Virgin Atlantic launches a new reward seat sale to the USA – save 30% in all cabins

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• Tom says:

  25 Jun25 June 10:51

  Have enough miles to do several UC return reward flights but not remotely enticing when you have to spend £1k on taxes per person. Should have used up my miles on that sparkling wine offer.

  • Rob says:

    25 Jun25 June 11:47

    Still available isn’t it? It was there last night.

• Super Secret Stuff says:

  25 Jun25 June 12:58

  Travel demand nerves getting to VS as well?

  • Track says:

    25 Jun25 June 15:57

    with £1k on taxes per person, they don’t lose much selling those seats,

    In fact, could offer them for 1 mile + cash component and that wouldn’t be a loss!

    • Barry cutters says:

      25 Jun25 June 16:30

      Yeah because there’s loads of direct flights to the US for £1k in J.

      Don’t be ridiculous

      • dougzz99 says:

        25 Jun25 June 17:19

        As recently as 2017 AA sold several destinations, San Antonio, Minneapolis and Little Rock from memory, for sub £1000 from Manchester. Quite recently, and maybe still available for certain dates, you could get Palm Springs, Flagstaff and Albuquerque amongst others for €1400 ish from Dublin.
        £1K US flights my be gone now, but cheap deals typically remain, you just have to be very flexible in origin and destination, and accept £1350 ish is now a good fare for the US.

      • Track says:

        26 Jun26 June 14:57

        1.2k ex-EU flights to US exist.

        I count an extra day at an EU capital destination as holiday = not adding to cost.

        @Barry cutters, you responded to gaslight. I’d rather you express your opinion in a separate reply to article if you so wish.

    • dougzz99 says:

      25 Jun25 June 17:14

      It would if they could sell the seat for £2K cash. I’m going to assume you don’t work in an area involving pricing.

      • Track says:

        26 Jun26 June 15:00

        Theoretical pricing. In theory, yes they sold that last seat for 2k or even 4k.

        But the plane is departing with 5 empty seats…

        • dougzz99 says:

          26 Jun26 June 16:17

          Which is why you have revenue experts.

    • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

      25 Jun25 June 19:58

      They aren’t getting all that £1k though.

      It’s closer to £700 after they’ve accounted for approx £200 APD (a proper tax) and £ 100 on airport fees etc.

      • TGLoyalty says:

        25 Jun25 June 23:59

        That’s the same for the £1k cash fares

        I paid that in Sept 2019 I’ll say while capacity is down Vs then times are much tougher. Won’t be long til you see 2 for £2k-2.5k fares pop up again.

• Paul says:

  25 Jun25 June 13:34

  I think I have made this point before but again I have just made a redemption booking that demonstrates just how criminally high the fees gauged by BA VS and others are here in the U.K.

  I flew to SYD last Nov/Dec with less than 36 hours notice in J for 90,000 Amex points and €229.

  On Friday I booked J LATAM SCL IPC return for 77,000 Avios and £34.

  There is value out there but not on VS or BA long haul.

  • Barry cutters says:

    25 Jun25 June 16:34

    The issue is too many ppl ‘buying’ points . By buying I mean you get them in a way which means they have a value.

    If you actually earn them just from company paying for your flights – ie how they were originally intended . Then they are worth zero . And using them for a business class flight to Austin or Seattle that would otherwise cost you £3k is a huge saving .

    Not saying that it’s right or wrong jus that’s what it’s intended for

  • Kevin says:

    27 Jun27 June 00:19

    100% correct. I needed to book a business class one-way trip to Dallas next February. On BA from LHR it costs 65,000 Avios and £400. Instead, I’ve a flight to DUB for £30 and paying AA 67,000 points and £34. If you put in the work, the rewards are there.

