Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points might be the most valuable airline miles in the world of points and miles.
With Virgin Atlantic points, you can fly all over the world on partner airlines like Delta, ITA Airways, Air France and KLM, All Nippon Airways (ANA), Aeromexico, Korean Air, and more.
Best of all, you don't have to fly Virgin to earn Virgin points. If you've been earning credit card points from American Express, Capital One, Chase, Citi, and even Bilt Rewards, you have Virgin points. All these points transfer to Virgin on a 1:1 basis, meaning you can use any of them to book flights through Virgin Atlantic.
The banks frequently roll out transfer bonuses to Virgin, too, meaning you'd need to transfer even fewer points and miles to book flights through Virgin.
Despite a recent award chart shakeup that saw many of our favorite Virgin redemptions cost more points, there are still so many great ways to fuel your travels using Virgin points.
Millenials and Gen Z beware, however – you might have to (*gulp*) pick up the phone and call Virgin to make some of these bookings (more on that later), But I promise that it's worth it.
We send our Thrifty Traveler Premium members tons of flight deals to book bucket-list trips through Virgin Atlantic. These are the best of the best.
Read our full guide to earning and redeeming Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points!
Delta One from 50K Miles
Delta One business class is one of the flight experiences we hear most about from our Thrifty Traveler Premium subscribers. Everyone wants a taste of Delta One, and for good reason.
But if you want to fly Delta One using Delta SkyMiles, you'll be lucky to find one-way flights for less than 200,000 SkyMiles each. They're impossibly expensive using SkyMiles.
Enter Virgin Atlantic points…
Just 50,000 Virgin points are enough to book these incredible seats, but the problem is, Delta doesn't always make those seats available to book through Virgin. But when they do it sets off alarm bells at Thrifty Traveler HQ. That's when we send what we call “Unicorn Alerts” to our members so they get the first shot at booking them.
That Delta One availability to Dublin (DUB) and Munich (MUC) opened the floodgates, and we found availability for even more European destinations shortly after.
And it didn't stop there!
It was a banner day for Thrifty Traveler Premium members looking to fly Delta One, and if you had Virgin points (or transferrable credit card points), it was the day you booked the flight of your dreams!
Hawaiian First Class from 40K Miles
This might be one of the hidden gems of Virgin Atlantic's program: Hawaiian Airlines First Class.
For 40,000 Virgin Atlantic points, you could book these Hawaiian First Class seats between the mainland U.S. and Honolulu (HNL). But there's a catch…
You have to call Virgin at 800-365-9500 to book these flights. They will not show up online. But they will show up for the Virgin agents you get on the phone.
In our experience, Virgin's phone agents are great at helping you book the flights you want with points.
First, make sure you're signed up for a free Virgin Atlantic Flying Club account. Simply call Virgin customer service at Give the agent the exact dates listed above and say you are looking for “availability to fly Hawaiian Airlines First Class using Virgin points. Transfer points only after you've confirmed the flights are available with Virgin. Transfers are usually instant, just ask an agent to stay on the line until your points hit your account.
ANA First and Business Class to Japan from 45K Miles
For my miles, this is the best redemption on earth. Using Virgin Atlantic miles to book ANA First and Business Class is an insane value. And like booking Hawaiian through Virgin, you'll have to pick up the phone to get it done.
But let me tell you, it's worth it!
This ANA First Class Suite deal was one to remember. You only need 73,000 Virgin points each way to secure one of the fanciest seats in the sky when it's made available.
But that's not all. ANA's The Room Business class can also be booked for as little as 45,000 points each way, too. And let my face tell you how excited I was about this one…
From Chicago-O'Hare (ORD) to Tokyo-Haneda (HND), my wife and I secured two adjoining suites for just 47,500 Virgin points each. It was the best flight of my life.
Read more: How I Turned an Economy Award Ticket to Tokyo into a Business Class Suite
ITA Airways to Rome for 75k Miles
U.S. travelers rejoiced when ITA Airways unveiled this brand new business class seat flying to Rome (FCO) from all over the U.S., we can attest that these seats live up to the hype!
