Right now, Chase is offering a 40% transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, as first reported by View from the Wing. That’s a larger-than-normal transfer bonus, and you have until Nov. 30 to take advantage of the deal. In fact, Chase is calling it its biggest-ever offer to Virgin Atlantic.
You’ll likely want to act faster than that, though, as Virgin Atlantic is shifting to a dynamic pricing model for points redemptions beginning Oct. 30. We don’t yet know exactly what that will look like, but you still have about two weeks to lock in any awards you’ve had your eye on with the existing award chart (or be prepared to potentially pay more for those redemptions).
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Chase Ultimate Rewards points are among the best transferable rewards currencies because they transfer to so many airline and hotel loyalty programs. You can earn Ultimate Rewards points with cards such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred? Card, which currently has an increased bonus of 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening and offers a $300 statement credit on Chase Travel? purchases to use within the first year.
Among the Chase Ultimate Rewards partners is Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.
The transfer process is easy. Just log into your Chase Ultimate Rewards account, hit the transfer button and then enter your Virgin Atlantic Flying Club details.
Despite the coming shift to dynamic pricing at Virgin Atlantic, there is some potential good news from the changes that go into effect Oct. 30. Beginning then, every seat on a Virgin Atlantic-operated flight will be bookable using Virgin points. You’ll also be able to use your Virgin points for upgrades. Additionally, there will be a new category of award seats via a new saver reward seat product, though we don’t yet have a lot of details.
Related: Dynamic airline award pricing is out of control — here are some ways to beat it
Virgin says Flying Club members will see some of the carrier’s lowest-ever points prices. Among the samples it shared were flights from London to New York for as few as 6,000 points each way. TPG will share all the news about updated pricing once the changes go into effect at the end of the month.
In the meantime, it could make sense to use your Chase Ultimate Rewards points for a transfer to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, especially if you’ve had your eye on a particular award at a good price. Transfer bonuses to Virgin Atlantic are more often in the 20% to 30% range, so this is pretty generous. I wouldn’t speculatively transfer points despite the 40% bonus, especially with the coming changes, but since the bonus will run into November, you’ll have time to decide even after the changes are announced.
Despite a pending move to dynamic pricing, Virgin Atlantic can still be a highly valuable program for international travel. Among the premium airlines you can book with Virgin points are All Nippon Airways, Air France and KLM. When you can find availability, there are some good deals out there.
Please don’t transfer points with this bonus without a specific booking in mind, as we don’t know what the new award charts will look like just yet.
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Needless to say, I jumped on the chance to fly straight from Denver to Europe for only 30,000 miles round-trip later this year. But since my partner and I were already planning — and paying for — our wedding and honeymoon in October, we decided we would only book the trip if we could get all of it (including airfare and lodging) for basically free using points and miles. Here’s how we did it.
Related: Why you should use points and miles to book holiday travel
Not only did Flying Blue’s July Promo Rewards include flights to and from our home base, Denver International Airport (DEN), but they also included several European destinations. We had our pick of cities in France, Spain, Germany, Sweden, Norway and more.
We ultimately narrowed down the list based on which dates worked best for us and which cities had plenty of hotel options that we could book with our Marriott Bonvoy and World of Hyatt points. We also considered European train routes because we knew we wanted to check an overnight train off our bucket list.
We settled on flying into Prague a few days before Christmas and flying out of Brussels a week later. We would spend three days exploring Prague’s magical Christmas markets, then take the European Sleeper to Brussels and end our trip with two days in the Belgian capital. As an Agatha Christie fan, I was particularly excited to explore Brussels, the home of one of my favorite fictional characters: detective Hercule Poirot.
Our flights from DEN to Prague cost 15,000 Flying Blue miles plus $116 in taxes and fees, and our flights from Brussels to DEN cost 15,000 miles plus $182 — for a total of 30,000 miles and $298 per person.
Our tickets are economy standard, meaning we’ll each get a free checked bag, carry-on and personal item. Interestingly, our journey home from Brussels is one of Air France’s combined plane-plus-train tickets, meaning we’ll depart from the Brussels South/Midi Train Station (ZYR) and take a train to Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) for our flight to DEN.
