Alaska’s acquisition of Virgin America has been completed, as a likely result of this Citi ThankYou points will no longer be able to be transferred to Virgin America starting January 22nd. Citi added Virgin America as a transfer partner back in September of 2015. The transfer rate is 1,000 Citi ThankYou Points = 500 Virgin America miles so for most people it wasn’t an attractive transfer option.
The big question most people will have is ‘does it make sense to transfer your Citi ThankYou points to Virgin America in the hopes that when they turn into Alaska miles you’ll receive a favorable rate?’ My answer would be no, you’d more likely be better off transferring SPG points to Virgin America instead (1:1 transfer rate, plus 5,000 bonus for transferring 20,000).
Personally I think Virgin America will convert to Alaska Airlines at a 1:1 rate, but I was pleasantly surprise with the generous 1:3 rate for SPG to Marriott and vice versa. What rate do you think Virgin America miles will turn into Alaska?
