Virgin points are super easy to accumulate. Points transfer 1 to 1 from most major transferable points programs. Even better, transfer bonuses are common such that transfers to Virgin Atlantic are often better than 1 to 1. Additionally, with the Virgin Atlantic credit card it’s possible to average more than 2 points per dollar on spend with that card. With all of those points easily accessible, the question is what to do with them…
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club vs. Virgin Red
Virgin offers two rewards programs. One is the legacy Virgin Atlantic Flying Club program, and the other is the new Virgin Red program which offers awards far beyond flight awards. Even though they have different names, it’s best to think of the two programs as one thing. By joining Virgin Red, you can link your Virgin Atlantic account and then all points will appear together in both programs. In other words, you’ll have equal access to all of your points regardless of whether you log into Virgin Red or Virgin Atlantic.
Transfer Partners & Transfer Bonuses
Virgin points can be transferred from most common transferable points programs:
| Rewards Program | Amex Transfer Ratio (and transfer time) | Chase Transfer Ratio (and transfer time) | Citi Transfer Ratio (and transfer time) | Marriott Transfer Ratio (and transfer time) | Capital One Transfer Ratio (and transfer time) | Bilt Transfer Ratio (and transfer time) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 1 to 1 (Instant) | 1 to 1 (Instant) | 1 to 1 (Instant) | 60K to 25K (1 to 2 days) | 1 to 1 (Unknown) | 1 to 1 (~1 Minute) |
Even better, transfer bonuses are common. The following display shows current and future transfer bonuses, if any:
| Transfer From | Transfer Bonus Details | End Date |
|---|---|---|
| Amex | Get 30% bonus when transferring American Express Membership Rewards to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 2023/12/31 |
And, here are the expired bonuses (may be useful for predicting when to expect a new bonus):
North America, Europe, or Australia to Japan (ANA First Class)
This is one of the sweetest sweet-spots around, albeit slightly less sweet than it was prior to March 7, 2023 (when Virgin Atlantic devalued ANA first class awards without notice). Virgin Atlantic points can be used to fly ANA (All Nippon Airways). The following chart shows round-trip award pricing using Virgin Atlantic points (one-way awards are half the shown price):
As you can see, you can fly long-haul ANA business class between Japan and Australia, Canada, or the Western US for 90K miles round trip (or 45K one-way) or fly between Japan and Europe and the Central & Eastern USA and Mexico for 47.5K miles one-way. First class is not the amazing value that it once was, but Virgin still offers reasonable value for first class round-trip between Japan and either Australia, Canada, or Western USA for 145,000 points (or 72.5K one-way) or long-haul ANA first class round-trip between Japan and either Europe, Central USA, or Eastern USA for 170,000 points round trip (or 85K one-way).
Some of these round-trip flights (such as first class between JFK and Tokyo, as shown above) often sell for over $20,000 but can be had for great mileage rates. Compared to the cash price you can easily get great value per point.
How to book: Call Virgin Atlantic.
US to New Zealand (Air New Zealand Business Class)
Virgin Atlantic charges only 125K round-trip or 62,500 points one-way for Air New Zealand business class non-stop flights between New Zealand and North or South America. Unfortunately finding award availability is notoriously difficult.
How to book: Call Virgin Atlantic.
US to Europe (Delta One Business Class)
Use Virgin Atlantic miles to book Delta One business class from the United States to Europe for only 50,000 points one way. This is for all routes other than to/from the UK. Unfortunately, flights to/from the UK include extremely high award fees.
The trick to optimizing this award is to begin your journey in the United States. If you book a one-way flight from the US to Europe you’ll pay only $5.60 in fees:
With a round-trip flight originating in the US, you’ll pay a reasonable amount in fees (fees will vary depending upon the European airport you return from).
