Maximise your Avios, air miles and hotel points

Decent deals in all classes in Virgin Atlantic’s Easter sale

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Until Tuesday night, Virgin Atlantic is running a short Easter sale.

Full details can be found here.

If we focus on the Upper Class deals, there are some interesting prices available.

Virgin Atlantic Easter sale

The best deals are out of Manchester:

Boston is £999 if you travel before the end of May

New York is £1399 for travel before the end of May or during the last week of November

Barbados is £1799 for travel by early December

San Francisco at £1999 isn’t exceptionally cheap, however.

From Glasgow, New York is just £1199 during July, August and the last week of November.

From London, the deals are less generous:

The standout is Delhi at £1699 for travel before 23rd May

New York, Washington and Boston are £1899 or £1999 during July, August and the last week of November.  Cancun, for any date before mid December, is £1959.

The other London routes on offer – Hong Kong, Shanghai, Miami, Seattle, San Francisco, Atlanta, Orlando and Los Angeles – are between £2000 and £2500

There are some decent Premium Economy deals out there, especially for anyone chasing Virgin Flying Club tier points.  Destinations from London include:

  • New York £664
  • Boston £664
  • Washington £714
  • Orlando £765
  • Miami £804
  • Los Angeles £842
  • Atlanta £884
  • Las Vegas £885
  • Seattle £974
  • San Francisco £974
  • Delhi £799
  • Shanghai £869
  • Hong Kong £899
  • Barbados £809

North American travel dates vary but are generally focused on October to December.  There is more date flexibility with Boston, New York and San Francisco from Manchester.

Economy deals are also available, starting at £399 for New York and Boston (£369 to Boston from Manchester).

Full details of what is available can be found on the special Virgin Atlantic sale website here.  You need to book by Tuesday 18th.

How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards

How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards (April 2024)

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, the Reward+ card has a bonus of 15,000 Virgin Points):

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

15,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard

A generous earning rate for a free card at 0.75 points per £1 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 & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express comes with 40,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 40,000 Virgin Points.

The Platinum Card from American Express

40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Small business owners should consider the two American Express Business cards. Points convert at 1:1 into Virgin Points.

American Express Business Platinum

40,000 points sign-up bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year 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.)

Category

Virgin Atlantic and Flying Club

Comments (98)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Barry cutters says:
    16 Apr16 April 07:59

    The economy flights to varadero and Havana look extreamly good value . Can book in to 2018 too. Problem is you get stung for a hotel when booking direct . Much cheaper to book as a holiday. Shame because I have 20 odd hotels. Com free nights and I wanted to book a week for parents in law to apologize for throwing up on their new sofa last weekend.

    • TripRep says:
      16 Apr16 April 08:16

      Nice one BC, gave me a laugh! Good night out?? 😀

      • barry Cutters says:
        16 Apr16 April 12:48

        Great night .
        Lets just say brother in law, and craft Gin were involved

    • Lev441 says:
      16 Apr16 April 09:48
    • Andy says:
      16 Apr16 April 13:14

      20 free hotels.com nights?! Impresive.

      • barry Cutters says:
        16 Apr16 April 13:34

        My Hotel strategy is use IHG for myself where i can, and hotels.com when booking for others and places where No IHG close by.
        Works well.

        Im a self employed consultant so i book my own hotels/flights and claim back the cost from the client. I do always get the cheapest rate to be fair , i wouldn’t ever pay more just to get extra points.

  • TripRep says:
    16 Apr16 April 08:14

    For once Virgin seem to run a sale independently of BA running one. (They normally follow BA announcement)

  • Timothy Arnold says:
    16 Apr16 April 08:27

    Very OT: I’m not a frequent flyer (but would like to be). How ‘bad’ is economy these days long haul? With the recent post of Brad’s trip i am now wondering if a round the world trip Y would work? The fact HK to Lon is 20k plus £28 and lots of redemption options makes it very tempting!

    • Genghis says:
      16 Apr16 April 08:59

      Whats the definition of a frequent flyer?

      • Lewis Watson says:
        16 Apr16 April 12:50

        I flow virgin economy long haul a boy 2 years ago. Was very impressed compared to BA.

        Welcome drink while waiting to board. And champagne on board. Prize draw for a thousand pounds. Crew very friendly and helpful. Big choice on IFE.

        Although this was first flight on the route and Mr b was on board not sure if all thus is standard.

