Virgin Atlantic confirms new Tampa route – all dates bookable for rewards from Wednesday 13th

Virgin Atlantic has confirmed the story we covered a couple of weeks ago – that it is launching a new route to Tampa in Florida. The airline has been allocated Heathrow slots forfeited by Aeroflot.

This is the first new route launched by Virgin since it decided to follow BA and open up 12 guaranteed reward seats on every flight.

This means that, next Wednesday 13th, you will be able to book reward seats for any date, even peak Christmas and school holiday dates, up to mid June 2023. Virgin Atlantic lets you book 331 days ahead.

As a reminder, Virgin Atlantic opens up:

• 2 x Upper Class seats

• 2 x Premium Economy seats

• 8 x Economy seats

When will the Tampa flights operate?

The route will launch on 3rd November 2022, initially with four flights per week.

From 28th November 2022, the service will become daily.

The flight times are:

• Outbound: VS129, departing at 13.25 and arriving at 18.35

• Inbound: VS130, departing at 20.50 and arriving at 10.15 the next day

The press release did not specify which aircraft type will be used – we will need to see when tickets go on sale. If it is an A350 it will have the new Upper Class suite, although I think this is unlikely. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Tampa make use of the brand new A330neos arriving later this year, which will have an ‘advanced’ version of the Upper Class suite.

There are currently no flights to Tampa from London Heathrow, with the existing British Airways service operating from London Gatwick. Even if you have no interest in the Florida theme parks, Tampa is convenient for destinations such as Clearwater, St Petersburg and Sarasota.

Seats will be available from Wednesday 13th July for both cash and Virgin Points. I don’t know if Virgin releases seats on the dot of at 1am BST (ie midnight GMT) or not – hopefully someone can confirm in the comments.

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How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards (March 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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 8th April 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to 120,000 points. You receive 80,000 points when you spend £12,000 within three months and a further 40,000 points if you spend on the card between Month 14 and Month 17. Points convert 1:1 into Avios and many other programmes. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 8th April 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 60,000 points. You receive 40,000 points when you spend £6,000 within three months and a further 20,000 points if you spend on the card between Month 14 and Month 17. Points convert 1:1 into Avios and many other programmes. Click here to apply.

American Express Business Platinum

Up to 120,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

Up to 60,000 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.