This post is about the limited-time deal on Virgin Voyages cruises and how to maximize your points value with credit card transfer bonuses on these offers.
Never heard of Virgin Red points? How about Virgin Voyages? Maybe you think of sleek cabins and a cool lounge at 30,000 feet on Virgin Atlantic flights. And thanks to the post about Best Ways To Use Virgin Points For Reward Flights – now you know why you should care about the loyalty program of Virgin Atlantic! It is absolutely more than just the flights.
👉 Further reading: Best Ways To Use Virgin points For Reward Flights
Virgin Points and Virgin Red. Are They Same?
Yes, they are! Even though they have different names, “Virgin Points” and Virgin Red “Points” work the same way. You can switch them at a 1:1 ratio in real-time since they share an account in the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. Virgin Points are mostly for flights, while Virgin Red points can be used for a variety of other travel experiences and products. Virgin Red points are easy to earn since you can link your Virgin Red account directly to your Virgin Atlantic Flying Club account.
What is Virgin Voyages?
Virgin Voyages is a new adults-only cruise line from the Virgin group. It was launched right before the pandemic and caters to travelers aged 18 and up. It offers a more relaxed atmosphere with no strict dress codes or formal dinners. Instead, you can enjoy a la carte dining with no extra charges for specialty restaurants or crowded buffets.
The cruises are nearly all-inclusive. Onboard wi-fi is free, restaurants, snacks, and even ice cream are included in your ticket. The only extras you’ll pay for are alcoholic drinks and barista-style coffee. Unlike typical cruises with grand lobbies, Virgin Voyages focuses more on personal space. Sounds pretty cool, right?
What’s New in This Virgin Voyages Offer?
In 2023, Virgin Voyages offers specific itineraries that you could book with your Virgin Red Points in the first half of the year (dates were limited). The great news is that 2024’s promotion is back with more options to choose from:
- 5-night Caribbean cruise from Miami for 115,000 Virgin points (June through September 2024)
- 7-night Mediterranean cruise from Athens or Barcelona for 160,000 Virgin points (May through October 2024)
- Athens departures run until July 28
- Barcelona departures last through October 31
- 14-night transatlantic cruise from Barcelona to Miami for 280,000 Virgin points (October 27, 2024)
- 16-night transatlantic cruise from Rome to Miami for 320,000 Virgin points (November 28, 2024)
The First Step: Get The Access Key
Let’s talk about how the magic works! First and foremost, visit the Virgin Voyages website to check if the trip you want and the Sea Terrace room you like are available. Then, log in to your Virgin Red account, choose the cruise you want, and hit redeem. You’ll get a notification that your points have been used.
Within three business days, the Virgin Voyages team will email you an access key. Once you have the key, use it on the Virgin Voyages website to pay for your booking.
The Second Step: Use Your Unique Access Key
After a few days of waiting, you’ll receive an email from Virgin Voyages. At the bottom of the email, you’ll find your special access key. The access key is unique to each one. Head over to the Virgin Voyages website to book your trip!
Keep in mind: Once you use your access key on Virgin Voyages, you can’t change or cancel it. If you haven’t used your access key yet, you can contact the Virgin Red team to cancel it. Your points will be returned to your account by the end of October.
When you book your trip on Virgin Voyages, you automatically get a Sea Terrace room (similar to a balcony / veranda on other cruises) when you use your points. If you’d like to upgrade to a larger room (Sea Terrace XL), you can pay the difference after booking. Once you enter your access key at the bottom of the page, you’ll see all your trip costs (including room rate and port taxes) disappear. However, some routes (ex. The Caribbean) may still charge the extra fees.
Discover the Value of Virgin Cruises with Points
Using your airline miles or credit card points for experiences other than flights is a fantastic opportunity. Let’s see if this limited-time offer is worth it.
5-night Caribbean Cruise from Miami with 115,000 Virgin Points
This package is priced at $3,054, giving each point a value of 2.66 cents.
Compared to the Virgin Points at a “buy” point promotion, it is between 1.2 ~ 1.5 cents per point. You’re getting nearly double the value for the same experience! Instead of $3,054, you’d pay just $1,500.
How about the flexible points earned from the credit cards? The credit cards flexible points are usually valued at 1.3 ~ 1.8 cents per point. So using your Virgin points for a cruise offers great value. Although the cents per point value may not be as high as reward seats on international business or first class, it’s still a good deal. The insanely good thing happens right now is:
🔥🔥 LATEST OFFERS: Chase and Amex are offering 30% Virgin Atlantic transfer at the moment 🔥🔥
- Amex: Through May 31, 2024 Friday
- Chase: Through June 15, 2024 Saturday
That means you only need 88,500 Chase UR or Amex MR points to book this limited-time offer. The value per point then boosts up to 3.5 cents. It is an awesome redemption.
7-Night Mediterranean Cruise from Athens or Barcelona with 160,000 Virgin Points
The cruise is valued at $3,200 cruise, making each point worth 2 cents. This offers about 60 ~ 70% of the cost compared to the points sale promotion (e.g. 1.2 ~ 1.5 cents per point). Instead of paying $3,200, you’d only spend approx. $2,100 if you bought the points. When comparing to flexible credit card points (usually worth 1.3 ~ 1.8 cents per point), 2 cents may not seem super exciting.
Fortunately, the following two credit card reward programs are offering 30% transfer bonus at the moment.
- American Express membership rewards: Through May 31, 2024 Friday
- Chase ultimate rewards: Through June 15, 2024 Saturday
That means you only need 123,000 Chase UR or Amex MR points to book the cruise. Factoring in this transfer bonus, the value per point goes up to 2.6 cents. It is a decently good option.
