Getting To Christmas Island And Cocos Islands On Points

I recently met up with Stefan from Rapid Travel Chai for dinner. While we were talking about unusual travel destinations and far-flung islands around the world, he mentioned the possibility of booking a trip to Christmas Island (XCH) and Cocos Islands (CCK) later this year. Now, I had heard of Christmas Island before, but I didn't know much about it and what there was to do there.

Stefan wanted to see the annual red crab migration on Christmas Island, which sounded intriguing. The more I read and researched, the more they seemed like fascinating places to visit. Both islands are territories of Australia, despite their proximity to Indonesia, but getting there is not easy, since only one scheduled flight currently exists. This flight, operated by Virgin Australia, originates in Perth and terminates in Cocos Islands, with a quick layover in Christmas Island along the way. It then returns to Perth on the same route:

Perth to Christmas Island and Cocos Islands

The Perth to Christmas Island leg clocks in at exactly 4 hours (return is 3 hours 35 minutes), while the short hop from Christmas Island to Cocos Islands takes 1 hour 35 minutes. In between, there is a 45-minute layover. Of course, it makes sense to stop for a few days in Christmas Island if you are already taking the time to travel this far!

Virgin Australia typically operates an Embraer E-190 aircraft three times weekly (Tue/Fri/Sat) from Perth to Christmas Island and onward to Cocos Islands. It then makes the return journey on the same day. A fourth service to Christmas Island without the continuing leg operates on Thursdays using a Boeing 737-800.

The million dollar question, of course, is can this be booked using points? And if so, which partner, if any, offers the best value? To satisfy my curiosity, I decided to examine a number of different options for booking domestic award tickets from Perth to Christmas Island and Cocos Islands.

Virgin Australia

Naturally, I turned to Virgin Australia first to evaluate its award offerings on this route. Virgin Australia has two distance-based award charts, and the applicable one can be seen here:

Virgin Australia award chart

The upside here is that whether you are traveling to Christmas Island or Cocos Islands, the one-way cost in economy is exactly the same: 16,900 Velocity points plus taxes and fees. The downside, however, is that Virgin Australia doesn't allow stopovers on award redemptions, so you are forced to book each leg separately if you want to visit Christmas Island for a few days along the way:

Velocity points needed for Perth to Christmas Island

Velocity points needed for Perth to Cocos Islands (with no stopover)

Velocity points needed for Christmas Island to Cocos Islands

Therefore, if you wanted to book PER→XCH→CCK→PER, the overall cost would be 44,700 Velocity points plus very reasonable taxes and fees, which you can even use Velocity points to pay for. Virgin Australia is a 1:1 transfer partner of Starwood Preferred Guest, but despite the 25% bonus when transferring 20,000-point increments, this redemption is a bit steep (35,760 SPG points needed).

Virgin Atlantic

Let us look at Virgin Atlantic instead, which is a partner airline of Virgin Australia. Unfortunately, Virgin Atlantic does not publish an online award chart for domestic Australia travel, so I had to call in to ask for the miles needed. After a brief hold, the agent returned and offered the following cost for each segment:

• PER → XCH:  20,000 Flying Club miles
• XCH → CCK:  15,000 Flying Club miles

Note that these are for one-way redemptions, and since the agent said I had to book each segment separately, that meant the complete itinerary would cost a whopping 70,000 Flying Club miles total! Even if the agent was mistaken and I could book the Cocos Islands to Perth return as one award, the cost would still exceed Virgin Australia.

While Virgin Atlantic tacks on fuel surcharges to international award redemptions, domestic Australia flights are exempt, and taxes and fees appear to be similar to Virgin Australia. Miles transfer partners include American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and also Starwood Preferred Guest, all at a 1:1 ratio. Membership Rewards runs frequent transfer bonuses, while SPG offers a 25% bonus when transferring 20,000-point increments.

