UPDATE 3/1/14 @ 5:30PM PST: my transfer from Virgin Atlantic to Hilton HHonors took 22 days to complete (see photo below).
Virgin Atlantic Transfers to Hilton HHonors Ratio Changing from 1:2 to 2:3, use AMEX Membership Reward Points to Liquidate Balance
(Hat Tip to Mommy Points for breaking the story)
Good morning from Rome! That title is a mouthful, I know, but here is the breaking news of the morning:
- Please note from 6 February 2014 the exchange miles to points rate is changing. Flying Club members will be able to exchange miles at the following rate: 2 Flying Club miles for 3 Hilton HHonors points.
- You can currently exchange miles at a rate of (up until 5 February 2014): 1 Flying Club mile for 2 HHonors point.
- Minimum Level: 10,000 miles and then in increments of 5,000. Just call the Flying Club Helpline (1-800-365-9500) with your HHonors account number.
Now that the cat (news) is out of the bag, it pays to be proactive. I have a small balance of Virgin Atlantic miles (only 11,260). I want to get my balance up to 15,000 so I can transfer them out to my Hilton HHonors account.
Here is my Virgin Atlantic account. Copy your account number and head over to your American Express Membership Rewards Account. I’m skipping a lot of steps below, but you can see the entire step-by-step guide here. The guide shows you how to transfer to British Airways, but the process is exactly the same.
Go to airline transfer partners and select Virgin Atlantic.
The small print says it can take up to 48 hours to complete the transfer (but my miles posted instantly – see photos below).
I need to transfer 4,000 Membership Reward Points to 4,000 Virgin Atlantic miles.
Enter your account number, first and last name.
Verify all the info and click the submit button.
Confirmation screen showing your current Membership Reward account balance.
Shortly after the transfer, I refreshed my Award Wallet balance and saw the transfer was complete. That was fast!
I’m glad the transfer is complete, now I can call Virgin Atlantic and have them transfer the miles to Hilton HHonors Points.
After the miles post to your Virgin Atlantic account, follow this step-by-step guide to convert your Virgin Atlantic miles to Hilton HHonors Points. From past experience, it takes Hilton HHonors: Transfering Miles from Hawaiian Airlines and Virgin Atlantic take between 7-11 Days to Post.
My transfer from Virgin Atlantic to Hilton HHonors took 22 days to complete
Alternatively, you can transfer Chase Ultimate Reward Points to Virgin Atlantic (miles post almost instantly), but I wouldn’t want to “waste” Chase Ultimate Reward Points to getting Hilton HHonors Points.
If you have any questions, please leave a comment below.
Called VA yesterday to transfer 50k to Hilton for 100k for both me and my wife.
1. They will not remove your VA miles from your account until transfer occurs, 2-4 weeks after your phone request. This is unlike Hawaiian Air which moves miles out of your HA account quickly. This means your VA miles remain in your VA account. There is a very real chance we (you) will only get 2:3 instead of 1:2 despite “requesting” the transfer prior to the deadline since the miles will not actually transfer until after the deadline. Depends how their system is programmed I suppose. May take a call to beg which may not work, surprising I know.
2. VA to Hilton will fail unless names match exactly including a middle initial. Our Hilton accounts do not show a middle initial but our VA accounts do. Rep said transfer will fail, so he removed our middle initial from our profile.
Thank you for the data point. I’m not sure if this is a VA decision or an HH decision to change the ratio, most will say HH since they have made several bad changes lately. I haven’t made my last VA to HH transfer yet because I am in Rome and don’t want to call international. They should be able to tell you over the phone that you will get 2 HH points for every 1 VA mile.
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