ITA Airlines is Italy’s new national carrier, the successor to Alitalia. This airline belongs to SkyTeam his alliance for now (until Lufthansa completes its acquisition), but unfortunately it is not possible to redeem affiliated miles for travel on ITA, which is very frustrating.
as flagged Frequent Mylar, we have an exciting update on this front. You can now redeem partner airline miles on ITA Airlines. I think this is a great development.
Redeem Virgin Points with ITA Airlines
The Virgin Atlantic website displays the availability of award tickets on ITA Airlines. Other SkyTeam programs may also have access to his ITA Airlines reward space, but I haven’t seen it online yet (if anyone sees other opportunities, please let me know!).
Luckily, earning Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points is easy as the program partners with major transferable point currencies like American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One, Chase Ultimate Rewards and City Thank You. In addition, there are times when transfer bonuses are paid, so it is worth using.
Please note that Virgin Atlantic Flying Club has a distance-based benefit table for SkyTeam partner flights, with prices as follows (based on full itinerary one-way travel):
As you can see, a transatlantic business class will cost you:
- 75,000 points on trips between 4,001 and 5,000 miles
- 85,000 points on trips between 5,001 and 6,000 miles
- 100,00 points for trips between 6,001 and 7,000 miles
These aren’t necessarily the best prices on the planet, but the good news is that the availability of ITA business class award tickets is going to be very good, at least in early 2024 (many days there are two business class award seats per flight) and there are no additional airline-imposed fees for these awards.
Redeem 75,000 Flying Club Points and $5.60 for a New York to Rome offer and you’ll save a lot.
The same is true when redeeming 85,000 Flying Club Points and $5.60 for a Miami to Rome award.
I am very excited about this opportunity!
I’m not saying this is the biggest development ever for travel awards, but I really appreciate seeing this.
- I have reviewed ITA Airlines’ A350 business class and this airline actually has the best business class across the Atlantic.Career lounge in Rome is pretty good too
- It’s very difficult to find Saver level benefits on other airlines for direct flights between the US and Rome, so this could be your best option.
- Transfer bonuses of 25-30% to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club are common, but this is an even better deal.
- It’s nice to be able to take advantage of Virgin Atlantic’s transatlantic award option in either direction without fuel surcharges.
After all, this is only a temporary opportunity. Lufthansa plans to acquire ITA Airlines, at which point I suspect it will be possible to redeem Star Alliance miles for airline travel.
Conclusion
You can now redeem your Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points for travel on ITA Airlines. This can be done directly through the Virgin Atlantic website and there is no fuel surcharge. ITA has an excellent business class, so please keep this in mind if you are thinking of traveling to Italy or any other country.
Are any of you OMAAT readers thinking about redeeming points on ITA?