        • Graham Walsh says:
          16 Apr16 April 20:35

          Welcome drinks for economy is not standard. Only for PE and UC.

    • Arun T says:
      16 Apr16 April 09:14

      For most people, economy is their only option and thousands of people are sat there daily. Stick to decent airlines, break up the journey often and it’s fine.

      • Lady London says:
        16 Apr16 April 12:10

        Longhaul Y is definitely easier on the body when you’re young! You could look at getting a hotel when you land, perhaps on points, to recover. This definitely costs less than extra cash for J.

        Research on which airline uses which model of plane on which route, what is the seating layout in Y, what is the width and depth of seat in Y and what is the set pitch on each aircraft, down to each flight level before you book, can help you choose the best option. Some airlines are very luxurious in J or F. But travelling with those same airlines in Y can be worse than choosing Y with other airlines. Reserve your preferred seat as soon as you can. This can make a huge difference. Seatguru.com and couple of similar sites can help with this.

        If you value your miles, are young and love to travel, then as rule of thumb you’d keep half or more of your miles for more travel if you can go in Y. If you have a way to earn miles easily you can be more relaxed about using them to buy more comfort.

        If you break your journey in airports that are friendly to longhaul travellers of all levels, like SIN, this helps. Otherwise lounge access may help you (cash, pass or class of travel gets this). Check lounge opening and closing hours, and facilities, is important so you know there’s somewhere for you to go at your layover time.

        Basically Y travel is bus travel but buses vary in the experience they will give you. One thing often overlooked is before any longhaul flight you should hydrate as much as you can for preceding 48 hours, then stay hydrated during the flight. This can make an incredible difference to the state you land in especially coming off the plane from Y.

        • the real harry1 says:
          16 Apr16 April 18:38

          great post, similar to my outlook

          depends if you’re paying or somebody else

          points muddy the difference – thankfully as I’m not getting any younger

          anybody under 35 should be fine in cattle if you heed Lady L’s wise words

        • Callum says:
          16 Apr16 April 22:32

          To add to all this, your previous travel experience matters too. I’ve spoken to several people who have previously only travelled around Europe on budget carriers excitedly tell me that Emirates economy is incredible because you get free food and movies etc. – who were then even more amazed when I pointed out almost every long haul airline does that, and you can even get free alcohol!

    • TripRep says:
      16 Apr16 April 09:34

      Welcome Tim, 🙂

      Personally for long journeys (>6 hours) I try very hard to avoid Economy to reduce suffering of aches and pains. (No spring chicken)

      I’m also not a frequent flyer, typically I do a max of 2 long haul trips a year, the main reason I can justify flying Premium Economy & Business class is to avoid discomfort and because I can use miles/avios to drastically reduce the £££ price.

      Business class from HKG to LHR can be had cheap with miles…

      • John ABZ says:
        18 Apr18 April 21:09

        +1. If doing a round the world econ trip back to UK I’d try to make HK my last destination (fantastic place) and as TripRep says cheap redemption in business. Would be a great way to end a trip.

    • Lev441 says:
      16 Apr16 April 09:51

      Certainly a large number of people maybe fly business class as a once in a lifetime special occasion….

      Economy is fine, people survive economy journeys every day..!

      It helps of course to be knowledgable about what airline provides what and there are also some seats to avoid..

      • Brighton Belle says:
        16 Apr16 April 10:18

        I have used economy for 30 years. It’s been fine. It helps to be young and amazed that you can fly thousands of miles for pocket money.

        Only been in the front of the plane once and client was paying. However flew BA economy from NYC – LGW last month. Was at the back. 60 seats to myself. The food was horrible, the wine was rough plonk and my first experience of a pop tart breakfast. Cost cutting is evident but with so many empty seats BA made a loss on that flight. It has become a meal deal experience. . . and what you might choose travelling by long distance train . Don’t expect too much in economy. Its the destination that counts and the plane just gets you there safely with minimum fuss.

        • Henry Larsen says:
          16 Apr16 April 12:28

          > Its [sic] the destination that counts and the plane just
          > gets you there safely with minimum fuss.

          Well, that’s one way of looking at it. On the other hand, years ago some travel-related company had a slogan that still rings true for many of us: ‘getting there is half the fun’.

          • Graham Walsh says:
            16 Apr16 April 21:07

            Amtrak. Just seen it on their website.