I’m not a frequent Air France-KLM flyer, and my Flying Blue account held a whopping 0 miles. No problem — I collect Chase Ultimate Rewards points and Capital One miles, both of which are transfer partners with Flying Blue.
Chase has a wider selection of transfer partners that I often use, like United Airlines MileagePlus, Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy and World of Hyatt. I have a harder time redeeming my Capital One miles because they don’t transfer to most of my favorite programs. Therefore, I decided to use Capital One miles for this redemption because I’m less likely to find other uses for them.
I happened to have just over 60,000 miles in my Capital One account, so I happily transferred these to Flying Blue and saved my Chase points for future redemptions. I spent a grand total of 60,000 miles and $596 for two round-trip flights to Europe — not bad for tickets that would have cost roughly $3,200 total in cash. I ended up getting a value of around 4.3 cents per mile, significantly higher than TPG’s October 2024 valuation?of 1.3 cents for Flying Blue miles and 1.85 cents for Capital One miles.
Related: Ultimate guide to Capital One’s airline and hotel transfer partners
As a Hyatt loyalist who holds the World of Hyatt Credit Card, I scoped out my Hyatt lodging options in various European cities before booking our flights. One reason we chose Prague was that it had two well-reviewed Hyatt properties near the downtown area.
I could have gotten great value from my World of Hyatt points at the Category 1 Lindner Hotel Prague Castle, where basic rooms were going for $140 or 6,000 points per night on our dates. This would have provided an excellent value of 2.3 cents per point, well above TPG’s October 2024 valuation of 1.7 cents each for World of Hyatt points, showing that Category 1 Hyatt hotels are a great way to get maximum value from your points.
But the Lindner Hotel wasn’t as centrally located as we were hoping. Since we only had a couple of days to explore Prague and we would be visiting in the coldest month of the year, I was willing to spend more points on a more convenient location. We ended up booking three nights at the Category 6 Andaz Prague, a snazzy hotel within easy walking distance of everything from the train station to the Christmas markets, for a total of 83,000 points. Since the cash rate was $1,266, we got a value of 1.53 cents per point — on the low side for Hyatt points. However, it was the best option for our needs and still saved us over $1,000.
I had around 50,000 Hyatt points saved up from recent stays and spending on my World of Hyatt Credit Card; the rest I transferred from my Chase Ultimate Rewards account. Since World of Hyatt doesn’t charge taxes or fees on award stays, I didn’t have to pay a dime out of pocket.
Related: World of Hyatt Credit Card review: One of the most valuable hotel cards
My fiance had just added the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless? Credit Card to his wallet, and the welcome bonus at the time included three free night certificates worth up to 50,000 Bonvoy points each (offer no longer available), which were burning a hole in his pocket. Since Brussels had plenty of Marriott properties to choose from, he decided to use two of his shiny new free night certificates to cover lodging for our two nights in Brussels.
We chose The Dominican, Brussels, a member of Marriott’s Design Hotels collection that started as a monastery in 1465 and now provides luxurious lodging in the center of the city. Award rates on our dates were 46,000 points per night, allowing us to almost maximize our free night certificates. Since cash rates were around $580 on those dates, that welcome bonus saved us over $1,100 — and we still have another free night to use on our next trip.
Unlike World of Hyatt, Marriott Bonvoy does charge some fees on award stays, but these were minimal. Our total cost for the two-night stay was 8.50 euros, or just under $10 at the time of writing.
Related: The best Marriott hotels in the world
The biggest expense for our Christmas trip was the European Sleeper train, which cost about $465 for a private carrier for two. We booked it with our Chase Sapphire Preferred? Card because it earns 2 points per dollar spent on travel, has no foreign transaction fees, and includes trip insurance. We’ll arrive in Brussels in true “Murder on the Orient Express” style (though hopefully without the murder part) and earn bonus points while we’re at it.
