We see transferable points currencies frequently offer bonuses on transfers to Virgin Atlantic, and we’ve seen such promotions from all major transferable points currencies in the past year.
There are several great cards earning Citi ThankYou points, including the Citi Premier® Card (review), and it’s easy to combine points between the cards.
Should you transfer Citi points to Virgin Atlantic?
Virgin Atlantic is definitely a frequent flyer program with more niche redemption opportunities. In addition to being able to redeem Flying Club points for travel on Virgin Atlantic, there’s also good value to be had for redemptions on Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways, and Delta.
Award redemption rates on Virgin Atlantic are very reasonable, and a one-way Upper Class transatlantic award will typically cost you 47,500-57,500 Flying Club points. The catch is that there are significant carrier imposed surcharges (plus the UK Air Passenger Duty), especially for travel in Upper Class. You can expect that a roundtrip itinerary from the US to UK will run you well over $1,000, in addition to all the points.
Beyond that, Virgin Atlantic has several airline partners, some of which are more lucrative than others. Probably the best use of Flying Club points is for travel in ANA first & business class. You can find the redemption rates below.
Paying 45,000-47,500 Flying Club points for a one-way business class ticket between the United States and Japan is a phenomenal value to start with. Then when you consider the 30% transfer bonus, that means you could be paying significantly fewer Citi points. First class can also be a good deal.
All Nippon Airways’ new first & business class are amazing products as well. The major catch is that availability can be really tough to come by.
Bottom line
Between February 18 and March 16, 2024, the Citi ThankYou program is offering a 30% bonus on points transfers to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. This is definitely more of a niche program, but with a specific use in mind, there’s a lot of value to be had.
With the 30% bonus, some might find it worthwhile to book on Virgin Atlantic for the convenience. Virgin Atlantic is good about releasing business class transatlantic award availability, so if you value the convenience of a nonstop and don’t mind paying the carrier imposed surcharges, there’s value there.
However, the real value here is booking with partners. The single best value is for travel on All Nippon Airways, as you could fly ANA first class roundtrip to Japan for 93,000 Citi points, assuming you can find availability.
Do you plan on taking advantage of this Citi transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club?
I am not sure how to transfer my Citi points to Virgin. Is there something that comes with my bill? Call Virgin or Citi? I have about 120,000 points so this could be a real deal for me.
Enter number of miles
200,000
Number of miles
Round to the nearest 1,000 miles
Minimum 1,000 miles
Maximum 200,000 miles
Total miles
200,000
Total cost
$1,000.00
Includes taxes, fees, and discounts
Not for $1k out of pocket for the transfer!
VS is great. If I ever get the AMEX green and platinum I want to fly them ultra long haul in upper class.
Very odd, but the bonus is not showing up in my account. (US Citi Prestige Card holder.)
Same issue here.
Same for me
I see it for Citi Premier.
I have both Premier and Prestige and I am not seeing this transfer bonus offer.
The ANA thing is nice if you can hit it. ITA direct to Rome runs 75k plus minimal fees (around $10) on Virgin. With this bonus, it would bring the cost down to 58k each way. And you can find these flights. It is worth considering.
IF you are willing to fly coach, Virgin's surcharges largely vanish. From the Northeast USA, you can fly TATL round-trip for 20k Virgin points plus about $300 out of pocket. Not only does this apply to London via Virgin, but also Amsterdam (via KLM) or Paris (via Air France) IF you are willing to fly coach.
Award seats on Premium Economy get iffy on value, as they get closer to 30k points + $900 out...
IF you are willing to fly coach, Virgin's surcharges largely vanish. From the Northeast USA, you can fly TATL round-trip for 20k Virgin points plus about $300 out of pocket. Not only does this apply to London via Virgin, but also Amsterdam (via KLM) or Paris (via Air France) IF you are willing to fly coach.
Award seats on Premium Economy get iffy on value, as they get closer to 30k points + $900 out of pocket round-trip. And yes, Upper Class redemptions are definitely a splurge, as the points and cash requirements are basically twice that of Premium Economy.