Virgin Atlantic is running its latest big promotion, halving how many points you need to book a trip across the pond this year – whether you're good with flying economy or looking to splurge for a business class seat.
The London-based airline is offering 50% off nearly all award tickets between the U.S. and England for travel from now through June 30. From economy to premium economy to Virgin's chic Upper Class business class seats, every cabin is discounted. And this isn't a rebate: That discount applies automatically when you search for flights at VirginAtlantic.com using points. But act fast: You have to book by next Wednesday, March 20 to get the cheaper rate.
The savings here are nothing to scoff at, but there's a big caveat. While award rates have been slashed by 50%, you'll still be on the hook for all the taxes and fees … and those can be substantial when flying Virgin. Still, you can easily come out way ahead – especially on a one-way flight in economy to London-Heathrow (LHR).
You'll see the discounts applied automatically when you search at VirginAtlantic.com. This one-way flight from New York City (JFK) to London is typically 10,000 miles each way.
The 50% discount applies on almost all of Virgin's international and international routes, including most of those between the U.S. and the U.K. Only flights to and from Austin (AUS), Tel Aviv, Israel (TVL), Lagos, Nigeria (LOS), São Paulo, Brazil (GRU), and New Delhi, India (DEL) are exempt from this promo.
At 50% off, you can score a one-way ticket in Virgin Atlantic's business class from the East Coast to London for as low as 23,000 Virgin points or book round-trip tickets in economy as low as 16,000 points total. And those points are incredibly easy to earn, as you can transfer credit card points to Virgin Atlantic from all the major banks like Chase, Amex, Capital One, and more.
But yeah, those taxes and fees can be nasty. Ironically, you'll save $200 on those taxes and fees flying business class when you depart from London-Heathrow instead.
Virgin Atlantic is a transfer partner of Chase, American Express, Capital One, Citi, and even Bilt Rewards. So if you’re earning points with cards like the *chase sapphire preferred*, *venture x*, or *amex gold*, you can easily transfer those points to Virgin – often with a big bonus, making offers like this one even better.
Unfortunately, these discounted award rates are only available on Virgin Atlantic flights; you won't get 50% off bookings on partner airlines. That means you can't use the discount to book Delta One suites or an ANA first class flight – assuming you get the heads-up to book one of those unicorn fares.
How to Get 50% Off Virgin Atlantic Flights
Booking these flights should be relatively easy, especially if you're booking online.
Head to VirginAtlantic.com and start searching for award tickets, and you'll automatically see these discounted award prices in your results. But the short time frame to book and travel means you need to act fast to find the flight you want.
Select “Show Price in Points” under the “Advanced search” option followed by your desired cabin: Economy, Premium, or Upper Class. The rates you see in points should be with the 50% discount.
Thrifty Tip: It’s much easier to search for Virgin Atlantic flights one-way rather than roundtrip – and unlike with many other airlines, it’ll often save you money on taxes and fees booking one-ways separately, too.
Need help with booking this deal? Read our full guide on redeeming Virgin points!Â
Take a look at Virgin's standard season award chart to get an idea of how much these flights will normally run you in miles. Pricing is for roundtrip tickets, so cut it in half if you're looking for a one-way.
To get the best value for your points, you'll want to travel during Virgin's standard season, as the airline ups its pricing slightly during peak travel seasons. For example, a one-way business class ticket between New York and London jumps from 47,500 miles to 57,500 miles. With this discount, that's a difference of around 23,000 to 28,750 points each way. To get the lowest rates during this promo, you'll just want to avoid these booking windows.
If you've got your sights set on flying in one of Virgin Atlantic's Upper Class suites, you'll need to be flexible. Those seats will get booked up fast (if they haven't already), no matter which route you're flying. And Virgin has made it more difficult to find those sweet spots and book by hiding its price calendar search. Luckily, there's a workaround that will let you pull up a month's worth of flights so you can zero in on a business class fare like this one.
If you want the best experience, look for flights operated on Virgin's Airbus A350-1000 or Airbus A330-900neo, both of which have far nicer business class seats than what you'll find on other Virgin jets.
Starting at 23,000 points each way, that rate is far lower than you'll find on almost any airline program. And while paying another $900-plus in fees stings (or slightly less for a one-way back home from the U.K.), that's nothing compared to the usual $3,000 cost of these tickets.
Discount or not, you'll always find the lowest award rates flying to or from New York, Boston, and Washington, D.C.. The further you get from the Northeast, the more points you'll typically need to book. For example, you can book from Atlanta (ATL) or Miami (MIA) starting at just 6,250 miles each way in economy, though business class award rates remain unchanged.
Starting from the West Coast, you'll find one-way flights starting at 7,500 points for economy or 33,750 points for business class with this 50% discount.
Bottom Line
Virgin Atlantic is out with a new promo for 50% off most of its routes connecting the U.S. and the U.K. for a trip this spring or early summer.
While this discount only applies on Virgin Atlantic flights – not booking Delta One suites to Europe or other airline partners – it's still a solid deal if you've got a trip to London in mind anytime in the next year. If you can stomach the hefty taxes and fees Virgin tacks onto these award tickets, it's well worth it.
But you have to book by next Wednesday, March 20 to take advantage – or even sooner before other travelers snag these seats!