Virgin America

Next, I looked at Virgin America's redemption options. Using their handy partner redemption pricing tool, I found out that a round-trip award ticket from Christmas Island to Cocos Islands is 9,000 Elevate points. Virgin America charges more than half the round-trip cost for a one-way award ticket, and in this case, it came out to 5,500 Elevate points.

Elevate points needed for Christmas Island to Cocos Islands (round-trip)

For some reason, the Perth to Christmas Island route was not showing up in the tool, so I called the Elevate program for clarification. After some confusion and a long hold, the agent returned and informed me that the Perth to Christmas Island leg would cost 16,000 Elevate points round-trip, or 9,500 points one-way.

Like Virgin Atlantic, each leg had to be booked separately, so the total cost for the itinerary came out to 25,000 Elevate points. While this seems quite a bit lower than both previous options, it's important to note that Elevate points are typically worth more, and the only major partner, Membership Rewards, transfers in at a 2:1 ratio, meaning a total of 50,000 Membership Rewards points would be required to book this trip.

Delta Airlines

Delta Airlines is also a Virgin Australia partner, and they even allow a stopover and an open jaw on round-trip award tickets. However, at 60,000 SkyMiles, the cost for an award within the Southwest Pacific region is much too high.

Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines is a transfer partner of all three major flexible currencies, so it is quite easy to earn KrisFlyer miles. Taking a look at Singapore Airline's Virgin Australia award chart, I noticed that traveling within the Australia 3 region, which includes Perth, Christmas Island, and Cocos Islands, only costs 30,000 KrisFlyer miles round-trip in economy:

KrisFlyer award chart for Virgin Australia flights

Best of all, Singapore Airlines even allows a stopover and open jaw on round-trip domestic Australia award redemptions! Thus, a PER→XCH→CCK→PER itinerary would only cost 30,000 KrisFlyer miles plus extremely reasonable taxes and fees. This is by far the best option to redeem miles for travel to Christmas Island and Cocos Islands.

Conclusion

After evaluating the five award redemption options above, it is fairly clear that transferring Membership Rewards, Ultimate Rewards, and Starwood Preferred Guest points into the KrisFlyer program to redeem for domestic Virgin Australia flights to Christmas Island and Cocos Islands is the best way to go.

One major aspect I did not analyze was award redemptions to Christmas Island and Cocos Islands directly from North America. In this case, using Delta SkyMiles would make the most sense, since they allow you to fly, for example, from Los Angeles all the way to Cocos Islands on Virgin Australia for only 100,000 miles in economy or 160,000 miles in business class.

Delta only allows one stopover and one open jaw on round-trip award tickets, so you would have to plan your itinerary wisely, especially if you want to visit multiple destinations in Australia. You could also use KrisFlyer miles to book a separate domestic Australia award ticket, which would provide an additional stopover and open jaw.

20% Off Your Next Virgin America Flight

Here's a quick and easy way to get 20% off your next Virgin America flight, but you have to take advantage of it soon. UrbanDaddy is sponsoring The Final Countdown sweepstakes, where you and a friend can win a three-night stay at the Hudson Hotel in New York City over New Year's Eve and round-trip flights on Virgin America.

The main point, however, is that simply by entering the contest, you will earn a 10% promo code for your next Virgin America flight. If you refer four friends (only emails are required), the promo code bumps up to 20%! Just click on the link, and start by entering your email and zip code. It's as simple as that. I received the promo code in my email within a few minutes of entering.

Be aware that there are a number of restrictions. Here are the full terms and conditions of the Virgin America discount code. Essentially, you must book your non-stop or connecting travel by 11:59 pm PST on November 26, 2013 and travel between January 11, 2014 and March 6, 2014. The promo code is valid only for Main Cabin seats. Blackout dates include all Fridays and Sundays, as well as January 17-20, 2014 and February 14-17, 2014.

Redeeming Virgin America Elevate Points For Virgin Australia Domestic Flights

I have been planning an Australia trip for fall of this year, and while British Airways Avios have been a huge help with booking domestic flights on Qantas, I've noticed that Qantas doesn't fly every single route in the country. And even when they do, schedules may be limited. Another downside is that you cannot use Avios to book flights on Jetstar, even though it is a subsidiary of Qantas.

