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I’m a reasonably experienced BA Exc Club member and use the 241’s and now also the Bcard uograde voucher thingy.
I thought I might spread my wings and look at the Virgin Flyng club. I’ve just done a comparison flight from LHR – SEA return in Club / Upper Class and the results were £450 tax + 200k Avios or £1000 tax + 155k Virgin points. There didn’t seem to be a way of adjusting the Virgin points/money split, but if I increased the BA cash spend to £1k it reduced the Avios by nearly half.
I get 1.5 Avios/Virgin points per £1 spend so on the face of Virgin are expensive by comparison. Have I got this right or are there tips and tricks that bring Virgin back in line as far as VFM is concerned?
TIA
Virgin also do a credit card voucher similar to the BA “companion” one. It helps if you have it.
Virgin have historically tried to be very similar to BA in pricing and better in service/perks. They matched the recent hike in BAs TFCs but have not moved them down again as BA have effectively done for “Avios rich” passengers. I think Virgin will eventually have to make a change to make their scheme slightly more appealing than it is today.
One plus with Virgin: redemptions count for status. This could be very useful for people who semi-regularly fly but not quiet enough to earn the status they seek.
I’m bumping this to try and get some more input before deciding what to do. The conclusion I seem to have reached after a few months of trying to play around with the Virgin reward site is that I need to commit signifiacntly more cash thanks to the surcharge strategy, compared to a BA reward flight.
In addition Virgin have a fraction of the choice that BA does, and if I try and bring partners into play, eg Air France, I can’t use the 2-4-1 (which isn’t really 2-4-1 it’s a 2-4-1.5 as I’ve no status).
My conclusion is that qualifying for a Virgin 2-4-1 and spending enough on the card to cover an e.g. Barbados/Dubai flight is not value for the money I’m spending compared to just upping the spend via my Amex/BC cards.
I thought I was being clever (LOL) but with hindsight I think I’m better off binning the Virgin card and just concentrating on building the Avios balance.
I’d appreciate the thoughts of others.
I agree. I’ve two vouchers sitting in my account, one expiring in March 24 and the other in July 24 and I can’t see me using them. I used one in March 2022 and that’s it so far as I refuse to pay their ridiculous charges and I have zero interest in going to America so they are of little use to me. I am about to earn another one but after that it’ll be no more, only avios from now on. Just wish I could gift the vouchers to someone but I haven’t any status.
I’ve just joined Virgin with thier enhanced CC offer. Been into Avios for a while and wanted to check virgin out.
I was hoping to use my virgin voucher for Islamabad next year for the cricket but virgin are cancelling this route. So I need a rethink.
I’ve used my welcome bonus (plus some amex points- which transfer immediately for virginnflying club. Another positive over Avios) for a flight from israle to london next April on the new A330 in Upper class.
Cost was 72 pounds and 28k virgin points. I don’t think this is too bad. I’m considering upgrading to the retreat suite closer to the departure date. But this need cash not points
One thing to consider is that virgin award tier points and miles on award bookings. Which BA only do if you are lucky 😉
And if you are BA silver/gold virgin will status match if you book a revenue fare.
Hope this helps.
While I think I’ll be able to get value out of Virgin miles and vouchers going forward, the surcharges are indeed extremely high and the peak dates cover huge chunks of the year. At least BA give you a or two day in each week of school holidays and other peak periods in which you can get off-peak avios pricing, if you have the flexibility. I had been hoping to use my current Virgin voucher to fly to MCO or NYC next June but I’m not prepared to pay peak miles when I don’t need to – fortunately I’ve got another trip at the planning stage for November 2024 when off-peak pricing will hopefully be in play.
I think where the virgin cc voucher comes into its own is when you use it for premium 241 OR upgrading from premium to upper class. If you look at the price differential even with the extra taxes it really is worth a fair amount.
I use both the BA premium amex and virgin reward + ccI think where the virgin cc voucher comes into its own is when you use it for premium 241 OR upgrading from premium to upper class. If you look at the price differential even with the extra taxes it really is worth a fair amount.
I use both the BA premium amex and virgin reward + cc+1. Remember, too, that you get vouchers left, right and centre on VS if you’re a regular customer. You get one for renewing Gold annually, for example, and I’m quite sure I have more than I have earned… but I’m not complaining!
I think where the virgin cc voucher comes into its own is when you use it for premium 241 OR upgrading from premium to upper class. If you look at the price differential even with the extra taxes it really is worth a fair amount.
I use both the BA premium amex and virgin reward + cc+1. Remember, too, that you get vouchers left, right and centre on VS if you’re a regular customer. You get one for renewing Gold annually, for example, and I’m quite sure I have more than I have earned… but I’m not complaining!
As a regular they are good value I’m sure. In my situation possibly not so, I spend a fair amount so have plenty of Avios (or Virgin if I went that route) but don’t seem to be able to use Virgin points as easily as I can Avios.
Virgin usually requires less points but more cash; however when comparing costs remember you get free seat selection with Virgin – that can cost £250 each with BA unless you have status.
Status is less useful with Virgin – no short haul economy flights – but reward seats do count for status 2 UC reward flights to USA gets you silver
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