Guide to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Virgin Atlantic has long been known for its innovative approach to travel. The airline, based out of London Heathrow airport, has developed a reputation for its top service, high-end Clubhouse lounges, and unique personality across its routes. Today, the airline serves destinations across the world, including cities in the United States, Caribbean, India and South Africa, among many others.

Virgin Atlantic’s spunky heritage stems directly from its founder, Richard Branson. Branson’s philosophy of “screw it, let’s do it” has served the airline well throughout its growth, and it still shows up today in its loyalty program, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club basics

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is the airline’s official loyalty program. Joining the club is easy and free and can be done by filling out a short enrollment form. As a member of the Flying Club, you can earn Virgin Points and redeem them for flights, travel with partners and more. Frequent flyers can also earn elite status, which comes with more perks. In addition, joining Flying Club automatically enrolls you in Virgin Red, a program that can help you earn Virgin points in 150+ additional ways.

Who is Virgin Atlantic Flying Club best for?

If you live in or near a destination in Virgin Atlantic’s route network, it could be worth joining the loyalty program. The airline flies to numerous major cities including New York City, Lagos and Mumbai, but it is more limited than many full-service national airlines.

For booking award flights on Virgin Atlantic, the airline offers one of the most generous commitments to award space in the industry. In June 2022, it unveiled a commitment to make 12 reward seats — including eight seats in Economy, two seats in Premium Economy and two seats in Upper Class — available on every flight operated by the airline.

If you do not live in a city currently served by Virgin Atlantic, it could still make sense to join the program. The airline has multiple partner airlines, many of which allow you to transfer points to the program and redeem for those flights.

How to earn Virgin Points

It’s easy to earn Virgin Points through the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.

Flying with Virgin Atlantic

You can earn Virgin Points by flying with Virgin Atlantic. Instead of publishing a table requiring you to look up fare classes and determine your own earnings, Virgin Atlantic publishes a handy earnings calculator. Using the earnings calculator, you can find out how many Virgin Atlantic points you will earn based on your routing, status level in the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club program and type of airfare you purchase.

Flying with airline partners

In addition to earning points for flying with Virgin Atlantic, you can also earn points by flying with any of its airline partners. These partners include SkyTeam partners like Delta Air Lines, Air France, KLM and Aeromexico, along with Virgin Atlantic’s non-alliance partners, like Air New Zealand, Virgin Australia, South African Airways and LATAM Airlines.

Booking with hotel, car rental and other partners

You can earn Virgin Points by booking qualifying stays at one of Virgin Atlantic’s hotel partners or by renting cars with one of the program’s car rental partners. In most cases, you can earn a fixed number of points per stay or rental.

In addition to hotel and car rental partners, Virgin Atlantic partners with a handful of other travel providers offering services such as travel add-ons, airport parking and airport lounge access.

Shop through Virgin Red

Through Virgin Red, you can earn Virgin Points that can be used for Virgin Atlantic’s  frequent flyer program. You’ll be automatically enrolled in Virgin Red when you join the Flying Club. Once your account is activated, you can start earning points on purchases like beauty products, travel purchases, special experiences and more.

Book travel with Virgin Atlantic Holidays

Booking travel through Virgin Atlantic Holidays can also earn you extra points. The amount of Virgin Atlantic points you earn will depend upon your status level in the Flying Club program. You will also earn tier points to help you get to the next membership level faster.

Purchase points through Points Booster

If you need extra Virgin Points to book your next flight, consider using Points Booster. Points Booster can be used on past, future and reward flights. To use this feature, simply log in to your Flying Club account, find a booking and look for the “Points Booster” option to purchase additional points.

How to redeem Virgin Points

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club offers members the ability to spend points on a variety of travel needs and services. If you are looking to maximize value, booking an award flight or upgrading your ticket will be two of the best ways to redeem points.

Flying with Virgin Atlantic

Using your Virgin Points is as easy as selecting “Show Price In Points” when you search for flights on VirginAtlantic.com. If award flights are available, you will see flight prices in points, plus additional taxes and fees that must be paid in cash. You can also use Points Plus Money to purchase flights with Virgin Points and cash, but you must have at least 3,000 points to use this feature.

Virgin Atlantic prices its award flights using peak and off-peak award charts. Virgin Atlantic’s award charts can be found under “Standard season rewards table” and “Peak season rewards table.” The program’s reward prices are fixed and do not float with the cash price of the flights. For an Economy Classic flight (to or from the UK), reward flights start at 18,000 Virgin Atlantic points in off-peak season and 22,000 points during peak season.

Uniquely, Virgin Atlantic promises that the airline will make at least 12 reward seats available on every flight. This doesn’t mean that you will necessarily find available seats on every flight, as others may have taken the seats you’re looking for. However, if you are able to book flights when Virgin Atlantic opens its schedule, you have a good chance of finding a seat available on the exact flight you want.

Flying with airline partners

You can also redeem Virgin Points with any of its airline partners. Virgin Atlantic Flying Club often offers a few sweet-spot awards, including transatlantic flights on Delta Air Lines. Your first step in finding these awards is to search on the Virgin Atlantic website; some results will be shown alongside the other flight results if they are available. Note that some partners, like Hawaiian Airlines, cannot be booked online.

