Virgin Atlantic Flying Membership program modifications: What I hope to see as a loyal frequent flyer

Final month, Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Membership loyalty program teased enormous modifications, particularly a shift to dynamic pricing and extra redemption and points-earning alternatives. These modifications will begin Oct. 30, however the specifics are nonetheless to be introduced.

Per a press launch, costs for award seats will “fluctuate according to demand;” subsequently, frequent flyers can count on to pay extra factors for extra in-demand flights. Whereas Virgin Atlantic has not but revealed the elevated costs, it has promised that flights from the U.S. to Europe will begin at simply 6,000 Virgin factors, the bottom variety of factors any program costs for transatlantic flights to Europe.

So, that is certainly all excellent news, proper? Properly, not essentially.

Delta Air Traces owns a 49% share of Virgin Atlantic, so it is onerous to not assume Delta has not less than authorized the entire modifications, if not created them. So, why does this matter? Delta was one of many first airways to introduce dynamic pricing, which has created poor shopper redemption charges, equivalent to a Delta One award seat now costing upward of 375,000 Delta SkyMiles.

Realistically, with Delta proudly owning a large stake in Virgin Atlantic, what’s the greatest we are able to hope for to make this system worthwhile but aggressive?

As a loyal Virgin Atlantic passenger for a few years, having flown each plane sort the provider operates, I’ve earned and redeemed Virgin factors for so long as I can bear in mind. Whereas Flying Blue has just lately turn out to be my SkyTeam loyalty program of alternative, Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Membership program has all the time held some worth, regardless of my grumbles with its excessive surcharge charges.

With this system present process a serious shift Oct. 30, listed here are the modifications I hope to see from the Flying Membership reinvention.

Associated: Virgin Atlantic Flying Membership: How you can earn and redeem factors for optimum worth

An affordable cap on dynamic pricing

Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Membership program has retained a really affordable award chart, beginning at simply 10,000 Virgin factors for off-peak economy-class flights between the jap U.S. and the U.Okay. Whereas this system imposes very excessive provider surcharges, that price is decrease than the charges of competing applications, and availability is normally first rate.

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With a shift to dynamic pricing, my largest fear is how excessive these award costs may rise for peak-season flights. Because the Flying Membership program guarantees that low-demand economy-class flights will begin at simply 6,000 Virgin factors, I hope that when these flights function utilizing dynamic pricing, there’s a affordable cap on the variety of factors it is going to price to guide the flight, no matter how excessive money costs rise.

Whereas a one-way 155,000-point business-class seat to London could be a lot increased than present charges, it will nonetheless be aggressive with different applications over the busy summer season interval.

Associated: Is Virgin Atlantic premium financial system value it on the A330-900neo?

The power to pay surcharges with factors

Virgin Atlantic costs among the highest carrier-imposed surcharges of any airline on this planet, including about $2,000 to the price of a round-trip business-class redemption throughout the Atlantic. If I had one want for the Flying Membership program, it will be for a pointy discount in these surcharges. Nonetheless, I am additionally a realist.

Permitting members to pay these surcharges with Virgin factors at a price of 1 cent per level would enhance this system’s attractiveness whereas preserving it aggressive. For instance, members may redeem an extra 200,000 Virgin factors to avoid wasting the $2,000 in surcharges. Nonetheless, per our October 2024 valuations, Flying Membership factors are value 1.4 cents per level, so that you would not essentially be maximizing your factors with this redemption.

However extra alternative isn’t a foul factor in my view.

Associated: 10 issues to find out about flying Virgin Atlantic’s tremendous enterprise class, the Retreat Suite

Reductions on surcharges throughout off-peak intervals

There have been reviews that Flying Membership may also dynamically value its surcharges beneath the brand new mannequin.

I can not consider some other airline program that does this (they both cost the total surcharge or none in any respect), and this is able to be an uncommon path to take.

In principle, this might imply that on peak intervals, along with charging extra factors, Flying Membership may additionally select to doubtlessly double its surcharges. I doubt anybody could be prepared to pay $4,000 in surcharges for a return flight to London (in addition to as much as 310,000 factors in the event that they double the present Virgin factors wanted as nicely), so I am very skeptical the surcharges will enhance.