I’m considering booking a guided bike tour of Prague through Hyatt’s Find Experiences platform, where I could earn 4 points per dollar spent with my World of Hyatt Credit Card. And if we eat any meals at our hotels, we’ll pay with my World of Hyatt card or my fiance’s Marriott Bonvoy Boundless card, which earns 6 points per dollar spent on Marriott purchases.
For all other dining, the Chase Sapphire Preferred will give us 3 points per dollar spent. For activities, souvenirs and other purchases that wouldn’t fall into any bonus spending category, I’ll use my Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card because it earns 2 miles per dollar spent on all purchases and has no foreign transaction fees (see rates and fees).
Related: The best cards for trip cancellation and interruption insurance
Sometimes, you already have a dream destination in mind and points and miles can help you get there for less — like when my fiance and I planned our lemur-iffic honeymoon in Madagascar using rewards. Other times, when you find a great deal using points and miles, it can inspire you to visit an unexpected destination or try a new experience. Either way, staying flexible in your travel plans can help you get the most value from your points.
]]>From lucrative deals for bonus points on hotel stays to generous sales of airline miles, we’re finding plenty of travel deals to help you earn and redeem your points and miles so you can book the vacation of your dreams.
Recently, we found a number of lucrative credit card transfer bonuses, including 20% bonus miles when you convert your American Express Membership Rewards points to Air France-KLM Flying Blue. Plus, the ever-popular Chase Sapphire Preferred? Card is offering an elevated welcome bonus that includes a $300 travel credit for purchases made through Chase Travel? in the first year and 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months of card membership. The World of Hyatt Credit Card currently has a best-ever welcome bonus of five free nights after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. But that’s not all.
We help our readers each week by rounding up ongoing promotions so you don’t have to scour the internet for the best reward redemptions and offers. From frequent flyer programs and?hotel rewards programs to credit card offers that help maximize your spending, you can make the most of your points and miles redemptions with these lucrative offers.
Here’s our list of some noteworthy new points and miles promotions for October.
Airline loyalty programs can offer trip discounts on certain dates, the chance to earn more miles for future travel and deals to rack up points toward elite status. Below are some of the offers we found for October.
To mark its recent switch from Star Alliance to SkyTeam, Scandinavian Airlines’ SAS EuroBonus program is launching an offer worth up to — wait for it — 1 million miles. The more SkyTeam airlines you fly this fall, the more points you can earn. Here’s how it works:
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Hotel loyalty programs occasionally offer discounted stays, ways to earn extra points and deals at various properties. We collected this month’s best deals below.
If you’re traveling this fall and winter, Choice Hotels has a great opportunity to boost your Choice Privileges points balance.
Does the impending winter have you daydreaming of a beach getaway? Or, maybe you have your eye on a snowy ski trip? Either way, Accor’s latest promotion could be for you.
If you prefer to stay at independent properties or aren’t loyal to any particular hotel brand, you may want to look into One Key, the shared loyalty program of Hotels.com, Expedia and Vrbo. The program is currently offering $15 in OneKeyCash to use toward a future stay — and all you have to do is download the app.
Related: Best hotel credit cards
Card issuers sometimes offer deals and discounts for certain cardholders on everything from airfare to restaurant dining. Here are some of the offers we’ve rounded up this week.
Not only can select Chase cardholders earn bonus points and redeem points through the Chase Travel? portal, but with this Chase Offer, you can get a nice chunk of cash back on your next booking through the portal. We’ve seen this on multiple cards, including the Chase Sapphire Preferred, so you could potentially break up a larger travel booking over multiple cards to earn even more cash back.
Here’s another handy Chase Offer that can save you money on your next Hyatt Place stay, which we found on the Chase Freedom Unlimited?.
Targeted Amex cardmembers can take advantage of a lucrative offer on their next Air France or KLM flight. Depending on your offer, you can earn cash back or Membership Rewards points — which may be worth even more than cash if you transfer them to partners.
Related: The ultimate guide to saving money with Amex Offers
In addition to these new offers, many others from previous weeks are still available:
Additionally, there are many stand-alone Amex Offers and some Chase Offers still available across a variety of credit cards.
Remember that these are targeted, and you must activate the offers before making eligible purchases to enjoy the cash back or bonus points.
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