Virgin Atlantic launches a new reward seat sale – save 20% on selected US routes

Slightly bizarrely, because dynamic reward pricing means the price of a reward flight is meant to follow cash prices, Virgin Atlantic has launched a reward seat sale to the US.

Despite what airlines keep saying about travel to the US not being impacted by political events (‘and please don’t slash our share price target’) Virgin Atlantic has decided to cut the cost of economy reward flights by 20% during the peak summer travel period.

Flights are as low as 4,800 points each way.

The lowest pricing from Heathrow is:

• New York JFK – 4,800 Virgin Points one way (also from Manchester)
• Boston – 4,800 Virgin Points each way
• Washington – 4,800 Virgin Points each way
• Miami – 6,000 Virgin Points each way
• Seattle – 7,200 Virgin Points each way
• San Francisco – 7,200 Virgin Points each way

No other routes are included.

All ‘Saver’ seats have been reduced by 20%. A ‘Saver’ ticket is one which is priced at or below the points price under the previous reward structure. A New York ticket which was 12,000 Virgin Points last week will now be 9,600 for example.

These examples are all off-peak pricing. Pricing will be slightly higher on peak dates. The peak / off-peak calendar is here (click ‘find out more’ under ‘Saver seats’.)

You must:

• book by 27th May
• travel by 30th September

Taxes and charges start at £272 return for New York JFK.

This still isn’t necessarily a great deal

With cash tickets to the US under pressure, you still might not be getting a great deal even with a 20% discount.

Let’s take a random trip in early September.

In the current Virgin Atlantic sale, a return flight to New York JFK is £376 return.

The cost of a redemption, in the sale, is 9600 Virgin Points + £272.

You’re getting just over 1p per Virgin Point. This does hit our target valuation of 1p but its not knocking it out of the park.

On the upside, your redemption can be cancelled for £70 and includes a checked bag – the cash price I quoted is ‘hand baggage only’. On the downside, the cash ticket would earn some Virgin Points back.

That said, if you can get 1p per Virgin Point via this sale then you should be happy.

The Virgin Atlantic ‘Reward Seat Checker’ is here if you want to look for days with the cheapest prices listed above.

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

The American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card 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 Credit Card

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 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.

The Platinum Card from American Express

50,000 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.

The American Express Business Platinum Card

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

The American Express Business Gold Card

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.