Turn AMEX Membership Rewards into Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Points with a 40% bonus

Through December 31, 2024, you'll receive a 40% bonus on American Express Membership Rewards transfers to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. Transfer bonuses, if you're unfamiliar with them, are promotions that incentivize you to exchange one point of currency for another. As one of the most versatile 'bank points,' AMEX Membership Rewards can be transferred to 21 programs, 18 airlines, and three hotel loyalty programs. This current transfer bonus with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club might be a good deal if you're seeking to top up your Flying Club Points balance for an immediate redemption.

It's worth mentioning that Virgin Atlantic habitually sells points at a deep discount throughout the year (usually at a 70% discount), so depending on your situation, it may make sense to purchase Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Points directly through the airline if you only need a handful of points. As Membership Rewards can be deployed in many different ways, there's a real opportunity cost to transfer them out when there are relatively frictionless alternatives. Historically, or at least dating back to 2019, the 40% transfer bonus from AMEX to Virgin Atlantic Club is the highest we've seen for a while, as the going rate has been ~30%.

How Do You Transfer Membership Rewards to Virgin Atlantic?

Transferring your Membership Rewards points is simple:

1. Start by logging into your AMEX account at americanexpress.com, then navigate to the Account Home page of one of your credit cards, and click on 'Rewards & Benefits.'

2. Select the 'Transfer Points' option from the 'Earn and Redeem' sub-menu.
   

3. Scroll down to the list of loyalty programs to find Virgin Atlantic, and enter (or toggle the slider) the amount of points you'd like to transfer. Follow the prompts to complete the process.

What are Some Good Uses of Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Points?

Oftentimes you'll find the best redemption deals come from using the loyalty currency of one airline to redeem for a flight on another airline. For example, one might redeem Virgin Atlantic Flying Club to with a partner airline, say Air France, as they are members of the same airline alliance - SkyTeam. Airlines also strike one-off partnerships with others airlines, even if they aren't part of the same alliance, thus enabling members to earn and redeem miles when flying each respective program. This is a key concept for playing the points and miles game and I touch upon this briefly in this Introduction to Points and Miles - A Primer post.

Virgin Atlantic has long been a favorite program of points and miles enthusiasts due in part to its favorable redemption rates on partner airlines. While devaluations of Flying Club Points have made some of the best deals a bit less 'sweet,' there's still outsized value to be had. 

Using Flying Club Points, you can fly to Europe from the US East Coast in business class for as little as 48,500 Points on Air France or KLM. (You can also do this in some areas of the Caribbean and Central America.)

Delta's premium product, Delta One Suites, is also available for as low as 50,000 Flying Club points to Europe. 

I'm a big fan of Japan, though, so for me, the prized Virgin Atlantic redemption to All Nippon Airways first class to the United States for as little as 72,500 Flying Club Points.

Conclusion 

If you plan to take advantage of this 40% transfer bonus between AMEX Membership Rewards and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, you have until the end of the year (please read that in the most dramatic Cinderella way).

Feel free to share your favorite redemption ideas in the comments!