Virgin Flying Club can now price infant miles redemption tickets properly

The relaunch of the Virgin Atlantic website in late 2016 did not go smoothly.  Most of the teething problems were eventually ironed out.

There was one very serious issue which did not get fixed.  Because of limitations in the new booking software, redemption tickets for infants were no longer charged at a nominal mileage cost plus taxes and charges.

They were now being charged at 10% of the lowest cash fare, plus taxes and charges.  This could be very high indeed.  The new policy was identical to the Delta policy, Virgin Atlantic’s 49% shareholder, and it was a version of Delta’s booking software that Virgin introduced.

This change had the potential to be very bad indeed.  If you were flying in Upper Class, 10% of the cheapest Upper Class return cash ticket for your day of travel would usually be £200 – £300.

It went crazy on a one way flight.  As Virgin Atlantic only sells fully flexible one way tickets, you were looking at around £5,000 if you paid cash for an adult.  This meant that the infant redemption ticket was £500 plus taxes and charges!

Virgin Atlantic has finally fixed the problem

You can now book lap infants (children aged under 2) at standard fixed prices through the Virgin Customer Service Centre.  This is what it costs:

Economy – 1,000 miles per sector

Premium – 2,000 miles per sector

Upper – 5,000 miles per sector

At some point in the next few weeks, infant bookings at these prices will also be available online.

What will not be possible online is booking a seat using Flying Club miles for a child under two.  This will still need to be done, at standard Flying Club child (not infant) pricing, via telephone.

This is great news for any Virgin flyer with young children although it has taken far too long to be fixed.

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How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards (October 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 18,000 Virgin Points and the free card has a bonus of 3,000 Virgin Points):

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.

The Platinum Card from American Express comes with 50,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 50,000 Virgin Points.

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

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased to up to 80,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 80,000 Virgin Points. You will receive 8 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased to up to 40,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 40,000 Virgin Points. You will receive 4 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. The card is FREE for your first year. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.

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.)