Virgin Atlantic reward seat drop to Barbados, Maldives and Dubai coming on Saturday
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Virgin Atlantic is doubling down on the leisure market with an expansion of three key routes for next winter.
Barbados, the Maldives and Dubai will all see additional flights from 27th October 2024.
The guaranteed 12 reward seats on these new services will start to drop into the system on Saturday – and could be yours.
What new flights have been announced?
Virgin Atlantic has announced the following service increases from 27th October 2024, which is the first day of the winter flying season:
- Heathrow to Barbados moves from 11 flights per week to 14 flights per week
- Heathrow to Dubai moves from four flights per week to seven flights per week
- Heathrow to the Maldives moves from three flights per week to seven flights per week
Which flights will be bookable?
Whilst British Airways lets you book 355 days ahead, Virgin Atlantic only allows you to book 331 days ahead.
On Saturday morning, flights will be bookable up to 18th November 2024.
Roughly three weeks of the new services (between 27th October and 18th November) will be bookable. These means (roughly) nine Barbados flights, nine Dubai flights and 12 Maldives flights will be available in both directions.
What days are the extra flights operating?
Assuming that Dubai and the Maldives are moving to daily services, the new flights will operate on:
- Barbados: Sunday, Wednesday, Friday (same day return)
- Dubai: Wednesday, Friday, Sunday (returning the next day)
- Maldives: Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday (returning the next day)
When will these flights be bookable?
The airline says that the seats should be bookable on Saturday.
This usually means at 5am, because Virgin Atlantic uses the Delta Air Lines booking system which seems to run off US East Coast time. I’m not sure if this changed when the clocks went forward. We don’t know for certain that the seats will be loaded with the usual overnight update though.
Virgin Atlantic guarantees to make available on every flight:
- 2 seats in Upper Class
- 2 seats in Premium
- 8 seats in Economy
Further seats are likely to be released over time, but this is what you will find at 331 days out.
Irrespective of whether you want to jump in for these early services, the expansion of these routes should make it easier to book reward flights in the future.
Rhys’s report from his recent Virgin Atlantic press trip to the Maldives is here, and image above.
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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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