I have been looking around for alternative award flights with less taxes for my inbound trip from Maldives to the US (review).
My current Maldives to JFK flight
I used my Virgin miles (115K per person) to book business class flights from the Maldives to JFK via London and paid $674 in taxes per person (see image below).
Alaska Mileage Club Booking
I found business class availability on Condor Air to fly from Male to JFK via Frankfurt for 85K Alaska miles and $243 in taxes per person.
Longer connection times in Europe
I was planning to stay overnight at the Hilton airport hotel in London anyway, so I don’t mind changing it to rest in Frankfurt before flying to JFK.
Virgin Flying Club Award Cancellation Request
I tried calling Virgin Flying Club customer service (800-365-9500), but hung up after 30 minutes due to long hold times.
I filled out the “refund form” on their website (link) which is very easy to fill out with self-explanatory steps (see images below).
Virgin Flying Club online refund request processing time
The email confirmation came quickly after the online refund request was placed and it mentioned the 7-14 day processing time.
Conclusion
I am happy to have saved around $900 (after $100 old Virgin booking cancellation fees) and I can use it to pay for the Sea Plane transfer fee. Condor Air business class bookings with Alaska Mileage Plan to fly between the US and Maldives have significantly lower taxes compared to other popular options like Virgin, British, Emirates etc.,