Use Virgin Points to fly ITA to Dubai for €70 tax, plus their other long haul options

Whilst the clock is ticking down on its move to Star Alliance, following its partial acquisition by Lufthansa, Italy’s ITA Airways is – for now – a member of SkyTeam.

This means that you can book its flights with Virgin Points, including an interesting new route from Rome to Dubai which launches on 27th October.

ITA will fly the route daily using a new single-aisle Airbus A321neo aircraft.

In business class, it has a seat which looks similar to the JetBlue Mint seat as you can see above.

It looks pretty smart and there are only 12 business class seats in the single aisle cabin.

You can book this seat with Virgin Points

If (and it is a big ‘if’) you are happy travelling to Dubai via Rome, you can get an excellent redemption deal.

As you can see here:

…. a business class seat from Rome to Dubai, return, is 80,000 Virgin Points plus just €70 in taxes and charges.

Of course, there are snags:

• you need to get to Rome

• you may need to stay overnight in Rome, since the outbound flight is a 10.40am departure

• there are only two business class seats available per flight for Virgin Points (although, to be fair, this is quite generous given the 12-seat cabin and that seats are available on most days)

If you are Virgin Points rich, time rich and cash poor, however, this is one to consider.

If you are time poor and cash rich, you can always pay 95,000 points + £821 in taxes and charges to fly direct with Virgin Atlantic ….

Where else does ITA fly long haul?

You can get similar low tax deals on ITA’s other routes when booked with Virgin Points.

The long haul network comprises:

• Accra
• Bangkok
• Boston
• Buenos Aires
• Chicago
• Dakar
• Los Angeles
• New Delhi
• New York
• Malé
• Miami
• San Francisco
• Sao Paulo
• Rio de Janeiro
• Tokyo
• Toronto
• Washington

Clearly some of these are more practical than others, given the need to go via Rome, but the low taxes will make them attactive to anyone looking for a cheap way of using their Virgin Points.

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How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards (October 2024)

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):

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 50,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 50,000 Virgin Points.

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

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased to up to 80,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 80,000 Virgin Points. You will receive 8 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased to up to 40,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 40,000 Virgin Points. You will receive 4 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. The card is FREE for your first year. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.

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.)