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Virgin Atlantic to Resume Flights to Mexico
Virgin Atlantic stopped flying to Cancun, Mexico in 2019, but they have now announced their return. In Autumn 2025 they will resume this route. There will be three flights per week from 19th October 2025 on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. There are currently no other airlines that fly to Cancun direct from Heathrow, British Airways operates this flight from Gatwick.
From what I am hearing, this is a very popular decision and offers a different option to get to Cancun from the existing options. At the moment British Airways only fly there from Gatwick with their older Club World seats whereas Virgin will be upping the game by offering their new Upper Class seat as well as access to the Virgin Clubhouse at Heathrow.
These flights will be on one of the airline’s newest, most fuel-efficient aircraft, the Airbus A350-1000, which offers 16 Upper Class, 56 Premium and 325 Economy.
Flights are on sale from 4th December 2024 on the Virgin Atlantic website.
HSBC Premier Discount for Cathay Pacific
HSBC Premier customers in the UK can receive a discount on Cathay Pacific flights to destinations across Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. When booking round-trip premium economy or business class tickets departing from London Heathrow or Manchester, HSBC Premier customers can save £200 on Premium Economy or £300 on Business Class.
The deal is available to book until 30th November 2024 on travel dates between 1st November 2024 and 1st August 2025.
The booking must be made directly through Cathay Pacific and can be found on this page. You must book with an HSBC UK Premier credit or debit card.
Note that this is not available on flights to Hong Kong you must be connecting onwards.
Book Reward Stays at Virgin Hotels with Virgin Red Points
As of today, 11th November 2024 Virgin Red members can use points to book Reward Stays at select Virgin Hotels across the U.S. and U.K., starting from 25,000 Virgin Points per night. The participating hotels are in cities like Chicago, New Orleans, Nashville, London, Dallas, and New York, although Edinburgh and Las Vegas locations are currently excluded.
You have been able to earn Virgin Red points at Virgin Hotels since 2022, so it is great to hear that you can use those hard-earned points for stays now too. Obviously, the reach of Virgin Hotels isn’t far and wide at the moment, but it’s still worth exploring if you are visiting any of the participating locations.
To access this perk, members need to join The Know, Virgin Hotels’ loyalty program, which offers the best rates, free room upgrades, and personalized amenities. Members earn five Virgin Points per $1 spent in the U.S. or seven per £1 in the U.K., which can be redeemed for future stays or rewards across Virgin Red and Flying Club.
We have said a few times now that Virgin are leading the way with points redemptions, the variety of things you can spend your points on far exceeds what you can use Avios for. It is making us consider flying Virgin a lot more to start making use of their rewards.
