Virgin’s Amazing Beta Award Calendar Makes It Easy To Hunt For Rare Delta Awards!

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Virgin Atlantic is an excellent way to book award travel on Delta. However, it’s a struggle to find available dates with award space on Delta.

But they now have an awesome beta award calendar here that makes it easy to find dates with award space! It tells you exactly how many seats are available in each class on every date. And no, there’s no space in any class but coach.

Just change the airport codes in the URL (use all caps!) to search other routes.

See this post for lots of tips for using Virgin miles to fly on Delta.

The calendar is pretty depressing, as valid dates on routes like Tel Aviv are very rare, but they do exist.

• JFK to/from Tel Aviv flights cost 35K Virgin Atlantic points, 39K Air France miles, or 62K Delta miles each way.
• Boston to/from Tel Aviv flights cost 35K Virgin Atlantic points, 38K Air France miles, or 84K Delta miles each way.
• Atlanta to/from Tel Aviv flights cost 44.5K Air France miles, 45K Virgin Atlantic points, or 120K Delta miles each way.

• You can get a 30% bonus for mileage transfers from AMEX or Chase to Virgin Atlantic through 6/14 or 6/15, so 27K Chase points would turn into 35,100 Virgin Atlantic points
• You can get a 25% bonus for mileage transfers from Citi to Flying Blue through 6/17 respectively, so 32K points would turn into 40K Flying Blue points

JFK to Tel Aviv valid dates:
November 9, 23, 30
January 11, 12, 18, 19, 25, 26, 29
February 1, 2, 7, 8

Tel Aviv to JFK valid dates:
December 11, 19
January 19
February 5, 9, 12, 16

Boston to Tel Aviv valid dates:
November 14, 25
December 2
January 4, 6
February 1, 17

Tel Aviv to Boston valid dates: 
January 31
February 4, 7, 14, 18

Atlanta to Tel Aviv valid dates:
November 22
December 7, 9
January 1, 6, 17, 20
February 23

Tel Aviv to Atlanta valid dates:
September 11, 17
November 23, 28, 29, 30
December 1, 19, 20, 25, 26
January 22, 29, 30
February 17

The calendar also shows how Delta blocks out award space within 3 weeks of travel on domestic routes like Cleveland to LaGuardia or Cleveland to JFK (city codes like NYC don’t work), though they’re still a bargain to book 3 weeks out. Still, American and United award availability shines on pricey routes like that when you need to book close-in travel.

Even expensive routes like JFK to Venice are available…if you search off-peak:

Just click on book my reward flight and search for the dates you want to book. Or use the dates on AirFrance.US to book with Flying Blue miles.

AMEX cards with transferable Membership Rewards points include:

• AMEX Blue Business Plus
• AMEX Platinum Business
• AMEX Gold Business Card
• AMEX Platinum Consumer Card
• AMEX Gold Consumer Card
• AMEX Green Consumer Card
• AMEX Everyday Preferred Consumer Card
• AMEX Everyday Consumer Card

If you, a member in your household, or an authorized user has one of the following Chase cards, you can transfer points into miles:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred has an 80K signup bonus ending soon, earns 2.1 points per dollar on travel, 3.1 points per dollar on dining, streaming, and online groceries, has a $50 hotel credit, can transfer all Chase points into miles, and points are worth at least 1.3 cents each for paid travel or pay yourself back categories ($95 annual fee). Read more here.
• Chase Sapphire Reserve has a 60K signup bonus, earns 3 points per dollar on dining/travel, has a $300 travel credit, can transfer all Chase points into miles, and points are worth at least 1.5 cents each for paid travel or pay yourself back categories ($550 annual fee with $300 travel credit). Read more here.
• Chase Ink Preferred has a 100K signup bonus and earns 3 points per dollar on shipping, advertising, and travel, can transfer all Chase points into miles, and points are worth at least 1.25 cents each for paid travel or pay yourself back categories ($95 annual fee). Read more here.

Chase no-annual fee cards that are fantastic for earning points, but require one of the cards above for points transfers include:

• Chase Ink Cash has a 75K signup bonus and earns 5 points per dollar on cable, TV, telecom, cellular, office supply stores, and gift cards from office supply stores, plus 2 points per dollar on dining and gas ($0 annual fee). Read more here.
• Chase Ink Unlimited has a 75K signup bonus and earns 1.5 points per dollar everywhere ($0 annual fee). Read more here.
• Chase Freedom Flex has a 20K signup bonus, plus 5 points on rotating categories, 5 points per dollar on travel purchased through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, and 3 points per dollar on dining and drugstores ($0 annual fee). Read more here.
• Chase Freedom Unlimited has a signup bonus offering 3 points per dollar on up to $20K of spending in your first 12 month, afterwards earn at least 1.5 points per dollar everywhere, 5 points per dollar on travel purchased through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, and 3 points per dollar on dining and drugstores ($0 annual fee). Read more here.

If you or a friend has one of the following Citi cards, you can transfer points into miles:

• Citi Premier has a 60,000 point bonus for spending $4,000 in 3 months, 3 points per dollar on airfare, hotels, travel agents, groceries, gas, and dining. $95 annual fee. Read more here.

Citi no-annual fee cards that are fantastic for earning points, but require one of the cards above for points transfers include:

• The Citi Double Cash card offers 2% cash back or 2 points per dollar spent everywhere that can be transferred into ThankYou points. If you also have a Citi Premier Card you can transfer points into miles. No annual fee. Read more here.
• The Citi Custom Cash Card offers 5 points per dollar on up to $500 in purchases in your top eligible spending category each billing cycle. This is marketed as 5% cash back, but will actually come in the form of 5 ThankYou points per dollar spent! Eligible categories include Restaurants, Gas Stations, Grocery Stores, Select Travel, Select Transit, Select Streaming Services, Drugstores, Home Improvement Stores, Fitness Clubs, and Live Entertainment. You will also get 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months. No annual fee. Read more here.
• The Citi Rewards+ Card offering 25,000 points for spending $1,500 in 3 months. This card can’t transfer points on its own, but can transfer points if you have one of the Citi cards above. This card automatically rounds up rewards earned on every purchase to the nearest 10 points, meaning you earn 10 points on a $0.50 Amazon balance reload. Earn 2 points on $6K in annual spending at supermarkets, and a 10% points rebate when you redeem points, up to a 10K points rebate per year. If you also have a Citi Premier Card you can transfer points into miles and get a 10% points rebate on transferred or redeemed miles. No annual fee. Read more here.

Capital One cards with transferable points include:

• Capital One Venture X Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles for spending $4,000 in 3 months, plus earn 2 miles per dollar spent, $300 annual travel credit, 10K anniversary bonus miles, Global Entry/Pre-Check, Capital One lounge access, Priority Pass Lounge membership, and more. Read more here.
• Capital One Venture: Earn 75,000 bonus miles for spending $4,000 in 3 months, plus 2 miles per dollar spent. Read more here.
• Capital One Spark Miles: Earn 50,000 bonus miles, plus 2 miles per dollar spent.
• Capital One Spark Cash Plus Card: Earn up to 100,000 bonus miles, plus 2 miles per dollar spent, convertible into transferrable miles with any of the 3 cards above. Read more here.

Marriott cards with transferable points include:

• Chase Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Consumer Card
• Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card
• Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant^™ American Express^®Card
• Marriott Bonvoy Bold Card

HT: Zack