          • Gavin says:
            17 Apr17 April 10:35

            If only British trains were like Amtrak, my experience on the Cascades train from seattle to Vancouver was very positive

    • TripRep says:
      16 Apr16 April 10:10

      Tim – for cheap Economy flights you might like this, just discovered it myself..

      https://www.jacksflightclub.co.uk

      • Timothy Arnold says:
        16 Apr16 April 13:37

        Thanks for all the comments very useful!!

        • mark2 says:
          16 Apr16 April 13:46

          If thinking of flying Y on points check the cash fares available.
          The tax/charges can be as much/more than the cash fare sometimes.

          • John ABZ says:
            18 Apr18 April 21:02

            +1, especially UK departures. Be clever and identify countries with low / zero departure tax e.g. Hong Kong.

    • John ABZ says:
      18 Apr18 April 20:59

      Deffo possible in economy especially in segments of up to about 6-7 hours ( 3 x movies on IFE or tablet). But of course if night flight assume no sleep. Paying for exit seat or at least aisle seat plus lounge access would make a big difference to experience for min £. I fly a lot of econ long haul and likes of Singapore Airlines economy was perfectly good. I have survived a ABZ-PER and back again in economy over 3 day period. Not pleasant but survived it. The far and middle eastern airlines economy are better than the European airlines, especially BA.

  • Kathy says:
    16 Apr16 April 09:10

    Those premium economy prices do look good – they wanted £750 for economy to New York when I was looking last weekend (mind you, that was for the bank holiday weekend in August, and I bet that’s not in the sale).

  • Kevin says:
    16 Apr16 April 10:25

    OT, if I booked a flight to Bangkok via Malaysia airline directly. May I know can I earn Avios points th via BA Oneworld scheme?

    • TripRep says:
      16 Apr16 April 10:34

      Not sure, but this useful site should help.

      http://www.wheretocredit.com

    • Clive says:
      16 Apr16 April 11:24

      Check the BA calculator to see if and what you would earn

    • Jon says:
      16 Apr16 April 11:25

      Yes.

    • Leo says:
      16 Apr16 April 15:26

      Of course just make sure your BAEC number is recorded at check -in.

    • Genghis says:
      17 Apr17 April 05:31

      Certain ticket classes do not. See http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/british-airways-executive-club/1663101-no-tier-points-some-malaysia-flights.html

      Check your potential ticket class on the BA TP/avios calculator.

    • CV3V says:
      17 Apr17 April 08:57

      I think you can enter BAEC number when booking from dropdown list, if not then you can email MH and ask for it to be added.

      But if going from KUL to BKK I would recommend Air Asia, and pay for all the addons (‘hot seat’ and food) and you will get a great service. With MH you will see how bad their cutbacks have been. With Air Asia you will arrive into Don Mueng which then requires a taxi to destination (or for a really authentic experience try the bus), I use one of the prepaid airport taxis to avoid any hassle/haggling. Although MH fly into the main airport and has the train service you then still have to connect onto the BTS (or a taxi) to eventually get to your destination and if you have any luggage and it can be a hassle.

  • AndyF says:
    16 Apr16 April 10:50

    Has anyone had any luck with Amex Upgrade Gold to Platinum link – 20k points for 1k spend.
    Has this worked for anyone yet, or is it targeted as previously suggested?

    • TripRep says:
      16 Apr16 April 11:06

      I’m hoping someone on here signs up and reports back.

      I could see Rob doing a wee article on it, tempted myself in another month or two.

      • Crafty says:
        16 Apr16 April 13:35

        I have signed up and will report back. Just need to clock up and reconcile the spend (no counter showing).

        • MattyS says:
          16 Apr16 April 13:46

          Same here. Got the snazzy welcome pack and card within three days of applying for the upgrade last week. Up to £850 spend so far (thanks to Parentpay still accepting Amex and buying a load of Tesco gift cards) but nothing to say I’ve only got £150 to go to get the bonus miles.

          Slightly O/T but I’m trying to transfer my recent Gold bonus MR points to my Virgin Flying Club account, but when I try to put in my Virgin membership details, it sends me in an endless loop saying I need to register a valid number. I think I read on here that there was a problem last year when VFC updated their site, but thought that was a temporary glitch. Any advice on what I’m doing wrong would be gratefully received.

          • the pitch says:
            16 Apr16 April 14:40

            I had the same problem. A call to amex sorted it out

          • Genghis says:
            16 Apr16 April 15:41

            No need to call. Just wait till hit £1k spend and should tick over

          • Lev441 says:
            17 Apr17 April 01:17

            Same happened to me; a call to Amex sorted the problem. Additionally, the lady rounded up my points so I could transfer my entire balance!

