Virgin Atlantic points – even worth it anymore?

[Mart]

example
29th april -6 may MAN-LAS 100k points +£274.53 taxes on virgin website economy

loveholidays
same flights inc 7 nights at excalibur for £649 per person

its hardly dynamic pricing when there dumping availability with travel agents

[memesweeper]

Economy classic is £ 882 that day

I make that about £ 0.006 a point, which is poor, but was it ever much better in economy?

I’ve booked BA holidays for less than the advertised cost of the flight alone, so the agency discount is not unique to Virgin – but makes the price per point look even worse.

What I found odd about the Virgin dynamic scheme is you might expect a vaguely “fixed” price per point – like £ 0.006 – but it isn’t fixed at all, it’s all over the place.

[captaindave]

Only got single figure Virgin points left now, got a 6 bottle Wine Box and a code for the pictures with w, hat i had left.

Never got round to using them for flights, im sure there were some good deals once upon a time…

Last time i had a decent 6 figure stash was when Covid hit, and i moved them into Hilton.

Blew a few K points buying vinyl and sticking them on Ebay, some chap i had never heard of ( Jamie T, just checked on my account activity ) 3000 points each, went for a Nifty on ebay which was nice,

As i have the free VA card, will continue accumulating them for a while, but Greggs & the flicks will probably be the limit

[zapato1060]

@captaindave bad news, greggs has gone.

Apart from off peak price like 6k to NYC in Economy. Business via AMS/CDG for 9k. There isnt much meat on the bones now.

[memesweeper]

I’ve collected Virgin as a sideline for years, their route network has been the kicker for me — I’m not that fussed about US travel on the whole, especially for leisure, so it’s not been a focus scheme for me.

Nonetheless, got a Virgin card earlier this year to top up my stash, and earn a voucher, and managed a wonderful trip to India just as the changes kicked in.

I‘ve looked at pricing over the coming months and it is all over the shop. Not all bad, but definitely bad for anyone who used to snag bargains for peak routes/times. I’m still collecting , although I suspect future redemptions will be to India/Dubai again, or perhaps Hilton, or, at a stretch, the US with a change onwards to somewhere more exciting.

I know there’s a lot of backlash for Virgin here over these changes, and they are not changes I would have made, but equally people moan about BA and it’s poor service, cleanliness and operational efficiency. The best thing that can happen for us UK based consumers is a strong Virgin. This is the only thing that can keep BA honest.

[craiguk58]

There are some bargains is you are very flexible with dates and routes. I’ve just booked Upper from Mumbai to LHR for 29k points and £150.

[levantine93]

There are incredible deals but you have to be completely flexible so doesn’t work for 90% of people aren’t.
Eg. I picked up LHR-YYZ for 55k points return upper class
And booked LHR-Riyadh 46k points return again in upper class!

Bargains in my book but again had to be super flexible on date.

I’d keep earning viegin points still even if you don’t wanna fly VA…remember you can use redeem for all skyteam partners…gives me a back up option if can’t find avios/oneworld availability for a particular route

[Harrier25]

I always transfer my Virgin Atlantic points to Hilton when I hit the minimum transfer amount of 10,000 points. I have used points on a Virgin Wine deal in the past when the conversation rate was around 0.9 to 1p per point.

[Mo]

Does anyone know if there is anyway of transferring Virgin points to KLM flying blue account? Thanks

[LittleNick]

I have in fairness found some sweet spots in PE, like 16-18k one way from LHR TO west coast USA, granted not UC but it’s not economy either and it’s the day flight so more tolerable than the overnight return. About £375 in surcharge of which £300 is actual Tax/Airport fees so Virgin aren’t making much on the cash front.

[aq.1988]

I think the best part about the savers (if you can find availability on date that works for you), is that the cash element is much more reasonable than they used to be.

[ChasP]

aq.1988 wrote:

I think the best part about the savers (if you can find availability on date that works for you), is that the cash element is much more reasonable than they used to be.

Only some “super” savers seem to have reduced cash elements eg SFO-LHR reward seats available for 67.5k but still have £1040 cash while 43k reward savers only have £840 cash

It seems that not all reward savers are created equal !