If you book your flight departing from Europe, though, fees will be far higher:
FlightConnections shows that Delta flies from the US to these European airports:
If you want to go to airports other than those shown above, you can do that too. Book a mixed partner award where you fly Delta across the Atlantic to either Paris or Amsterdam and then fly onward on Air France or KLM to wherever you really want to go. Full details can be found here: New sweet spot — Virgin Atlantic mixed-partner award to Europe
How to book: book online (details here)
US to Italy (ITA Business Class)
This one is a sweet-spot not because of the award pricing, but rather because business class awards have been relatively easy to find. Virgin Atlantic uses a distance-based award chart for ITA Airways and so the best deals are from the US east coast. The following are the prices for the distance bands that would apply to US routes:
- 4,000 to 5,000 miles flown (Boston, New York, or Washington DC to Rome)
- 30K points each way in economy class
- 75K points each way in business class
- 5,001 to 6,000 miles flown (Miami to Rome)
- 31K points each way in economy class
- 85K points each way in business class
- 6,001 to 7,000 miles flown (Los Angeles or San Francisco to Rome)
- 37K points each way in economy class
- 100K points each way in business class
North America to Europe (Air France or KLM Business Class)
Use Virgin Atlantic points to book Air France or KLM Business Class from North America for as few as 58,500 points one way (plus fees). The 58.5K pricing is between Western & Central Europe (Zone 1) and Eastern North America (Zone 6). Here is how Virgin Atlantic defines those zones:
Zone 1 (Western and Central Europe) includes: UK, Germany, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Ireland, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Denmark, Balearic Islands, Finland, Italy, Malta, Norway and Sweden.
Zone 6 (East Coast North America & Caribbean) includes: East Coast USA, East Canada, Antigua, Barbados, Bahamas, Cuba, Bermuda, Dominican Republic, French Guyana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Caiman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Virgin Islands, Jamaica, Martinique, Haiti, Porto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Marteen.
- Includes the following US states – Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Washington D.C., West Virginia, Virginia, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida
- Includes the following Canadian provinces – Ontario, Quebec, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island
How to book: book online (details here)
North America to Europe (Air France Premium Economy)
Use Virgin Atlantic points to book Air France Premium Economy from North America to France for as few as 24,000 points one way (plus fees, as shown below). The best pricing is from “East Coast North America & Caribbean,” but that includes states as far west as Wisconsin, Illinois, Tennessee, and Mississippi.
Here are the award prices and fees for Premium Economy to/from Europe:
- East Coast North America & Caribbean
- Point Price: 24K Standard / 34K Peak
- Fees to Europe: ~$160
- Fees from Europe: ~$240
- West & Central North America & Central America
- Point Price: 39K Standard / 49K Peak
- Fees to Europe: ~$160
- Fees from Europe: ~$240
FlightConnections shows that Air France flies from these East Coast North American airports:
How to book: book online (details here)
North America to Europe (Air France / KLM Economy)
Use Virgin Atlantic points to book Air France or KLM Economy from North America to Europe for as few as 12,000 points one way from the US east coast and 15,000 points one way from the US west coast (plus fees, as shown below). Not only are these awards very cheap, but award availability for economy class tends to be pretty good.
Here are the award prices and fees for Economy to/from Europe:
- East Coast North America & Caribbean
- Point Price: 12K Standard / 22K Peak
- Fees to Europe: ~$160
- Fees from Europe: ~$240
- West & Central North America & Central America
- Point Price: 15K Standard / 25K Peak
- Fees to Europe: ~$160
- Fees from Europe: ~$240
US to London (Economy Class)
Whether you want to fly Delta or Virgin Atlantic, you can use Virgin Atlantic points to fly cheaply from the East Coast to London. Virgin Atlantic offers the same pricing whether flying Delta or Virgin Atlantic (but fees are higher when flying Delta) when flying towards the UK. Flying from the US to London for 10K to 15K during standard season is a bargain even after accounting for award fees. Here are the award prices:
- East Coast US (Boston, Newark, New York JFK, Washington DC): 10K standard, 20K peak
- Midwest & South US (Atlanta, Detroit, Miami, Minneapolis, Orlando): 12.5K standard, 22.5K peak
- West Coast US (Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Seattle): 15K standard, 25K peak
As shown in the images below, when flying from the US to London, you can expect to pay about $150 in fees when flying Virgin Atlantic or ~$225 when flying Delta:
In the opposite direction I saw the opposite: approximately $185 in fees flying Delta vs. $265 flying Virgin Atlantic. Unfortunately, Virgin Atlantic charges more for flying Delta in this direction (15K instead of 10K).