That's when I began looking into redeeming some of my Virgin America Elevate points for flights on domestic Virgin Australia routes. One good thing about the Virgin Australia website is that it allows you to search for award seats even if you are not a member of their Velocity frequent flyer program. The search is quick and simple, and can be done directly from the home page.

If award seats are available, they will show up on the next screen, along with the number of Velocity points required. I was specifically looking for the flight from Brisbane (BNE) to Whitsunday Coast (PPP) since Qantas doesn't fly that route. Fortunately, availability appeared to be pretty good in economy.

Once I was sure award seats were available, I went to the handy Virgin America partner page, which details information specifically for Virgin Australia award redemptions. There, you can search for the route you want to redeem for, and the number of Elevate points required along with the estimated taxes will be displayed. It does not, however, display actual award seat availability.

I was happy that only 3,000 Elevate points were required. Purchasing the flight outright costs about $128 USD, and doesn't even include a checked bag, while the award option appears to include one checked bag up to 23 kg as long as you are a Velocity member. I followed the instructions on the page and called Virgin America at 1-877-359-8474 to book the flight.

Unfortunately, the first agent I got didn't seem to understand that I wanted to redeem my Elevate points for a domestic Virgin Australia flight. She attempted to talk to a supervisor, but still seemed confused. I decided to hang up and call again. The second agent knew exactly what she was doing, and transferred me immediately to the redemption desk. The friendly lady there did a quick search and told me she saw the available award seats I wanted. Taxes and fees came out to a very reasonable $27.60. The final redemption rate for this flight was approximately 3.3 cents per point, which is very good for the Elevate program.

The catch, however, was that it would take 24 hours just to send in the award request to Virgin Australia. Then, it would take up to a week for them to respond with the final confirmation. Once that happens, Virgin America would then call me to give me the confirmation number. I found the process to be a little tedious, but requiring only a little more patience than usual. Just shy of one week later, I received both an email and a call from Virgin America telling me that my award had been confirmed and everything was set.

Since I was slightly curious about the redemption rates using Elevate points on Virgin Australia, I decided to make a small chart listing the number of points required for many domestic destinations departing from Sydney, as well as a few international ones. Keep in mind that some international destinations such as Los Angeles have ridiculous fuel surcharges upwards of $700-$800 dollars. Otherwise, I found the requirements to be very reasonable, even generous in some cases. It turns out you can get some worthwhile use out of Virgin America Elevate points by redeeming them on domestic Virgin Australia flights!

20% Off Virgin America Coupon From Banana Republic

Today only, go into your nearest Banana Republic store and grab a coupon for 20% off your next Virgin America flight. Unfortunately, it looks like the coupon is only available in stores and cannot be obtained online. Here is the fine print:

Coupon for 20% off, redeemable online for 3 day advance purchase non-refundable main cabin tickets only. Book by 12/31/12 (11:59 PM CST) to fly between 12/12/12 and 2/28/13. Significant blackout dates apply; subject to availability; and other restrictions apply. See store associate for complete details. One per customer, while supplies last in US (not including Puerto Rico) Banana Republic stores only. Not valid at Banana Republic factory stores or online.

I haven't seen the physical coupon yet, so I don't know exactly when the blackout dates are. If anyone has the coupon, please let us know. It says one per customer, but I'm sure you can go to multiple Banana Republic stores (if there is more than one in your area) and grab a couple, or just have some friends go into the same store and get some extras.

Virgin America 20% Off Promo Code Via Facebook

There is a new Virgin America 20% off promo code that anyone with a Facebook account can get. All you have to do is log into your account and go to the Instant Upgrade App from Banana Republic and Virgin America. You must first "like" the page by clicking on the like button on the upper right-hand corner. Then you can start the Instant Upgrade Game by clicking on the play now button. The game is super simple - just pick one of the luggage on display, enter your information, and see if you've won.