          • Brembo87 says:
            17 Apr17 April 09:43

            Hi Matty, Crafty,

            I might upgrade as well but i heard that you don’t get charge the £450 Cc Fee until your Gold aniversary date rather than the first statement once upgraded. Can you please confirm if this is the case?
            If yes you could upgrade do the spend and close the card for free!
            Thanks

          • MattyS says:
            17 Apr17 April 10:32

            @Brembo87 Only had the platinum card since last week and statement is not due for another 10 days. Gold card was only taken out last month so way off its anniversary. The fee hasn’t posted on my transaction list as yet but the first spend with it has and the next spend is the only thing showing in pending. Even if it is taken I think it is refunded pro rata if you close the account.

            Hoping to hit the target spend later today, so will post in the next few days once the bonus hits (or not )

          • brembo87 says:
            18 Apr18 April 07:03

            @ Matty,

            Thank you for sharing your feedback with us Matty.
            Have you got a Twitter account?

          • TripRep says:
            18 Apr18 April 07:07

            MattyS – yes please report back in a couple of weeks, Rob won’t be covering this.

            Thanks v much! 😀

      • Rob says:
        16 Apr16 April 20:20

        I can’t do an article on it, because it is theoretically targeted and I would be in serious trouble with the FCA if I recommended people do this – and incur fees – but they did not get the points.

        • TripRep says:
          16 Apr16 April 20:31

          No worries, understand.

          As you jnow, I tend to read the OT comments anyway…. 😀

    • RM says:
      18 Apr18 April 07:49

      Hi all. I used the link to upgrade my partner’s Gold card and can report that the bonus points posted today, the day after we hit the £1k spend. Thanks to whoever it was who shared the link! We’ve also had a statement since the upgrade and the fee wasn’t charged so I’m keeping fingers crossed it won’t be charged until our anniversary.

      • TripRep says:
        18 Apr18 April 08:10

        Thanks for reporting back, I shall phone up Amex to ask if I qualify for this offer before applying…

        • Alex W says:
          18 Apr18 April 08:31

          I used the upgrade link but it gets stuck as if i haven’t completed a mandatory field to do with Membership Rewards. However there is no field to complete. Anyone know how to resolve this issue?

        • Brembo87 says:
          18 Apr18 April 19:41

          @TripRep- can you please assist with the link for the upgrade? I saw it a few days ago, but i can’t find it now.
          I will give it ago, as it looks like i won’t need to ask for pro rata refund.
          Thanks again.

        • RM says:
          19 Apr19 April 07:11

          A couple of weeks before the upgrade link appeared on here we had actually emailed Amex to ask about any upgrade offers. They offered 10,000 MR points (no spend requirement) and refused to budge when we tried to get them to do better. So we had decided to leave it, but when the link appeared we thought we’d risk it with 10k as our worst case scenario.

      • AndyF says:
        18 Apr18 April 20:59

        @ RM did it show a counter when you signed into your Amex account online. To show how far from your target you were etc.

        • RM says:
          19 Apr19 April 06:21

          No it didn’t, no reference to the bonus at all until the points actually posted. I thought I might have to contact amex but was pleasantly surprised.

  • Barry cutters says:
    16 Apr16 April 11:23

    Off topic. Going back to NYC for 4 nights on the bank holiday weekend .
    Need help with ihg accomodation options;

    1) crowne plaza TS – 200k points
    2) intercontinental TS- 220k points
    3) intercontinental TS- 120k points plus £286 (ambassador free night)

    I am spire elite ambassador, been to NYC around 10x but always stayed with friends or air b&b.

    Opinions appreciated…..

    • TripRep says:
      16 Apr16 April 11:48

      No hotel recommendations, but as you’re not staying on a friend’s sofa….

      I’d offer a tip to visit Brooklyn Brewery on a Saturday morning and then the food market overlooking the East River & Manhattan

      https://www.smorgasburg.com

      • barry Cutters says:
        16 Apr16 April 12:44

        Triprep- I love the BB, Been a few times. Great beers and atmosphere.
        Food market is good too.

        Will definitely be spending one day in Brooklyn

    • Nicky says:
      16 Apr16 April 12:15

      Intercontinental TS is a dump: pretends to be a 4* but after the most horrendous stay at New Year which resulted in a major complaint, IHG denied all liability for their deceit and dirty rooms. To cut a long story short I settled with BA, so my advice is…..if you want to enjoy NY, stay in a lovely hotel on the ‘right side of Manhatten….look up the Fitzpatrick: you can’t use points but you won’t be disappointed.

