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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.

    35% Bonus on Transferred AMEX Points to Virgin America

    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.

    You Get an Extra 35 Virgin America Points for Every 200 American Express Membership Rewards Points You Transfer

    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.

    You Pay $910 in Fuel Surcharges for a 1-Way Upper Class Flight From New York to London

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

    Using American Airlines Miles Costs More Miles But You’ll Pay Less in Fuel Surcharges

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

    1-Way Business Class on Icelandair Is $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.

    1-Way Coach From New York to London on Virgin America for 15,000 Virgin America Miles and $475

    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!

    You’ll Pay Fewer American Airlines Miles and Less Fuel Surcharges to Fly 1-Way Coach

    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.

    You’ll Pay High Fuel Surcharges Using American Airlines Miles on British Airways

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

    You Can Fly 1-Way Coach From New York to London for ~$387

    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.

    35,000 Virgin America Miles Gets You a Round-Trip Coach Ticket to Honolulu From New York

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

    You Can Fly Coach Round-Trip to Hawaii for 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.

    Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)