Last month, Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club loyalty program underwent major changes, notably dynamic pricing and more redemption and points earning opportunities. The changes will begin on October 30, but the details are yet to be announced.
Per A press releasePrices for award seats “vary according to demand;” Therefore, frequent flyers can expect to pay more points for flights that are in higher demand. While Virgin Atlantic has not yet announced the increased prices, it has promised that flights from the US to Europe will start at just 6,000 Virgin Points, the lowest number of any program fees for transatlantic flights to Europe.
So, this is surely good news, right? Well, not necessarily.
Delta Air Lines owns 49% of Virgin Atlantic, so it’s not hard to believe that Delta at least approved all of the changes, if not making them. So, why does this matter? Delta was one of the first airlines to introduce dynamic pricing, which has created poor customer redemption rates, such that a Delta One award seat now costs upwards of 375,000 Delta SkyMiles.
Realistically, with Delta owning a large stake in Virgin Atlantic, what is the best we can hope for to make the program profitable yet competitive?
As a loyal Virgin Atlantic passenger for many years, flying every type of aircraft operated by the carrier, I have earned and redeemed Virgin Points for as long as I can remember. While Flying Blue has recently become my SkyTeam loyalty program of choice, Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club program has always had some value, despite my quibbles with its high surcharge fees.
With a major program change on October 30, the reinvention of the Flying Club gives me hope that the changes are here.
Related: Virgin Atlantic Flying Club: How to earn and redeem points for maximum value
A reasonable limit on dynamic pricing
is a program of Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club Starting at just 10,000 Virgin points for off-peak economy-class flights between the eastern US and the UK, the program maintains a very reasonable award chart, while the program imposes a very high carrier surcharge, the rate is generally lower than the rates and availability of competing programs. is appropriate.
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With the change to dynamic pricing, my biggest concern is how high these award prices can go for peak-season flights. While the Flying Club program promises that low-demand economy-class flights will start at just 6,000 Virgin points, I hope that when these flights operate using dynamic pricing, there will be a fair cap on how many points it costs to book a flight. , regardless of how high cash prices are.
While the one-way 155,000-point business-class seat to London will be much higher than current rates, it will still be competitive with other programs during the busy summer period.
Related: Is Virgin Atlantic premium economy worth it on the A330-900neo?
Ability to pay surcharge with points
Virgin Atlantic charges some of the highest Carrier-imposed surcharges on any airline in the world add about $2,000 to the cost of a round-trip business-class redemption across the Atlantic. If I had one wish for the Flying Club program, it would be to drastically reduce this surcharge. However, I am also a realist.
Allowing members to pay this surcharge at 1 percent per point with Virgin Points will improve the attractiveness of the program while remaining competitive. For example, members can redeem an additional 200,000 Virgin points to save $2,000 in surcharges. However, as of our October 2024 evaluation, Flying Club points are worth 1.4 cents per point, so you may not necessarily maximize your points with this redemption.
But more choice is never bad in my opinion.
Related: 10 Things to Know About Flying Virgin Atlantic’s Super Business Class, Retreat Suite
Discount on surcharge during off-peak period
have been reports Flying Club will also dynamically price its surcharges under the new model.
I can’t think of any other airline program that does this (they either charge the full surcharge or none at all), and this would be an unusual direction.
In theory, this could mean that at peak periods, in addition to charging more points, Flying Club could also choose to potentially double its surcharge. I doubt anyone would be willing to pay $4,000 in surcharges for a return flight to London (as well as up to 310,000 points if they double the existing Virgin points as well), so I highly doubt the surcharges will increase.
It should be fairly easy to find a business-class cash fare for less than $4,000, especially if you’re willing to connect, which would make this redemption absurd.
Programs can be innovative by reducing surcharges on off-peak dates. For example, in the winter season of New York John F. A round-trip economy-class flight from Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) can be had for as little as $400.
So, no one is likely to participate with the current 20,000 points And Pay an additional $508 in taxes, fees and surcharges when a cash rental requires less cash and no points.
But if cash payments were halved, perhaps they would.
With cash rates so low, Virgin’s planes are unlikely to be full, so tempting members with low surcharges can be a win-win for filling planes and reducing Flying Club points balances.
RELATED: How much can you pack into an hour at Virgin Atlantic’s London Clubhouse?
Only upgrade points
Passengers were about to pull the trigger and treat themselves to an overnight flight back to London when they were told they would also need to pay hundreds of dollars in surcharges to upgrade on top of thousands of points.
Frustrated and disheartened, they declined the upgrade offer and scrambled for security, chastising the loyalty program as a “scam full of hidden fees.”
If you’ve already paid all the airport fees and taxes for a premium economy seat and want to upgrade a class, would you expect to fork over hundreds of dollars on top of points? Sure, if the flight is departing from London and higher air passenger duty is payable, it is understood that you will have to pay additional government tax. However, an additional surcharge goes directly into the airline’s pocket for what may already be an expensive cash ticket.
Instead, Virgin may consider offering points-only upgrades. Virgin has promised members that every seat will be available for upgrade, giving members the option to upgrade without requiring cash would be a real improvement to the program.
Related: Stuck in a coach with elite status? That upgrade may be cheaper than you think
Continued network-wide discounts on award seats
In the past few years the Flying Club has It offered periodic redemption sales reducing the point cost of seats by up to 50% across its network. This is a great way for members with large Virgin Points balances like me to redeem for lower rates.
Although the program will reduce the price of select seats during periods of low demand according to its new dynamic pricing model, I hope Virgin will go a step further and continue to offer periodic network-wide discounts.
For example, I flew from New York City to my home in London in economy class for just 5,000 Virgin points, saving me over $650 on my flight.
The bottom line
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about the upcoming changes to the Flying Club program, because I can’t help but fear the worst. While flights will reportedly start at 6,000 Virgin points, the program has not disclosed how much the maximum award value will increase.
Despite the marketing spin, I’m not so naive that all the changes will be positive.
Delta advances dynamic pricing model and SkyMiles now worth less than Virgin points in October 2024 Valuation, I hope the value of Virgin Points will not decrease significantly.
Flying Club has always been a unique program for award travelers. Its large surcharge makes its pricing model different from SkyMiles, which only charges taxes and fees. So, I don’t see a huge increase in both Virgin Points and the surcharge needed to be competitive in the current loyalty market, where credit card customers have a wide range of choices in programs for transferring their hard-earned points and miles. .
Hopefully, the program can stay innovative while still being competitive in the market.