[captaindave]

zapato1060 wrote:

@captaindave bad news, greggs has gone.

Apart from off peak price like 6k to NYC in Economy. Business via AMS/CDG for 9k. There isnt much meat on the bones now.

Ah thats a shame ! ill have to rely on the O2 Priority Greggs freebies now

[Sandgrounder]

O2 also gone, a drink and a pasty for a quid each once a month now.

[StillintheSun]

I’ve collected Virgin points for about 10 years now using their credit cards including the old Horizon card. I’ve had a good few decent redemptions over the years. However, now I’m simply going to transfer my points collection (and spend) to Amex. I’d prefer to match their dynamic currency with my flexibility regarding points conversion. Good Virgin deal Amex to Virgin otherwise Amex to elsewhere.

[captaindave]

Sandgrounder wrote:

O2 also gone, a drink and a pasty for a quid each once a month now.

Kick a man when hes down….:-)

[Mouse]

This reminds me of the covid days when Rob would be asked near-daily whether he had converted his Virgin points to Hilton yet.

In more seriousness, Virgin Limited Edition redemptions still represent excellent value.

[Rob]

Mouse wrote:

This reminds me of the covid days when Rob would be asked near-daily whether he had converted his Virgin points to Hilton yet.

In more seriousness, Virgin Limited Edition redemptions still represent excellent value.

They do. Am thinking of booking the Cape Town one for when we are down there in April.

[Batfink-uk]

It’s effectively pointless now for 90% of us. Horrible changes that have completely devalued those with existing points.

[PeteM]

I shared my disappointment with Shai’s office – generic response as you’d expect, but certainly worth doing if you feel strongly about this and it helps adding to their contact statistics.

===
Hello PeteM,

Thank you for taking the time to reach out to our Leadership Team. They have asked that I respond on their behalf.

I’m truly sorry to hear of your disappointment with our new reward seat policy. I can fully understand how frustrating this must be, especially given your loyalty to Virgin Atlantic.

We recognise that this represents a significant change for our customers and for us as well. These updates are part of our commitment to offering greater flexibility and more opportunities for our members, and we’re confident that these adjustments will bring added value over time.

At the Executive Office, we represent Shai and the Leadership Team in customer communications. While Shai may not respond personally to every message, please be assured that he is deeply invested in understanding our customers’ feedback. Your concerns about these updates have been noted and are genuinely appreciated.

We provide the Leadership Team with weekly insights summarising the root causes of the feedback we receive. These insights are critical in shaping reviews and future developments. Although we may not be able to act on every piece of feedback immediately, your input is invaluable in helping us strive for continuous improvement.

The changes to the Flying Club were designed to enhance the overall experience for our members, and we hope that, in time, you’ll see and benefit from these enhancements. While we cannot guarantee that we will address every concern, we can promise that we will always listen.

Thank you again for taking the time to share your thoughts. We sincerely value your loyalty, and I hope we’ll have the pleasure of welcoming you onboard again soon.
===

[zapato1060]

From the perspective of someone green, my haul has been 98% Avios (thanks obvs to here). I thought its best I start moving my operations to Virgin for added coverage. The announcement stopped me dead in my tracks. You could say I am a data point on those on the fence/new to the game.

[Sandgrounder]

Post change i signed up for the premium CC for the first time post covid. I’m probably not typical but I think that economy in the school holidays still offers good value, especially with a 2 4 1. Not as good as it was, but you can still get to the west coast in August sitting at the back for half price. The big loss for a small collector like me is premium because it cost such a small amount more.

[Mikeact]

Mo wrote:

Does anyone know if there is anyway of transferring Virgin points to KLM flying blue account?

Of course not.

[NorthernLass]

@PeteM, they understand how frustrated you are, yet still think the changes will be an overall enhancement 🤷‍♀️. Does that make sense to anyone?!

[PeteM]

NorthernLass wrote:

@PeteM, they understand how frustrated you are, yet still think the changes will be an overall enhancement 🤷‍♀️. Does that make sense to anyone?!

Hahaha, well it is MY problem, you see! 🙂