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Hi – I have recently been attempting to book London-Delhi-London flights and have realised Virgin points give higher value than Avios in almost all situations.
Considering 1 point = £0.1 and the best Avios+Cash combo on BA,
Virgin (Peak): 40k points + £294 = £694
Virgin (Off-Peak): 20k points + £294 = £494
BA (Peak): 38k points + £470 = £850
BA (Off-Peak): 32.5k points + £380 = £705I know Avios provides access to more destinations, but for common destinations doesn’t Virgin provide significantly better value (AND better availability)? Or am I missing something? (Since most discussions on this forum have usually preferred Avios over Virgin)
There are a few factors at play I’d say @as02
First, you are comparing a route where VS seems to have low TFCs. For example, on trans-atlantic routes (more popular with HfPers than your quoted trip), VS TFCs ex-UK are now c.£1k, which is quite a bit higher than BA.
Second, you are missing the comparison with cash fares, which most would feel is more relevant. If the cash fares on the route you quote are <£400 off-peak or <£600 at peak times then neither of the miles options are value for money…
Second, you are missing the comparison with cash fares, which most would feel is more relevant. If the cash fares on the route you quote are <£400 off-peak or <£600 at peak times then neither of the miles options are value for money…
Not always — I booked my daughter to/from Delhi and of all the airlines and cash/points options, Virgin on points was the best value.
Let me split the hair: it is £0.01, that’s a penny
I initially had a similar thought when I started collecting Virgin miles. For me, the biggest obstacle is the number of Virgin destinations and their seasonal routes. It is rather a struggle to organise a trip with a voucher now with Virgin.
For that reason I think it is apples and oranges to compare BA and VS redemptionsyour common is different to my common. Since they killed of LHR-HKG, and its partner availability seems impossible to find online. I find them very hard to use.
I’ve had several hundred thousand Virgin points dating back at least five years as my f-i-l’s care home took Mastercard and Visa but not Amex and there was no Barclaycard Avios card at the time. No interest in going to the US. So far managed to spend 500 of them on salt and pepper shakers. If only they went somewhere I wanted to go – or I could find partner availability that worked.
I’ve been collecting points for 2 1/2 years now and managed 3 x MCO-MAN in PE and more recently booked 2 x AeroMexico F MEX-PVR, which was a really good use of them! So as not to lose another cc voucher, I’m going to try and book NAS-LHR instead of BA next March, though of course that means I’ll need to book a separate BA flight to MAN.
The limited routes, ridiculous surcharges and extended peak periods make VS really unattractive. The next (and final!) tranche of school fees) next month are going on the avios BC!
your common is different to my common. Since they killed of LHR-HKG, and its partner availability seems impossible to find online. I find them very hard to use.
I’ve booked two redemptions on a partner (KLM) this year, dates/times where BA had nothing, similar in 2023 (on AF with no BA availability). It’s good to have a backup when BA isn’t available.
Having said that I can see a big slab of their miles going into Hilton at some point. It’s not a terrible use of miles and a damn sight easier to spend that way.
I’m really struggling to use virgin miles. I have let a voucher expire and another one expiring soon. I transferred a tonne to Hilton a while back and used some on Virgin voyages last summer which was a great redemption. Fingers crossed they do another one this summer.
Partner redemptions can be booked via telephone pretty quickly and to check online quicker you just need to find standard priced reward flights in AF or KLM websites was pretty simple whenever I’ve booked tbh
I do 2 South African holidays per year, the Amex £10K to get a BA Companion voucher is easy for yearly spend but it can be a bit of a struggle to do another £10K. But doing a £10K spend on a Mastercard VA+ club is easy. So for me the BA and Virgin route works fine, Normally BA Bus both ways and Virgin Upper Class outgoing and Prem return. So for us it depends on your spending profile and compared to cash flights it is a no brainer!
Although I’ve not read any of the comments, answers to this topic headline, there’s no concrete answer of yes or no to are VS points more valuable than Avios, it’s all a case of personal preference.
Which airline do you like using the most, do you have status with either one, does one or the other have a cabin that you happily more for to fly in when the equivalent on the other carrier(s) is substantially cheaper, how often do you use each other’s partner airlines and get the points credited to your VS or Avios account, do you save all your points for reward seats in partner airlines etc. there’s a lot of very different points you need to look at properly before making a choice or decision on which type of points is better value than the other
Again like I said above, it’s more down to personal preference more than anything
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