Upgrade for £30 to Virgin Atlantic Economy Delight – which I highly recommend
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Starting today, and running until Saturday, Virgin Atlantic is offering upgrades from Economy Classic to Economy Delight for just £30 each way.
This is an EXCEPTIONALLY good deal and you’d be mad to turn it down. There are two good reasons – one relating to comfort and one relating to miles.
First up is comfort. Here is the difference between Economy Classic and Economy Delight:
Economy Classic: Standard Economy fare with checked luggage included, can be upgraded to Premium Economy with miles
Economy Delight: Extra legroom (34″ pitch), priority check-in and priority boarding, can be upgraded to Premium Economy with miles
So …. for £30 you are getting extra three inches of legroom, priority check-in and priority boarding. This is clearly worth doing. Both tickets types come with free seat selection.
And that’s before we get to reason two to upgrade – more miles.
Economy Classic: earns 50% of miles flown plus 25 tier points each-way
Economy Delight: earns 150% of miles flown plus 50 tier points each-way
This makes the £30 deal a no-brainer. Flying to San Francisco, for example, you’d earn an extra 5,350 Virgin Flying Club miles (which I’d value at £53.50) each way.
We reviewed Economy Delight last year on a flight to New York which you can read here.
This page of the Virgin Atlantic site shows you the differences between the fare classes.
The Virgin Atlantic booking page is here. Date restrictions apply.
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.
Another option is American Express Preferred Rewards Gold which offers double points – 2 per £1 – when you book flight tickets directly with an airline.
How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards (October 2022)
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 points bonus 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 & 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.
EDIT: Until 25th October 2022, there is an exceptionally generous sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card. You will receive 60,000 Membership Rewards points – double the usual amount – and £200 to spend at Amex Travel. You need to spend £6,000 within six months to earn the bonus.
The Platinum Card from American Express
60,000 points (SPECIAL OFFER), £200 travel credit and unbeatable 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 a long list of travel benefits 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.)
r* 
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