Amex 25% Virgin Atlantic Transfer Bonus: The Delta One and ANA Business Class Math That Makes This the Best Window to Move Points

Amex Membership Rewards just dropped a 25% transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. No end date has been announced, and transfers are instant. That turns your 1:1 ratio into an effective 1:0.8 — 80 Membership Rewards points get you 100 Virgin Points.

At those economics, two sweet spots stand out: Delta One transatlantic in a proper lie-flat seat, and ANA Business Class to Japan in “The Room.” Both are hard to beat right now, especially if you move points before the bonus evaporates.

Delta One Transatlantic: 50k Virgin Points One-Way

Virgin Atlantic prices Delta One from the US to Europe at a flat 50,000 points one-way. No fuel surcharges on these partner awards, just modest taxes. You’re looking at JFK to LHR, BOS to CDG, or SEA to AMS in a proper Delta One suite.

With the 25% bonus, that’s 40,000 Amex points each direction. Cash fares routinely run $4,000–$6,000 one-way. Even if you only value the lie-flat at 2 cents per point, you’re printing money.

Compare that to transferring directly to Air France/KLM Flying Blue. The same routes often price 55,000–75,000 miles one-way, and availability can be stingy. Aeroplan is usually 50,000–65,000 points but with higher taxes on some routings. Virgin wins on pure math and lower cash outlay.

ANA Business Class to Japan: 52,500–60,000 Points One-Way

Virgin’s zone chart for ANA is still one of the best deals in the game. Western US to Japan (LAX, SFO, SEA) runs 52,500 Virgin Points in business one-way. Central and Eastern US clocks in at 60,000. One-way pricing means you can book an open-jaw or position without doubling the pain.

After the bonus, you’re spending 42,000 or 48,000 Amex points. ANA’s “The Room” business product is legitimately excellent — better than most first class products from a decade ago. Cash prices hover around $5,000–$8,000 one-way depending on season.

Flying Blue prices similar ANA routes at 55,000–70,000 miles with availability that’s often worse. Aeroplan can be 55,000–75,000 points one-way but requires more points on longer Eastern US routings and carries higher average taxes. The Virgin math is cleaner.

The Effective Cost Per Point Is Stupidly Low

Let’s do the ugly math. A 50,000-point Delta One award costs you 40,000 Amex points. If that seat is worth $4,500 cash, your effective redemption is 11.25 cents per Amex point. For the ANA 52,500-point redemption, it’s roughly the same territory.

That’s not “pretty good.” That’s “I should probably transfer more than I think I need” territory. These redemptions don’t require you to be a points savant or stalk award space for months. They’re reasonably bookable if you have flexibility.

Virgin’s program has quirks — customer service still requires a phone call for ANA awards, and dynamic pricing exists elsewhere in the program. But for these two use cases, the pricing is fixed enough and the value high enough that the complaints feel like noise.

Why Speed Matters

No one has confirmed when this 25% bonus disappears. Past Virgin bonuses from Amex have lasted weeks to a couple of months. The longer it runs, the more people will flood the program and the more likely Virgin adjusts pricing.

Points don’t earn interest. They sit in your Amex account doing nothing until you transfer them. If you have even a vague plan for Japan in the next 18 months or a transatlantic trip in business, the math says move some now.

Don’t transfer blindly into the void. Search first. Use Virgin’s site or call the Flying Club team to confirm space on your dates, then pull the trigger. Availability is decent on these routes compared to many legacy programs, but it’s not unlimited.

Action item: Log into your Amex account today, search for your target Delta One or ANA Business dates on the Virgin Atlantic site, and transfer only what you need for confirmed space. Forty thousand Amex points for a $5,000 business class seat is the kind of edge worth taking before it normalizes. The window is open — don’t overthink it.