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BOOK NOW: Save 50% on ALL Virgin Atlantic redemptions

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Virgin Atlantic has come out fighting with a hugely aggressive Virgin Points redemption sale and some very steep Black Friday cash discounts. Full details are here.

ALL redemption flights on Virgin Atlantic aircraft will require 50% fewer points if booked this week.

If you are short of Points, there is also a 50% bonus when you buy Virgin Points – click here for details.

Virgin Atlantic black friday

Taxes and charges are not reduced, unsurprisingly, but you can’t have everything!

The sale was due to start at midnight. I am obviously writing this earlier, so if it is not live then there was some IT snafu and you should expect it during the day.

Before you book, check the cash prices. Virgin Atlantic has also launched an impressive cash sale – details below.

EDIT: We have written a new article covering the Virgin Atlantic Black Friday sale deals which is here and contains additional offers.

Here is some typical Virgin Points pricing

Here are some typical costs, based on off-peak pricing:

Heathrow or Manchester to Barbados:

  • Economy: 10,000 Points return
  • Premium: 17,500 Points return
  • Upper Class: 57,500 Points return

Heathrow to New York JFK:

  • Economy: 10,000 Points return
  • Premium: 17,500 Points return
  • Upper Class: 47,500 Points return

Heathrow to Las Vegas:

  • Economy: 15,000 Points return
  • Premium: 27,500 Points return
  • Upper Class: 67,500 Points return

Heathrow to Delhi:

  • Economy: 10,000 Points return
  • Premium: 17,500 Points return
  • Upper Class: 37,500 Points return

Heathrow to Tel Aviv:

  • Economy: 9,000 Points return
  • Premium: 16,000 Points return
  • Upper Class: 28,000 Points return

Remember that you can buy additional points with a 50% bonus by clicking here.

Virgin Atlantic black friday

When can I travel?

Whenever you want, as long as reward seats are available. Bookings are available as far out as Virgin Atlantic allows booking, which is currently 20th October 2021.

Can I cancel these tickets as usual?

Yes, subject to the usual cancellation fee. You should note that if you need to change the date of your flight, it will reprice at the full Points cost and you would need to pay extra.

Can this be combined with Virgin credit card vouchers?

Yes. You can use your Virgin Atlantic Mastercard vouchers, explained in our credit card review here, to upgrade redemptions booked under this offer or as a 2-for-1, effectively netting you two tickets for 25% of the usual rate!

Virgin Atlantic black friday

Where is Virgin Atlantic flying to?

The following routes are currently bookable. These are NOT all flying at the moment, of course, but they are due to resume over the coming months and into Summer 2021.

From Heathrow:

  • Americas: Atlanta, Boston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York JFK, San Francisco, Seattle, Orlando, Washington
  • Caribbean: Antigua, Barbados, Grenada, Havana, Montego Bay, St Vincent, Tobago
  • Asia: Delhi, Hong Kong, Islamabad, Lahore, Mumbai, Shanghai
  • Middle East: Tel Aviv
  • Africa: Cape Town, Johannesburg, Lagos

From Manchester:

  • Americas: Atlanta, Los Angeles, Orlando, New York JFK
  • Caribbean: Barbados
  • Asia: Islamabad, Mumbai, Delhi

From Glasgow:

  • Orlando

From Belfast:

  • Orlando
Virgin Atlantic black friday

STOP before you book and check cash prices

Before you book a redemption, please compare the cash prices. The Black Friday website is here.

EDIT: We have a new article on the sale deals which you should read instead. Click here.

Alongside this redemption sale, Virgin Atlantic has launched a hugely aggressive cash sale.

The following routes are just £999 return in Upper Class on selected dates: Antigua, Barbados, Boston, Cape Town, Delhi, Grenada, Havana, Islamabad, Johannesburg, Miami, Lahore, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Montego Bay, Mumbai, New York JFK, Orlando, San Francisco, Seattle, St Vincent, Tel Aviv, Tobago and Washington.

We will do a separate sale article in a day or so, but clearly peak dates will go quickly.

Remember that Virgin Atlantic will allow two date changes and one name change on your ticket for free, although any fare difference must be paid.

How should I pay for my tickets?

To maximise your miles when paying, your best bet is one of the two Virgin Atlantic Reward credit cards.  These earn double miles (3 per £1 on the paid card or 1.5 per £1 on the free card) when you book at virginatlantic.com or via Virgin Holidays

Virgin Rewards credit card

Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard

The UK’s most generous free Visa or Mastercard at 0.75 points / £1 Read our full review

Virgin Rewards Plus credit card

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

15,000 points bonus and the most generous non-Amex for day to day spending Read our full review

Another option is American Express Preferred Rewards Gold which offers double points – 2 per £1 – when you book flight tickets directly with an airline.

Nectar American Express

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

Conclusion

There is a lot going on here:

  • a 50% discount on the Points required for ALL Virgin Atlantic reward flights
  • a very aggressive cash sale, with most long haul routes reduced to £999 return in Upper Class on selected dates
  • a 50% bonus if you buy Virgin Points to top up your balance – see here

Full details are on the special Black Friday webpage here.