Three lucky fans will win a pair of flights on Virgin America and a $250 shopping spree at Banana Republic. But just for entering, everyone will receive a 20% off promo code for a Virgin America flight booked by August 31, 2012. Travel must occur between August 22 and November 14, 2012. The promo code may only be used for newly booked non-stop or connecting travel (not valid for multi-city itineraries), and is only good for non-refundable Main Cabin tickets. Blackout dates are August 31 and September 3, 2012.

In addition to the Virgin America promo code, you also receive a 25% off coupon for use on any full-priced item at Banana Republic stores by September 5, 2012. You can enter the contest by playing the Instant Upgrade Game once per day through August 30, 2012.

$25 To Spend Towards A Virgin America Round-Trip Domestic Flight For $10

AmazonLocal is Amazon's answer to Groupon, and despite being fairly new, they've already featured some pretty good deals in the last few months. This one seems to be targeted to the San Francisco Bay Area, although it appears that anyone can purchase it. All you have to do is spend $10, and you will receive $25 towards a round-trip domestic flight on Virgin America.

Travel must be booked and completed by June 13, 2012, so there isn't a whole lot of time to use the voucher. However, the paid value does not expire, so you are still entitled to spend the $10 toward a round-trip domestic flight even after June 13, 2012. Blackout dates do apply on May 25 and May 28, 2012. The deal is not valid on one-way trips, multi-city itineraries, or previously booked travel. It is only valid for itineraries booked for a single traveler in non-refundable Main Cabin fare classes S, L, M, U, E, H, B, or V. Limit two vouchers per customer, and one voucher per booking. Click here for full terms and conditions.

Definitely take advantage of this if you plan on traveling to domestic destinations serviced by Virgin America within the next month. However, I probably wouldn't purchase this deal just for the hell of it due to the rather extensive restrictions. There are six more days left to purchase, but quantities are limited, so I wouldn't be surprised if they run out sooner.

A Couple Of Things...

I'm sitting in Cathay Pacific's The Wing lounge at Hong Kong International Airport right now, and I must say, the past 20 hours or so has simply been some of the most enjoyable I've ever experienced - at least when it comes to air travel. We had very strong headwinds going from LAX to HKG, so I was able to savor almost 15 hours non-stop in Cathay Pacific's new business class seat. And let me just say... it was absolutely fantastic. I'll have much more in my full trip report down the road, but I honestly can't think of anything more I could ask for in a business class seat. It was comfortable, spacious, and intelligently designed with tons of room to place your personal items.

I've read plenty of complaints about Cathay Pacific's business class food, but I was pleasantly surprised at how delicious everything tasted and how nicely it was presented. And the service was impeccable - in fact, I would not hesitate for a moment to say that this was hands down better than the first class service I received on Cathay Pacific last July. More details to come when I get back!

A quick note about The Wing... it's definitely much improved compared to last year. Although the first class lounge is still in the process of being renovated, they do have a temporary area called The Atrium for first class passengers only. Since opening up both levels six and seven for business class passengers, it's gotten a lot less crowded all around. I can't wait to see the finished product in a few months time.

Finally, I saw this on Virgin America's Facebook page and literally bust out laughing. Simply too awesome for words :)

Easy 1,000 Virgin America Elevate Points Via Facebook

Virgin America is running an easy promotion on Facebook. In celebration of their 2,000,012th Elevate member, you can enter to win one of 20 grand prizes of 100,000 Elevate points. And just for entering, you will earn 1,000 Elevate points!

Entering is simple. All you have to do is sign into your Facebook account, then head on over to Virgin America's Elevate Rewards Yearbook page. Be sure to first "like" the page by clicking the "like" button on the upper right hand corner. Then go down and follow the link to put a page in the yearbook and earn 1,000 Elevate points. Your profile picture should automatically appear, and all you have to do is fill out some additional information (be sure to include the email address that is already linked to your Elevate account). Once you enter, you should see a confirmation page stating that your photo made the yearbook.

