We don’t get too excited about anything that Delta does. Lately, everything from them seems to be anti-consumer (e.g., new elite qualification, new earning chart, hard to redeem miles etc etc etc). But the their latest partnership with Virgin Atlantic seems to be consumer friendly — including a very good mileage earning chart. Even the cheapest Virgin Atlantic fares earn 100% with Delta and that is a win.
With that said, Virgin has Mumbai on sale. A good benefit of this fare is it allows for a free stopover in London. We will show you how you can do that below.
Mumbai, India. Photo: babasteve, used under Creative Commons License (By 2.0)
Sample Travel Date:
- September 18th – 27th
Fare Availability:
- Valid for travel from August 14th – October 31st. Use ITA Software Matrix Airfare Search and flexible month search to see availability — enable advanced routing codes and enter “vs+” on both the outbound and return fields to search only Virgin Atlantic availability. Must purchase by July 3rd
- Beginner’s Guide on How to Use Matrix by ITA Software
- How to Read Airfare Rules and Use It to Your Advantage
Partner Fare Class:
- O
Stopover:
- Permitted both on the outbound and return — Free. Free does not mean that it will be price out at $949. There are additional tax considerations to entering and staying in London for more than 24 hours.
Routing:
- IAD – LHR (London) – BOM (Mumbai) – LHR – IAD
Mileage:
- 16,290 miles or 5.8 cents per mile. Virgin Atlantic is a Delta partner. This fare is 100% elite qualifying and mileage earning with Delta. Provide the checkin agent with your Delta SkyMiles number for credit.
Stopover:
Virgin Atlantic has the friendliest stopover search engine out there. It is so simple, we wonder why more carriers don’t have this functionality. From the flight search menu, just check the stopover option:
It will then ask you how long you want your stopover to be. We picked one on the return and then it priced out the itinerary for us.
With the stopover, it is about $120 more than without the stopover. This is correct despite stopovers being free. The additional $120 is United Kingdom departure taxes and other fees. If we were traveling on this itinerary, we would definitely take advantage of the stopover.
How to Book:
- Use dates found at ITA Software Matrix Airfare Search and book on Virgin-Atlantic.com.
Background Information:
- Visa: US Citizens – Visa required prior to arrival. Prices vary. Other nationals, check the TIMATIC Visa Database
- Currency: Indian Rupee (INR). $1USD = 59.66 INR
Tips for saving when using credit cards at international destinations:
- No Foreign Transaction Fee Credit Cards to save on international purchases
- Don’t get hit with Dynamic Currency Conversion
- Get your taxes refunded when shopping
- How to Avoid International Data Roaming Charges
For more of the latest cheap Washington D.C. / Baltimore Flight Deals:
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