There are a number of partners with which the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club lets you earn and spend Virgin Points. Some are much more well-known and talked about a lot more than others.
For example, because Virgin works closely with Delta and Air France/KLM, there are many ways to book and earn miles. It’s also easy to search for award availability and book flights on Virgin’s website.
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When it comes to partners that aren’t as well known, the process is a little harder, but the rewards could be bigger.
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One of these partners is All Nippon Airlines, which is based in Japan (ANA). ANA has a great reputation, and since it started selling “The Room” and “The Suite,” its new business- and first-class products, flying in a premium class on ANA has become something of a “bucket list” item for me and many other people.
You can fly the new products on certain ANA 777s that currently fly to London Heathrow (LHR), Frankfurt (FRA), and New York JFK (JFK).
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In the past, if you wanted to book ANA award tickets through Flying Club, you had to book a round-trip, which made it hard to find available seats. Last week, ANA announced that it would allow one-way partner awards. This gives Virgin Flying Club members more freedom and opens up new options.
How to book ANA flights with Virgin Atlantic
This is where things start to get harder. You can’t use the Virgin Atlantic site to book ANA award tickets. You can only book with Virgin Points over the phone or through Virgin’s booking service on WhatsApp. Recently, I’ve noticed that Virgin’s WhatsApp service has been slower than usual. In general, though, the agents at Virgin’s call center are very helpful, and wait times aren’t too long. I suggest calling to make a reservation.
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The call center doesn’t have a quick or efficient way to look up availability, so doing the work yourself before following the steps above will speed up the process. Even if you tell the Virgin agent what dates you want, they won’t know if they are available right away. They have to ask for the ticket and then wait a few minutes to hear back.
The ANA agent might not yet know about the new option to book one-way flights, but if you are firm about this, they are usually very helpful.
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On the phone, the whole thing took about 10 minutes, and I got my confirmation email right away. Then I was able to go to the ANA website and book my seat. Make sure to ask the Virgin agent for the booking references for both Virgin and ANA. This is what you’ll need to get into the booking on the ANA site.
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There have been many opportunities this year to transfer points from Chase and American Express credit cards to Virgin Flying Club. One of our readers, Katarina, took advantage of these bonuses but is now stuck in the booking process.
ANA award flights are definitely the best deal on the Virgin Atlantic Award Chart, but that won’t be the case for much longer since ANA will be joining SkyTeam next year.
Unfortunately, you can’t book ANA award flights through Virgin Atlantic’s website. Instead, you have to call and ask the agent to check the award availability for the flights you want.
In the past, I used United Mileage Plus to find out which ANA Award seats were available. I would then call Virgin and hope that the same seats were available.
If a reader has transferred points to Virgin for an ANA flight, they should do it as soon as possible. Even though it hasn’t been said, it seems likely that Virgin’s partner charts will change as a result of the airline joining Sky Team.
In response to our reader’s question, she will have to call Virgin Atlantic and ask an agent to check availability and book the flight. ANA recently raised their flight surcharges, which could be a surprise that you don’t want. They used to be very reasonable, but that’s no longer the case.
How to earn Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points
If you don’t have Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points yet, don’t worry. There are many ways to get them with transferrable point currencies, which all work the same way:
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- Convert Amex Membership Rewards points to Virgin Atlantic; best cards for earning Amex points
- Convert Capital One miles to Virgin Atlantic; best cards for earning Capital One miles
- Convert Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Virgin Atlantic; best cards for earning Chase points
- Convert Citi ThankYou points to Virgin Atlantic; best cards for earning Citi points
If you really want to get the most out of your points, we sometimes see bonuses for transferring them from these programs to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. This can help you get even more out of your points. Most of the time, when we do see transfer bonuses, they are between 25% and 30%.
On top of that, the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club program sells points directly, and there are often bonuses.
Booking ANA awards using Virgin Atlantic points
Even though you have to call to book these awards, the good news is that the Flying Club agents at Virgin Atlantic are the best in the business. They really are great. From the US, you can call Flying Club by dialing 800.365.9500.
Once you know which flights are available, give Virgin Atlantic a call and tell the person who answers what flights and service class you want. The agent will look up the space, which could take a few minutes.
Usually, they’ll get back to you in a few minutes to let you know that the space is still available. But ANA doesn’t always get back to them right away (though the space should match what other partners see).
