DEAL: Buy Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Points with 70% Bonus (1.16 cents/point) until Nov 6

We should note upfront that Virgin Atlantic has announced that Flying Club will introduce dynamic award pricing starting on October 30, 2024. It’s still unclear how this will affect partner redemptions, so we would recommend only purchasing points with short-term use in mind to minimize any risk.

Promotion on purchased Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points

Virgin Atlantic's promotional site (Source: Virgin Atlantic)

Through Wednesday, November 6, 2024, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is offering a bonus on purchased points. The promotion provides a tiered bonus of up to 70%:

• Buy 5,000-24,000 points, get a 20% bonus

• Buy 25,000-69,000 points, get a 40% bonus

• Buy 70,000-99,000 points, get a 60% bonus

• Buy 100,000-200,000 points, get a 70% bonus

The 70% bonus is in line with the best offers we typically see from the program.

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How much does it cost to buy Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points?

The cost to purchase points depends on where your account is registered:

• For U.S.-registered accounts, the cost is $25 per 1,000 points, pre-tax before discounts or bonuses.

• For U.K.-registered accounts, the cost is £15 per 1,000 points, pre-tax before discounts or bonuses.

Additionally, there’s a transaction fee of £15 or $22. Pricing is more favorable for U.K.-registered accounts. For example, with a 70% bonus:

• U.S. members can buy 340,000 points for $5,022, at a rate of $0.0148 per point.

• U.K. members can buy 340,000 points for £3,015, at a rate of £0.0089 per point ($0.0116).

You can buy a maximum of 200,000 + 140,000 points (Source: Virgin Atlantic)

Is buying Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points worth it?

Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club program is known for its niche redemption opportunities. While you can redeem points for Virgin Atlantic flights, there’s also good value in using them for travel with partners like Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways (ANA), and Delta.

Bar area of Virgin's Upper Class (Source: godsavethepoints.com)

For example, one-way Upper Class transatlantic awards typically require 47,500-57,500 points, but these come with significant carrier surcharges, often exceeding $1,000 for a round-trip between the U.S. and the U.K. However, Flying Club points are most valuable for ANA first and business class redemptions. You can redeem as few as 52,500-60,000 points for a one-way business class ticket between the U.S. and Japan, an excellent deal.

How much are Flying Club points worth?

While everyone values points differently, we estimate the value of Flying Club points to be around 1.1 cents each. However, in many cases, you can get much more value from them, particularly for high-end redemptions.

Do Flying Club points expire?

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points don’t expire. There’s no requirement for account activity, meaning your points will remain valid indefinitely.

Conclusion

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is offering up to a 70% bonus on purchased points, with rates as low as 1.16 to 1.48 cents per point (USD), depending on where your account is registered. This could be a good deal in specific scenarios, particularly if you have a short-term redemption in mind. However, given the other ways to earn Virgin Atlantic points, buying points may not be necessary for everyone, but it can offer excellent value in the right situations.