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Hi All,
First time poster in the Virgin forum and looking for some help.
I started collecting Virgin points years ago, but i’ve never actually flown Virgin. I used to have the premium virgin credit card, but when i realised how difficult and expensive it was to use the companion voucher, i just downgraded to the free card.
I’ve decided to stop collecting Virgin points but want to use them up on a trip for just me to the US in 2024.
My cousin is moving to LA and i’m going to go and visit him or meet him in Vegas.
I have 50,000 Virgin Points and could also use Amex balances to get over 100k additional points if required.
I’d like to try the Virgin Upper Class product and a fly from Heathrow to try out the Clubhouse.
Does anyone have any tips/advice or route recommendations?
How many points am i likely to need for a single / return flight in Upper Class?I’ve seen Rob suffer downgrades to the old product (change of plane) – Are there any routes where this is less likely to happen i.e. New York or LA have the latest fleet?
TLDR:
50k Virgin points to use up + 100k Amex points if required
Want to fly at least 1 leg if not return Upper Class
Dept Heathrow to US
Only want to fly new plane/seatAny tips or advice appreciated.
Thanks,
JHi @BHDFlyer – you should be in luck as VS fly to both LA and Vegas and there looks to be decent reward availability on both routes in 2024 according to Seatspy.
You don’t say if you have earned any companion voucher but I’m going to assume not and that you also do not have status with Virgin.
LAX peak upper class one way fare from LHR is 77,500 (67,500 off-peak) points and £623.49 in taxes, fees and charges. The return is the same and $981.70 in TFCs. So you’d need to convert some of your Amex MRs as well to score this.
If you go PE instead then these numbers become 37,500 (27,500) and TFCs of £393.49 and $476.70 respectively. Perhaps you could afford off-peak with your existing points stash and then use some Amex MRs toward a hotel if needed?
Vegas is the same points cost and very similar on TFCs also.
If you have a companion voucher then you can use it to upgrade from PE to UC and only pay the same points as for PE but ‘just’ having to pay the higher cabin’s TFCs.
Depending on when you travel, you may want to consider UC for overnights and PE for daytime but it is a long flight to the West coast.
Hopefully someone on here familiar with these routes will be able to tell you if Virgin are flying their new seats (though I think this will only make a big difference in UC). I’d also add that from personal experience if you’ve never flown upper / business before then don’t discount the ‘old’ style cabins – people on here moan about them but it’s all relative and a hell of a lot better than being in cattle class! 😉
A SeatSpy subscription will let you track VS availability and also tells you how many points/cash you will need in each cabin. If you can travel on VS off peak dates you can save a lot of points.
I think you’ll need at least 47k points for an UC seat to the eastern US, more for further afield.I agree the surcharges are ridiculous, I just started collecting the points a couple of years ago, wasted half my first voucher and may well not bother using my second! It’s disappointing as I’d love to be able to do more direct flights from MAN.
Thanks Northern Lass.
Do you have any idea how to figure out whether i’ll be getting the new/old seat layout?
Thanks Northern Lass.
Do you have any idea how to figure out whether i’ll be getting the new/old seat layout?
787-9 = old
A350 or A330 = new
Agree on the crazy taxes applied, I found an UC to Shanghai for 34k (Black Friday discount), an upgrade voucher and £450 – at that level it does make it worth it
If you can only manage UC one way I would advise using it for the return flight if it’s overnight. You will then have the benefit of a flat bed to get some zzzzs. While you miss out on the lounge at Heathrow you can take advantage of the Revivals lounge on your return where you can have a shower and a breakfast before your journey home.
May be best regisitering on the forum at V-Flyer
They are Virgin Specific.
My 2 pennyworth.
Clubhouse is worth a visit-not as good as it once was but still better than most.
VS added Fees are scandolous so take that unto account when choosing UC.
I have a Companion voucher I cannot use-It expires 28th June 2024 -which I can gift to someone….
May be best regisitering on the forum at V-Flyer
They are Virgin Specific.
My 2 pennyworth.
Clubhouse is worth a visit-not as good as it once was but still better than most.
VS added Fees are scandolous so take that unto account when choosing UC.
I have a Companion voucher I cannot use-It expires 28th June 2024 -which I can gift to someone….
If someone hasn’t already taken you up on this, I’d be very appreciative of the voucher
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