When this happens, you will be given a confirmation number and told to call back in a few hours to find out if the space is still available. You should be fine if you did your research right.
Then just call back a little while later to make a reservation.
Travel Tips for Saving Money on Your Next Flight in 2022
As prices go up and less people can afford to travel, these tips could help a lot of people save money. It may seem like you can’t afford to travel in 2022, but these tips will help you save money on your trip. By doing a few simple things, you can go on vacation without going bankrupt. So, what can you do to save money on your next flight?
Flexible dates
If you want to take a flight this year, you might want to choose a date that is flexible. When demand is highest, like in the summer, flight prices are likely to be higher. From mid-June to the beginning of September, prices go up and places are crowded with tourists. If you book your flight on a Sunday, you could save up to 5% on the price. If you fly on a Sunday, you can save 10% on international flights.
The airlines need to be able to change. They’ve had a rough few months with flight delays and staffing problems, but they’re still offering cheap fares to get people to fly with them again. You can still find great deals on airfare in 2022 if you’re flexible about when you travel. But many airline experts think that cheap fares will move away from popular vacation spots in 2022. Also, airlines may try harder to get people to fly at off-peak times, like early in the morning or late at night.
Off-seasons
There are many things, like the weather, school schedules, and holidays, that can affect whether or not your trip will be during the busy season. During these times, many airlines offer cheaper flights, which can make it a good time to plan a trip. Travelers can also get great deals on hotels at the airport, where prices are much lower. Flights during the off-season are a great way to save a lot of money.
One reason airfares drop a lot in August is that kids in many parts of the U.S. go back to school, so most family travelers are gone. Flights from Boston to Los Angeles drop by up to $150 during this time. Because of this, August is the best month to fly. Try to book your flight for the last two weeks of August. There are no change fees on many airlines, so you can save even more money.
Another reason to travel out of season is that there won’t be as many tourists around. You can see what a place is like without paying full price for a ticket. You’ll be able to meet the locals, learn about their culture, and take part in traditions that are only possible when there aren’t many tourists around. You could see a tropical storm in Costa Rica in July or a foggy morning in Yellowstone National Park in February.
Early booking
When change fees are taken away for everyone, you’ll save money on your next flight. At the beginning of November, foreigners who have been vaccinated will be able to enter the U.S. without a visa. Some European countries let American tourists in during the summer. So, it’s best to book your flight as soon as possible. You can keep an eye out for good deals. Sign up for a newsletter about flight deals, like Scott’s Cheap Flights, to save money on flights.
Also, don’t book flights less than 30 days before you leave. Airlines often raise prices at the last minute because they know that desperate travelers will pay anything to get where they need to go. So, instead of looking for deals at the last minute, you should always book your flight months ahead of time. Remember that Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday are still the cheapest days to fly. Also, airfare prices usually go through the roof a few weeks before a trip, so book your flight early.
Using services that send out deal alerts
Deal alert services are a great way to find a great flight deal that will save you money. The airline business is very competitive, and airlines often offer deals to get people to buy tickets. If you sign up for deal alert services, you can often find cheap flights from different airlines. There are a number of services that keep an eye on airfare prices and send out alerts when prices go down. You can save hundreds of dollars or more on your next flight if you use these services.
Setting up an account with a travel portal and then setting up price alerts is the best way to sign up for such a service. Once you’ve signed up for a service, you can sign up to get e-mail alerts about cheap flights, such as weekend trips and mistake fares from the airports you choose. There are also elite plans that offer alerts for all U.S. airports and weekend trips.
By using Google Flights
Google Flights makes it easy and possible to save money on your next flight in 2022. You can keep an eye on flight prices and get alerts sent to your Gmail account if they go up or down. The system also shows you the average price range for the flights you are looking at. It also shows how much prices have changed over time and when they go up or down.
When you have at least 60 days before you need to travel is the best time to use Google Flights. The more you can change your travel dates, the more likely you are to find a good deal. Keep in mind that last-minute flights cost the most, so it’s best to look into your travel dates months in advance. Changing where you’re going is another way to get the best deals. Different flights have different prices.
The flexibility of Google Flights is another reason to use it. You can search for flights by price, date of departure, and airline. You can change the way the interface works to get the exact search results you want. To save money on your next flight in 2022, use Google Flights.
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