Ouch: Virgin Atlantic Points Will Go Dynamic Next Month

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Virgin Atlantic announced today that their program will go dynamic starting on October 30th.

Of course, they spin this as if it’s a good thing for consumers, as do all airlines that switch from an award chart to dynamic pricing.

But while there may be some short-term positives, ditching award charts is never a good thing. It just allows airlines to devalue awards with impunity as they don’t have to announce devaluations.

Virgin says that you “will be able to use Virgin Points to pay for any seat on the plane on any date, offering absolute choice and flexibility for our loyal customers. The price of seats will vary in line with demand, in a similar way to standard tickets.”

That’s not a good thing. All things considered, you would be better off earning cash back over miles if miles are just going to track with the price of a ticket.

Virgin promises to cushion that by “launching new Saver reward seats at our lowest possible prices…with flights to New York from as little as 6,000 Virgin Points.”

Of course, Virgin can charge just 1,000 points and make up for it with their typically hefty fuel surcharges, so that’s a meaningless number to promise. And while airlines that go dynamic can keep saver awards, as United has, prices typically keep going up, with limited exceptions for promotions. They may start off as a better deal, but they will inevitably be devalued without notice.

Here’s hoping they at least keep their partner airline award charts around, which still offers some decent values.

As I always say, avoid storing your points with airlines that will devalue them! Keep them as hybrid bank points where you can have options to transfer them to other airline or hotel programs, or use them for paid travel at increased values.