And now there's a great new way to book these seats for less: using Virgin Atlantic points. You can book a nonstop, lie-flat business class seat to Rome from several U.S. gateways for just 75,000 Virgin points (or even less if there's a transfer bonus)!
Business class flights to Rome are in high demand, but our Thrifty Traveler Premium subscribers have been alerted to available award space at least 6 times in the last 6 months to make one of these seats yours. It's honeymoon bait if I've ever seen it!
Virgin Business Class from 24K Miles
Using Virgin points to book Virgin flights? What a concept!
While booking flights on partner airlines through Virgin typically offers you the best value, these fancy business class seats are also worth your attention.
You could fly nonstop to London (LHR) in lie-flat business class from just 24,000 points Virgin points during the airline's semi-annual 50% off sale, but the taxes and fees are astronomically high at around $1,000 each way.
While booking these seats through Air France/KLM Flying Blue can be a better deal, if all you have are Virgin points and you can stomach those fees (and for a lie-flat seat, it can be worth it) we gave you the heads up anyways!
LATAM Business Class to South America
We've flown lie-flat to Europe and we've flown lie-flat to Asia using our Virgin points, and now we'll head south to South America thanks to Virgin's partnership with LATAM.
These lie-flat LATAM seats can be snagged for just 50,000 Virgin points each way to Lima (LIM) and slightly more on other routes.
LATAM's network throughout the U.S. provides several good options for booking these award fares, too.
Aeromexico to Mexico from 11K Miles RT
Not everything has to be in business class, though. And when it comes to flying to Mexico, you don't need business class. A solid economy seat for your trip across the border is plenty for most travelers.
And your Virgin points can help you book one of those seats for nearly free, too.
Thanks to its partnership with Aeromexico, Virgin points can be used to secure seats on the Mexican carrier now, too And you'll be surprised at how few points you need to fly to Mexico and back.
Especially for travelers with their sights set on Mexico City (MEX), this is a great use of Virgin points.
Korean Air to Seoul from 62K Miles
Speaking of flying economy, Virgin also offers incredible redemptions flying Korean Air's excellent economy seats to Seoul (ICN) and back.
Especially from the West Coast, these flights are crazy cheap using Virgin points, when you consider that these same flights will typically run you $1,200 or more roundtrip. And if you snag one of these seats with a transfer bonus like this 30% bonus to Virgin from Capital One, you're booking those pricey economy flights to South Korea for next to nothing.
Minneapolis to Europe from 30K RT
As a Minneapolis-based company, we love this Virgin Atlantic sweet spot at Thrifty Traveler.
When you fly Air France or KLM from Minneapolis to Europe, it's not uncommon to find roundtrip economy fares for 30,000 Virgin points roundtrip.
What is rare is that you can book either one-way or roundtrip! Virgin Atlantic offers similarly competitive pricing on other Air France and KLM routes, but the Minneapolis routes have, historically, had the most availability – meaning seats you can actually book with your points and miles
Domestic Delta Flights from 7.5K Miles RT
Delta flights can get expensive, even for the airline's shortest routes. But Virgin offers the best way to save on flying Delta.
Don't break the piggy bank to buy crazy expensive Delta flights when you can turn to your trusty Virgin points to secure the same flights for less.
We do this all the time at Thrifty Traveler. It's the best way to save big on nonstop Delta flights.
On the shortest routes like the ones above, you're only looking at 15,000 points roundtrip!
Bottom Line
Whether you want to circumvent super expensive Delta flights or fly one of the best business classes in the world to Japan for economy prices, Virgin Atlantic miles offer some of the best value in travel.
Virgin Atlantic is a transfer partner of all the major banks. And if you can take advantage of a transfer bonus, you can book flights through Virgin for even fewer points and miles than you'd normally need.
So why is it that using Delta sky miles for a Delta flight cost so much, but using flying blue points or VS points cost much, much less?! I never understood this. Is it due to all the credit cards US airlines push?
Great article.
Appreciate the tip for calling Virgin Atlantic. I often have difficulty with their website.