• dougzz99 says:

  25 Jun25 June 17:11

  Do all the wringers collect ‘miles’ and then whinge about the value? If you choose to build an amount in a currency you have no idea the value of you, have it coming.
  Cash is king. Points have value, but you have to accept that value is established by the Bank of Avios, Virgin, Marriott or whoever. Just book the best value, don’t chase points and then whinge they’re poor value.
  Why do people embrace things they dislike, they fly BA so they can whinge about how poor it is, collect miles in schemes they then complain are too expensive to use.
  Short haul RFS flights are fabulous value.
  People are strange.

  • VSCXFAN says:

    25 Jun25 June 19:20

    Just flew VS UC LHR-JFK-LHR for 35K pts, 1 u/g voucher + £960.
    BA CW alternative was105K Avios, 1 u/g voucher + £350. Since I didn’t buy (but earned) the VS points, BA Avios and vouchers (and aim to get/save 1.2p per point/Avios on l/h redemptions), I chose VS (with guaranteed A350 UC Suite) and saved over £2K (incl the voucher) vs the lowest cash fare of £3,400. No complaints.

  • His Holyness says:

    25 Jun25 June 19:24

    RFS is excellent value for point to point routes especially if you’re smart enough to not chase status. I’d rather be a Blue in Club than a Gold in Y as the “First” lounge is marginal over GC, especially for good. T3 even less of an issue. On the way back, 95% are the same lounges.
    BA typically dump the CE cabin a few days in advance as well.
    That doesn’t change £1000 plus miles when BA are dumping ex-EU, BUD, DUB etc.
    On RFS, If you’re unfortunately based out of LON, and for some reason redeeming on Europe, £100 plus I think 40k? Avios to MIL PRG MUC etc in CE is rubbish.

  • Paul says:

    26 Jun26 June 09:42

    You make a fair point however many of us have been in this a long time and its not that it was too expensive it is that it has become too expensive and our miles have been devalued time and again both directly and indirectly by way of enormous ( and IMHO quite unnecessary) fees

    • VSCXFAN says:

      26 Jun26 June 10:52

      Yes, BA has effectively devalued my Avios by insisting on max Avios and min £ (105K + voucher + £350 in my LHR-JFK-LHR case), but arguably VS hasn’t devalued but actually revalued my Virgin points – since by using the same 35K as 3 years ago, I’ve saved £1,500 more by virtue of the huge increase in price (incl YQ surcharges higher than BA’s!) of an inflexible UC cash ticket.

    • dougzz99 says:

      26 Jun26 June 16:15

      Hence my remark about trusting in the bank of Avios. Miles are a currency, but the currency is guaranteed by an airline or hotel group, how you feel about that should determine whether you bother with them, and whether you earn and burn to reduce risk, or save for bigger redemptions and take the risk that involves.

• ianM says:

  25 Jun25 June 18:23

  Is it possible to book a reward flight the other way – from USA to London for a friend??

  Miles seem the same but taxes flying from USA seem a lot mores, $1200 for Premium.

  • Rob says:

    25 Jun25 June 20:10

    Taxes are far higher if you start in the US.

• Big Ern says:

  25 Jun25 June 18:43

  Not sure if this is one for the forum but it is related to Virgin sales. Planning to go to Boston next June and obviously these seats open up in a month or so. However given the type of sale being described in this article limits flights to basically the next three months does anyone have a view on whether I should wait ? So such sales regularly happen in the Spring?

  • Rob says:

    25 Jun25 June 20:09

    Book and pay the £30 change fee to rebook if needed.

    • Adam says:

      26 Jun26 June 06:44

      Rob, how many days before departure can you rebook with miles+cash for 30 pound fee?

      • Rob says:

        26 Jun26 June 08:10

        24 hours

• Michel says:

  26 Jun26 June 08:45

  So if I book a return flight to the US for the end of September, but then rebook the flights to December, I will lock in the promo rates and pay 30% less?

  • Rob says:

    26 Jun26 June 08:48

    No. You pay full price when you rebook.

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