NEWS & OFFERS: 2,000 Points with Virgin Trains Ticketing, aether £99 Deal Becomes Permanent & Wanda by Avios Travel Insurance Launches

Earn 2,000 Virgin Points with a Railcard + Double Points on All Train Travel This Summer

If you’re planning rail journeys in Great Britain this summer, Virgin Trains Ticketing has a tempting offer to help you save on future trips – and boost your Virgin Points balance. Until 11th September 2025, you can earn 2,000 Virgin Points when you purchase a digital railcard through Virgin Trains Ticketing. That’s the equivalent of £10 off your next journey. During the same promotional period, travellers will also enjoy double Virgin Points on all train tickets booked via Virgin Trains Ticketing. That means six points per £1 spent instead of the usual three, regardless of the train operator, route, or destination.

Why It’s Worth It

Virgin Points earned through Virgin Trains Ticketing can be redeemed for:

• Money off future rail travel

• Flights, hotel stays, and cruises

• Wine, gigs, cinema tickets, and other rewards through Virgin Red

Extra Ways Virgin Trains Ticketing Saves You Money

Since its launch in March 2023, Virgin Trains Ticketing says it has saved customers over £2 million by:

• Letting travellers part-pay for tickets with Virgin Points

• Offering split ticketing, saving an average of £14 per journey

• Suggesting cheaper indirect routes, sometimes up to 78% cheaper*

• Charging zero booking fees

Visit Virgin Trains Ticketing here.

aether Manchester’s £99 VIP Terminal Deal Becomes Permanent

If you missed out on the excellent £99 summer deal we recently featured for aether, Manchester Airport’s pay-to-use private terminal, there’s good news, it’s now a permanent offer. We will be posting our own aether review shortly, so you can see exactly what it’s like to swap the chaos of Manchester’s main terminal for something far more civilised.

For those unfamiliar, aether is the rebranded and relaunched version of the PremiAir terminal, which originally opened in November 2019 before being forced to close during the pandemic. It finally reopened in November 2024 under its new name, offering VIP treatment to anyone flying with a participating airline – no first-class ticket or elite status required.

Located next to the Runway Visitor Park (and definitely not walkable from the main terminal), aether gives you a front-row view of aircraft taxiing and taking off. The experience is designed to remove all the usual airport stress: no shops, no queues, no long walks, just private security and immigration channels, plus a chauffeur-driven car direct to your aircraft.

The £99 Hand Baggage-Only Package

The now-permanent £99 deal is available exclusively for passengers travelling without checked luggage. Here’s what’s included:

• Access to aether from two hours before departure

• One course from the Adam Reid menu

• Two complimentary drinks

• Private security channel

• Chauffeur-driven car to your gate

You don’t get the full unlimited menu or drinks selection, but compared to the main terminal’s queues and crowded departure lounges, it’s exceptional value for money.

Other aether Packages

If you’d like the full VIP experience or are travelling with checked luggage, aether offers additional packages:

• Inclusive with cabin baggage – From £179, includes full menu, unlimited drinks, up to three hours’ access before departure, and private transfer to your gate.

• Inclusive with checked baggage – From £199, as above but with your luggage transferred separately to the main terminal.

• Arrivals with cabin baggage – £99, including chauffeur pick-up from your gate, private immigration, and arrival at aether.

You can also combine your booking with valet parking for a seamless start to your journey.

Book and find full details on the aether website here.

Wanda by Avios: Travel Insurance That Protects Your Points

Avios collectors have long complained about losing points when trips get cancelled. While cash tickets are fairly easy to refund, reward bookings, especially hotels or car hire booked with Avios, can be messier, with change fees or partial refunds.

The new Wanda by Avios travel insurance, launched by IAG Loyalty, is being billed as a game-changer because it includes Avios Protect®, which reinstates up to 500,000 Avios per person if you have to cancel for an insured reason. That could be handy if you’re sitting on a pricey redemption booking and your plans get derailed.

If this is ringing a bell, that’s because Wanda Plus, the annual multi-trip policy, has been offering Avios Protect® for a while now. The difference here is that IAG Loyalty has slapped the new Wanda by Avios name on it and extended the benefit to Premier single-trip policies.

In other words, if you didn’t want (or need) a full year of cover, you can now get the same Avios protection on a one-off trip. It’s more a repackaging exercise than a brand-new product launch.

What’s Included

The higher-tier policies (Wanda Plus and Premier single-trip) come with:

• Cancellation Flex – Cancel for any reason up to 48 hours before departure and get 70% back.

• £25 Delay Payout – Paid automatically after two hours’ delay.

• 10GB Roaming eSIM – Handy if you don’t already have roaming.

• ClassPass Credits – Fitness and wellness access (probably not high on the list for most TLFL readers).

• Monthly Avios Draw – A shot at 1 million Avios.

We know some readers have lost big chunks of Avios after last-minute cancellations, especially for long-haul premium redemptions. This cover does give you a safety net, but only if you’ve booked via the British Airways Executive Club. Use Avios with Qatar Privilege Club, Iberia Plus, or other partners and you’re out of luck.

While the Avios Protect® feature is a nice extra, it’s not exactly new, and the rest of the package is fairly standard for a premium travel insurance product. The launch mostly widens access to people who want cover for a single trip instead of an annual policy.

As always, check the policy wording carefully and compare it to your existing cover, especially the medical and cancellation limits, before making the switch just for the loyalty perks.

Find out more about Wanda by Avios here.