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London’s reputation as a hub for art, culture and history has made it a popular travel destination year-round. The city’s lesser-known northern counterpart, Manchester, offers a similar vibe — plus a rich football (or soccer) heritage — with thinner crowds and lower prices.
If you’re interested in exploring either (or both) of these vibrant cities, this deal from Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is for you. The program is known for having rock-bottom economy award rates to Europe starting at just 6,000 points each way. But right now, there are some great deals in premium economy and business class, too. And with a 30% transfer bonus from Citi ThankYou Rewards through April 18, you can stretch your points even further.
Here’s how to book your premium seat to England with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points or Citi ThankYou Rewards points.
(Note that prices and availability were accurate at the time of writing.)
Related: How to travel to Europe using points and miles
TPG’s deal of the day basics
- Airline: Virgin Atlantic
- Routes: Various U.S. hubs to Heathrow Airport (LHR) and Manchester Airport (MAN)
- Best way to book: Through Virgin’s website
- Price: Starting from 10,500 Virgin points (9,000 Citi points with the 30% bonus) plus $294 in premium economy each way; from 29,000 Virgin points (23,000 Citi points with the bonus) plus $690 in business class each way
- Cash price: From $759 each way in premium economy or $2,509 each way in business class
- Travel dates: Various dates throughout 2026
How to find and book TPG’s deal of the day
Since the best prices are scattered across various dates, we recommend starting your search with the handy Seats.aero tool to narrow down your options. Once you’ve pinpointed your origin and departure airports, you can use Virgin Atlantic’s Reward Seat Checker to see redemption prices across each month.
You can then book with Virgin points if you have them, or transfer them from one of Virgin’s handful of credit card transfer partners. You’ll get the best deal from Citi, which is offering a 30% transfer bonus to Virgin through April 18.
That means this premium economy ticket would cost just 9,000 Citi points each way, plus $294 in taxes and fees.
We saw this price mostly on nonstop routes from Dulles International Airport (IAD) and Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) to LHR and from Orlando International Airport (MCO) and John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to MAN. There’s widespread availability in the fall and winter, with some spring and summer dates as well.
In upper class (Virgin Atlantic’s lie-flat business class), the Citi transfer bonus takes the lowest price from just 27,000 to 29,000 points, plus $690 in taxes and fees. We saw these rates mostly in early 2027 from BOS, IAD, JFK, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) and Tampa International Airport (TPA) to both LHR and MAN.
We’ve also seen widespread availability this summer from Orlando to Manchester for just 35,000 Virgin points.
Keep in mind that transfers are irreversible, so always confirm award availability with the airline before transferring your rewards.
Unfortunately, Virgin tacks on steep surcharges to its award tickets. But with these rates, you can still get upward of 5 cents per point in value after you subtract the taxes and fees from the cash price you’d pay for one of these premium-cabin seats.
Related: The best credit cards for paying taxes and fees on award tickets
How to earn the points or miles required for TPG’s deal of the day
The following cards earn Citi ThankYou points on everyday purchases, and they offer welcome bonuses to help you rack up points fast:
- Citi Strata℠ Card (see rates and fees): Earn 20,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first three months of card membership.
- Citi Strata Elite℠ Card (see rates and fees): Earn 75,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first three months of card membership.
- Citi Strata Premier® Card (see rates and fees): Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months of card membership.
Even without the 30% Citi transfer bonus, these premium-cabin flights to England are still a great deal — and you can book them with points from several other transferable currencies, including Rove Miles. Here are a few of our favorite cards that allow you to transfer points to Virgin Atlantic at a 1:1 ratio, along with their current welcome bonuses:
- Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees): Earn 125,000 bonus points after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
- Bilt Obsidian Card (see rates and fees): Receive $200 in Bilt Cash* upon approval.
- American Express® Gold Card: Find out your offer and see if you are eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $6,000 on purchases in your first six months of membership. Welcome offers vary, and you may not be eligible for an offer.
*Up to $100 of Bilt Cash earned rolls over to the next year. TPG’s Brian Kelly is a Bilt adviser and investor.
Related: How (and why) you should earn transferable credit card points
Bottom line
If you’re a fan of icons like Harry Potter, Sherlock Holmes and David Beckham, England has much to offer — and these Virgin Atlantic deals on premium cabin seats will get you across the pond in comfort and style. Even better, Citi ThankYou members can use this limited-time 30% transfer bonus to save even more through April 18.
Continue planning your trip to England:
Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
