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Last month, Virgin Atlantic announced that it would soon be making some big changes to its Flying Club loyalty program, including (among other things) a shift to a new dynamic pricing model. If you’re sitting on a stash of Virgin Points, now might be the time to redeem them.

The changes are set to begin on Wednesday, October 30, and while the airline is promising several new opportunities for Flying Club members to earn and redeem their points – including every seat on Virgin-operated flights being bookable with points – it It is hard to ignore the fact that they will also be introducing dynamic pricing for award redemptions.

While it’s hard to say how much depreciation Flying Club awards will see before Wednesday, it’s likely that there will be much more variation in the redemption opportunities currently on offer — especially upper class seat redemptions.

We’ll have a more detailed breakdown on Wednesday once the changes roll out, but in the meantime, here’s a breakdown of what we already know about the changes that will soon be implemented.

A move to dynamic pricing

While the communications surrounding Virgin’s changes were unsurprisingly focussed on benefits (more on this below), it’s also impossible not to notice a subtle reference to the new dynamic pricing structure.

“Flying Club members will be able to use Virgin Points to pay for any seat on the plane on any date, providing complete choice and flexibility for our loyal customers,” Virgin said. In a press release. “Demand seats will vary in price, just like standard tickets.”

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It’s a short and concise line, but it’s still clear that the airline will adopt dynamic pricing to set award fares based on demand. Not always, this reward doesn’t end well for travelers.

Virgin has done its best to reassure its customer base that more than half of its flights with economy reward seat availability will see the same or lower prices than they are now. The airline also says that a “large” number of award seats available in the upper class cabin can be booked at the same price or lower than they currently are.

It remains to be seen how this might affect the flying club faithful, for better or worse. However, it’s worth noting that Virgin hasn’t announced whether it will limit the maximum or minimum award fares.

More reward availability

Okay, now that we’ve mentioned the dynamic shape elephant in the room, let’s look at the good stuff.

Oct. From the 30th, Virgin’s guaranteed availability system for award bookings will, depending on how you look at it, undergo something of an overhaul.

Every seat on Virgin Atlantic operated flights will be bookable from Wednesday Virgin Points — including upgrades. This is a significant change from the current guaranteed availability system, which, from 2022, has made 12 award seats available on every Virgin-operated flight.

Looking at this positively, it means that you will have many more opportunities to redeem your points, with more seats available. On the downside, given the new dynamic pricing structure, there can be a pretty wild disparity between award prices for these seats. And once the cheapest seats are exhausted, you can expect to earn more points for the exact same seats.

New opportunities to save on award seats

In an effort to combat this, Virgin will lock prices to a select number of seats per flight in a new “Saver Reward Seat” product. This will lock in numerous award fares at prices available today or even lower.

It is currently unclear whether these saver reward seats will be available in every cabin or whether Virgin will set a fixed number of seats per flight. TPG has contacted Virgin Atlantic for clarification.

The company says Flying Club members should see some of their lowest prices ever — including reward flights from the UK to New York City for 6,000 points. If you can take advantage of these offers before they expire, the prices are not to be sniffed at.

Change in Award Voucher

We are also going to see some changes to the way Flying Club members can use companion and upgrade vouchers.

Currently, the cabin for which you can redeem this voucher is determined by your Flying Club status. Going forward, from October 30, you will be able to use your voucher to book any cabin.

However, there is a catch: your Flying Club status will determine the maximum value of your voucher.

From October 30, the voucher will be valid up to a maximum of 75,000 points for Flying Club Red Tier members or 150,000 points for Flying Club Silver or Gold Tier members depending on your status at the time of redemption. While you might be able to book seats worth more points than this, you’ll need to top up the difference.

If you’re thinking of using the voucher for a larger return trip for two, this could actually be a loss of value for some Flying Club Red members.

Increased earning opportunities on flights

The final change announced is the difference in the amount of points travelers earn on cash fares. Once the changes take effect, Flying Club members will earn up to 50% more on upper class fares and up to 75% more on premium tickets. A new earnings chart that fully clarifies the amount will be available from October 30.

The bottom line

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club will move to a dynamic pricing model starting October 30. They will also introduce new saver award redemptions and change how award vouchers can be redeemed as well as how much overall award availability will be open on each flight.

Stay tuned for our full analysis once the changes are fully rolled out.

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