How to book: book online (details here for booking Delta flights)
Flights within Europe (Air France / KLM)
Virgin Atlantic has great rates for flights within Europe on Air France or KLM. They charge between 4K and 8.5K for economy flights under 1250 miles in start to end distance (which is most within Europe), and between 8K and 9K for business class flights under 600 miles in distance.
Virgin Atlantic offers the following award chart for short distance flights on Air France or KLM:
As you can see above, for Air France or KLM flights under 600 miles, Virgin Atlantic charges only 4K points (off-peak) or 4.5K points (peak) for economy, or 8K or 9K points for business class. That’s awesome. Even more awesome is the fact that on flights with multiple segments, only the distance between the origin and destination are considered. You can do things like fly from Marseille, France to Algiers, via Paris, for only 8,000 or 9,000 points in business class or 4,000 or 4,500 points in economy.
More details can be found here: Air France & KLM across Europe for less.
How to book: book online (details here)
Nonstop Flights (Delta Economy)
Virgin Atlantic offers a distance based award chart for Delta flights (except those between the US and Europe). This means that short, non-stop Delta flights can be booked cheaply.
As you can see above, one-way flights start at only 7,500 points one-way. On some routes, this can be a huge bargain compared to booking with Delta miles. Usually the best deals are found on the shortest flights, but even long flights can be much cheaper when booked with Virgin Atlantic miles. For example, for Delta’s crazy-long flight from Atlanta to Johannesburg South Africa, Delta wants a minimum of 60,000 points one-way:
If the same flight was available to partners, Virgin Atlantic would charge only 45,000 points for for the same economy ticket.
How to book: book online (details here)
US West Coast to Hawaii (Delta Economy)
This is just a specific example of decent deals for non-stop Delta flights. Delta’s flights between the U.S. west coast and Hawaii are less than 3,000 miles and so they price out at only 15,000 points one-way.
How to book: book online (details here)
Virgin Voyages Cruises
Virgin occasionally offers point sales on Virgin Voyages cruises. During these sales, it has been possible to book a cruise for two for as few as 80,000 points. There are no additional taxes or fees required. If the dates for these sales match your needs, this can be a fantastic use of points! To find current offers, check this page for “Limited Time Only” deals.
Sales we have seen so far:
- Virgin Voyages cruises for 80K or 100K Virgin points through Virgin Red. Valid for sailings before June 30, 2023.
- Caribbean or Mediterranean cruise for 2 people for 110k-120K pts. Required booking by 9/30/22 for departures until 10/16/22.
Necker Island Celebration Week
This is the ultimate splurge. Sir Richard Branson (founder of Virgin businesses) lives and works on his private island named Necker Island. Each year he designates around 8 weeks as “Celebration Weeks”. During Celebration Weeks, guests can book the all-inclusive week for 2 adults starting at around $37,800 for the week or $5,400 per day.
Previously it was possible to book 7 nights during Celebration Weeks for 1.7 million points. While that’s a crazy number of points, it amounts to an excellent 2.67 cents per point value compared to the cash rate (or 2 cents per point value compared to a special “free night” rate). Unfortunately, recently they stopped offering an all-points option. And now the offer is this: Get 4 nights for 2 adults for $5,400 plus 540,000 points. That’s a huge amount of cash, but it still means great value for your points. Four nights without using points would cost $21,600, so the 540,000 points here would save you $16,200. That gives you a value of 3 cents per point.
Full details about this award and how to book, can be found here: Book Necker Island with Virgin points.
Virgin Limited Edition Properties
In addition to Necker Island (which is highlighted in this post separately), Virgin points can be used to book a number of other Virgin Limited Edition properties. Except for Necker Island, none of these options give much better than 1 cent per point value and most give less than that. The only Virgin Limited Edition properties, besides Necker Island, that offer better than 1 cent per point value are Mahali Mzuri for a 3 night stay (~1.1 cents per point value) and Son Bunyola in high season (~1.25 cents per point value). I included all of these properties in this post more to save you time when investigating best uses of points rather than to suggest that these are great uses for points (most are not). However, if you get in on an especially good transfer bonus to Virgin and you don’t have other good uses for those points, some of these could be a reasonable use of points.
