Virgin America Flights Will Become Alaska Airlines Flights in April 2018
The Alaska Airlines-Virgin America merger has been a long time coming. Since Alaska first announced its acquisition of Virgin in December 2016, the merger process has advanced at a slow pace. The carriers have been working to integrate the Mileage Plan and Elevate programs, allowing elites to earn reciprocal benefits, and now we know when the Virgin America brand will cease to exist.
April 24, 2018, will be the last date you can fly with Virgin America. Beginning April 25, all flights for both Virgin and Alaska will be booked through Alaska Airlines.
As reported by FlightGlobal, Alaska sent an internal memo to employees, reading, "Alaska Airlines has posted the new Airbus schedule for flights after April 24. The flights will be Alaska flights and will only be available through Alaska channels... or through travel agencies and booking sites." In addition, the memo added, "Guests who try to book an Airbus flight scheduled for after April 24 through Virgin America's website or app will be redirected to Alaskaair.com."
Travelers can already see this when searching for flights. Google Flights has stopped showing flights with Virgin America after April 24.
Virgin's own website shows that there are no dates available after the same date. As of April 25, what were once Virgin America flights are now Alaska Airlines flights. If you book a flight with Alaska after April 24, chances are it could be on one of Virgin's Airbus aircraft.
As of April 25, the carriers will have a single inventory of flights, bookable on alaskaair.com. Alaska is calling this the next step in completing the merger, which it expects to operate as a single passenger service system by the second quarter of 2018. When the merger was first announced, Alaska said it expects to obtain a single operating certificate from the FAA in early 2018.
The two carriers have dropped news about the future of the singular airline and frequent flyer program in small bits. Most recently, we learned that Alaska elites now get free seat upgrades on Virgin America.
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Rewards Rate
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
| 10X miles | 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel |
Intro Offer
Earn 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200K miles when you spend $150K in the first 6 monthsLIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus milesAnnual Fee
$395Recommended Credit
Credit ranges are a variation of FICO® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.740-850Excellent
Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month