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U.S.-based travelers might not be intimately familiar with the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club program, but it’s a go-to option for scoring some fantastic redemptions.
The program doesn’t regularly run promotions for purchasing points, but being able to receive a 70% bonus can offer you a very good deal depending on the redemption you have in mind.
Here’s a look at the promotion details to help you decide whether it’s a good fit for you.
Through October 3, 2023, you can earn up to a 70% bonus when purchasing Flying Club points:
Note that there will also be a 1-time transaction fee of $22 for all purchases at checkout, and you’re only able to purchase 200,000 points (before the bonus) each calendar year.
We value Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points at 1.4 cents apiece, so the 70% bonus allows you to purchase points far lower than that valuation. Plus, the Virgin Atlantic award chart has some killer sweet spots that help make the promotion worth it.
Hot Tip:Since Virgin Points are processed via Points.com and not directly with the airline, you won’t earn a bonus multiplier on travel purchases, when using cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. Instead, you’ll want to use credit cards that offer the highest return on non-bonus spend, such as The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express, which delivers 2x points on all eligible business purchases up to $50,000 per year, or the Chase Freedom Unlimited®, which rewards 1.5x points per dollar on all eligible purchases.
In our view, the Virgin Atlantic program has several great sweet spots that travelers looking to use their hard-earned miles can take advantage of.
The first is booking Delta One business class tickets between the U.S. and Europe for 50,000 points each way, which is a fraction of what Delta would charge using its own SkyMiles program. Purchasing 70,000 points to get 112,000 points with the bonus would allow you to fly this round-trip for roughly $1,296, a solid deal as Delta regularly charges 2x to 3x that price for these tickets.
Although Virgin Atlantic raised the award rates for ANA first class tickets, this would be another phenomenal redemption if you’ve found the award space. You can book ANA first class tickets from the West Coast of the U.S. to Japan for 72,500 points, or from the East Coast of the U.S. to Japan for 85,000 points. Purchasing points instead would be an absurdly good deal, considering that ANA often charges $10,000+ for these long-haul first class tickets.
All of that said, keep in mind that Virgin Atlantic is also a transfer partner of several programs including, Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Citi ThankYou Rewards.
Hot Tip:For those who have a large balance of points in one or more of these programs, you’d be much better off transferring points to book your reward.
As with most point purchase promotions, whether this is a good deal depends on your situation and how you plan to redeem the points. For those who are interested in taking advantage of the promotion, make sure to do so before it ends on October 3, 2023.
For rates and fees of The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express, click here.
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Boasting a portfolio of over 20 cards, Jarrod has been an expert in the points and miles space for over 6 years. He earns and redeems over 1 million points per year and his work has been featured in outlets like The New York Times.
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