Virgin Atlantic is having a promotion in which they are discounting all award flights by 25% off which makes one way flights to Europe only 13,125 miles + $134! The best part is this promotion is valid for all dates of travel that you could currently book Virgin flights for, including next summer! You must book by September 23rd and this applies to economy & premium economy bookings only. 

Prices listed are for roundtrip travel

As I’ve written previously, using Virgin Atlantic miles for travel on Virgin Atlantic is generally not an amazing use of miles due to the large fuel surcharges Virgin passes on, especially when departing London since the British government tacks on a large tax on departing flights. However, there is one great use of these miles for travel on Virgin Atlantic: One Way Travel To Europe for only 13,125 miles + $134. Most other airlines charge 30,000 miles one way to Europe so this is a pretty solid deal.

With this promotion, economy roundtrip flights are discounted to only 26,250 miles but with hefty taxes of $400 per person. The workaround to make this promotion worthwhile is to book just a one way award to London which causes half the amount of miles, 13,125, but only $134 in surcharges. The surcharges are not evenly split between flights to and from London so it makes sense to take advantage of the lower surcharges simply by flying to London but not home from London.

NY to London – Good Deal.

London to NY – Not As Good.

I think the real advantage of this promotion is that it covers flights into next summer, when airfares SKYROCKET to Europe. Even better, Virgin Atlantic has amazing availability for award flights for next summer. I personally would fly Virgin Atlantic to London and return home from a different city in Europe using miles. Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam are all easy train rides from London and you can explore several cities before returning home.  This promotion ends September 23rd, so you could book flights for next year up until August 23rd by waiting for the last day of the promotion.

I think the promotion has sneaky good value. Is anyone taking advantage of this promotion?

(H/T to View From the Wing)