Virgin Atlantic has a great new offer to save thousands of points on your next redemption.
Following the lead of Air France-KLM’s Flying Blue Promo Rewards and Singapore Airlines’ Spontaneous Escapes, Virgin has discounted the cost of some redemptions by 30% for travel from now until May 31.
The offer isn’t quite as generous as the “redemption deal of the year” we saw in 2022, which offered a 50% reduction in the Virgin points required for redemptions to almost all destinations. This new offer is only 30% off the cost of a standard redemption, and the destinations are more limited.
The 30% off applies to Virgin Atlantic flights between London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) and:
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL).
- Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS).
- Boston Logan International Airport (BOS).
- Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
- Miami International Airport (MIA).
- John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK).
- San Francisco International Airport (SFO).
- Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA).
- Tampa International Airport (TPA).
- Dulles International Airport (IAD).
- V.C. Bird International Airport (ANU).
- Islamabad International Airport (ISB).
- Allama Iqbal International Airport (LHE) (departures until April 30; the route is then suspended).
- Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (BOM).
- Ben Gurion Airport (TLV).
Additionally, Virgin Atlantic’s route from JFK to Manchester Airport (MAN) is also included.
The discounts apply to flights in either direction, in any cabin with award availability. This offer is available for redemptions, upgrades and companion tickets. Flights must be operated by Virgin Atlantic to qualify for the promotion.
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One improvement over last year’s offer is that the 30% points discount is automatically applied upfront when you book. Last year’s promotion required paying full price for the redemption, and a rebate was issued after completing a flight. This means redemptions start from just 7,000 Virgin points from the U.S. East Coast on standard dates each way.
Unfortunately, the full fees, taxes and substantial surcharges are payable on all routes in all cabins. Unlike British Airways, there is no way to reduce the carrier-imposed surcharges by paying more points. Even in economy, you can expect to pay hundreds of dollars extra. These surcharges remain a big frustration with the Flying Club program.
To take advantage of this great offer, you must book by Feb. 28 and complete travel by May 31. The discount does not apply to existing bookings, so if your existing booking qualifies for the new offer, you may consider canceling and rebooking, though availability is not guaranteed.
If you need to earn Virgin points for one of these awards, you can transfer them from American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One, Chase Ultimate Rewards and Citi ThankYou. All of these transfers process at a 1:1 ratio. Additionally, Citi ThankYou will run a 30% transfer bonus to Virgin Atlantic from Feb. 19 to March 18.
This is a great initiative from Flying Club to discount certain destinations for off-peak travel periods when flights may not be full anyway. I hope this becomes a regular offer as seen with Air France-KLM’s and Singapore Airlines’ monthly discounts.
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