In a surprise move, Virgin Atlantic has doubled the surcharges on redemptions booked through its Flying Club program, affecting economy, premium economy, and business class. The change comes without advance warning, as noted by Thrifty Traveler.
This is especially concerning because Virgin Atlantic has been running transfer bonuses from nearly every major credit card points program for the last few months. So presumably, tons of cardholders had transferred points to the Virgin Atlantic loyalty program.
Another reminder that storing points with airline loyalty programs is risky.
Photo credit from Roame.
As a result, a one-way Upper Class redemption from the East Coast, jumps from 29,000 miles + ~$255 to 29,000 miles + $586.
It seems for now, that the fee is now flat at $586 for all award flights. Prior to this change, the fees would range from ~$255 to ~$1,000 because of dynamic pricing.
- Business Class (Upper Class) from the U.S. to London: Fees have jumped from approximately $255 to a flat $586 each way—more than doubling overnight.
- Premium Economy: Surcharges rose from roughly $106 to $240
- Economy: Increased from about $75 to $111
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Now it seems that Virgin Atlantic is going back to new flat-fee surcharge model at a lower level of ~$586.
After a year of consistent encouragement through frequent transfer bonuses including a 40% bonus from Amex, a 30% from Chase, and 25% from Citi, Virgin Atlantic clearly motivated customers to transfer points to their loyalty program.
While these were generally smart opportunities for informed travelers, the abrupt doubling of award fees feels like something of a bait-and-switch.
Many who transferred miles expecting the low-fee environment to persist will suddenly find themselves paying significantly more in surcharges. Obviously, Virgin Atlantic provides no guarantees on award pricing or fees.
This is a reminder of the risks of transferring points and storing them for the future.
Yes, these new fees remain below pre-2024 highs (when surcharges in excess of $1,000 were common).
But Virgin Atlantic should have given advanced warning.
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