Virgin Atlantic Adds Award Seat Guarantee

Whats the best award program to use for a typical US (EastCoast / WestCoast) to Europe roundtrip on Virgin Atlanti?c

The big question is will all those guaranteed awards seats be bookable by other programs (i.e. Delta or ANA) or does it just apply to Flying Club members?

I guess this is why delta's s**t IT systems haven't been showing any VS awards for the past few days or so...

I have been unable to add my points even as a frequent flier with virgin atlantic. Even trying to call customer service for help is virtually impossible.

Is the value of their program compelling enough to book flights using their miles?

Definitely great additions. Some sort of guarantee on award availability always welcomed even if hard to get (and does engender increased loyalty), v. others that never make them available, or charge a ridiculous number of points and show that the program is just a profit center. (BA's promise fell apart just before the pandemic; not sure if it returned).

Btw, did the HT for TPG hurt a little?

Depends on what your miles vs surcharges threshold is, and also that Delta/AF/KLM regularly don't show Virgin availability even if Virgin does. I also wouldn't discount Delta and AF/KLMs own metal. Typically, lowest surcharges are Delta, then AF/KLM, then Virgin. Whenever you depart UK on any airline (except transit) or if you book with Virgin and fly Virgin to the UK, surcharges are high (if you want to go to UK, cheaper to fly to Europe then to UK eg AF 55k and ~$200 for biz to LHR thru CDG). Lowest miles, though variable, are AF/KLM, then Virgin then Delta.

@Ben - Could you please elaborate on your concluding statement - "It would be much more costly to the airline if someone booked the last business class seat with points two weeks before departure." Wouldn't the l"ast business class seat" on a given flight be valued the same by VS, no matter whether it sold 2 weeks or 2 months before departure?

No - prices typically rise close to departure and as inventory declines. The company can sell the last business class seat within 2 weeks of departure for probably 2-3X what it starts to sell them for 11 months out.

hahaha that's hilarious. At least it was Nicky Kelvin with TPG UK. I don't mind him quite as much.

If all but one business class seat have been sold 2 months out, then that last business class seat is already at 2x or 3x of the cost that VS would typically sell on a flight with 50%+ unsold business class inventory - even if that happens to be 2 days before the flight.

Hasn't been for me. The only draw was ANA J/F... and that's not had appeal in years now.

At some point, I'll probably spend all my VS points on air france flights.

The only issue with using points for reward seats is that couples are not guaranteed to sit next to each other even though you have pre chosen your seats, paying customers take priority not loyal ones! First hand experience, twice on return flights MAN to JFK.

This is untrue. I just check for availability on a day that just opened up and there is no availability.