Here is what is available at the time of writing:
- Ulusaba, South Africa (private game reserve): Includes transfers from the nearby airstrip, all meals and drinks (including alcohol), and twice daily game drives. Located in the Ulusaba Private Game Reserve bordering Kruger National Park. Note that more than half the year is blocked from point reservations (see website for current details).
- Three night stay for 2 adults – 540,000 points (vs. ~$4,660)
- Five night stay for 2 adults (includes a complimentary massage for two people) – 860,000 points (vs. ~$6,213 with the free night offer for stays of 4 nights or more)
- Mahali Mzuri, Kenya (luxury tented safari camp): Includes transfers from the Olare Orok airstrip airstrip, all meals and drinks (including alcohol), laundry service, twice daily game drives, and unlimited access to the exclusive Olare Motorogi Conservancy. Located in the private Olare Motorgoi Conservancy in Maasai Mara. Note that more than half the year is blocked from point reservations (see website for current details).
- Three night stay for 2 adults – 540,000 points (vs. $5,940)
- Five night stay for 2 adults (includes a complimentary massage for two people) – 860,000 points (vs. $9,900, or $7,920 when a free night offer for stays of 4 nights or more is available)
- Son Bunyola, Mallorca. Includes complementary daily breakfast and minibar snacks and drinks.
- 3 nights for 2 adults for 220,000 points in mid season (16.09.23 to 26.11.23). Compare to 1,800 Euros.
- 3 nights for 2 adults for 250,000 points in high season (16.06.23 to 15.09.23). Compare to 2,850 Euros.
- Kasbah Tamadot, Morocco. Includes complementary daily breakfast and minibar snacks and drinks.
- 3 nights for 2 adults for 220,000 points in low season ( 07.01.23 to 28.02.23, 01.06.23 to 31.08.23 and 01.11.23 to 21.12.23). Compare to 18,900 MAD (~$1,917).
- 3 nights for 2 adults for 250,000 points in mid season (01.03.23 to 14.03.23, 01.05.23 to 31.05.23 and 01.09.23 and 30.09.23). Compare to 23,100 MAD (~$2,343)
- Point bookings are not allowed for high season (15 March to 30 April, 1 October to 31 October and 22 December to 31 December)
- Mont Rochelle, South Africa.
- 110,000 points in low season (01.05.23 to 30.09.23). Compare to 16,500 ZAR (~$930)
- 180,000 points in high season (07.01.23 to 30.04.23 and 01.10.23 to 21.12.23). Compare to 28,500 ZAR (~$1,600)
- Note that Mont Rochelle sometimes has an offer for a free night on a 3 night stay. When that’s available, paying with points gives worse value than usual compared to cash rates.
[Expired] US to South Africa (South African Airways)
Note: At the time of this writing, South African Airways is no longer flying between the US and Africa. If/when that changes, I’ll remove this deal from the “expired” list.
Virgin Atlantic charges only 150K round-trip or 75K points one-way for South African Airways business class non-stop flights between South Africa and the US. Note that award space is notoriously difficult to find.
What about Dakar Senegal? The sweetest sweet-spot on Virgin Atlantic’s partner award charts is arguably the ability to fly South African Airways between the US and Senegal for only 25K one-way in business class. Unfortunately, South African Airways has stopped flying that route, so that sweet-spot no longer applies.
How to book: Call Virgin Atlantic.
[Expired] Hong Kong to London (Virgin Atlantic)
As of October 5, 2022 Virgin Atlantic has announced that they have discontinued service to/from Hong Kong.
Flights from Hong Kong do not include fuel surcharges. As a result, Virgin Atlantic flights from Hong Kong to London are really cheap. Here are the one-way prices:
- Economy: 12.5K standard or 22.5K peak + ~$42 in fees
- Premium Economy: 22.5K standard or 32.5K peak + ~$42 in fees
- Business: 57.5K standard or 67.5K peak + ~$45 in fees
How to book: book online at Virgin Atlantic.
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