Virgin redemption checker

[iandv]

Hi

I know this is a question with no definite answer, but statistically how often do redemption points change. Do they change daily because of demand, the routes I’m looking at for summer had availability a week ago which I should have booked but these have now shot up in price for PE. Is there any chance they might come down again, so check every day?

[Blair Waldorf Salad]

People have reported them changing between checking a price and calling Virgin within the hour.

[NorthernLass]

I think it was @davefl who said if you see a good price, jump on it! Some routes do seem to drop in price about 3 months before departure, which worked for me recently but I’d never leave it that late to be left with no options at all. However, I only had to pay the old £25pp change fees, £70 pp might make me think again.

[Cramond11]

NorthernLass wrote:

I think it was @davefl who said if you see a good price, jump on it! Some routes do seem to drop in price about 3 months before departure, which worked for me recently but I’d never leave it that late to be left with no options at all. However, I only had to pay the old £25pp change fees, £70 pp might make me think again.

The change/cancellation fees are so confusing, on VS website, it clearly states £30pp, it is £70pp when you call, and waivered if you are gold and insist, then comes you can still pay the old £25pp. Do you mind share how you get to pay the old £25pp? LOL…

[davefl]

I’ve seen them change literally twice a day. One particular day in June that I’ve been watching, it went from 280k to 56k and then the next morning it was 350k. I didn’t book the 56k because I hoped it woukd go down the next day and I lost my bet (so I’ve had to book Aer Lingus 1 stop instead)

The gamble now is that you pay taxes and changes in bands depending on the level of points. For example if you get a UC flight from NY, you can pay less than $200 in taxes for a 36k points one, and then when it’s over 45k points they charge around $450.

[NorthernLass]

@Cramond11 – No special status or anything, it was just because I’d booked the original flights under the old system. Then when VS moved to dynamic pricing, I found alternative flights for 45k fewer points and £400 less than I had previously paid, so I was quids in, even losing £50 on the original booking.

[iandv]

Thanks all – how do the companion vouchers work, both myself and my wife have one each in our accounts. Would we be able to use both against one booking – and would it reduce the cost of the flights by 75k per voucher or is it 25% per voucher (up to 75k) if it would be redeemed against a booking for a family of 4 ?

Is it also cheaper in taxes to fly UC from the USA rather than from the U.K.?

[AL]

Vouchers are either a companion or an upgrade voucher. If you choose to use the voucher as a companion voucher, then one of you needs to pay for a seat with Virgin Points (you can buy more, if you haven’t got sufficient), whilst the other travels free of fare – with the taxes, fees and surcharges (TFS) due for you both. A recent LHR JFK LHR trip in Premium for two was about 40,000 points plus a voucher plus £1000ish. You could also choose to use the voucher as an upgrade voucher – in which case, you can swap it for an upgrade, assuming one is available in the next cabin, for either two people one way, or one person return.

You can use up to one voucher per person, but you cannot mix types in the same booking – for example, you can’t use four vouchers, two as a companion and two as upgrade. But you could use four vouchers as upgrade, or save two and do two vouchers as companion. The maximum value, assuming you have no status, is 75,000. It’s worth 150,000 if you’re a Silver or Gold member.