How to use the Virgin Atlantic award seat checker to find cheap Saver seats

The Virgin Atlantic Flying Club program recently changed from a fixed rate to a variable rate system, including the new Saver rates, which offer great rates on off-peak days. But like most loyalty programs, finding low reward prices can be tricky.

Fortunately, Virgin Atlantic offers a handy tool called the “Reward Seat Checker” to make the process easier.

Here’s how to use Virgin Atlantic’s award seat checker to find your next great flight redemption.

Related: Flexibility is key: Why I (especially) love Virgin Atlantic Flying Club’s changes

How to use the Virgin Atlantic award seat checker

First, log in to your Virgin Atlantic account, scroll down and click “Award seat checker” near the left toolbar.

On the next screen, enter your origin and destination airports and your preferred travel month, and a calendar will appear. Here’s what I found when I searched for flights from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) to London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) in May 2025.

The lowest prices are easy to spot, indicated by the red Saver tag.

However, these can only come from the cheapest economic costs; some good deals can be found in higher fare classes.

For example, premium economy seats are available on May 5 for only 29,000 points, even lower than the economy price on the same day. Check the red markers first, but it’s worth checking the calendar for other deals.

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Related: Is Virgin Atlantic premium economy worth it on the A330-900neo?

You can easily convert between months, too. I got a lot more Saver fares on this route in April than in May.

Another disadvantage of this tool is that it only shows award seats on flights operated by Virgin Atlantic; partner flights are not included. When entering your departure and arrival airport, you’ll notice that the options are limited to destinations served by Virgin Atlantic.

Another downside is that you can’t click on a date on the award seat check calendar and see the flight options for that day or the taxes and fees you might pay. To do those things and book your trip, you must return to your account page and click on “Book a reward flight” on the left, then re-enter your search terms.

However, the award seat finder is a great start – it can help you quickly narrow down your search by showing you which dates and locations are the most affordable. For example, now that I know there are cheap Saver seats in both economy and premium economy on April 2nd, I can enter that date into a reward flight search and see available flights, itineraries and associated taxes and fees.

Related: How to search for airline award availability on major airlines

Bottom line

If you’re thinking of booking an award flight with Virgin points, be sure to start the process by checking out an award seat. And check back often to see if there’s a transfer bonus you can use to save even more points.

For example, you can currently earn 40% more points when you transfer points from American Express Membership Rewards. Thanks to a transfer bonus, one TPG employee recently booked a flat seat in London for just 21,000 points.