(EXPIRED) Virgin Atlantic award sale (50% off points rate)

Virgin Atlantic is offering 50% off on award tickets on Virgin Atlantic metal booked from today through November 30th for travel through October 20, 2021. That’s a huge reduction on the points cost of an award, but keep in mind that fuel charges are still quite high, so whether or not this is a deal likely comes down to how badly you’d like to fly Virgin Atlantic specifically.

The Deal

• Virgin Atlantic is offering half off on award tickets for travel on Virgin Atlantic flights for those who book by November 30th and travel by October 21, 2021
• Direct link to this promotion

Key Terms

• Must book by 11/30/20
• Must travel by 10/21/21
• Valid only on Virgin Atlantic-operated flights (no partner flights are included)
• Discount only applies to the number of points required (taxes and surcharges are full price)

Quick Thoughts

Award rates for travel on Virgin Altantic are already reasonable in terms of the number of points required, so with 50% off the rates look very appealing indeed when considering how many points you’ll need.

That said, fuel surcharges will still be in the $700’s on most routes. For example, here’s a look at New York to Paris in Upper Class, which rings in at 31,700 miles and $746.30 on the example date shown.

While that’s not necessarily a bad deal compared to cash rates, particularly for one-way journeys between the US and Europe, it doesn’t hit me as a screaming deal either. That is especially true in my opinion considering that you’ll need to front a lot of money in fuel surcharges. In a time when travel has been so disrupted and refunds so slow in many cases, I just can’t get too excited about fronting those kinds of fuel surcharges.

That is especially true given that Virgin Atlantic has such a reasonable award chart for Delta flights. For instance, when you find availability, a nonstop Delta flight from New York to Paris costs just 18,300 more points…..and about $741 less in surcharges.

Rates in economy and premium economy may be more attractive in some cases given the lower surcharges.

Still, I just don’t find this award sale exciting personally. I recognize that it can be a pretty good deal, particularly for those who were already considering a booking at full price and/or those who have fewer miles and suddenly find themselves with enough for a trip, but if I were going to part with $746 up front on top of the miles for Upper Class, I would want to be more confident about the state of 2021 travel.

But if you’re feeling more confident and/or Virgin Atlantic fits your needs or interest the best, it obviously makes more sense to book while rates are reduced. Keep in mind that Virgin Atlantic partners with most major transferable currencies, so it is very easy to put together the points for an award. Also keep in mind that you can use SeatSpy to look at an entire year of availability at a quick glance.

H/T: One Mile at Time

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