One of the better ways to earn Hilton points has been to transfer points from Virgin Atlantic to Hilton as the transfer rate was a pretty generous 1 Virgin Atlantic Flying Club point to 2 Hilton HHonors points.
However, starting February 6, Virgin Atlantic is changing the transfer ratio to 2 Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points to 3 Hilton HHonors points. Moving from a 1:2 transfer ratio to a 2:3 transfer ratio is reducing the transfer rate by a pretty significant 25%.
Many folks who have an American Express Membership Rewards earning card or Chase Ultimate Rewards earning card and wanted Hilton points would first transfer their points to Virgin Atlantic (as it is one of the transfer partners for both programs) and then transfer those points straight to Hilton. Since both Membership Reward points and Chase Ultimate Reward points transfer to Virgin Atlantic at a 1:1 transfer ratio, you can ultimately end up with 2 Hilton points for every 1 point transferred from this program. Currently when transferring Membership Reward points directly to Hilton you only get 1.5 Hilton points for every 1 point transferred. And there were many times bonus offers when transferring Membership Reward points to Virgin Atlantic.
I personally am done earning Hilton points due to their massive devaluation about a year ago, but I know there are many folks out there that are still loyal to the program and this 1:2 ratio was a great way to continue to accrue points – especially for topping off awards.
How to I transfer Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Points to Hilton? Unfortunately it cannot be done online and you will need to call to make the transfer (800 365 9500). Remember that transfers must be made in chunks of 5,000 point with a minimum amount of 10,000 points.
Remember, the last day to transfer with the current 1:2 ratio is tomorrow February 5, 2014. For those that are still looking at earning Hilton points, I’ll post more about that tomorrow.
The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.