It must be pretty straightforward to discover a business-class money fare for lower than $4,000, particularly in case you are prepared to attach, which might make these redemptions absurd.

This system may very well be progressive by decreasing surcharges on off-peak dates. For instance, a round-trip economy-class flight from New York’s John F. Kennedy Worldwide Airport (JFK) to London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) within the coronary heart of the winter season will be discovered for as little as $400.

Due to this fact, it is unlikely anybody will half with the present 20,000 factors and pay an extra $508 in taxes, charges and surcharges when a money fare requires much less money and no factors.

But when the money fee had been diminished by half, possibly they’d.

With money charges this low, it is unlikely Virgin’s planes are full, so tempting members with diminished surcharges may very well be a win-win for filling the planes and decreasing Flying Membership factors balances.

Associated: How a lot are you able to pack into an hour at Virgin Atlantic’s London Clubhouse?

Factors-only upgrades

I recall checking in to a Virgin Atlantic flight at St. Lucia’s Hewanorra Worldwide Airport (UVF). The passengers on the desk beside me requested if they may use their Virgin factors to improve from premium financial system to enterprise class. They appeared excited to be informed that seats had been accessible within the Higher Class cabin and that the variety of Virgin factors required was not unreasonable.

The passengers had been about to tug the set off and deal with themselves to the in a single day flight again to London after they had been informed they’d additionally must pay a whole lot of {dollars} every in surcharges for the improve on high of the tens of hundreds of factors.

Despondent and pissed off, they refused the improve provide and stormed off to safety, chastising the loyalty program as a “rip-off stuffed with hidden charges.”

In case you have already paid all of the airport charges and taxes of a premium financial system seat and wish to improve one class, would you count on to be forking over a whole lot of {dollars} on high of the factors? Certain, if the flight is departing London and the next Air Passenger Responsibility is payable, then it is comprehensible that you’d must pay the extra authorities tax. Nonetheless, an extra surcharge goes straight into the airline’s pocket on high of what might need already been an expensive money ticket.

As a substitute, Virgin may take into account providing points-only upgrades. On condition that Virgin has promised members that each seat can be accessible to improve to, providing members the choice to improve with no money required could be a real enchancment to this system.

Associated: Caught in coach with no elite standing? That improve may be cheaper than you assume

Continued network-wide reductions on award seats

Over the previous few years, Flying Membership has provided redemption gross sales every so often, decreasing the factors price of seats throughout its total community by as a lot as 50%. This has been a terrific strategy to tempt members with a big stability of Virgin factors, like me, to redeem them for decrease charges.

Although this system will reportedly scale back the worth of choose seats throughout low-demand intervals per its new dynamic pricing mannequin, I hope Virgin will go one step additional and proceed to supply network-wide reductions every so often.

For instance, I flew in financial system class from New York Metropolis again to my dwelling in London for simply 5,000 Virgin factors, which saved me greater than $650 on my flight.

Backside line

I would be mendacity if I mentioned I wasn’t nervous in regards to the upcoming modifications to the Flying Membership program, as I can not assist however concern the worst. Whereas flights will reportedly begin at 6,000 Virgin factors, this system hasn’t disclosed what the utmost award value will rise to.

Regardless of the advertising spin, I am not naive sufficient to assume all of the modifications can be constructive.

With Delta pioneering the dynamic pricing mannequin and SkyMiles now value lower than Virgin factors in our October 2024 valuations, I do hope the worth of Virgin factors would not considerably lower.

Flying Membership has all the time been a novel program for award vacationers. Its large surcharges make its pricing mannequin totally different from that of SkyMiles, which solely costs taxes and costs. So, I do not see large will increase to each the Virgin factors and the surcharges required to be aggressive within the present loyalty market, the place bank card clients have a variety of selections wherein program to switch their hard-earned factors and miles to.

Hopefully, this system can stay progressive whereas nonetheless being aggressive throughout the market.