Virgin Atlantic Saver fares: How I booked a lie-flat business class seat to London for just 21,000 points

Fun fact: Even though I’ve worked at TPG for 5 1/2 years and have accumulated a ton of points and miles, I’ve never booked a ticket. international lie-flat business class flights …that is, until now.

Most of the time, I am an economic traveler. Even on international long-haul flights, I often choose to eliminate the lie-flat seat to save on my points and miles. At this point in my life, the number of trips I can take each year with my points is far more important than spending money on a luxury flight experience, even if that means sacrificing Get some sleep and comfort on longer flights. And to be honest, I’ve rarely had an international flight last more than seven or eight hours at most.

But when the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club launched New dynamic pricing for flights operated by Virgin Atlantic, I found a deal too good to pass up and started focusing on Flying Club Program correctly the first time.

Thanks Virgin Atlantic New dynamic pricing on reward flights and timeliness Pursue transfer bonusesI booked my first round-trip business class lie-flat flight for just 42,000 credit card points (plus taxes and fees).

This is also how you can do it.

Accumulate a lot with great transfer rewards

While some Flying Clubs’ point rates have now skyrocketed to 350,000 points each way for Virgin Atlantic’s upper class (business class), flexible travelers can also score great deals through Flying Club’s new Saver fares.

Related: Flexibility is key: Why I (mostly) like Virgin Atlantic Flight Club’s changes

More out of curiosity than any actual plans to book a trip, I did some sample searches in late October to help colleagues understand the new Bay Club changes.

Many dates throughout the first half of 2025 are available for just 29,000 points (plus taxes and fees) each way in business class nonstop between New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Heathrow Airport ( LHR) of London.

For comparison, that’s how much you’ll pay fly economy class on American Airlines from New York to London in the spring of 2025. I made more than double that just by paying rent this year with my company. Mastercard® card (see exchange rates and fees).

But what turned this great deal into a “you’d be silly not to book this” deal in my mind was Current Chase transfer bonuses spot. Through November 30, you get an extra 40% off your transfer Chasing the ultimate reward points to the Flying Club. That means this trip went from costing 58,000 points round-trip to just 42,000 points round-trip (or 21,000 points each way).

The downside is taxes and fees usually much higher for business class seats rather than economy class tickets. But while $870 in round-trip taxes and fees certainly isn’t cheap, paying a total of less than $900 for a transatlantic business class seat could have easily cost more than $3,000. If I paid cash it was still considered a great deal, and the extras were much lower than the $2,000+ Fly Club charged before the program switched to flexible pricing.

Even though I had no intention of booking a trip that day, I felt foolish for not jumping on the deal. I don’t know how long this great new Saver price on Virgin Atlantic will be valid and the transfer bonus ends at the end of November. I’ve never been to London and have never flown business class flatbed. I had the points ready to transfer and they transferred immediately. Award flights are refundable and are close to the price I typically pay for economy tickets on other airlines.

Needless to say, I booked it.

Related: The cheapest (or completely free) things to do in London

How you can book Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Saver tickets

Although some Saver seats are now booked for the specific dates I booked in March, Virgin Atlantic still has Bonus spot checker calendar tool where you can find Saver availability as it fluctuates — not just from New York City to London but also on other routes like Orlando International Airport (MCO) to Edinburgh Airport (EDI).

It’s important to have a set amount of credit card points ready to transfer and the flexibility to make the transaction when you see it.

First, check out Virgin Atlantic’s Award Seat Checker to easily see point prices at a glance, and look for those prices with the red “Save” tag to make sure you’re paying the lowest price.

If you find a deal you want to book, search more specifically for those dates on Virgin Atlantic’s website to find the specific flight you want and confirm the points you need. I found round-trip flights on the dates I wanted in March for 29,000 points each way, meaning I needed 58,000 points total.

Next, transfer points from the issuer of your choice. Of course, if you book this trip before the end of November, it’s best to use your Chase points to take advantage of that 40% transfer bonus. No matter when you’re looking to buy tickets, you can check with the individual issuer (or our regularly updated providers). Instructions for transferring bonuses) to ensure you’re communicating the best value.

Make sure you know how many points you need to transfer, including bonuses. ABOVE Chase’s ultimate reward platform, you won’t be clearly shown what your final score will be on Virgin after you transfer schools, so you’ll have to brush up on those old high school math skills.

For example, here’s how my flights break down: I needed 58,000 points in my Virgin Atlantic Flying Club account to book these Saver flights. To calculate the 40% transfer bonus, I divide that total number of points by 1.4 (0.4 represents the 40% transfer bonus). That leaves me with 41,428,571 points. Since you have to transfer points in 1,000 increments, I rounded up and transferred 42,000 points to Virgin Atlantic.

After transferring your points, make sure you’re signed in to your Virgin Atlantic account. TPG staff discovered that Transfer final bonus points Arriving at the Flying Club is immediate; However, the transfer time is not fixed and it may take longer to be credited to your account. Once the points are in your account, booking is just a few clicks away!

TPG always We recommend that you seek availability before transferring points as transfer points are irreversible.

Related: Leisurely Luxury: Review of Virgin Atlantic’s A350 Entertainment Configuration in the Upper Class from Manchester to Orlando

How to earn Virgin points

Virgin points are easy to earn, with Flying Club being a transfer partner of every major scheme with transferable currencies:

It’s worth noting that Capital One miles transfer to Virgin Red, not directly to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. However, you can easily use it Virgin Red account points with the Flying Club.

Check out these card options to earn bonus points and miles for Flying Club award bookings (all offer Great welcome bonus):

Bottom line

I’m not a fan of Virgin Atlantic – this was the first flight I booked through Flying Club. Still, it was a pretty simple process to search for a flight, figure out how many points I needed, and transfer the points from my Chase account to book the flight. A friend of mine who had never transferred points also took advantage of the offer and said similar things about how easy it was to transfer and book.

I was dying to take my first international lie-flat business class flight, and knowing that I got it for essentially the same price as an economy flight made this redemption sweet than.

While Virgin Atlantic’s flexible pricing changes have their pros and cons (especially for families), if you’re flexible with your travel dates and always have a ready supply of points for transfers, you can get some great deals like this one.

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