Good morning everyone. Last week, I was talking to a friend about converting Virgin Atlantic miles into Hilton HHonors points (2:3 transfer ratio). If you are interested in the transfer process, here is a post I wrote about the process. My *wise* friend reminded me that Virgin Atlantic miles could be used for travel on Virgin America (an airlines I fly frequently from SFO). When I looked at the Virgin Atlantic award chart for travel on Virgin America, I only saw 14 routes to/from San Francisco. What about the other Virgin America routes to/from San Francisco?
Disclaimer: This post only focuses on Virgin America routes to/from SFO, but you can follow the same steps below to find routes from your home airport. I only researched Main Cabin (aka economy class) awards on Virgin America, not Main Cabin Select or First Class award prices. Lastly, Virgin Atlantic can only book Virgin America award flights if there is award space available, so YMMV.
I started my search by going to the San Francisco International Airport wiki page and clicked on Airlines and Destinations. I scrolled down to the Virgin America section to see all current routes to/from San Francisco. There is a total of 21 routes as of 9/28/2016, so the award chart above is missing 7 routes to/from San Francisco.
I created a spreadsheet with all the known Virgin America routes to/from San Francisco and the number of Virgin Atlantic miles needed for a round trip flight (one way flights cost half the round trip price). I then set out to determine all the missing award prices.
I then plugged in every Virgin America route to/from San Francisco into Great Circle Mapper to calculate the distance for each route. For simplicity, I rearranged the routes from shortest to longest.
I then added the distances next to each route and sorted the spreadsheet by route distance. It appeared that there was a pattern that shorter flights required fewer miles and longer routes required more miles. Would the missing award chart numbers continue to follow that pattern?
I then called Virgin Atlantic (phone numbers) and spoke to an agent in the partner award department to fill in the missing award prices. I then organized the routes into different mileage bands. I’m not sure if Virgin Atlantic uses mileage bands or how the mileage bands are determined, so I just made them up. They might be right, they might be wrong, but I guess it doesn’t really matter. Here is a key:
- Green = stated award prices on Virgin Atlantic award chart
- Yellow = award prices from Virgin Atlantic partner award department agent
- Orange = anomalies in the award pricing based on the distance
Virgin America flights to San José del Cabo (aka Cabo San Lucas) (SJD) and Puerto Vallarta (PVR) are rule breakers since they cost more miles than routes with similar distances.
Disclaimer: Virgin America has an extensive route network, so I haven’t checked every single route (both nonstop and connecting flights) to see if the mileage bands hold true. If you have several hours on your hands, you can determine all the possible routes, distances, and award prices.
With the completed Virgin Atlantic award chart, you can determine if using Virgin Atlantic miles provides a better value than using Virgin America miles or paying cash for the flight. Remember, you can book one way flights and there are no close-in award booking fees. This could be great for last minute short haul flights that are really expensive (assuming Virgin America award space is available).
Data point: I called Virgin Atlantic to book a Virgin America flight from San Francisco to Cabo San Lucas (SFO-SJD) next February. Tickets were pricey, so I decided to use 25,000 Virgin Atlantic miles and pay $81.67 in taxes/fees (Mexico has expensive taxes/fees). I put the award on hold (free 24 hour hold) and called back the following day when my plans were set. 2 days later, I received a confirmation email from Virgin Atlantic with my Virgin America confirmation number. I then added the Virgin America reservation to my Virgin America account and selected my seats.
If you have any questions, please leave a comment below. Have a great day everyone!
Great work grant!! Any way to find out award availability on Virgin America besides calling Virgin Atlantic?
Not that I know of, but that would be super helpful.
Great post, Grant.
How about connecting flights on Virgin America using Virgin Atlantic miles?
I fly out of Boston and the only direct flights are to LAX and SFO (and LAS seasonally). It would great if there were additional options.
I’m sure you can use Virgin Atlantic miles on Virgin America flights, but I haven’t inquired on the cost.
Is there a way to check award space/inventory for Virgin America flights using Virgin Atlantic miles (either using Expert Flyer or another airlines award search)? Thanks.
I have no clue, unfortunately.
Bookmarked. Thanks Grant.
You’re welcome. Glad the post is helpful :)
Do you happen to know where to check the # of award seats? Will all be available to book as long as there is a seat for sale?
I don’t know where/how to check partner award space on Virgin America. You just have to call and ask them if there are seats available.
I had zero luck earlier this year trying to use my Virgin Atlantic miles to get 3 o/w Economy seats on Virgin America from LAX to OGG in early September. I called Virgin Atlantic several times per week for months (starting in February), but Virgin America just didn’t release any seats for September. In the end, I ended up buying the tickets. I also have a ton of AA miles, but American has also been super stingy with award availability for months and months. I’m aware that route is a leisure route and it’s likely full with paying passengers, but it’s too bad I couldn’t use my Virgin Atlantic miles. This is all YMMV, naturally. Oh, and the only way I could search award availability is by calling. As of late August there is no way to search for availability online. And, like you discovered, Virgin Atlantic’s charts are woefully outdated. They really need to get with the program. Sigh.
Thank you for sharing your experience. I’m sorry you couldn’t use Virgin Atlantic miles on the dates/routes you wanted. Hopefully the next time you call you will have better luck.
You mention one way awards cost half the price. I thought Virgin Atlantic mile redemptions on Virgin America had to be for round trip flights only. Did that change?
I’m not sure, I’m just relaying the message the phone agent told me. I think one way awards price out at exactly half the round trip award price.
Last year when citi was running a 25% promo I transferred 20K citi TY points to Virgin Atlantic and booked a round trip LAX-EWR on Virgin America. At that time the agent said awards had to be roundtrip, not sure if that has changed. It was a great use of Citi TY points for me.
Grant off the topic I know you have a lot of experience with flexperk points. Can you book 2 one way tickets for 20K flexperk points if the total cost is under $400?
Thanks for the Virgin America / Virgin Atlantic data point.
Regarding FlexPoints, you should be able to do an open jaw, but I don’t think 2 one ways will count. Sorry Rich.
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