Did American Express Remove Virgin Atlantic as a Transfer Partner?

by Enoch

American Express allows you to transfer Membership Rewards to certain airlines and hotel loyalty programs, and is one of the reason the currency so valuable. They are both a transfer partner with Virgin Atlantic (1:1) and Virgin America (2:1), among other airlines.

Virgin American may end its partnership with Virgin Atlantic come November 13, 2016

This morning, however, it appears that Virgin Atlantic completely dropped off the page on the Transfer Partners list. I had a few family members and friends check their accounts, and they reported the same thing. The Flying Club option has simply vanished, regardless of whether your membership/program number was linked or not. If you visit the direct link to the Virgin Atlantic transfer page, you will see an error message.

American Express Membership Rewards is currenly unable to transfer points to Virgin Atlantic online

American Express Membership Rewards is currenly unable to transfer points to Virgin Atlantic online

The good thing is that if you call American Express Membership Rewards at 1-800-AXP-EARN (1-800-297-3276), the phone agents are still able to link your accounts and perform the transfer. So I am hoping this is just a temporary IT glitch, but it does make me worry because of its timing.

Virgin Atlantic recently announced changes to their program, including earnings, redemptions, and even partnerships. The new earning structure kicks in on November 13, 2016, and most customers will see a reduction in their earrings. They have also come up with a new award chart, with low and peak seasons, which will become effective on January 15, 2017.

Virgin Atlantic isn’t even the best option for travel on the airline itself, so I think this really only affects a very small subset of people. However, they are good for redemptions on domestic flights on Virgin America, an option that will no longer be available after November 12, 2016.

In the meantime, Virgin Atlantic remains a transfer partner with Chase Ultimate Rewards and SPG.

(HT doddler1977 on Reddit)

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