Act fast: Book business class on Delta or Virgin Atlantic to Europe for 50,000 points one-way

[Admin]

There’s a fairly remarkable deal right now to fly on Delta Air Lines for as little as 50,000 points one-way in business class, including during the busy summer travel months.

You’ll need to act fast, however, as we don’t expect this deal to last long. The ‘trick’ to this deal is that you’ll need to use Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points to book these tickets to fly on Virgin’s partner Delta Air Lines or on a Virgin Atlantic-operated flight.

Many options from the U.S. are available, including flights to Dublin, Munich, Paris and more, as first seen on View From the Wing.

Remember that you can transfer rewards to Virgin from American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One, Chase Ultimate Rewards and Citi ThankYou Rewards at a 1:1 ratio. In some cases, transfers to Virgin are instant, though I found when I tested a transfer from American Express, it said it could take up to two days to go through, so there is never a guarantee of an instant transfer.

I now see those 50,000 miles in my Virgin Atlantic account, but they are not yet available to use for booking. 

Deal basics

Airlines: Virgin Atlantic and Delta Air Lines.
Routes: Boston, Cincinnati, Minneapolis and New York City to Munich, Paris, Rome, Lisbon, Frankfurt and more.
How to book: Book directly with Virgin Atlantic.
Travel dates: January through April; November and December
Book by: ASAP

Delta One. ERIC ROSEN/THE POINTS GUY

Sample flights

New York to Paris

I found, for example, a flight between New York-JFK and Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) for as little as 100,000 points round trip.

Flexible calendar showing award availability. VIRGIN ATLANTIC

In this example, I could fly from New York to Paris on a Delta-operated flight with just $149 in taxes and fees.

Virgin Atlantic booking with just $149 in taxes and fees. VIRGIN ATLANTIC

Germany in the summer

I was also able to find flights to Germany in business class for as little as 50,000 miles each way, plus (higher) taxes and fees.

Virgin Atlantic search results. VIRGIN ATLANTIC Virgin Atlantic search results. VIRGIN ATLANTIC

New York to Munich in the spring

Virgin Atlantic has a flexible booking window for flights to Munich. VIRGIN ATLANTIC

How about Germany in the spring? We found flights as low as 100,000 miles round trip in April with only $126 in taxes and fees.

Maximize your purchase

Don’t forget to use a credit card that earns bonus points on the taxes and fees portion of your trip.

• Chase Sapphire Preferred Card: 2 points per dollar spent on travel
• American Express® Gold Card: 3 points per dollar spent on airfare when booked directly through the airline or American Express Travel
• The Platinum Card® from American Express: 5 points per dollar spent on airfare when booked directly through the airline or American Express Travel (on up to $500,000 of these purchases per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar)
• Citi Premier® Card (see rates and fees): 3 points per dollar spent on airfare
• Chase Sapphire Reserve: 3 points per dollar spent on airfare

Bottom line

Finding business-class flights for just 50,000 points each way to Europe on various routes and during busy travel months is increasingly unusual, especially on Delta Air Lines-operated flights. If you are sitting on a stash of Virgin Atlantic points, now is the time to use them.

I’m waiting to see if this deal lasts long enough for my American Express Membership Rewards transfer to fully process. I’ve got my eye on a few key flights if it does. I doubt this availability will last very long, so act quickly if you want to book.

Related reading:

• When is the best time to book flights for the cheapest airfare?
• The best airline credit cards
• What exactly are airline miles, anyway?
• 6 real-life strategies you can use when your flight is canceled or delayed
• Maximize your airfare: The best credit cards for booking flights
• The best credit cards to reach elite status
• What are points and miles worth? TPG’s monthly valuations

View the full article