How to earn Virgin points on reward flight

[Eser Sefiros]

Not sure if you are aware of this but you can actually earn Virgin points on a reward flight, this is when you book a reward flight and then upgrade it, you receive the standard amount of points as if you booked a cash ticket on the upgraded seat,
eg in my case I booked a reward economy classic to Miami one way and upgraded it to economy delight for the princely sum of £55 and I received 6654 points (I’m red) which is the usual amount for economy delight and an incredibly cheap way to buy/earn points. You could even say they paid me to upgrade.
You would obviously get nothing if you didn’t/couldn’t upgrade ie you booked a upper class reward ticket.

[Author of the Seas]

Thank you for sharing this information. I don’t imagine the cash amount you paid in fees, taxes, carrier imposed surcharges, etc. would’ve been much, so that’s a great result.

How exactly did you upgrade, online (via ‘My booking’) or by telephone?

I paid a for a Premium Economy (fare code P) reward flight from Miami to London. When I log into my booking, the only upgrade option I see is to bid for an upgrade.

[AL]

You can upgrade to reward classes by calling up. G class availability is available to be found by looking for your route on virginatlantic.com and choosing to search by points.

You can ask for the higher TPs and no Points after it’s posted, if you wish, by contacting Flying Club. They usually process that quickly.

[Author of the Seas]

@AL Thank you for your reply.

I searched Upper Class (code G) availability by points, but no results showed for the flight I’m booked on.

Instead a result for connecting flights appeared: Delta Airlines from MIA to JFK, then Virgin Atlantic from JFK to LHR.

I noticed the points required was high (87,500) and in purple (rather than green), perhaps because the route is not direct.

I was actually informed by email yesterday that a schedule change has arisen. The aircraft has changed from an A330-300 to an A350-1000, and departure is now 10.40 pm instead of 7.30 pm. Perhaps these changes have flagged something on Virgin’s reward flight system such that this flight has no reward availability in case another schedule change comes about. If there is another change, I’d welcome an earlier flight time, but the aircraft can remain an A350-1000.

[AL]

Yes – it’ll be repriced and likely higher as it sounds like you’re adding a sector, and a sector on another (albeit one that they have a good relationship with) airline. I’ve never spotted the purple and green thing before, but now you mention it maybe green is the indicator of low prices!

Take the A351 over the A333 any day. I’ve a 789 to MIA in Upper in the coming weeks and, whilst the herringbone layout doesn’t phase me too much, I do wish it was an A339.

[Author of the Seas]

@AL Yes, cheaper fares being shown in green makes sense. The points shown in green for an alternative date were indeed lower (42,500) and also in bold. The purple points were faint in comparison.

I went for a bid upgrade a while back, and it’s some way to go before I know the outcome. Due to the aircraft change, I want to win the bid even more now.

I suppose if your seat on the B787-9 is on the left-hand-side of the cabin, you’ll have some semblance of privacy compared to the other rows and you won’t be seeing other passengers’ feet.

[Eser Sefiros]

Author of the Seas wrote:

Thank you for sharing this information. I don’t imagine the cash amount you paid in fees, taxes, carrier imposed surcharges, etc. would’ve been much, so that’s a great result.

How exactly did you upgrade, online (via ‘My booking’) or by telephone?

I paid a for a Premium Economy (fare code P) reward flight from Miami to London. When I log into my booking, the only upgrade option I see is to bid for an upgrade.

HI

I basically just bidded for an upgrade to Economy Delight but you can bid for an upgrade in any cabin, you are not limited to the next class up.
It seems that this causes the system to think its a cash ticket and award points accordingly.
As Rob replied to me, this upgrade is non refundable as opposed to the original award booking, however, I only bidded for the upgrade 2 days before the flight so at that point I was committed to travelling.

[Author of the Seas]

Hello. Thank you for the additional information.

I went ahead with a bid to upgrade, having originally purchased a Premium Economy reward seat. My flight is still some way away, so I probably won’t know if my bid is successful until the last day or two prior to the flight.

I hope my bid will be successful as I’ve never flown in Upper Class before (and last I checked my aircraft changed to a more preferable type, with more Upper Class seats). Earning Flying Club points corresponding to Upper Class would be a very welcome bonus, especially since I’ve used a good chunk of my points in recent months.

The non-refundable aspect isn’t too pressing for me as I need to take the flight to return home.

Eser Sefiros wrote:

Author of the Seas wrote:

Thank you for sharing this information. I don’t imagine the cash amount you paid in fees, taxes, carrier imposed surcharges, etc. would’ve been much, so that’s a great result.

How exactly did you upgrade, online (via ‘My booking’) or by telephone?

I paid a for a Premium Economy (fare code P) reward flight from Miami to London. When I log into my booking, the only upgrade option I see is to bid for an upgrade.

HI

I basically just bidded for an upgrade to Economy Delight but you can bid for an upgrade in any cabin, you are not limited to the next class up.
It seems that this causes the system to think its a cash ticket and award points accordingly.
As Rob replied to me, this upgrade is non refundable as opposed to the original award booking, however, I only bidded for the upgrade 2 days before the flight so at that point I was committed to travelling.