Virgin Atlantic caps taxes on UK redemptions at £30 and charges just 7,500 miles

One of my criticisms about Little Red, the new Virgin Atlantic domestic airline I outline here, was that redemption flights via Virgin Flying Club were likely to be very uncompetitive due to the taxes that Virgin levies on redemptions.

Well, it seems that Virgin had spotted this one coming.  They have decided to match the Reward Flight Saver taxes deal that BA offers and they have undercut British Airways on the number of miles needed!

You can see the announcement on this page. 

In summary, redemptions on Little Red to/from Heathrow to London, Edinburgh and Aberdeen will cost just 7,500 Flying Club miles plus £30 taxes.

This is a better deal than using Avios, where you will need 9,000 Avios points plus £30 to fly the same routes.

You need to remember that Virgin has a thinner schedule than BA, although you get at least three flights per day to each destination.  It is still early days for the Little Red services, so it is not clear how easy it will be to get redemption seats in the long-term.

Virgin Flying Club is a Tesco Clubcard, BAA WorldPoints and American Express Membership Rewards partner, so even if you never fly with Virgin you can move miles into Flying Club fairly easily. 

You can also pick up Virgin Atlantic miles fairly easily through their promotions – you can currently get 5,000 miles for opening a Virgin Money ISA and 3,000 miles a night for staying in certain Hilton hotels in London and Scotland, for example. 

You can also get 20,000 or 30,000 Virgin miles from the sign up bonuses for the American Express Gold and Platinum cards respectively, or 10,000 Virgin miles from converting the Starwood Amex sign-up bonus.

Be aware of their cancellation policies, though.  You lose 25% of your miles if you cancel, and 100% if you cancel within 7 days.

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How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards (April 2025)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Virgin Points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

You can choose from two official Virgin Atlantic credit cards (apply here, the Reward+ card has a bonus of 18,000 Virgin Points and the free card has a bonus of 3,000 Virgin Points):

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard

3,000 bonus points, no fee and 1 point for every £1 you spend Read our full review

You can also earn Virgin Points from various American Express cards – and these have sign-up bonuses too.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is FREE for a year and comes with 20,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 20,000 Virgin Points.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express comes with 50,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 50,000 Virgin Points.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Small business owners should consider the two American Express Business cards. Points convert at 1:1 into Virgin Points.

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Virgin Points.