Save 40% on 2024 reward flights in Virgin Atlantic’s 40th birthday seat sale

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the airline – which falls tomorrow, 22nd June – Virgin Atlantic is offering a 40% discount on ALL Virgin Atlantic redemption flights when you travel by 31st December 2024.

Premium and Upper Class flights are included.

‘2 for 1’ bookings made using a Virgin Atlantic credit card voucher are included.

EDIT: due to an IT bug, it was possible to book for ALL dates this morning. The bug now appears to be fixed and you can only book until 31st December now.

Taxes and fees are unchanged and remain high, with an Upper Class redemption to New York pricing at 57,000 Virgin Points + £996 off-peak. The 40% reduction in points from the usual 95,000 does take the edge off.

You need to book by midnight on Monday 24th June.

The offer does not apply to the ‘we will open up any seat, any flight for double points for Gold members’ benefit.

Where can you go?

To give Virgin Atlantic credit, this sale includes all routes and all classes.

The list of current routes (we think) is in the pricing chart below. These are all from Heathrow.

From Manchester you have:

• New York
• Atlanta
• Orlando
• Barbados (seasonal)
• Las Vegas (seasonal)

There is also Edinburgh to Orlando which operates in Summer-only.

Virgin Atlantic now guarantees that 12 seats are opened to redemption on every flight – two in Upper Class, two in Premium and eight in Economy Classic. Obviously some of these may already have gone, as some of these flights have been on sale for almost a year.

What do Virgin Atlantic redemptions cost?

Here is the current pricing chart, EXCLUDING the 40% discount:

Return prices	Standard economy	Standard Premium	Standard Upper Class	Peak economy	Peak Premium	Peak Upper Class
Antigua	20,000	35,000	115,000	40,000	55,000	135,000
Atlanta	25,000	45,000	95,000	45,000	65,000	115,000
Barbados	20,000	35,000	115,000	40,000	55,000	135,000
Bengaluru	20,000	35,000	75,000	40,000	55,000	95,000
Boston	20,000	35,000	95,000	40,000	55,000	115,000
Cape Town	25,000	50,000	115,000	45,000	85,000	135,000
Delhi	20,000	35,000	75,000	40,000	55,000	95,000
Dubai	20,000	35,000	75,000	40,000	55,000	95,000
Grenada	20,000	35,000	115,000	40,000	55,000	135,000
Jamaica	20,000	35,000	115,000	40,000	55,000	135,000
Johannesburg	25,000	50,000	115,000	45,000	85,000	135,000
Lagos	25,000	45,000	115,000	45,000	65,000	135,000
Las Vegas	30,000	55,000	135,000	50,000	75,000	155,000
Los Angeles	30,000	55,000	135,000	50,000	75,000	155,000
Maldives (Male)	25,000	50,000	115,000	45,000	85,000	135,000
Miami	25,000	45,000	95,000	45,000	65,000	115,000
Mumbai	20,000	35,000	75,000	40,000	55,000	95,000
New York	20,000	35,000	95,000	40,000	55,000	115,000
Orlando	25,000	45,000	95,000	45,000	65,000	115,000
San Francisco	30,000	55,000	135,000	50,000	75,000	155,000
Seattle	30,000	55,000	135,000	50,000	75,000	155,000
Shanghai	25,000	45,000	115,000	45,000	65,000	135,000
St Lucia	20,000	35,000	115,000	40,000	55,000	135,000
St Vincent	20,000	35,000	115,000	40,000	55,000	135,000
Tampa	25,000	45,000	95,000	45,000	65,000	115,000
Tel Aviv	18,000	32,000	56,000	22,000	40,000	66,000
The Bahamas	20,000	35,000	115,000	40,000	55,000	135,000
Tobago	20,000	35,000	115,000	40,000	55,000	135,000
Toronto	20,000	35,000	95,000	40,000	55,000	115,000
Turks & Caicos	20,000	35,000	115,000	40,000	55,000	135,000
Washington DC	20,000	35,000	95,000	40,000	55,000	115,000

You can find peak and off-peak dates on this page of the Virgin Atlantic website.

The new Toronto route is not included because flights will not launch until next year.

Virgin Atlantic redemptions now earn tier points

Don’t forget that, unlike almost any other airline, redemptions on Virgin Atlantic earn you tier points.

On redemption flights, you will usually earn the following:

• Economy: 25 tier points each way
• Premium: 50 tier points each way
• Upper Class: 100 tier points each way

You don’t earn Virgin Points on reward tickets, for obvious reasons!

You can learn about tier points on this page of the Virgin Atlantic website.

What can you expect flying Virgin Atlantic?

Virgin Atlantic now flies three different Upper Class seats. We have reviewed them all:

• Virgin Atlantic A350 Upper Class suite review
• Virgin Atlantic A330neo Upper Class review (image above)
• Virgin Atlantic 787 and A330 Upper Class review

In addition to the usual amenities you’d expect form a business class flight, Virgin Atlantic aircraft also feature a bar or social space for Upper Class passengers – a unique feature that only the Middle Eastern airlines such as Emirates and Qatar Airways usually offer.

You’ll also get access to the impressive Virgin Clubhouse at Heathrow, which we’ve reviewed here.

You can read our review of Premium on Virgin Atlantic here.

Conclusion

Virgin Atlantic has launched a major reward flight sale to celebrate its 40th birthday. What’s important is that ALL routes and ALL classes are included.

Economy redemptions ticket into Economy Classic with 23kg checked baggage allowance.

Whilst you can’t get a 40% refund on an existing booking, if you called up and paid the £30 change fee to move your outbound or inbound flight the whole trip should reprice at the lower rate. You could also cancel completely and rebook if seats are available. Be wary of doing this if you booked when taxes were lower, as you would be liable for the current rate.

You need to book by Monday 24th June and fly by the end of the year.

The savings are live on the Virgin Atlantic website here. Just enter your destination and dates. To find reward flights, simply click ‘Advanced’ and select ‘Points’.

The link to buy points is here if you need to top up your account before booking.

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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):

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.

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.

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

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