[Award Alert] Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Seats to the U.K. From 29k Points

If you’re planning a trip to England, this award deal from Virgin Atlantic should pique your interest.

Since Virgin Atlantic rolled out its dynamic pricing for award flights, we have seen some sky-high prices. And we’ve seen some absolute bargains. This is one of the bargains.

You can enjoy Virgin’s luxurious Upper Class product from airports across the U.S. to London and Manchester, England, for just 29,000 points. But if you have Chase Ultimate Rewards or Citi ThankYou Points, you can transfer points to Virgin with a 30% to 40% bonus, bringing your one-way total to as low as 21,000 points!

If you’re looking to save even more points, there is a good amount of economy and premium economy space available as well, starting at just 6,000 points one-way before any transfer bonus.

Let’s look at this award deal and see whether it makes sense for you.

Award Alert — Details

Depending on when you want to fly and how flexible you are, you can get a great deal on award tickets with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club to England from select U.S. cities.

Here’s a quick look at what’s available between the U.S. and the U.K.

• Class: Business
• Route: Atlanta (ATL), Boston (BOS), New York (JFK), Seattle (SEA), and Washington, D.C. (IAD) to London (LHR) and Manchester (MAN)
• Cost: From 29,000 points plus $249
• Travel Dates: December 2024 to October 2025
• Award Seats: Up to 9 passengers per route

For those who want to fly in Upper Class — Virgin’s name for its business class product — you’ll find award deals from Atlanta (ATL), Boston (BOS), New York (JFK), Seattle (SEA), and Washington (IAD) to London or Manchester one-way for just 29,000 points. The taxes and fees are reasonable, coming in at $249 per person.**

Upper Class availability is wide open to both London Heathrow and Manchester airports on various dates from December 2024 to October 2025, with many dates offering up to 9 business class seats from multiple U.S. cities in this award deal.

If you want to stretch your points and cash even further, you could book economy or premium economy seats for a fraction of the price.

We have found economy seats for as few as 6,000 points and premium economy for just 10,500 one-way points from the East Coast, depending on rates and dates. Taxes and fees are also more manageable.

How To Book

First, visit the Virgin Atlantic website to check for award seats. Virgin even has a reward seat calendar to make things simple.

Alternatively, you can use a tool like Seats.aero to check multiple rates and a range of dates all at once.

Given that you’ll have to cover taxes and fees on these awards, especially for Upper Class tickets, it’s wise to pay with a card that offers a higher earning rate on airfare purchases.

For example, The Platinum Card^® from American Express earns 5x Membership Rewards points per $1 spent on flights booked directly with the airline or through AmexTravel.com (capped at $500,000 spent in purchases per calendar year, then 1x points). Additionally, if you have this or another American Express card, you might be targeted for a current Amex Offer for Virgin Atlantic, valid through December 31, 2024. This could give you a $300 statement credit after paying for the taxes and fees on several of these tickets.

The card also comes with a Priority Pass membership (enrollment required), which grants lounge access regardless of cabin class you’re flying.

Final Thoughts

This Virgin Atlantic award deal is definitely worth a look, especially if you want to hop across the pond in style for as few as 29,000 points one-way. As usual, do the math to see if this award deal makes sense for you.

If you were planning on booking a Virgin Atlantic award flight, this is an excellent opportunity to lock in an award seat and put those points to use. The taxes and fees aren’t great, but the combination of a low points requirement with modest fees means this deal will excite a lot of people.

If you find something that works for you, remember to book ASAP.