Book now: Virgin Atlantic Flying Club increasing prices of many Delta redemptions

If you've used Virgin Atlantic's Flying Club program to book Delta-operated flights in the past, listen up. You have just a couple of days before Virgin significantly increases the price of many Delta award itineraries. While it's not all bad news, you'll soon need more Virgin points across a large portion of Delta's route network.

For bookings made from Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023, for travel from Jan. 1, 2024, Flying Club redemptions for travel on certain Delta-operated flights will increase as follows:

However, this updated award chart only applies to Delta flights outside of Europe and the United Kingdom, which remain unaffected.

Nevertheless, many of these changes are brutal. Only one readily available redemption (an economy flight covering up to 500 miles in distance) remains at the same price. All other Delta-operated economy flights are climbing, in some cases by more than 50%.

For example, nonstop Delta award flights from the U.S. to destinations in Australia increase to 65,500 Virgin Points each way, representing a 45% increase.

It's a similar story for premium cabins. Many domestic first-class tickets will climb by close to 50%, with only the longest flights (greater than 3,000 miles in distance) remaining unchanged. And since award availability in Delta One on long-haul international flights has been essentially nonexistent for some time, keeping those prices the same doesn't have any practical benefit to travelers.

While many of the price increases are extreme, some caveats soften the blow:

• The price increases do not commence until Dec. 7, so if you do have a redemption in mind, book it immediately before the price rises.
• Travel booked and undertaken before the end of 2023 is unaffected.
• All Delta-operated flights to and from Europe and the U.K. are unaffected by the price increases.

Related: When and how to book Delta awards with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points

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Here's a statement a Virgin Atlantic spokesperson sent to TPG via email:

We recognize how much our members value the extensive range of redemption partner options available through Flying Club, including flights with our joint venture partner, Delta Air Lines. We routinely evaluate our pricing, and have updated pricing for redemption flights using Virgin Points on non-transatlantic Delta routes. Virgin Atlantic remains committed to offering our loyal members the most competitive pricing for redemption flights across our partner airline network.

Thankfully, Delta Main Cabin flights to Europe on standard season dates will continue to provide great value for a solid product, with flights from just 15,000 Virgin points each way. These flights also incur lower surcharges than Virgin-operated flights on the same routes.

You can view a full breakdown of these award charts on Virgin Atlantic's partner page for Delta Air Lines.

Related: Quick Points: Book Delta transatlantic Main Cabin seats at low fixed rates with Virgin points

Our take on the changes

Simply put, these changes represent a severe devaluation for non-European Delta award flights booked via Virgin Atlantic. Aside from the few distance bands that will remain unchanged, you'll soon pay at least 30% more for these award tickets.

Of course, short-haul flights in domestic first class often provided poor value even at the existing rates, with 40,000 Virgin points needed for a three-hour flight in recliner seats between New York and Florida, for example. Meanwhile, on premium transcontinental routes like New York to California — where Delta may have offered a proper lie-flat seat — availability has been very hard to come by.

However, nonstop economy flights within the U.S. still offered some terrific value, especially given the fact that Virgin Atlantic partners with all the major transferable credit card currencies. This will significantly change once the new award charts take effect.

Finally, it's worth noting another aspect of the Flying Club program that's not changing. Virgin Atlantic will continue to price Delta awards on a segment-by-segment basis, so you'll still need more Virgin points for a connecting itinerary than a nonstop one.

Bottom line

Virgin Atlantic is increasing the award rates on many Delta-operated flights as of Dec. 7 for flights on (or after) Jan. 1, 2024. While Delta award availability through Virgin has always been limited, many of these increases are severe.

Using Virgin points for nonstop Delta flights has long been an appealing value proposition (even after the 2021 devaluation). Booking the same flights through Delta SkyMiles can often require more miles, so these changes will remove some of those sweet spots — though, thankfully, flights to (and from) Europe aren't affected.

If you wish to book Delta flights for attractively low rates using Virgin points, you have only a few days left before prices increase.