One of the bright sides of spending so much money traveling through Europe in 2023 was the insane amount of points we accumulated. When we’re in the US, I stick to my Chase Southwest card, because I earn a companion pass quickly. The Husband and I haven’t paid for a domestic flight in years. I use points for myself and then add him as my companion. For just $5.60 each in taxes, we’ve traveled all over the US.
But while we were in Europe we used our Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. It has great travel protection and lots of opportunity to earn points. I knew that I would use the points to return home, so I started looking pretty early at travel partners and reward flights.
We finally decided on Virgin Atlantic because we’ve always had great experiences on their flights (our first time was a surprise flight for my grandma in 2013), they fly nonstop from London to Tampa and I hate layovers, and I could transfer my points for the tickets.
I booked us seats 6D and 6G in Virgin’s Upper Class (what they call business class) for 115,000 points, plus $628 each in fees, taxes, and surcharges. That was much higher than most other airlines but the seats are over $8k EACH so it was a total bargain (#travelmath).
The elevated experience from the moment you arrive at Heathrow makes it worth the cost. They have a separate departures area for Upper Class passengers. After being cleared be security, our taxi pulled up to a quiet departure area with concierge service. We were met at the door by an agent who checked us in and took us to security.
The security area was for Virgin Upper Class travelers only so we went through quickly. We were in the lounge not long after we were dropped off.
I’ve been to a lot of airport lounges (shout out to the Priority Pass that came with my Platinum Amex) but none were as fun as this one. It was beautifully designed, had great food and drink options, and the staff was outstanding.
We chose a spot by the windows overlooking the runway so I could use the Flight Radar app to see where everyone was heading (I’m extremely nosy). We were immediately greeted by the sweetest lady, offering us champagne and explaining the ordering system. As we sipped champagne, we ordered food from a QR code and it was delivered right to our spot.
With my hunger satiated and my first glass of champagne calming my nerves, I took a stroll around the lounge. The bathrooms were single stall, which I always appreciate. There were large booths for big parties traveling together, cozy seats for relaxing, a business area to work, and even an exercise area. There were three Peloton bikes overlooking the runway, with a locker room to freshen up before your flight.
There were announcements overhead (that you could actually hear AND understand) letting you know when it was time to head to your gate to board. When it was time to board, we headed over to our gate and got in the Upper Class line. The couple at the front of the line had a hard time understanding the boarding process, so it took forever to board. So long that the economy line was empty and all passengers were on by the time we boarded.
It was evident as soon as you boarded that the plane was a new A330neo. Everything felt fresh and trendy. The lighting, already better on regular Virgin planes, was awesome. The mood lighting as we boarded set the tone for the whole flight. It was fun yet elevated, which is the best way to describe the whole experience.
Our seats were in the center, side by side. The seats were roomy and comfortable when in a seated position and extremely generous when in the lay flat position. I’m not tall (5’6″) so there was plenty of room by my feet.
Since it was a new plane, it had upgraded features at the seat. In addition to the regular charging, there was wireless charging in a little cubby for your phone. The touchscreen also had a remote, so you could change your TV without sitting up. The best part was the door that closed off your seat from the aisle and included a do not disturb sign.
The new planes also had a “hangout” space, called The Loft, instead of the bars from the previous iterations of the their planes. There were two couches, two TVs, and a small fridge with water and ice cream. In theory, it was a cool idea but in reality was a waste of space. We ended up sitting there for a bit, chatting with a few other passengers and flight attendants. The height of the couches was weird, too high for my short legs without a proper place to rest them. The bathrooms were also right there, so you could hear everything, if you know what I mean.
The wonderful flight attendants served food and drinks nonstop. Since it was a daytime 10 hour flight from Europe to the US, there wasn’t a designated resting time. Instead of amenity kits and lights out, we got an endless supply of food and drinks, starting with departure champagne and chips.
I was in my vegetarian era during this flight (and most of the trip, and mostly still am) so I was very happy that they had decent vegetarian choices. While it was obviously airplane food, it was much better than the food on our United flight over to Italy. Plus the cute gold airplane salt and pepper shakers make everything better.
The entertainment choices were great. I finally watched Barbie, The Little Mermaid, and The Super Mario Bros Movie. They also had relaxation and meditation through Headspace and, my favorite, the travel map. It was nice that I could watch a movie and the map at the same time.
Wifi wasn’t included so I paid the £18 to use it. It worked for a little more than half of the flight (weirdly stopped around Bermuda) and was fast enough to send photos and load Instagram.
Arrival into Tampa was super smooth, and security was a breeze. We have global entry and I used the Mobile Passport Control app to fill out our information right when we landed. Because we deplaned close to our seats, and I walk like a New Yorker, we were the first ones to customs. We scanned our faces and the custom agent called us up to the desk before started walking away from the facial recognition machines. Thirty seconds later, we were officially back in the US after eight months in Europe!
I would absolutely fly Virgin again. The flight was so nice that I was actually a little disappointed when we landed. I could easily fly around the world in the Virgin Atlantic Upper Class.
*credit card links are referral links
Loved this post? Say thanks with a glass of wine!
(Don’t want to create a WordPress account or want to use Apple Pay? Click here for my virtual tip jar!)