How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards

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 Rewards credit card

Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard

The UK’s most generous free Visa or Mastercard at 0.75 points / £1 Read our full review

Virgin Rewards Plus credit card

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:

Nectar American Express

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:

American Express Platinum card Amex

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.)

Comments (261)

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

  • aviosnewbie says:

    Can I use the redemption sale in combination with the credit card upgrade voucher?

  • BJ says:

    A tsunami of tears forecast on HfP today! Remind us Rob, did you transfer your FC miles to Hilton? Wish I had a £1 for every time you were asked.

    • gareth says:

      Not afraid to admit I’m one of these…. plus struggling to get any decent value out of Hilton makes it even worse!!!

      • BJ says:

        Just the way it is, sometimes we win sometimes we lose. There is no guarantee that redeeming at these rates is path to happiness anyway, Virgin could still go belly up any day. Yes, Hilton a bit of a problem given current low room rates and offers from amex etc. Got most of my Hilton points for almost nothing this year so I’ve used them anyway and locked in some options. Crsigendarrorroch over Xmas, 5 nights for about 330k, Hilton Tokyo in July 5 nights for 230k, Hilton Odawara Resort 5 nights for 210k, DT KGX Angel 5 nights in spring and autumn for about 110k and 100k respectively. Should have enough later this month to tag on 5 nights at Exeter or Torquay to our Indigo Bath weekend next summer. Not sure how many of them I’ll use but sometimes its worthwhile locking down a few prospective stays.

        • gareth says:

          Yeah the 5 nights for 4 seems the best value. As a side note I saw some good ihg redemptions last night in Santorini, 47.5k per night for some mr and Mrs smith stuff next may

    • Peter K says:

      I for one don’t regret cashing in my Virgin points to Hilton. Virgin may still not survive but I don’t have that worry about that and haven’t had to for 6 months and won’t need to worry about by giving them a cash loan in this sale (fees for a redemption).

      I’ve used half my Hilton points for a hopeful stay next year at Dalaman which was approx the same number of points in 2021 for 11 as it would have cost in 2020 for 8 nights.

      A tsunami of tears? Not from me.

      • Andrew says:

        And at the BF prices, I don’t think the redemptions stack up anyway – £993 return to New York isn’t a giving value on using your miles even at 50% off.

      • Sandgrounder says:

        I cashed in 130k virgin miles for 205k Hilton. I used a net 109k for 5 nights in Reykjavik, I was upgraded to an exec room that would have cost over £1k for the stay. I still have 94k left, and I have been earning again. I usually earn enough across currencies for a half decent long haul every year or a very nice one every 2 years, plus a few short haul breaks. I don’t mind spending differently this time, especially when there was a risk of ending up with zilch. 205k Hilton would have cost 0.5c each in the sale, about £820 at the time. 0.63p per Virgin mile is a discount on my usual valuation, but they cost me less than that, and nobody ever went bust by taking a profit.

    • The Streets says:

      I held back 300,000 virgin points just in case they survived. This was the only thing I ever disagreed with genghis on!

    • Optimus Prime says:

      Well, the only thing for sure now is they’re borrowing money at 0%

    • Harry T says:

      @BJ I chuckled but I wouldn’t use miles in this sale when you can book business for such great cash fares!

      • Doug M says:

        Agreed, if you have flexibility on dates to find the £1K fares that’s a great deal. The miles sale makes me even happier I cashed out to Hilton, albeit that may be self-justification 🙂 This seems amazing value which makes me wonder just how desperate for the cash Virgin are. The redemptions still offer good value over the £1K fares if you need cancellation flexibility.

      • Carol says:

        My flight to LA priced up at £3400 each – sadly couldn’t find the cheap fare for my travel dates

  • Rosemary Leheup says:

    Trying to get Cape Town upper class flights for next year but no results loading

    • Rahaney says:

      Are they not all via jnb? The first half with SAA??

      • JLNF says:

        I think they show this option when all the direct flight rewards have sold? I booked two direct to CPT late last night/early this am in the sale.

  • Reney says:

    Can someone tell me the standard point cost of return LHR to HKG, the price I am getting in the sale appears to be 131k points for UC which seems high for a half price sale. There appears to be a very steep leap between premium and UC too.

  • Rahaney says:

    Does buying points work via a PRGC count towards a yearly spend target? Is this the highest bonus @50%?

    • Charlieface says:

      1. Why not?
      2. Do you mean the 50% off? Then who knows, it’s the most I can remember but they have done it in the past. I think any further discount unlikely.
      Or do you mean the BA Avios Bonus? Same applies

  • Kevin says:

    What a find! Had booked the family with BA in Economy to JNB (as Biz was ludicrous with all airlines). Managed to get our exact dates in biz with Virgin for only £999 each. Unbelievable!

  • Freddy says:

    Will everything be honky dory by next summer in America? Any thoughts?

    • Andrew says:

      A lot could change by then but then again nothing could change by then. Progress will still be very slow – but maybe we’ll be able to by next summer, but maybe not.

    • Brian says:

      Definitely won’t start moving in the direction of hunky dory until at least April. That sounds like a best case scenario, so what happens by the summer is anybody’s guess.

  • Andrew says:

    Rob your link seems to go to last year’s BF which is dead. Had to go to virgin home page and find BF there.

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.