The Virgin Atlantic Flying Club renewal is now live. The biggest change in the program’s history is the new concept of dynamically priced redemptions for flights operated by Virgin Atlantic.
Every seat on every Virgin Atlantic flight is now bookable using Virgin Points, a major departure from the previous model of very limited, capacity-controlled award seats.
While some award seats are now much cheaper, others have become significantly more expensive; Plus, there are changes to those annoying extra fees as well.
Here’s what you need to know about the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club program changes.
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Offering Saver Seats with fewer points and reduced surcharges on off-peak datesBEN SMITHSON/THE POINTS GUY
With all seats bookable with Virgin Points, look for the new Saver seats marked in red when searching. These are now the cheapest options, although they will not be offered on every flight.
On dates when demand is low, such as transatlantic flights on certain days during the northern winter period, these flights will now operate from as low as 6,000 Virgin Points from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Heathrow Airport (LHR) on Economy Class: 10,500 Virgin Points in Premium Economy and just 29,000 Virgin Points in Business Class.
If you’re lucky enough to get this redemption, you’ll book the lowest redemption price for business class flights to Europe of any major airline loyalty program.
virginatlantic.com
While the Flying Club program previously discounted points required during periods of low demand through regular network-wide redemption sales, fees, taxes and surcharges have not been reduced.
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However, there’s great news for Flying Club members: The carrier’s surcharge on low-demand flights will be reduced, starting at just $45 in economy, $78 in premium, and $227 in upper class on a flight from New York to London. Slight additional government taxes and airport fees are also payable, which vary from route to route. Remember that taxes on flights departing from London will be more expensive than those heading to London due to the UK APD tax.
If you’re flying on lower demand dates or flights, the new pricing system means you’ll need far fewer Virgin Points and Cash under the new system, which is an undeniable improvement to the programme.
According to a press release from the airline, Flying Club estimates that 75% of flights operated by Virgin Atlantic will have layover seats available — and we saw many in our initial searches.
virginatlantic.com
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While Flying Club previously guaranteed a minimum number of award seats at fixed award scheme rates in each cabin on each flight (two in business, two in premium economy and eight in economy), this guarantee will no longer be offered now.
So, if you want to travel during peak periods, such as summer holidays, the saved seats may not be available, even if you try to book a free flight by simply loading the timetables 12 months in advance.
Higher award prices, lower fees: Redeem Flying Club points during peak seasonBEN SMITHSON/THE POINTS GUY
The changes to the loyalty program aren’t all good news for Flying Club members.
The dynamic pricing model means that during peak periods, such as school holidays and festive periods, the Virgin Points required to reserve seats on flights operated by Virgin Atlantic will increase sharply. Every seat on every flight may now be available to book with Virgin Points, but you can expect to pay up to 700,000 Virgin Points round-trip in business class to the UK for the most popular flights during super peak periods.
From our initial searches with the new prices, the surcharge has been reduced from $2,000 to $908, which is good news.
However, redeeming 700,000 Virgin Points plus $1,349 in fees, taxes and surcharges would cost you more than $10,000 in points and cash, according to TPG’s October 2024 valuation of Virgin Points at 1.4 cents each. You should be able to find a cash fare on the same flights for a fraction of that price.
GOOGLEFLIGHTS.COM
While some Flying Club members may see this as a devaluation of their Virgin Points, these seats were not available to redeem at a fixed rate under the previous model, so they are additional award seats, albeit at much higher rates.
From our initial searches, the new dynamic pricing model showed some strange pricing, as we found economy seats to be significantly more expensive than premium economy seats. Therefore, it is useful to play around with dates, methods, and semesters.
virginatlantic.com
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Increased change and cancellation fees for Virgin flights
Change and cancellation fees for flights booked with Virgin Points have now doubled from $50 to $100 per person (or local currency equivalent) for flights originating outside the UK. Routes, dates and flight times can be changed online using the red web chat icon in the Manage Your Booking section of the Virgin website.
If you cancel your redemption more than 24 hours in advance, all points, fees, taxes and surcharges will be refunded less the cancellation fee. If you cancel your flight less than 24 hours before departure, only government fees (minus cancellation fees) will be refunded.
RELATED: 10 Things to Know About Traveling Virgin Atlantic’s Superior Business Class Retreat Suite
Upgrade any seat on Virgin operated flights Ben Smithson/The Points Guy
With all Virgin operated seats now available to redeem, you can upgrade any existing booking using Virgin Points, whether originally booked with Points or cash.
To upgrade your existing redemption, you must pay any difference in Virgin Points plus fees, taxes and surcharges. Because the price of the seat you are upgrading to is priced dynamically, this price may change regularly.
To upgrade to a cash fare, you’ll need to pay the Points price for the upgraded seat, less the maximum Saver Reward seat price for the cabin you’re upgrading from, plus any difference in fees and taxes. Virgin Atlantic has informed TPG that maximum saver fares follow previous award scheme rates, depending on whether the flight operates on a standard season date or a peak season date. Below are the previous award schemes:
There are no changes to partner redemption rates ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY
There are no changes to flights booked using Virgin Points operated by our 26 partner airlines, including Delta Air Lines, Air France-KLM and ITA Airlines.
They will continue to be priced using fixed award schemes with limited availability on each flight.
virginatlantic.com
RELATED: How to Book Delta Award Flights with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Points
HOW TO EARN VIRGIN POINTSZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY
It’s easy to earn Virgin Points with Flying Club being a transfer partner for every major program in a convertible currency:
It should be noted that Capital One Miles go to Virgin Red, not directly to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. However, you can easily use your Virgin Red account points with Flying Club.
Additionally, some of the above programs offer regular transfer bonuses to Flying Club, which means you may need fewer points than you initially thought.
This means you have plenty of rewards-earning card options to transfer to Flying Club, many of which feature great welcome bonuses. Here’s just a sample of travel rewards credit cards that earn transferable points that can be converted into Virgin Points:
Bottom line
The Flying Club’s changes were mixed, benefiting some members while harming others. If you traditionally travel outside peak periods, the changes will be great news, with reduced points and surcharges in all categories. Paying just 6,000 points plus minimum fees, taxes and surcharges for a flight to Europe on a full-service airline is an amazing value.
For those who traditionally book a year in advance once flights load on popular dates, the new program will likely be less attractive. There is now no guaranteed minimum number of Saver seats, and transatlantic flights may require significantly more Virgin Points than before. Fortunately, hefty surcharges have been reduced even on the most popular dates.
For those gasping at the 350,000-plus point fares for travel next summer, remember that Virgin would not have offered these seats for redemption beyond the previous guaranteed minimum that could have been acquired within days of being loaded. It’s worth checking cash rates on these dates as they are likely to be a much better deal.
Virgin is now offering extra seats at higher prices instead, and more choice is always a good idea, especially if you have a large balance of Virgin Points that you may find difficult to redeem.
