How to use Virgin Atlantic miles to get to Auckland
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Reader Charlie dropped me a note about an interesting Virgin Atlantic partner redemption that he has booked to get to Auckland.
Virgin Flying Club is a partner with Air New Zealand. We don’t cover this much because Air New Zealand very, very rarely makes much reward space available between London and Auckland, which routes via Los Angeles.
Air New Zealand has other routes, of course. The one that Charlie spotted was Tokyo to Auckland.
Redemption pricing for Air New Zealand is shown on the Virgin Atlantic site here. As you can see, Tokyo to Auckland is just 40,000 miles each-way in Business Class.
This is for an 11 hour flight remember. More interestingly, taxes are exceptionally low:
Tokyo to Auckland in Business Class is £35 one way
Auckland to Tokyo in Business Class is £16 one way
Obviously you need to get to Tokyo in the first place. However, this is generally not a bad route to get seats compared to, say, Singapore:
you can fly on Avios via British Airways – or, if you are not using a 241 voucher, JAL
you can fly on Flying Club miles via ANA (we reviewed ANA’s Business Class here, redemption pricing is here)
There is currently decent availability in Business Class for Tokyo-Auckland in March 2019 with some from Auckland during February 2019. Air New Zealand seems to release seats on a rolling basis so future months should appear as time goes by.
There is an identical option available from Hong Kong. This is still on Air New Zealand and with the same pricing. Hong Kong is even easier to reach from the UK with either Avios or Virgin Flying Club miles.
Singapore and Shanghai are other possible starting points in Asia served by Air New Zealand although you are at the mercy of their erratic reward seat availability.
You can check Air New Zealand reward availability by using the United Airlines website. You don’t need an account with United. When you find a day with seats, simply call Virgin Flying Club to book – the availability should match.
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How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards (April 2025)
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):
Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard
18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review
Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard
3,000 bonus points, no fee and 1 point for every £1 you spend 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.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express comes with 50,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 50,000 Virgin Points.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.
The Platinum Card from American Express
80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large 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
50,000 points when you sign-up 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.
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