LAST CALL: Get 30% off Virgin Atlantic redemptions in ALL CLASSES on many routes

This is a reminder that Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Red have teamed up to offer a 30% discount on points bookings to select Virgin Atlantic destinations until 31st May. I thought I’d give it another plug as I know Rob managed to get a booking in for his family (with availability which only opened up during the offer) and made a substantial saving.

Tomorrow, 28th February, is the last day to book.

Premium and Upper Class flights are included.

Flight upgrades are included.

‘2 for 1’ bookings made using a Virgin Atlantic credit card voucher are included.

Taxes and fees are unchanged and remain high, with an Upper Class redemption to New York pricing at 66,400 Virgin points + £995. The 30% reduction in points does, at least, take the edge off. In this example, you are saving 28,500 points – about £285 if valued at 1p.

You need to book by 28th February, for flights departing by 31st May. If your return flight is after 31st May, the discount will only apply to your outbound flight.

The offer does not apply to the ‘we will open up any seat, any flight for double points for Gold members’ benefit.

Where can you go?

To give Virgin Atlantic credit, this sale includes flights to plenty of popular holiday destinations.

The following flights are included from London, with pricing in Upper Class (off peak return):

• Antigua (80,500 points)
• Atlanta (66,500 points)
• Austin (94,500 points)
• Boston (66,500 points)
• Islamabad (52,500 points)
• Lahore (52,500 points, route ends 30th April)
• Los Angeles (94,500 points)
• Miami (66,500 points)
• Mumbai (52,500 points)
• New York (66,500 points)
• San Francisco (94,500 points)
• Seattle (94,500 points)
• Tampa (66,500 points)
• Tel Aviv (39,200 points)
• Washington DC (66,500 points)

From Manchester, your options are a bit more, erm, limited:

• New York (66,500 points)

To book, there will need to be reward availability for your dates. Virgin Atlantic now guarantees that 12 seats are opened to redemption on every flight – 2 in Upper Class, 2 in Premium and 8 in Economy Classic. Obviously some of these may already have gone, as these flights have been on sale for almost a year.

Virgin Atlantic redemptions now earn tier points

Don’t forget that, unlike almost any other airline, redemptions on Virgin Atlantic earn you tier points.

On redemption flights, you will usually earn the following:

• Economy: 25 tier points each way
• Premium: 50 tier points each way
• Upper Class: 100 tier points each way

You don’t earn Virgin Points on reward tickets, for obvious reasons!

To achieve Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Silver status you’ll need 400 tier points, whilst Gold is 1,000. Until 31st March, status thresholds have been reduced – Silver is 300 whilst Gold requires 800 points.

You can learn about tier points on this page of the Virgin Atlantic website.

What can you expect flying Virgin Atlantic?

Virgin Atlantic now flies three different Upper Class seats. We have reviewed them all:

• Virgin Atlantic A350 Upper Class suite review
• Virgin Atlantic A330neo Upper Class review (image above)
• Virgin Atlantic 787 and A330 Upper Class review

In addition to the usual amenities you’d expect form a business class flight, Virgin Atlantic aircraft also feature a bar or social space for Upper Class passengers – a unique feature that only the Middle Eastern airlines such as Emirates and Qatar Airways usually offer.

You’ll also get access to the impressive Virgin Clubhouse at Heathrow, which we’ve reviewed here.

You can read our review of Premium on Virgin Atlantic here.

Conclusion

Virgin Atlantic is running its first major reward flight sale in many years, with redemptions to 15 destinations now 30% cheaper than they were.

In Upper Class, that’s the equivalent of saving between 16,800 points (Tel Aviv) to 40,500 points (to the US West Coast) or approximately £168 – £405 return. It helps make up for those hefty surcharges ….

Premium and economy flights are also included, with economy redemptions ticketing into Economy Classic fares with 23kg checked baggage allowance.

You need to book by 11:59pm on 28th February, for flights departing before the end of May.

The savings are live on the Virgin Atlantic website here. Just enter your destination and dates. To find reward flights, simply click ‘Advanced’ and select ‘Points’.

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How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards (March 2023)

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):

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 30,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 30,000 Virgin Points.

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

Until 30th March 2023, the sign up bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased to 120,000 Membership Rewards points – click here. The bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased to 60,000 Membership Rewards points – click here. T&C apply, see the application forms for details.

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.)