Virgin America Eliminates Fuel Surcharges on Virgin Australia Flights

Virgin America no longer collects fuel surcharges on redemptions that fly Virgin Australia.

That means you can fly Virgin Australia's flat bed Business Class from Los Angeles to Sydney or Brisbane for only 80,000 Virgin America points + $130 in taxes roundtrip.

Free First Class 2014: Basics of Southwest, JetBlue, and Virgin America Points

This is the nineteenth post in a monthlong series that started here. Each post will take about two minutes to read and may include an action item that takes the reader another two minutes to complete. I am writing this for an audience of people who know nothing about frequent flyer miles, and my goal is that by the end, you know enough to fly for free anywhere you want to go.

I've covered how to earn miles and the redemption options for miles.

30% Transfer Bonus from Membership Rewards to Virgin America Opens Up Great Deals to Hawaii and Europe

There is currently a 30% transfer bonus on Membership Rewards transfers to Virgin America.

Until April 30, 2014, 200 Membership Rewards transfer to 130 Elevate points. (The normal rate is 200 Membership Rewards to 100 Elevate points.)

What are the sweetspots on the Virgin America chart that might make a transfer worthwhile?

Taking advantage of this transfer bonus is not a good idea if you want to fly Virgin America domestic flights.

40% Membership Rewards Transfer Bonus to Virgin America

There is currently a 40% transfer bonus on Membership Rewards transfers to Virgin America.

Which Virgin America Credit Card Sign Up Bonus is Right for You?

Barclay's issues a Virgin America Visa Signature card that I've written about before because of Virgin's incredible award chart.

Double Dip Opportunity with Singapore and Virgin America

Singapore has recently entered a codesharing partnership with Virgin America to allow more passengers to connect to Singapore flights leaving Los Angeles and San Francisco.

To celebrate the partnership, you can earn both Singapore miles and Virgin America points for the codeshared flights from now until February 28, 2013.

To earn the double dip, you must register your flights in advance here.

American Airlines & Virgin America: Complete Buy Miles Analysis

American Airlines Buy Miles Promotion

American Airlines is offering bonus miles on all AAdvantage miles purchases through January 31. As with past promotions, the bonus miles awarded are scaled. Buying 40,000 (or more) miles will yield a 15k bonus. Buying lesser quantities will result in fewer bonus miles being awarded.

The full promotion chart can be found below.

American seems to be running these deals fairly regularly.

Virgin Atlantic Upper Class for 35k

Virgin America might have the best award chart in the world. Last week I covered the amazing deals to, from, and within Hawaii on Hawaiian Airlines using Virgin America points. See 20k Points Roundtrip to Hawaii, 45k Roundtrip to Asia, 55k Roundtrip to Australia.

That discovery made me investigate Virgin America's partner award charts more closely. Virgin America lists two other partners on which you can redeem: Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Australia.

Yes, the Virgin A's are three separate airlines that have all licensed the Virgin brand name.

20k Points Roundtrip to Hawaii, 45k Roundtrip to Asia, 55k Roundtrip to Australia

Reader @bitachu gave me an incredible tip the other day--at trivia night in Honolulu of all places--check out Virgin America's award chart for flights on Hawaiian Airlines.

Basically the chart is incredible and presents huge opportunity for mainlanders and Hawaiians alike whether they want to go to Hawaii or beyond.

Instead of just listing the chart, they have you type in your departure and arrival cities and spit out the number of Elevate points you need to book the award.
Nonetheless, I think I've figured out the underlying chart. Basically, it's a chart-plus-segment mechanism.

Southwest, Virgin America, and Spirit Cyber Monday Deals

Today only, there are some great deals on the non-legacy carriers.

Southwest

Southwest is offering oneway flights on Christmas Eve for $100 or less oneway. This could considerably cut down on your holiday fares, if you can combine the fare with a cheap oneway home. The full list of cities and T&C are here.

Here's LAX's list of sub-$100 destinations.

Atlanta, Nashville, and Chicago stand out as steals. Here's Chicago's (MDW) list:

The discounted fares can also be purchased with fewer points.