Virgin Atlantic publishes official Cape Town flight rebooking guidelines
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Five days later than planned, Virgin Atlantic has published its official rebooking guidelines for anyone impacted by the cancellation of Cape Town flights in April 2025.
I know this includes quite a few HfP readers – including my family – because we promoted the launch of the additional April 2025 flights and reward seats were wide open on that day.
It’s not ideal, unfortunately.
If you tried to rebook before the official rebooking guidelines were announced, Virgin Atlantic was pushing you onto a Virgin Atlantic Johannesburg flight with a connection to Airlink.
After a week of negotiations with other airlines flying to Cape Town …. nothing has changed.
Virgin Atlantic appears to have failed to secure a deal with British Airways (unsurprising, given it is Easter) or KLM (more surprising, especially as they are SkyTeam partners). It’s not clear why it couldn’t do a deal with Norse Atlantic for economy or Premium passengers, especially given how low Norse is selling tickets for cash.
You can see the official rebooking guidelines on the Virgin Atlantic website here.
Virgin Atlantic to Johannesburg and then Airlink to Cape Town is the only option you will be given. I am slightly surprised by this because it implies that the Jo’burg flights must be pretty empty which seems odd over Easter.
You have three options:
- accept a rebooking on Virgin Atlantic via Jo’burg
- cancel your trip for a refund
- book a cash flight on another airline and attempt to sue Virgin Atlantic for the money, citing your rights under the UK equivalent of EC261
I would be VERY wary about trying the latter, unless Virgin Atlantic cannot offer you a flight on your existing travel dates.
Going via Jo’burg only adds a couple of hours each way to your travel time. Since a long haul flight isn’t treated as ‘delayed’ for compensation purposes until it is four hours late, I suspect arbitration or the Small Claims Court would see Virgin’s proposal as reasonable even though you are no longer flying direct.
Similarly, using KLM via Amsterdam will have a similar travel time to using Virgin Atlantic via Jo’burg. Your chance of succeeding with a claim if you bought a cash ticket on KLM would appear low, or at least too low to risk buying cash tickets if you currently hold reward flights.
Of course, the Johannesburg flights are also on a Boeing 787-9, so if the problems with the Virgin Atlantic 787 fleet grow then you may be moved again to a different aircraft type or airline!
The rebooking guidelines are now on the Virgin Atlantic trade website here.
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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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