The contest runs from March 19 to April 6, 2012, and you will receive the 1,000 Elevate points four to six weeks after the end date. For complete contest rules, click here. I previously posted about the recent enhancement to Virgin America's Elevate program, where you can now redeem Elevate points on international partner flights. While not a great redemption value in my mind, it does give you plenty of new opportunities to use your 100,000 Elevate points if you just so happen to win the grand prize ;)

Redeem Virgin America Elevate Points For International Partner Flights

Starting today, you can redeem Virgin America Elevate points for international flights on Virgin Atlantic. And starting on March 22, 2012, you can redeem for flights on Virgin Australia as well. Before you get too excited, let me just say that the taxes and fuel surcharges involved with these redemptions might shock you.

The Virgin America Elevate program is one of the least lucrative loyalty programs out there. The number of points needed for an award ticket is tied directly to the cost of the ticket, and you will never see the value of a point exceed 2.5 cents. So unlike legacy carrier programs, where you can stretch the value of a point by redeeming for premium class seats on partner airlines or getting creative with routing rules, the Elevate program is typically hard set in the return you get.

One of the worst features of the Elevate program, however, was that there was no way use your points for international flights, even though Virgin America is technically part of the Virgin family of airlines, including Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Australia. Finally, that policy has changed. Right now, you can go to the Virgin America website and calculate exactly how many points you need to travel anywhere the Virgin brand flies. To book your ticket, you must call Virgin America at 1-877-FLY-VIRGIN (1-877-359-8474). A $20 phone fee will apply.

At first glance, I was actually surprised at how few points are needed to book a long-haul award ticket. For example, only 15,000 points are needed to fly round-trip from New York to London Heathrow in economy, and 40,000 points to fly round-trip from Los Angeles to Sydney in economy. What really made me do a double-take, however, are the absolutely exorbitant taxes and fuel surcharges that are tacked onto the award tickets. More and more airlines are starting to include these fees, and I'm afraid it's only a matter of time before the legacy carriers follow suit (some already do, in fact). Here are just a few examples of the fees you will be paying when booking an international round-trip award ticket with Virgin America:

JFK - LHR

• Economy: 15,000 + $650
• Premium Economy: 25,000 + $750
• Upper Class: 35,000 + $1100

SFO - LHR

• Economy: 25,000 + $650
• Premium Economy: 30,000 + $750
• Upper Class: 50,000 + $1200

LHR - CPT

• Economy: 30,000 + $650
• Premium Economy: 45,000 + $800
• Upper Class: 60,000 + $900

LAX - SYD

• Economy: 40,000 + $749
• Premium Economy: 60,000 + $790
• Business: 80,000 + $849

Given that you can often purchase a round-trip revenue ticket from New York to London for around $800, that means you are basically redeeming 15,000 points to make up a difference of $150 - at a value of one cent per point. Not to mention the points you are not earning on an award ticket. Definitely not worth it in my opinion. There is also the option of redeeming for one-way award tickets, but the value there is even worse, as Virgin America will charge you more than half the points required for a round-trip.

All in all, it's still a positive thing that Virgin America is adding more redemption options. But at these non-favorable rates, I wouldn't recommend anyone start collecting Elevate points at this moment. Stick with the legacy carriers in large global alliances for now as you'll find much better redemption values there.

Another Virgin America 20% Off Promo Code

To celebrate their newest destination of Philadelphia starting on April 4, 2012, Virgin America is running a Facebook promotion where you can enter to win free flights on the new route, passes to their Ultimate Tailgate party, and two-night hotel stays. Also, just for entering, Virgin America will send you a promo code good for 20% off your next flight between April 4 and June 15, 2012.

This offer ends on March 28, 2012, and your booking must be completed by April 30, 2012. Tickets require advance purchase of three days. Blackout dates are May 25 and May 28, 2012. Promo code is only valid for nonstop or connecting travel (not multi-city itineraries) on non-refundable Main Cabin tickets in fare classes S, L, M, U, E, H, B, or V.

