Last chance, here's how to pay 1800 euros for a 14,000 ticket and travel in ANA's "loft"
Spoiler alert: This is not an article for the faint-hearted or for people with little courage. This article is for everyone [...]
Virgin Atlantic
All Nippon Airways (ANA)
Spoiler alert: this is not an article for the faint of heart or for people with little courage. This article is for everyone who wants to travel aboard one of the best first-class cabins in the world, served and waited on as only a Japanese company knows how to do.
The Loft by All Nippon Airlines
In this article:
To travel first class with ANA, Japan's largest airline, a ticket normally costs no less than 14,000 euros, an opportunity that ordinary people cannot afford even for their honeymoon.
Now that Japan has reopened its borders. and it is once again possible to travel to the Rising Sun, it is time to seize this opportunity before the window closes (perhaps) forever.
The points contrivance
We have said this so many times: Buying points to immediately book a ticket is a perfect strategy That can lead to savings of thousands. And that's what I'm talking about.
Did you get your flight cancelled, miss your connection, land late?
You could get up to 600€ compensation per person
Virgin Atlantic offers an incredible opportunity , that is. reserve this chair using only 60k Flying Club points (plus taxes of course). Unfortunately, however, there is no way to transfer MR points into VS points, so alternative ways must be found to accumulate the points needed for this redemption.
At this time it is possible to Buy Flying Club points with a bonus up to 70%, a bonus that grows according to the number of points you buy:
- 5,000-24,000 - 20% bonus
- 25,000-69,000 - 30% bonus
- 70,000-119,000 - 50% bonus
- 120,000-200,000 - 70% bonus
In addition, currency and exchange rate play in our favor.. Virgin Atlantic's points are bought in British pounds; the euro has strengthened significantly against the pound in recent months, and this reduces the countervalue to be spent on buying points compared to last year.
120k points are needed to be able to detach a round-trip first-class ticket, the cost to sustain to buy 80 thousand points and receive 40 thousand for free is, thanks to the bonus, 1,215 pounds (at current exchange rates just under 1,400€).
Can first class seats be found?
The Room, the business class cabin
The answer is yes, but you have to invest a lot of time in research. I just booked a ticket for next summer, I had several Virgin points in my pocket and gave myself The Loft, just a pity that compared to 2020, taxes and surcharges have increased from 350$ to almost 800$ for a round-trip ticket. But, if you aim to go one way, you can leave from Japan to London (or Frankfurt) and pay only 200$ in surcharges.
Beware, however, there is one factor that will soon be a game changer.
There will be plenty of award places to reserve soon
With the reopening of Japan, ANA is rescheduling its entire network International: the 777/300s equipped with these new cabins at the moment. They fly only over London, but in the coming weeks as the summer operation is finalized, Will also be placed on the Frankfurt Tokyo route. At that time all flights will be open and at the very least there will be one seat, sometimes even two, bookable with points in first class
In addition to this, as many business class seats will open up; today availability to Frankfurt was slim.
Obviously, to take advantage of this immense chance to book this ticket, one must be ready, namely:
- Having the points in your account Flying Club
- Monitor ANA operatives that are updated every two weeks.
Because it is the last chance to make this "theft"
The reason is. from 2023 Virgin Atlantic will become a full member of Skyteam and this should inevitably lead to the end of some partnerships that the British carrier has with other companies that are members of other alliances, such as precisely ANA which is Star Alliance.
This is an assumption, nothing official has been stated, and in any case the tickets issued will not be affected by the end of the partnership.
Important things to know
- To be able to buy points there is time until Nov. 18, will have to be used within 36 months, but you can renew the validity with little effort.
- You must be enrolled at the Flying Club
- FC account cannot be zero, you must have at least one point in order to buy points
How to earn your first FC points
The best way to activate the account is to transfer a handful of Bonvoy points, (e.g. 12k Marriott Bonvoy points become 4k Fliyng Club points), points that are credited in less than 48h.
If you don't have any Bonvoy points, my advice is to turn 10k Membership Rewards points into Bonvoy points and then from there into FC points.
If you have made it this far in the article, it means that the idea of peeling off this prize card, second perhaps only to going around the world, interests you. If you think it is "too complicated," I tell you it is true, it is not simple, but the reward is commensurate with the hard effort. You might be able to pay, including taxes, less than €1,900 for a ticket that costs no less than €14,500.
There is a parachute
In the worst case scenario, viz. In case you are unable to reserve a seat on board ANA, you will have enough points in your pocket to book a ticket aboard Virgin Atlantic's brand new Upper Class, access the crazy London clubhouse and travel aboard one of the best business class cabins.
That is why this is a win/win operation. You buy points and try the Jackpot, if you don't get the maximum you can settle for two business class tickets again with ANA and/or fly Upper Class with Virgin Atlantic at 1/3 of the normal ticket cost.
I did, if you can do it too let me know in the comments.
