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Originally Posted by morbo
Has anyone had experience in redeeming flights with virgin atlantic and/or their partnered airlines using Virgin Atlantic Flying Club?
I checked their website and it seems that their virgin atlantic flights from syd to hk/london are pretty competitive. Surprisingly, their partnered airline offers are pretty impressive too. With Amex offering a 1:1 transfer, I'm seriously thinking of dropping Qantas forever.
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Dear Morbo and all:
I have just returned from a round-the-world trip flying Singapore Airlines in First Class (Mel-Sin-LAX then JFK-FRA-SIN-MEL) using Virgin Atlantic Points acquired by 1:1 transfer from AMEX. Unlike Qantas, there was seat availability (booked Sep 06, travel Jan 07!), and the points used for this trip totalled 315000 (vs 500000+ on QF - if you could get it). In addition, the staff at Virgin were very helpful in booking flights for me. A last interesting point is that the total "taxes and charges" on this ticket were $AU109.00. Imagine what Qantas would add on for a "free" award ticket to these destinations in this class!
In summary, while I will continue to use QFF domestically for award travel I think that the Virgin ATlantic Program is the best in the world for rewards given the low points required, the availability, and the great choice of airlines inc Air NZ, Singapore, Malaysian etc. It goes without saying that the Virgin program is free to join on-line.