Why Virgin Atlantic miles are 5X to 20X(?) better than Delta miles—even for Delta flights.
It’s incredibly difficult to understand airline partnerships—let alone scour the Internet for the most lucrative loopholes to take advantage of. Between countless airline partnerships and credit card rewards programs, things can get confusing quickly.
But today I want to show you a trick to get five business class tickets for the price of one—and the magic behind it.
Yes, you read that right.
The fact is, you can save a ton of money on your travel bookings simply by paying with one airline’s mileage program over another.
Today I’m going to cover one of those lucrative opportunities within Virgin Atlantic’s mileage program—which Amex Rewards points collectors can easily access.
Delta’s Availability Problem
If you’re a Delta traveler, then you know how hard it is to use your Delta miles. Their stingy and opaque system ends up turning away many customers and hurts the credibility of their SkyMiles program. However, there is a way to get cheap pricing on Delta flights plus a significantly higher number of travel dates.
The Hidden Secret in
Delta’s and Virgin Atlantic’s Mileage PARTNERSHIP
One of the biggest issues with using miles on Delta (and other airlines’) flights is that the airline only releases a few low-cost mileage award seats. Usually, all you’ll see is just full price award options, which can easily run you 300,000 to 600,000 miles depending on the airline and route.
But here’s the trick: using Virgin Atlantic miles for the same Delta flights/routes can open up low-cost award space that Delta doesn’t offer.
Where To Find this Opportunity
Take a look at this Los Angeles-Tokyo route in the month of August. As you can see, Delta only offers one day at the low-cost rate of 78,000 miles for a one-way ticket.
delta.com screenshot:
In this case, if all you have are Delta SkyMiles, your only choice is to pay the higher cost to travel on the dates you want.
At least that’s what most people think. In reality, when you’re flying Delta there’s another solution that most people never think to check: booking your Delta flights using Virgin Atlantic miles.
By doing this, you’ll not only get much better award space availability—you’ll also get it at a significant discount. In this case, you can choose from 11 different days at the low-cost rate of just 60,000 miles one-way. That’s 10 more travel options to choose for 18,000 less miles than Delta’s lowest rate.
virginatlantic.com:
For travel to Asia, the Virgin Atlantic strategy is helpful too. Delta typically has very few low-cost award options available. Trips typically range from 156,000 to 200,000 miles round-trip depending on the destination, but can go as high as 600,000 miles round-trip!
On the other hand, booking your Delta flights using Virgin Atlantic miles is significantly cheaper and gives you much more low-cost award options to choose from.
FCF has found similar price differences when you use Virgin Atlantic miles for travel on Delta flights to Asia: From Atlanta to Tokyo and Shanghai; Detroit to Beijing, Nagoya, Tokyo and Shanghai; Los Angeles to Tokyo and Shanghai; Minneapolis to Tokyo; Portland to Tokyo; Seattle to Beijing, Tokyo and Shanghai.
MORE Routes to Capitalize On
To London: FCF’s research has found that both Delta and Virgin Atlantic have award space at low-cost mileage amounts, but that’s pretty much where the similarities end with respect to those two airlines. Like we said before, Virgin Atlantic often has more low-cost availability. That’s why it’s always worth checking out both Delta and Virgin Atlantic before you make your final booking.
For example, take a look at this Minneapolis to London route in the month of March. Delta doesn’t even have one seat available at the low-mileage cost with Delta miles. The entire month shows that it would cost 280,000 miles for a one-way trip.
delta.com:
Now, check out what happens if you were to book your Delta flights using Virgin Atlantic miles for the same travel window. As you can see below, there are 20 days available at the low-cost rate of 47,500 for a one-way ticket. Sounds like Virgin Miles (again, easily had via most credit card points-transfer programs) might be 20X better than Delta miles?!
Not only can you get much better award space availability, but you’re getting it at 232,500 miles cheaper than Delta’s lowest rate.
The only drawback with traveling to London on Virgin Atlantic is that they have a high tax rate of $527 for a one-way trip. Delta’s taxes are only $5 one-way. Non-London routes have much lower taxes.
virginatlantic.com:
Routes to the Rest of Europe
Check out this New York-Amsterdam route in the month of August. As you can see, Delta doesn’t even have one seat available at the low-mileage cost using their miles. The entire month it’ll cost 280,000 miles for a one-way trip.
delta.com:
Now look at what happens if you book your Delta flights using Virgin Atlantic miles during the same travel window. Suddenly you have 20 days available at the low-cost rate of just 50,000 miles for one seat. 17 days have two seats available and 11 days have four seats available. Once again this is an incredible difference in price of 230,000 miles fewer than what Delta charges! That’s five tickets for the price of one.
My lab test booking on virginatlantic.com:
Even Four-Seat Availability?
FCF has found similar price differences when you use Virgin Atlantic miles for travel on Delta flights from New York to Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Milan. Keep in mind that this trick doesn’t work for all of Delta’s routes, but it’s always worth double-checking to make sure that you’re getting the lowest price possible.
Other Important Points to Remember when Using Virgin Atlantic Miles on Delta Flights
Credit Card Partnerships: Virgin Atlantic has more credit card point transfer partners than Delta (Amex Rewards, Chase, Citi, and Starwood/Marriott). Delta only has two (Amex Rewards and Starwood/Marriott).
Transfer Bonuses: Throughout the year, Virgin Atlantic and Amex Membership Rewards offer transfer bonuses. Their most recent bonus was 30%. Meanwhile, Delta’s co-branded credit cards never offer transfer bonuses.
First Class Bonus: With Virgin Atlantic, you can fly First Class for up to 50,000 fewer miles than Delta’s Business Class. With Delta miles, you can only fly Business Class—even on partner airlines. This is because Delta doesn’t have a First Class cabin and their partners have chosen not to share their First Class space with their mileage program.
However, when you use Virgin Atlantic miles, you’ll gain access to a number of airline partners who offer a First Class cabin. One example is All Nippon. For travel from the U.S. to Japan, All Nippon typically charges 150,000 to 165,000 miles for round-trip travel. With Virgin Atlantic miles, the round-trip cost is only 110,000 miles (from western U.S.) to 120,000 miles (from eastern U.S.), so you’re able to save up to 55,000 miles.
Mileage Award Taxes: Virgin Atlantic charges the same taxes as Delta for flights to Asia and Europe, except to London.
South America: Can work with this strategy. You just have to call Virgin to book.
Usage Limitations: The main downside of Virgin Atlantic miles is that you can only use them for Delta’s nonstop routes. All connecting flights would require you to purchase a second mileage ticket, which would ultimately increase your total cost when using Virgin Atlantic miles. In these cases, it would be better to use Delta miles for your travel booking—or just buy a seperate ticket to the gateway with the amazing opportunity.
It’s not perfect: Not all cities can be booked online with Virgin Atlantic, given its weird booking engine (some cities aren’t loaded). So, you may need to call Virgin Atlantic (800-365-9500) to check for partner space. A bit annoying, but not a deal-breaker.
For more information, please see FCF’s article which outlines “How You Can (And Why) Bust Out of Delta SkyMiles Bondage for Travel to Asia, Europe, and South America.”
