Best Ways to Use the 35% AMEX Transfer Bonus to Virgin America

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You can get a 35% point bonus when you transfer American Express Membership Rewards points to Virgin America through February 15, 2015.

But Virgin America charges high fuel surcharges!

35% More Virgin America Points With AMEX Transfer

Link:   35% More Virgin America Points With AMEX Transfer

You get a 35% bonus when you transfer American Express Membership Rewards points to Virgin America by February 15, 2015.

You normally get 100 Virgin America points for every 200 American Express Membership Rewards points transferred.  So this promotion gets you 135 Virgin America points.

Because American Express offers bonus transfers frequently, you should NOT transfer American Express Membership Rewards points unless you’re short on redeeming an award.

Note:   Points transfers can NOT be reversed.

How to Use Virgin America Miles

Link:   Virgin America Award Chart

Virgin America charges high fuel surcharges, including international partner award tickets.  You can NOT book online, you have to call Virgin America at 877-359-8474.

London

With the 35% bonus offer, you can transfer 52,000 American Express Membership Rewards points and get 35,100 Virgin America miles.

You’ll pay 35,000 Virgin America miles and $910 to fly 1-way on partner Virgin Atlantic in Upper Class (Virgin Atlantic’s version of Business Class) from New York to London.

Or you can spend 50,000 American Airlines miles and ~$442.

However, you can buy a 1-way Business Class ticket on Icelandair for ~$1,170.

You’d pay 15,000 Virgin America miles and $475 in fuel surcharges to fly 1-way coach from New York to London on partner Virgin Atlantic.

You’d pay 20,000 American Airlines miles and ~$6 in fuel surcharges using an American Airlines off peak award. You pay more miles, but you save $469!

But if you redeemed American Airlines miles on British Airways, you pay 20,000 American Airlines miles and ~$257!  That’s because British Airways charges high fuel surcharges.

The same flight would cost ~$387.  So it’s worth paying cash instead of using miles!

Hawaii

You can transfer 52,000 American Express Membership Rewards points and get 35,100 Virgin America miles with the 35% bonus promotion.

A round-trip coach ticket from New York to Honolulu on partner Hawaiian Airlines costs 35,000 Virgin America miles and ~$11.

You’d also pay 35,000 American Airlines miles and ~$11.

But it could be worth using Virgin America miles to Hawaii so you can save your American Airlines miles for international flights and pay less fuel surcharges.

Bottom Line

You can get a 35% point bonus when you transfer American Express Membership Rewards points to Virgin America through February 15, 2015.

You pay high fuel surcharges using Virgin America miles on Virgin Atlantic and international partner airlines.  But you pay NO fuel surcharges when you redeem them on Hawaiian Airlines.