The Virgin brand has expanded far beyond airlines. In addition to Virgin Atlantic, there’s now Virgin Hotels, Virgin Voyages, and even a catch-all rewards platform called Virgin Red. And while it might seem like all these brands would fall under one loyalty umbrella, the reality has been a little more complicated.
Virgin Atlantic runs a frequent flyer program called Flying Club, which uses Virgin Points as its currency. Virgin Red also uses Virgin Points, but it acts more like a lifestyle rewards program, covering everything from hotel stays to wine deliveries to experiences with other Virgin brands.
For a while, Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Red felt like separate ecosystems. But over time, Virgin has worked to bring them closer together. You can now link your Flying Club and Virgin Red accounts, and Virgin Points earned in either can be used across both platforms. That means it no longer matters whether you transfer points from your bank to Virgin Atlantic or Virgin Red—they all land as Virgin Points.
And now, that shared currency can take you to sea.
Until now, using Virgin Points to book a Virgin Voyages cruise was only possible through limited-time offers on select sailings. The redemption rates in those cases were often quite reasonable, likely because the offers were tied to cruises that hadn’t filled up, such as off-season or less popular itineraries.
Still, there was no consistent way to plan ahead or use points for the sailing of your choice. It was more of an occasional opportunity than a dependable option.
That’s what makes this new development so notable.
You Can Now Use Points on Any Virgin Voyages Cruise
Through the Virgin Red platform, you can now redeem Virgin Points for any available Central Sea Terrace cabin on any Virgin Voyages sailing.
Real-World Example: Our Spring Cruise from San Juan
We recently sailed a Virgin Voyages itinerary from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Here we are during our stop in Martinique, one of the ports of call. For 2026, that same cruise itinerary is bookable with Virgin Points.
Redemption Value Breakdown
For that cruise, a Central Sea Terrace cabin is available for 545,000 Virgin Points. The price to book that same cabin is $3,850, but its full retail value is listed at $6,016.
That gives us a redemption value of:
- 1.10¢ per point if compared to the $6,016 full price
- 0.71¢ per point if compared to the $3,850 sale price
Not amazing, but not bad—especially when you consider that the points price is per cabin, double occupancy, and Virgin Voyages include all meals, gratuities, entertainment, and more.
Most Affordable Redemption Option
The least expensive redemption currently available is a 4-night Fire and Sunset Soirées sailing in September 2026 for 305,000 Virgin Points. This cruise departs from Miami and stops at Key West and Bimini, Bahamas.
That cruise costs:
- $3,160 full price
- $2,120 with current sale
Which means your point value is:
- 1.04¢ per point vs. the full fare
- 0.70¢ per point with the sale applied
Chase Transfer Bonus Makes This More Appealing
If you’re looking to top off your Virgin account, there’s a 25% Chase transfer bonus running through June 15, 2025.
Transfer 100,000 Ultimate Rewards® points and you’ll receive 125,000 Virgin Points. This bonus helps improve the overall value when booking cruises, especially the lower-priced sailings.
Final Thoughts
While this isn’t the most lucrative way to redeem Virgin Points, it’s one of the easiest. If you value convenience over cents-per-point maximization, being able to book any Virgin Voyages cruise with points—at any time—is a welcome addition.
It also shows continued progress in tying together the various Virgin brands under one loyalty system. If this is a sign of things to come, it could mean even more flexibility for how and where you use your points in the future.
Want to comment on this post? Great! Read this first to help ensure it gets approved.
Want to sponsor a post, write something for Your Mileage May Vary, or put ads on our site? Click here for more info.
Like this post? Please share it! We have plenty more just like it and would love it if you decided to hang around and sign up to get emailed notifications of when we post.
Whether you’ve read our articles before or this is the first time you’re stopping by, we’re really glad you’re here and hope you come back to visit again!
This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from our team.