[Award Alert] U.S. to Italy in Business Class From 48.5K Virgin Points

No matter the time of year, a trip to Italy is always a great idea.

From some of the world’s best cuisine to ancient sights, cutting-edge design and fashion, and so much more, Italy has something to offer to everyone.

Given its popularity, award availability on flights to Italy is often difficult to find. However, we’ve found a healthy amount of availability in business class for flights later this year and early next year.

Let’s take a look at the details!

Award Alert — Details

The availability we’re seeing is primarily from 3 U.S. cities: Boston (BOS), Miami (MIA), and Washington, D.C. (IAD) to Rome (FCO), the Italian capital.

• Class: Business
• Route: Boston (BOS), Miami (MIA), and Washington, D.C. (IAD) to Rome (FCO)
• Cost: From 48,500 points and $300 in fees (1-stop) or from 75,000 points and $5.60 (nonstop)
• Dates: November 2024; January through March 2025

If you’re willing to entertain an itinerary with a connection — mostly in Paris (CDG) — you can book seats with Air France for as few as 48,500 Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Virgin Points and around $300 in taxes and fees each way.

However, if you prefer nonstop flights, you can also book flights with Italy’s flag carrier, ITA Airways, from 75,000 Virgin Points and just $5.60 in taxes and fees.

You’ll find this availability for dates in November 2024 (before the Thanksgiving holiday) and from January through March of 2025. If you’re set on nonstop flights, note that flights from Boston and Washington, D.C. will cost 75,000 points, while flights from Miami will cost slightly more at 85,000 points.

Book With Transferable Points and Miles

The best way to book these flights is through Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. This is great news, as it’s extremely easy to earn Virgin Points. The program has transfer relationships with several transferable-currency programs, including American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Miles, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Marriott Bonvoy.

All programs transfer points to Flying Club at a 1:1 ratio, with the exception of Marriott Bonvoy points, which transfer at a 3:1 ratio with a 5,000-point bonus for every 60,000 points transferred.

Making things even better, both American Express and Chase are offering an ongoing 30% transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic. The Amex bonus ends on May 31, 2024, while the Chase bonus ends on June 15, 2024. This means you’d only have to transfer 38,000 points to book the 1-stop itineraries or just 58,000 points to book the nonstop itineraries.

Keep in mind, too, that you should be able to book most of these flights through Air France-KLM’s Flying Blue program.

Final Thoughts

It can sometimes be tough to find business class award availability to Italy, so you’ll want to jump at this opportunity to book these tickets, especially considering the available transfer bonuses from both Amex and Chase to Flying Club.

As an added bonus, you’ll miss all the crowds of tourists that populate Italian cities during the summer months!