Any tips for getting Virgin upgrades using points?

[cheryl.UK]

Hi all,

I'm starting to plan next year's holiday. My very first in term time (I will be a retired teacher!). Does anyone have any tips for snagging upgrades using points. We are thinking of buying Premium tickets and trying to upgrade to Upper for at least the home leg of the journey. I've never even tried before so am clueless.

 

[cheryl.UK]

OK, so I'm guessing that no-one has managed to get an upgrade recently.

 

[CVG]

Not many Brits around... Other than smile and speak nicely and dress well, I use this Reward Seat checker (subscription necessary)

https://www.seatspy.com/reward-seat-availability

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

Join Virgin Red and link your accounts. They have a FAQ section regarding upgrades with point etc

 

[Ruttangel]

You could enter the world of earning airmile points
Easiest way with Virgin is with their Credit Cards, do some research on headforpoints website or similar
Booking an upgrade with points is easy but you still pay taxes which can still be high

 

[JackosinDIS]

Can’t help with Virgin I’m afraid as I’m an avid Avios points collector… but if you need any tips for BA flights….

 

[RossK]

Its generally going to be "bad value" and far more difficult to upgrade existing tickets, rather than just booking Upper Class using points outright. There are complicated reasons behind this, but essentially not all fares are upgradable. The ones that are tend to be quite expensive, which means if you can't secure an upgrade, you have unneccessarily paid more for your premium seat. Upgrades to Upper Class on MCO flights are very hard to find and you usually need to be prepared to be flexible on your dates, which you cannot be if you are upgrading existing tickets. Virgin are only guaranteeing two upper class reward seats per flight, so you will find it more difficult if you need more seats than this.

Ultimately, the easiest way (if you have the points) is to use a reward finder website to get alerts when reward seats become available for your date ranges, and book Upper Class outright with your points. However, be prepared for the taxes and fees which are very high on upper class - so your "free" seat, in reality, will be about £1k in taxes and fees per seat. That's still a big saving given the avarage fare is around £3,500 return.

The easiest way to accumulate Virgin points is their Premium credit card through Virgin Money. If you spend £10k in a year, you'll receive a companion voucher, which will give you two reward seats for the point cost of one.

Hope that helps.

 

[cheryl.UK]

Its generally going to be "bad value" and far more difficult to upgrade existing tickets, rather than just booking Upper Class using points outright. There are complicated reasons behind this, but essentially not all fares are upgradable. The ones that are tend to be quite expensive, which means if you can't secure an upgrade, you have unneccessarily paid more for your premium seat. Upgrades to Upper Class on MCO flights are very hard to find and you usually need to be prepared to be flexible on your dates, which you cannot be if you are upgrading existing tickets. Virgin are only guaranteeing two upper class reward seats per flight, so you will find it more difficult if you need more seats than this.

Ultimately, the easiest way (if you have the points) is to use a reward finder website to get alerts when reward seats become available for your date ranges, and book Upper Class outright with your points. However, be prepared for the taxes and fees which are very high on upper class - so your "free" seat, in reality, will be about £1k in taxes and fees per seat. That's still a big saving given the avarage fare is around £3,500 return.

The easiest way to accumulate Virgin points is their Premium credit card through Virgin Money. If you spend £10k in a year, you'll receive a companion voucher, which will give you two reward seats for the point cost of one.

Hope that helps.

Thank you Ross, That's really good to know. I used to have a virgin credit card but gave it up. Maybe I'll get the Premium card, just for this purpose.

Cheryl

 

[DisneyBB]

I have used virgin points for outright flights then use my CC vouchers to upgrade. If you upgrade from premium to upper using points then it is doable. I would phone the flying club themselves and ask their advice and how much etc. But it is a lot if points. There are two seasons peak and standard. Hopefully term time will be standard but you can check online. As mentioned already Virgin CC is the quickest way of getting points. I tend to use my points for economy/ premium and upgrade with my voucher to prem/upper. If I don’t have a voucher I would just get the seat with points. Remember taxes are payable on the seat you are in. And roughly double up each class.