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October 30, 2024, has come and gone, and Virgin Atlantic Award charts are now a thing of history. We have got our first look at Virgin’s new dynamic award pricing, and if it can be described in one word: “Interesting.”
On the one hand, there are some stunning deals to be had. On the other hand, some awards are priced so high that they are about to head into orbit. So what's the good, the bad, and the ugly of Virgin Atlantic Flying Club‘s new dynamic award pricing? Let's take a look.
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East Coast to London From 6K Virgin Points in Economy, 29K in Upper Class
The first route we looked at is Virgin’s flagship route between London (LHR) and New York (JFK). Surprisingly, there is some stunning value on one of the busiest airline routes in the world. Looking through the Virgin Reward Seat Checker, plenty is available across all three travel classes in January.
The value is stunning on this route, and awards are priced as follows on several days per month
- Economy: 6,000 points plus $72 in taxes and fees.
- Premium Economy: 10,500 points plus $183 in taxes and fees.
- Upper Class: 29,000 points plus $255 in taxes and fees.
Looking at other options from the East Coast, we found similar pricing holds on the route from Washington, D.C. (IAD) to London Heathrow. However, in February, the availability was less generous than in January.
The value is also stunning on this route and even better for Premium Economy awards. Awards are priced as follows on several days per month
- Economy: 6,000 points plus $72 in taxes and fees.
- Premium Economy: 10,500 points plus $105 in taxes and fees.
- Upper Class: 29,000 points plus $255 in taxes and fees.
Fly From the West Coast to London for as Little as 9K Virgin Points
From the West Coast to London, there are still some outstanding value awards to be had, especially in economy. At the same time, those in the premium economy are lackluster.
In March 2025, we found decent availability on several routes, such as Los Angeles (LAX) to London. However, in terms of pricing, great value can only be found in economy. Some days, the pricing of Upper Class awards is greater than the previous round-trip pricing of the same awards.
One-way economy awards price at 9,000 points plus $72 in taxes and fees, which is amazing value. However, Premium Economy awards price at 41,000 points plus $183 in taxes and fees, which is not a great deal. But that's how things go with dynamic pricing; it shifts as the wind blows.
Next, we looked at Awards from Seattle (SEA) to London. At this point, we found that the relationship between the main Virgin site and the reward checker had started to fall apart. For instance, the reward checker showed the following pricing on awards:
- Economy: 9,000 points.
- Premium Economy: 16,500 points.
- Upper Class: 41,000 points.
However, when you search on one of those days, February 14, 2025, the award pricing shown is entirely different. The Premium Economy pricing shown is astronomical at 250,000 points.
Digging around a few of the other days that were purportedly available for a lower price point, we did manage to find one-way economy awards from Seattle to London for 9,000 points plus $79 in taxes and fees.
Fly From London to Dubai From 6K Virgin Points in Economy, 37.5K in Upper Class
Looking at some of Virgin Atlantic’s other routes, we found some excellent pricing on awards and availability from London to Dubai (DXB). While excellent pricing can be found, it is nowhere near as abundant as that on other routes.
We found excellent one way awards priced as follows:
- Economy: 6,000 points plus $225 in taxes and fees.
- Premium Economy: 17,500 points plus $484 in taxes and fees.
- Upper Class: 37,500 points plus $667 in taxes and fees.
Remember that the cash portion of an award from the UK is always costly due to the government's bloated Air Passenger Duty, especially on business class travel. That said, this is still better pricing in points than before the shift to dynamic pricing.
How To Stock up on Virgin Points
When it comes to earning Virgin points, you have many options in the US, and even more so if you are based in the UK. You can earn Virgin Points in any of the following ways.
- Fly Virgin Atlantic or its SkyTeam partners.
- Rent cars through partners like Hertz, Avis, and Alamo.
- Book a Virgin Holiday.
- Shop through the Virgin Red and Shops Away shopping portals.
Earn Virgin points through credit cards
Perhaps an easier way to score Virgin points is via credit cards. Virgin is a partner with almost every flexible points currency you can think of. From credit card points to hotels, you have a huge array of partners from which you can transfer points. You can transfer all of the following points to Virgin Atlantic.
U.S.-based travelers can also earn a sign-up bonus and spend on the co-branded Virgin Red Rewards World Elite Mastercard to grow their balance further.
Our Take
Nobody likes to see a program switch to dynamic pricing. Historically, this tends to lead to a gradual, almost irreversible increase in award pricing. However, Virgin Atlantic appears to be charting a different path — at least in the early days. But that begs the question, will see some of this great pricing endure or slowly vanish? In the meantime, if you want to grab an awesome deal, there are many to be had!
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