How to use Chase Points to Book a Flight to London for Cheap!
Let’s Head to London on Points and Miles: Chase Points
On my recent flight to LA, I randomly thought, why not go to London? So I texted my friend and once she said yes, I knew I needed to scour the web to find the perfect flights.
I have made it a goal to travel mostly on points and to treat my friends to trips when I can. So this was the perfect opportunity for me to grab a friend and spend a weekend in London, exploring and having a great time!
Searching for Flights
When searching for award travel I rely on three different searches initially. First I use points.me. I have access to points.me in two different ways. American Express gives you a complimentary membership, where you can search for award flights on any transfer partner that partners with American Express. My second way of using points.me is through my Bilt Credit Card. This allows me to search all of their transfer partners as well.
Points.me even tells you how to transfer your points and what airlines your credit card transfers to. I also made a video of me transferring miles, if you need something to follow along with.
I also utilize Google Flights to get an idea of the cost of flights so that when I search award travel I have a cash price in mind. You can add the points price to your Google search by downloading the Points Path Extension.
Once I saw this show up on points.me, I knew I found the perfect flight. This showed me that the transfer for Amex would be 6,000 points but because Chase has a transfer bonus that ends November 30, 2024, I did not use my American Express points. However, before you transfer make sure to head to the site to make sure the flights are there!
Searching Virgin Atlantic – Look for Saver Awards
To search Virgin Atlantic you will need to create an account. Once that is created, you can begin to search for reward flights. If you want the best deal you may need to be flexible, especially if you want to fly Upper Class for the least amount of points!
Since I knew my specific dates, I started looking for one-way flights that I had found using points.me. I prefer to book one-way flights so that I can change things easily if needed. If you do not know your dates you can choose flexible and see what the points price is for various dates.
I was able to find a Saver award for Premium Economy for, 10,500 miles + $105 for taxes/fees.
Since the Premium Economy was 10,500 points and there is currently a 40% Transfer bonus with Chase, I only needed to transfer 8,000 points. If you need help with how to transfer points, I made a video showing me transferring points from my Chase account to my Virgin Atlantic Account.
I used my American Express Gold to pay the taxes because you get 4x the points for flights and I activated Rakuten to earn 1% back on this purchase. I want to make sure I am constantly building up my points.
There are some cheaper upper-class fares but you will need to search for them.
For my return, I started the search over and was able to find a ton of saver awards for Economy, Premium Economy, and Upper Class but the taxes are soooo high! I decided to book an Economy ticket home! For this flight, if you do not use the leftover miles from the previous transfer you would need to transfer 5,000 miles.
If you want upper class, I would book it because my options afterward to upgrade are even more! If I had wanted the Upper-Class flight home, I would have needed to transfer 23,000 miles.
Booking Flights, I am headed to London!
By the end of my bookings, I used 13,000 Chase points and paid $380 in taxes, on my American Express Gold, and will be flying Premium Economy to London and Economy back home to New York. If you need help doing the transfer check out: How to Transfer Chase Points Video. This shows step-by-step, starting with your Chase account, how to transfer Chase Points to Virgin Atlantic. These are the same steps you would use with other airlines and hotels.
When I searched for these flights in cash they were around $1600. So I saved a lot by using my points! If you want to get started with points and miles travel be sure to check out:
If you have any tips for London, please let me know in the comments. Also, if you need help booking award travel, feel free to reach out!
Now to begin finding a hotel!
Save for Later
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| Airalo | If you need phone service while out of the country, check out Airalo to avoid all the fees. |
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| Booking.com | If you want to book a mix of hotels and houses check out booking.com! |
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| Priority Pass | If you do not have a credit card, you can still get lounge access by purchasing a Priority Pass Membership! |
| Ticketmaster | Heading to a concert or event, make sure to check out Ticketmaster. |
| Vrbo | Find the perfect rental house for your vacation and/or staycation. |
| Viator | The perfect place to find all your excursions and things to do in the many cities you visit. |
