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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.
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:
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Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | Chase Sapphire Reserve® | Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card |
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Rating image, 5.00 out of 5 stars.
5.00/5
Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale.
5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
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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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5 stars equals Best.
4 stars equals Excellent.
3 stars equals Good.
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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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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
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) |
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) |
Welcome Offer: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. 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. 60,000 bonus points |
Welcome Offer: Earn 90,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Earn 90,000 bonus points |
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℠. |
Rewards Program: Earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year. Earn 1 point per $1 on all other purchases-with no limit to the amount you can earn. Earn 3 points per $1 in select business categories |
Intro APR: N/A Purchases: N/A Balance Transfers: N/A |
Intro APR: Purchases: N/A Balance Transfers: N/A |
Intro APR: N/A Purchases: N/A Balance Transfers: N/A |
Regular APR: 20.74% - 27.74% Variable |
Regular APR: 21.74% - 28.74% Variable |
Regular APR: 20.49% - 26.49% Variable |
Annual Fee: $95 |
Annual Fee: $550 |
Annual Fee: N/A $95 |
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Apply Now for Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
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It doesn't take long to transfer Chase points to Virgin Atlantic online. Here's what to do:
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.
This option is in a dropdown menu you can open by clicking "Earn / Use" at the top of the page.
Chase divides its travel partners into airline and hotel sections.
The recipient must be either you or an additional household member who's an authorized user on your Chase credit card account.
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.
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.
There are two ways to book award tickets with Virgin Atlantic:
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.
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.
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):
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 |
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 a card that's best for transfer 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.
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:
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
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:
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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.
Here are some other questions we've answered:
We recommend comparing options to ensure the card you're selecting is the best fit for you. To make your search easier, here's a short list of standout credit cards.
Offer | Our Rating | Welcome Offer | Rewards Program | APR | Learn More |
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Rating image, 5.00 out of 5 stars.
5.00/5
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 |
Discover will match all the cash back you’ve earned at the end of your first year. | 1% - 5% Cashback Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places you shop each quarter like grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, and more, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. Plus, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases. |
Intro: Purchases: 0%, 15 months Balance Transfers: 0%, 15 months Regular: 18.49% - 27.49% Variable APR *Rates as of December 12, 2024. |
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Rating image, 5.00 out of 5 stars.
5.00/5
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 |
$200 cash rewards Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months. | 2% cash rewards Earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases. |
Intro: 0% intro APR for 12 months from account opening on purchases and qualifying balance transfers Purchases: 0% intro APR, 12 months from account opening Balance Transfers: 0% intro APR, 12 months from account opening on qualifying balance transfers Regular: 19.24%, 24.24%, or 29.24% Variable APR |
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Apply Now for Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card
On Bank of America's Secure Website. |
Rating image, 4.00 out of 5 stars.
4.00/5
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 |
25,000 points 25,000 online bonus points after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening - that can be a $250 statement credit toward travel purchases | 1.5 points per dollar Earn unlimited 1.5 points per $1 spent on all purchases, with no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees, and your points don't expire as long as your account remains open. |
Intro: 0% Intro APR for 15 billing cycles for purchases. 0% Intro APR for 15 billing cycles for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days. After the intro APR offer ends, 18.49% - 28.49% Variable APR on purchases and balance transfers will apply. A 3% fee for 60 days from account opening, then 4% fee applies to all balance transfers. Purchases: 0% Intro APR for 15 billing cycles for purchases Balance Transfers: 0% Intro APR for 15 billing cycles for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days Regular: 18.49% - 28.49% (Variable) |
Apply Now for Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card
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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.
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.
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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