Citi Adds Virgin America As Transfer Partner + Offering 25% Transfer Bonus

Citi has added Virgin America as a transfer partner for their ThankYou point (TYP) program. Two Citi TYPs will normally equal one Virgin America mile and you need to transfer a minimum of 1,000 TYPs. But until October 21st, 2015 you’ll get a 25% bonus, this means that 1,000 TYPs = 625 Virgin American Miles.

Virgin America transfer bonus

How Much Are Virgin America Miles Worth?

The value of airline miles is always somewhat subjective, but Virgin America miles are worth 2.2¢ when redeeming for domestic travel. This would mean if you transferred during the promotional period you’d be getting 1.375¢ per point in value from your Citi TYP. If you transferred outside of the promotional period you’d be getting 1.1¢.

The other option is to use your Virgin America miles with their partner airlines, I find the taxes/fees (e.g fuel surcharges) to be excessive when using this option, but some find it attractive.

Why I Like This Addition

I really like this addition for two reasons:

  • More transfer partners is always a good thing
  • There is another transfer bonus

I think that signals two things: Citi isn’t done adding transfer partners (they’ve recently added Qantas, Virgin Atlantic AirFrance/KLM, Malayasia and they only became transferable a little over a year ago) and they will offer transfer bonuses on a somewhat consistent basis (this is the third they have offered now, with Etihad & Virgin Atlantic being previous bonuses of 25%, although the Etihad bonus changed mid promo).

Final Thoughts

Keep in mind that at the moment American Express is also offering a 25% transfer bonus with Virgin America and in addition if you transfer 80,000+ points you’ll get gold status with the airline. I don’t think Virgin America is a particularly strong transfer partner, especially at the 1:0.5 or even 1:0.65 transfer rate, but that’s up to you to decide.

What I do like is the trend for more transfer partners & bonuses, fingers crossed Citi keeps aggressively expanding because they are certainly the most interesting card issuer at the moment.

Hat tip to View From The Wing

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George Smiley
George Smiley (@guest_175385)
September 21, 2015 10:55

As along as you can get comparable fares, ThankYou.com offers 1.3 cpm on flights purchased through their portal with a Prestige card. You’d earn the miles on the flight that way too, making it better than transferring points for domestic flights.