EDIT: There was some confusion regarding this promotion. First, you must be logged into your Facebook account. Then once you click on the link below, you must first "like" the page by clicking the "like" button on the upper right-hand corner of the website. After that, you can submit your entry by filling out the relevant information. Once you enter, you will see a confirmation page, and you should receive the 20% off promo code in your email within a few minutes.

Virgin America 20% Promo Code

Promotions don't get any more simple than this! Just head on over to this link, enter your name and email, and Virgin America will send you a promo code good for 20% off your next round-trip flight between April 11 and June 13, 2012.

This offer ends February 29, 2012 or when the first 35,000 people have signed up, whichever comes first. You must complete your booking by March 31, 2012. Blackout dates are May 25 and May 28, 2012. The promo code is only valid for non-refundable Main Cabin tickets in fare classes S, L, M, U, E, H, B, or V.

$39 For $100 Toward Round-Trip Airfare On Virgin America

This is a great offer from Groupon! Pay $39 and receive a $100 promo code for use on a round-trip Virgin America flight between San Francisco (SFO) and Chicago (ORD), or Los Angeles (LAX) and Chicago (ORD). Tickets must be purchased at least three days in advance of outbound travel, prior to 11:59 pm CST on February 29, 2012. Travel must occur between February 3 and March 31, 2012, with blackout dates on February 17 and 20, 2012. In addition, free in-flight WiFi from Gogo (one-way) is included (a $12.95 value).

This offer is only valid for non-refundable Main Cabin fare classes in S, L, M, U, E, H, B, or V. Limit one per person. The promo code may only be used once and is valid for a single guest round-trip itinerary. Full terms and conditions.

EDIT: Wow, that went fast. This deal is already sold out on Groupon!

25% Off Virgin America Flight Code

This is a great offer found by Deals We Like! Sponsored by Toms Shoes and UrbanDaddy.com, they are running a promotion by giving away 12 roundtrip Virgin America flights, exclusive gifts from Toms, as well as $1,000 in restaurant certificates. However, just by entering (all you need is an email address and zip code), they will give you a 15% off certificate to be used on Virgin America.

The best part is, after you enter, you are taken to the next page, where you will be offered another 25% off code just for inviting 5 friends to enter the promotion. Click submit and the 25% code will automatically appear on the next page.

The only downside is that the dates in which the codes can be used are rather limited. You must book your Virgin America flights between December 15 and December 21, 2011, for travel between January 3 and February 15, 2012. The promo code can only be used for one-way or roundtrip non-stop travel, it cannot be used for multi-city itineraries. Also, it is only valid for non-refundable Main Cabin tickets in the following fare classes: S, L, M, U, E, H, B, or V. Valid for new bookings only. Taxes and fees will apply, of course.

Easy 250 Virgin America Points

This doesn't look like a targeted promotion, so anyone can get the free points. Sign up for a new Gilt City and Jetsetter account and receive 250 Virgin America points.

Granted, Virgin America's Elevate is one of the least rewarding frequent flyer programs out there, but with one-way award flights starting at 2,500 points, 250 points will get you started or top off your account nonetheless. If you make a purchase at Gilt City, you can receive another 250 points... and an additional purchase at Jetsetter nets you another 500 points for a total of 1000 points. Quickly browsing through their websites, it doesn't look like there are any "cheap buys" per se, so the additional 750 points may not be worth the effort (EDIT: On Gilt City, if you change the location to New York near the top of the page, you can find 2 ice cream sandwiches on sale for $5, and that will net you the extra 250 points :)).

VA's product is arguably the best in the domestic skies, but Elevate is truly a pathetic program. And it was only last year that they finally joined virtually every other FFP out there and eliminated the hard expiration date on points earned even with activity! All VA points have a fixed rate for redemption tied to the cost of the actual flight, so it's really impossible to redeem for more high-value awards like you can with legacy programs. Hence, even though I love the in-flight experience at VA, I still tend to stick with AA or UA, unless VA is quite a bit cheaper (and that doesn't happen too much anymore).