      • barry Cutters says:
        16 Apr16 April 12:42

        Im sitting on 3/4 million IHG Points that i need to start using.
        Four nights in a decent hotel is going to cost me £1200.
        Id rather use some of my points.

        I can’t imagine the IC is a dump. -the reviews are 4/5 on tripadvisor.
        Sounds like you just had a bad experience, -not an excuse i know but NYE has to be their busiest night of the year
        If you booked through BA then the complaint will have to go through them.
        IHG Is very good at handling complaints from my experience, however i always book direct.
        Generally i am very well looked after in IC hotels, and infant CP too.

        • Nicky says:
          16 Apr16 April 12:57

          Maybe dump was a strong word to use, although many (including BA ) were shocked at the photo’s: Yes it was a bad experience on many levels and maybe this has tarnished my opinion: however, the complaint did go through BA and they too were surprised at the lack of co-operation by IHG. That aside if you have an abundance of IHG points then inevitably you want to use them, so have a great time whichever hotel you end up in.

        • Leo says:
          16 Apr16 April 15:35

          I mostly agree with Nicky. IC TS is, well perhaps not a dump but it is a huge disappointment. Only thing it has going for it is the location if you are a first timer and want to be near Times Square/public transport etc. I am neither – and I shouldn’t imagine you are from your post. The rooms are fine although the wc backed up on our last day – I’ll leave it there. There is very little public space and the bar is pretty non-existent. I like ICs in general so this isn’t sour grapes. I’d try the IC Barclay over the ICTS – Rob has reviewed it. I prefer its location and there seems a bit more public space and life. Otherwise I might try one of the Indigos. I so wouldn’t stay near TS again tbh so that rules out the CP too. What about the Indigo LES? Might suit – easy to get to Brooklyn.

          • barry Cutters says:
            16 Apr16 April 19:00

            The IC Barclay has small rooms and i had a fall out with them in Feb when they wouldn’t allow me to stay in the room till 4pm on day of check out (i have AMB). . – wont stay there again as a matter of principle.

          • Alex W says:
            17 Apr17 April 10:08

            I stayed in the IC TS over Xmas and had a nice time. There is a new bar that seems good. But if you can’t find a decent bar in NYC, stay at home!

    • Graham Walsh says:
      16 Apr16 April 20:51

      I’m sitting in the CP TS right now. Arrived around 8pm Friday night. Queue of about 20 people to check in. Thankfully I went to the Spire desk. One woman in front of me. Still took a while to issue a room. Had the classic line of I’ve got you a nice room sir. Meaning a box on the 15th rather something decent on floor 40+ probably. Maybe it’s because I’m on a redemption. I’ve read plenty of comments on a NYC Facebook group that may have been upgraded to rooms high up (probably paying cash rates)

      What was worth it was the breakfast buffet for $10 vouchers. Usual price is $40 for breakfast. Certainly not worth $40. You could walk out the door to the 20+ diners a stones throw away. However I’m here with my 2 boys (6 & 4) and they eat breakfast for free. No brainier for me to just spend $10.

      Had dinner in the hotel bar last night. Was ok. Nice views over TQ is the selling point. What did make me laugh yesterday when I went for breakfast the kids wanted to sit near the window. They wanted to place up in a booth as far away as possible. Again probably because using the breakfast voucher. Probably reserve the window seats for “paying guests”.

      In room coffee machine. No bottled water.

      The other thing is to remember, how long will you actually be in the room? Beds are really comfy etc.

      • barry Cutters says:
        16 Apr16 April 22:49

        Really good info, thanks
        -Especially the Breakfast vouchers
        Im thinking of doing two nights there and then the indigo Brooklyn, or the new HI Brooklyn for nights 3 & 4.

        • Concerto says:
          17 Apr17 April 09:59

          Indigo Brooklyn was awful, total hamster cages as rooms. Will never go there again.

          • barry Cutters says:
            17 Apr17 April 14:06

            ummm, thinking now its best to stay in CP TS, i want to go to a yankees game on day 3 evening so wouldn’t want to be stuck having to get all the way back to brooklyn from there

  • Lewis Watson says:
    16 Apr16 April 12:46

    Do virgin offer status matches?

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