A member of the Award Travel 101 Facebook Group reported overnight about some wide open business class award availability to and from Europe on Air France that can be found via Virgin Atlantic. That’s especially notable given a couple of current 30% transfer bonuses from transferable currencies to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. Given the bonus, you can fly to Europe in early winter 2025 from 38K transferable points each way.
The Deal
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club has access to a good amount of Air France business class award space in January 2025 starting at 48,500 miles one-way between several US gateways and Europe. With a current 30% transfer bonus, it is possible to use as few as 38K transferable points one way.
- Search at VirginAtlantic.com
Quick Thoughts
When a member of Award Travel 101 first reported this availability, I think there was wider availability during the fall 2024 months, but by the time I saw it this morning the remaining availability seems mostly limited to January and early February 2024.
Nonetheless, if you’re interested in a European winter vacation (maybe you’re a skiier?), the business class price here could be quite attractive given the 30% transfer bonuses available from both Amex Membership Rewards (through May 31, 2024) and Chase Ultimate Rewards (though June 15, 2024).
I’m seeing fairly plentiful space for at least two passengers on a number of routes to Paris, like Raleigh-Durham to Paris in January 2025 for 48,500 points and $278 one way.
Award Travel 101 also reported availability from Boston, Detroit, Atlanta, and Miami, though I’m also seeing decent availability out of New York as well.
Interestingly, if you connect beyond Paris, the price can increase depending on your destination, but availability can also widen. For instance, here is New York to Prague on the same calendar — you’ll see that there is availability for two passengers on even more days.
While the price can increase depending on your destination, keep in mind that depending on where you want to go, you may also be able to connect beyond Paris without paying more than 48,500 miles one way. For instance, here’s New York to Vienna in January for 48.5K and $296.
Perhaps most surprisingly is the number of seats available. While the above examples are all for two passengers, you’ll notice that availability for six passengers is still outstanding.
While January in Europe obviously isn’t high season, it’s pretty notable that you can find availability for six passengers on so many dates for 48,500 miles and less than $300 in business class — and better still when you consider that a 30% transfer bonus means that 38,000 points becomes 49,400 miles if you’re transferring from Chase or Amex while their respective bonuses are on.I
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I’m in Atlanta but can get to Greenville, Birmingham or Charlotte easily enough. I have NEVER been able to find award seats from ATL or any of the others that matched up with what I see in these travel articles. Are the writers using a professional search engine instead of the Virgin Atlantic so-called award search ?
Can you mix partners using Virgin points?
Thank you, I hope you have a good weekend!
[…] Class to Europe from 38K Points: See this post on Frequent Miler for all the details. What a great deal if you’re available to travel in January or […]