Virgin launches new reward seat sale in Economy and Premium Economy
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Virgin Atlantic has launched another reward seat sale. This one is the same as February, with a 30% discount, which is more aggressive than we saw in previous years.
These deals look pretty good – especially as Premium Economy is included as well.
You can book until 22nd September. This is same deadline as for the parallel ‘buy miles’ bonus.
Virgin taxes on Economy redemptions are lower (by roughly £100) than British Airways although they are roughly similar for Premium Economy. Following the Avios devaluation last April, you will also need substantially fewer miles than BA for an identical route.
Here are some example prices in both Economy and Premium Economy – the Premium Economy deals look particularly attractive:
New York – 24,500 miles + £259 / 38,500 miles + £415 (this is up £70 since the February sale!)
Barbados – 31,500 miles + £211 / 49,000 miles + £347
Delhi – 29,750 miles + £254 / 49,000 miles + £390
Hong Kong – 35,000 miles + £278 / 56,000 + £427
Almost all other routes are bookable too. A full list of taxes and the miles required can be found here.
What is interesting about this sale is that you can book for any time in the next 11 months. There are no date restrictions as long as seats are available. Remember that, even with 30% off, not all of these deals necessarily make sense in low season.
The closing date for booking is 22nd September.
If you are short of miles, remember that Virgin miles transfer INSTANTLY from American Express Membership Rewards as long as your accounts are already linked. It will take a couple of days if you have not previously linked your accounts.
Transfers from Tesco Clubcard are also very fast, usually overnight – the ‘Clubcard to Virgin’ page is here.
You can combine these discounts with a CombiFare. CombiFare is explained in this post, but basically if you can only find a redemption in one direction Virgin will sell you a cash ticket for the other half at a discounted rate.
You cannot do a ‘miles plus money’ redemption for these deals. It has to be a 100% miles booking.
Virgin is also offering a 30% bonus on purchased miles and on Miles Booster. I will take a look at this tomorrow.
Full details of the reward flight sale are here.
How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards (December 2021)
As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Virgin Points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.
You can choose from two official Virgin Atlantic credit cards (apply here, one has a bonus of 15,000 points):
Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard
The UK’s most generous free Visa or Mastercard at 0.75 points / £1 Read our full review
Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard
15,000 points bonus and the most generous non-Amex for day to day spending Read our full review
You can also earn Virgin Points from various American Express cards – and these have sign-up bonuses too.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is FREE for a year and comes with 20,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 20,000 Virgin Points:
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express comes with 30,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 30,000 Virgin Points:
The Platinum Card from American Express
30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review
Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Virgin Points.
(Want to earn more Virgin Points? Click here to see our recent articles on Virgin Atlantic and Flying Club and click here for our home page with the latest news on earning and spending other airline and hotel points.)
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