Often buying points strategically can be a good value, especially for luxury travel experiences where you can get the most outsized value. Virgin Atlantic Flying Club doesn’t sell points often, but when the program does, it’s typically a pretty good deal. The latest such promotion has just been launched, and could be worth considering, as it’s in line with the best offers we typically see from the program.
In this post:
Promotion on purchased Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points
Through Friday, March 7, 2025, the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club program is offering a bonus on purchased points. The program is offering a tiered bonus of up to 70%, as follows:
- Buy 5,000-24,000 points, get a 20% bonus
- Buy 25,000-69,000 points, get a 40% bonus
- Buy 70,000-124,000 points, get a 60% bonus
- Buy 100,000-200,000 points, get a 70% bonus
The 70% bonus is in line with the best offers we see from the program.
How much does it cost to buy Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points?
The cost to purchase Virgin Atlantic points varies based on where your account is registered:
- If your account is registered in the United States, you’ll pay $25 per 1,000 points, pre-tax before any discounts or bonuses
- If your account is registered in the United Kingdom, you’ll pay £15 per 1,000 points, pre-tax before any discounts or bonuses
- On top of that, there’s a transaction fee of £15 or $22
The pricing is much better for those with accounts registered in the UK rather than the US. Assuming you’re eligible for a 70% bonus:
- Those with accounts in the US can purchase 340,000 Flying Club points for $5,022, which is a rate of $0.0148 per Flying Club point
- Those with accounts in the UK can purchase 340,000 Flying Club points for £3,015, which is a rate of £0.0089 per Flying Club point ($0.0111)
It’s interesting how much Virgin Atlantic penalizes those in the United States when it comes to buying points. Then again, when it comes to overall points earning opportunities, we can’t really complain in the United States, given the amazing credit card offers we have.
We only see a bonus on Flying Club points a few times per year, and when we do, the offers are typically in the range of 60-70%.
How many Flying Club points can you purchase?
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club ordinarily lets members purchase up to 100,000 points per account per calendar year, before any bonuses. However, during this promotion that cap has been doubled, to 200,000 points.
Which credit card should you buy Flying Club points with?
Flying Club points purchases are processed by points.com, meaning they don’t count as an airfare purchase for the purposes of credit card spending. Therefore I’d recommend using a card on which you’re trying to reach minimum spending, or otherwise, a credit card that maximizes your return on everyday spending.
In this case the best option is the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card (review) or Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (review), which offer 2x miles and have no foreign transaction fees.
Usually the Chase Freedom Unlimited® (review) or Citi Double Cash® Card (review) would also be good options for maximizing everyday spending, but the cards have foreign transaction fees, so wouldn’t necessarily be a good option in this case.
- Earn 1% cash back when you make a purchase, earn 1% cash back when you pay for that purchase
- $0
- Earn 3% Cash Back on Dining
- Earn 3% Cash Back at Drugstores
- Earn 1.5% Cash Back On All Other Purchases
- $0
- Earn 2x miles per dollar on every purchase
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- 10,000 bonus miles every account anniversary
- $395
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- Global Entry/TSA Pre-Check Credit
- $95
- 2x points on purchases up to $50k then 1x
- Access to Amex Offers
- No annual fee
Is buying Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points worth it?
Virgin Atlantic is definitely a frequent flyer program with more niche redemption opportunities. In addition to being able to redeem Flying Club points for travel on Virgin Atlantic, there’s also good value to be had for redemptions on Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways, and Delta.
Virgin Atlantic recently introduced dynamic award pricing, and for those with flexibility who want the best deal, this was an incredibly positive change. Redemption rates are potentially lower than ever before, both in terms of the number of points and the amount of cash required. For example, there are some transatlantic one-way business class awards that cost under 30,000 points, which is amazing.
Beyond that, Virgin Atlantic has several airline partners, some of which are more lucrative than others. Probably the best use of Flying Club points is for travel in ANA first & business class. You can find the redemption rates below.
Paying 52,500-60,000 Flying Club points for a one-way business class ticket between the United States and Japan is a phenomenal value to start with.
All Nippon Airways’ new first & business class are amazing products as well. The major catch is that availability can be really tough to come by.
Once again, the above pricing is based on current award pricing, though that could change as of later this month.
How much are Flying Club points worth?
Everyone will value points currencies differently, but personally I value Flying Club points at ~1.1 cents each. However, I tend to value points pretty conservatively, and there are many ways to get way more value from Flying Club points than that.
Do Flying Club points expire?
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points don’t expire. There’s no requirement to even have any account activity, as the points will never expire regardless.
What other ways can you earn Flying Club points?
While buying Virgin Atlantic points could represent a great deal, keep in mind that there are lots of other ways to earn Flying Club points. Most significantly, Virgin Atlantic is partners with major transferable points currencies, including American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Citi ThankYou. There are several ways to earn these points aside from outright buying them.
Bottom line
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is offering members a 70% bonus on purchased points, which is an opportunity to buy the points for 1.11-1.48 cents each (in USD), depending on where your account is registered.
There are plenty of circumstances where this could be a great deal. The only major consideration is that there are lots of other ways to earn Virgin Atlantic points with transferable points currencies, so some may prefer to earn rewards that way. With a specific use in mind, there could definitely be huge value in buying Flying Club points.
Do you plan on buying Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points with a bonus?
Can you just provide a UK address and get the cheaper price?
Off topic but when are we going to read a Lufthansa first class review on the new suites? Ive seen a review where the passenger was the only one in the cabin meaning they got to test the double suite and the single bed. Might be worth the cash outlay?