Hi everyone, I'm a newbie to this forum and also with making a booking with VA rewards, so please be gentle if you think some of my questions are glaringly obvious!
I'm looking to organise a trip to America next year for my other half's 40th and obviously I'm hoping to get the best possible deal through a combination of using either reward points, reward voucher, the time of year going etc.
I've currently got 2 reward vouchers available - one that expires 2nd July 2026 and one that expires 29th August 2027. In addition, I've also got 180k reward points.
I've never booked a flight/holiday using either of these things and whilst I get the basic principles of them, I'm somewhat confused over how to get the best possible deal.
I'm hoping to book a 3-4 week trip from either MAN/LHR to New York for a week then over to LAX for the remainder.
My other half's birthday is in May, so it would be great to be away for this, which would also make sure one of the reward vouchers don't expire. It looks like this would be treated as off-peak - provided we were back before 15th June.
Alternatively, I'm wondering if we wait until September as these flights are only just coming out, so there might be more likelihood of getting a better deal? Obviously I don't want to waste the voucher by not going in May/June next year, but am I better waiting for September? Any booking after 2nd September would be off-peak too.
Ideally, I'd like to book premium flights using my reward points and then use the voucher/vouchers to get upgrades to upper, but not sure how easy this is to do, as there never seems to be availability?
Just to add, I'm currently a silver member but this is due to expire at the end of October. I believe this status can double the value of any voucher, but not sure if this means if I book something before the end of the month for next year it would still apply? Is it when you make the booking or your status the time of your departure?
Also, does anyone have any experience of which work out better to use reward points or a voucher? And do Virgin Atlantic sales have any bearing on bookings with reward points?
Finally, how helpful is the helpline for queries like this and would you recommend booking through Virgin Holidays, or doing things separately? I'd only need a hotel for NYC, as in LA I have family there that I can stay with.
I'm looking to organise a trip to America next year for my other half's 40th and obviously I'm hoping to get the best possible deal through a combination of using either reward points, reward voucher, the time of year going etc.
I've currently got 2 reward vouchers available - one that expires 2nd July 2026 and one that expires 29th August 2027. In addition, I've also got 180k reward points.
I've never booked a flight/holiday using either of these things and whilst I get the basic principles of them, I'm somewhat confused over how to get the best possible deal.
I'm hoping to book a 3-4 week trip from either MAN/LHR to New York for a week then over to LAX for the remainder.
My other half's birthday is in May, so it would be great to be away for this, which would also make sure one of the reward vouchers don't expire. It looks like this would be treated as off-peak - provided we were back before 15th June.
Alternatively, I'm wondering if we wait until September as these flights are only just coming out, so there might be more likelihood of getting a better deal? Obviously I don't want to waste the voucher by not going in May/June next year, but am I better waiting for September? Any booking after 2nd September would be off-peak too.
Ideally, I'd like to book premium flights using my reward points and then use the voucher/vouchers to get upgrades to upper, but not sure how easy this is to do, as there never seems to be availability?
Just to add, I'm currently a silver member but this is due to expire at the end of October. I believe this status can double the value of any voucher, but not sure if this means if I book something before the end of the month for next year it would still apply? Is it when you make the booking or your status the time of your departure?
Also, does anyone have any experience of which work out better to use reward points or a voucher? And do Virgin Atlantic sales have any bearing on bookings with reward points?
Finally, how helpful is the helpline for queries like this and would you recommend booking through Virgin Holidays, or doing things separately? I'd only need a hotel for NYC, as in LA I have family there that I can stay with.
