Virgin Atlantic shifts to dynamic pricing and introduces new saver reward fares
Virgin Atlantic has made some big changes to its Flying Club loyalty program — promising more redemption and earning opportunities, new saver reward seats and increased flexibility to award voucher redemptions alongside a subtle shift to dynamic pricing.
The changes will roll out from October 30 and promise a slew of opportunities for Flying Club members to earn and redeem their points, including making every seat on Virgin-operated flights bookable with points.
“Our customers mean the world to us,” said Virgin Atlantic CEO, Shai Weiss in a statement. “Our aim is always to do right by them and to make them smile. In our special Ruby anniversary year, we are making every single seat available for purchase with points, becoming even more rewarding for our millions of loyal Flying Club members.”
In the airline’s own words, they’re reinventing Flying Club, and at a glance, this appears largely positive for Flying Club members, but there is one small niggle. It appears it will also coincide with a shift to dynamic pricing.
Here’s a breakdown of what’s happening.
A move to dynamic pricing
While Virgin’s communications surrounding the changes are unsurprisingly focused on the benefits of these changes (more on this below), it’s also impossible not to notice the announcement’s subtle reference to a new dynamic pricing structure.
“Flying Club members will be able to use Virgin Points to pay for any seat on the plane on any date, offering absolute choice and flexibility for our loyal customers,” said Virgin in its announcement press release. “The price of seats will vary in line with demand, in a similar way to standard tickets.”
Related: Dynamic airline award pricing is out of control — here are some ways to beat it
It’s a short and succinct line, but it’s nonetheless a heavy one. Simply put, the airline, like many others in recent years, is adopting dynamic pricing as its means to set award fares based on demand.
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While this is a fresh announcement, it’s perhaps unsurprising given Virgin’s recent partnership with tech company FLYR to automate cash seat pricing using AI-driven technology, though Virgin has yet to confirm whether FLYR will be utilised in award pricing.
According to Virgin more than half of its flights with economy reward seats availability will see prices that are the same price or lower than right now. Added to this, the airline says a “large” amount of reward seats available in Upper Class will be bookable at the same price or lower than right now. Whether or not this simply means that prices will be hiked during peak periods, with lower fares scattered across quieter travel periods remains to be seen.
As of yet Virgin has not revealed whether they will impose any caps on the maximum or minimum award fares.
Is this shift to dynamic pricing good or bad? The jury is out, we’re afraid.
more award availability
OK, now we’ve mentioned the dynamic shaped elephant in the room, let’s look at the good stuff.
From 30 October, Virgin’s Guaranteed Availability system for award bookings will, depending on how you look at it, undergo something of an enhancement.
From this date, every seat on a Virgin Atlantic-operated flight will be bookable using Virgin Points, including upgrades. This is a significant shift from the current Guaranteed Availability system, which, since 2022, has made 12 award seats available on every Virgin-operated flight.
Looking at this positively, it means that you’ll have much more opportunities to redeem your points, with more seats being made available. On the downside, it’s likely that given the new dynamic pricing structure, there could be a pretty wild disparity between the award prices of these seats. And once the cheap spots are gone, you can expect to splurge more points for the exact same seats.
New chances to save on award seats
In an effort to combat this, Virgin will lock prices on a select number of seats per flight in a new saver reward seat product. This will lock a number of award fares at either the same prices bookable today or even lower.
It’s currently unclear as to whether these saver seats will be available across every cabin, or whether Virgin will designate a set number of seats per flight. TPG has reached out to Virgin Atlantic for clarification here.
This said, Virgin do say that Flying Club members should see some of their lowest-ever points prices — including reward flights from the U.K. to New York for as little as 6,000 points. Which isn’t to be sniffed at if you can take advantage of these offers before they’re snapped up.
Changes to award vouchers
We’re also going to see some changes to the way the Flying Club members can use Companion and Upgrade vouchers.
Currently the cabins on which you’re able to redeem these vouchers for are determined by your Flying Club status. Going forward, from Oct. 30, you’ll be you will be able to use your vouchers to book in any cabin.
There is, however, a catch. The maximum value of your voucher will be set based on the Flying Club status that you hold.
From Oct. 30, the voucher will be valid up to a maximum of 75k points for Flying Club Red tier members, or 150k points for Flying Club Silver or Gold tier members based on status at the time of voucher redemption. While you’ll be able to book seats that cost more points than this, you’ll be required to top up the difference.
If you were planning on using a voucher for a big return trip for two, this may be a real loss in value for some Flying Club Red members.
Increased earning opportunities on flights
The final change announced is the difference in the amounts of points travelers will earn on cash fares. Once the changes roll out, Flying Club members will earn up to 50% more Upper Class fares, and up to 75% more Premium tickets. A new earnings chart the fully explains the amount will be available from Oct. 30.
Bottom line
Virgin Atlantic has given a huge boost to award availability on its flights, along with new saver award fares, fresh ways to use vouchers and increased points earnings on cash fares. However, it comes at the cost of new dynamic pricing structures.