14-Night Transatlantic Cruise
This year, there are new transatlantic cruise options. For example, the 14-night transatlantic cruise from Barcelona to Miami costs 280,000 Virgin points. This can get you a ticket worth $6,416, so each point is worth about $2.3 cents.
Compared to the Virgin Points at a “buy” point promotion, it is between 1.2 ~ 1.5 cents per point. You’re getting the same experience for 55 ~ 65% of the cost! So instead of paying $6,416, you’d only spend $3,900.
Look at the flexible points, valued at 1.3 ~ 1.8 cents per point, 2.3 cents per point doesn’t seem super exciting. As Chase and Amex are both offering 30% transfer bonuses right now, it means you need 216,000 Chase UR or Amex MR points to book this trip. That boosts the value per point to 2.97 cents, making it an even better deal!
Our Take
Here’s the big picture on this year’s redemption opportunities. The points needed are a bit higher than in 2023, but there are also more dates and trips available for redemption. Getting 2.0 ~ 3.0 cents per point may seem low to some of you.
However look at it from another angles:
- If you either plan a cruise trip this year anyway or will go on a summer travel to European destinations, this redemption option can help you save a good chunk of cash.
- When the value you get from points is higher than what you burn them, then it’s a worthwhile redemption!
You don’t always have to wait for those airline “dream” redemptions – after all they are really tough to get.
How to Earn Virgin Points?
Compared with the other mileage programs, the ways to earn Virgin Points and Virgin Red Points are easy, simple and enjoyable: flying, spending with credit cards, or buying points. (On the flip side, you can use Virgin Points to book reward flights with these airlines.)
Earn through flying
SkyTeam partners – Since 2023, as a part of the SkyTeam Alliance since 2023, Virgin Atlantic lets you earn points whenever you fly with SkyTeam partner airlines, including:
- Africa: Kenya Airways
- Asia Pacific: China Airlines, China Eastern, Xiamen Air, Korean Air, Vietnam Airlines, Garuda Indonesia
- Americas: Delta Air Lines, Aeromexico, Aerolineas Argentinas
- Europe / Middle East: Air France, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Air Europa, Czech Airlines, ITA Airways, Romanian Air Transport (TAROM), Middle East Airlines, Saudia, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) (announced joining on 1 September 2024)
Other Virgin Atlantic Partners – Before 2023, Virgin Atlantic wasn’t part of the three major airline alliances, so it kept partnerships with other airlines like ANA and Singapore Airlines. You can earn points with these airlines shown in the image, helping you accumulate Virgin Points. (Remark: SAS will officially join SkyTeam on September 1, 2024)
Earning through credit card transfer partner
While flying is a lovely way to earn points, it takes a bit of time to add up. That’s why many people rely on using a credit card or buying points to boost their Virgin Points balance. In the United States, Virgin Points can be easily earned through the following credit card and hotel partnerships with:
- Amex Membership Rewards (Transfer ratio – 1 to 1)
- Bilt Rewards (Transfer ratio – 1 to 1)
- Capital One Miles (Transfer ratio – 1 to 1)
- Chase Ultimate Rewards (Transfer ratio – 1 to 1)
- Citi ThankYou Rewards (Transfer ratio – 1 to 1)
- Marriott Bonvoy (Transfer ratio – 60,000 to 25,000)
In recent years, there have been transfer bonuses from various credit card point systems to the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, often around 30%. This means that when you transfer 1,000 reward points from a participating credit card point system, you receive 1,300 Virgin Points. These transfer bonuses allow you to maximize your points for even greater value.
🔥🔥 LATEST OFFERS: Chase and Amex are offering 30% Virgin Atlantic transfer at the moment 🔥🔥
- Amex: Through May 31, 2024 Friday
- Chase: Through June 15, 2024 Saturday
Earning through buying points
Virgin Atlantic runs 3 ~ 4 “points sale” events every year. You can buy points directly from them, and prices can go as low as 1.48 cents per mile (USD) or 0.89 pence per mile (GBP). Check out the TripPlus storefront page with real-time and historical data so you can decide when it’s the best time to transfer or buy points.
Take Advantage of Points Diversity
Virgin Atlantic sometimes runs different bonus transfer promotions. It’s essential to “gather as many different flexible credit card points as possible” to capitalize on future bonus transfer deals.
🔥🔥 LATEST OFFERS: Chase and Amex are offering 30% Virgin Atlantic transfer at the moment 🔥🔥
- Amex: Through May 31, 2024 Friday
- Chase: Through June 15, 2024 Saturday
Here are some great sign-up bonuses you can take advantage of:
- Amex Business Platinum: With a welcome offer of 150,000 MR points (translating to 195,000 Virgin Points), you can earn enough to redeem either 5-night cruise to The Caribbean or 7-night cruise to Athens/ Barcelona!
- Amex Gold Card: With a welcome offer of 60,000 MR points (converting to 78,000 Virgin Points during the promotion), you can snag enough for one one-way business class ticket from North America to Europe!
- Chase Sapphire Preferred: Earn 75,000 points (translating to 97,500 Virgin Points) when you spend $4,000 in three months with just a $95 annual fee.
Final Thoughts
Virgin Atlantic Loyalty Program – Flying Club, Virgin Points and Virgin Red Points are super versatile. They’ve got great airline reward ticket options with SkyTeam and other partners, and also great limited-time deals on Virgin Voyages cruises. Our last word to you is always take advantage of transfer bonuses and run points sale promotions at great prices. These give you plenty of fantastic choices for snagging a variety of routes around the world, whether you’re traveling solo or with family from summer travel to winter vacation.
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