Upgrading a Virgin Atlantic flight with points

If you have already booked a flight and want to upgrade it, look into upgrading with points. Virgin Atlantic offers upgrades to Premium or Upper Class. Upgrade awards are priced using an award chart, with prices varying based on region and peak/off-peak seasonality. To upgrade your flight with points, you must call the Flying Club team or contact them via online chat.

Using points for Virgin Atlantic Holidays

If you already have a vacation booked, you can use your points to pay off any outstanding balance. Otherwise, you can use your points to book a new vacation with Points Plus Money.

Redeeming points with hotel and other partners

You can redeem your Virgin Atlantic points with select hotel partners, including Marriott Bonvoy, IHG One Rewards, Hilton Honors and Kaligo. You can also redeem points with Eurostar.

Transferring points to a friend or family member

You can transfer Virgin Points to other Flying Club members. This can be a useful way to pool points amongst friends and family toward an award booking. Keep in mind, points must be transferred in increments of 1,000 and there is a flat fee of $15 for each transfer.

Donating points to charity partners

You can also donate your points to select charity partners as part of the airline’s Passport to Change program. To get started, simply log in to your account and follow the prompts.

How much are Virgin Points worth?

Virgin Points are worth about 2.6 cents per point, according to Bankrate’s points and miles valuations. Of course, the value you’ll get will vary depending on how you use them. Since the program’s redemptions are based on an award chart, you may find that some redemptions, especially in international premium cabins, offer incredible value.

How do Virgin Points compare to other loyalty programs?

Here’s how Virgin Points compare to rewards values from other popular airline loyalty programs:

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club elite status levels

When you fly with Virgin Atlantic or its airline partners, you will earn Tier Points in addition to your Virgin Points. Members who earn a certain number of Tier Points qualify for elevated status in the Flying Club program. The membership tiers are Red, Silver and Gold.

Red status

Red is the entry membership level in Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club. When you first join the program, you will automatically be awarded this status.

Notable benefits include

• Earn points when you fly
• Advanced economy boarding
• Redeem points for Virgin flights or with partners
• Earn and spend points through Virgin Red

Silver status

When you earn 400 Tier Points, you will earn Silver Status within the Flying Club program. You receive all of the benefits of Red status in addition to several enhanced offerings.

Notable benefits include

• Earn 30 percent more Virgin Points on flights
• One extra piece of checked baggage
• Premium check-in
• Free seat assignment in Economy Light
• Earn and spend points through Virgin Red

Gold status

Gold is the highest tier of status in the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. You’ll earn Gold status when you accumulate 1,000 Tier Points in the program.

Notable benefits

• Earn 60 percent more Virgin Points on flights
• Upper Class check-in
• Access to Virgin Atlantic Clubhouses and London Heathrow Revivals
• Extra luggage allowance in every cabin
• Gold Reward Seats (for twice the usual points price, you can turn any seat into a Reward Seat)
• Cabin upgrade award when you earn 2,000 Tier Points in a year (subject to availability)

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club transfer partners

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is a transfer partner of many airlines, hotels and major credit card loyalty programs. In particular, Flying Club members may be able to find valuable redemptions with some of the airline’s partners, such as premium cabins for a particularly low price. These are subject to change at any time, but it can be a worthy endeavor to check award flight pricing in the program for a partner flight.

Top credit cards that earn Virgin Points

Virgin Atlantic has one credit card in the United States that earns rewards in the Flying Club program, the Virgin Atlantic World Elite Mastercard®*. Unfortunately, this card is currently unavailable to new applicants. Virgin Red, though, has announced plans to release a new credit card soon — the Virgin Red Rewards Mastercard®* —  that will once again offer you a rewards card option for padding your Virgin Flying Club balance with everyday purchases.

Additionally, since the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is a transfer partner of multiple major credit card rewards programs, there are plenty of top travel credit cards that you can use to indirectly earn Virgin Points. Pay special attention to cards that earn American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards and Citi ThankYou points, all of which can be transferred to the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.

The bottom line

Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club offers a great way for frequent flyers to earn valuable points they can use toward Virgin Atlantic flights and services, stays with hotel partners and more. With Virgin Atlantic’s easy to understand award chart, guaranteed award flight availability and a value of about 2.6 cents per point according to our valuations, Virgin Points are easily some of the most valuable loyalty program points around. The points can also be used on reward flights with Virgin Atlantic’s airline partners, making them even more flexible.

Earning Virgin Atlantic points is also a breeze. With a Flying Club account, Virgin Points can be earned by flying with partners, shopping online and on every Virgin Atlantic purchase. Points from several of the top credit card programs — including American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards and Citi ThankYou Rewards — also transfer to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. So, if you’re a frequent traveler with Virgin Atlantic or its partner airlines, the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is worth your consideration.

FAQs

• Do Virgin points expire?

  No, Virgin Points do not expire.

• Can you share Virgin Points with friends and family members?

  Yes, you can log into your Virgin Atlantic account and transfer points to another Flying Club member’s account. You can also book a flight for someone else using your points.

• Can you buy Virgin Points?

  Yes, you can buy Virgin Points either by logging in to your account online and buying points directly or by purchasing points through Points Booster. You can purchase points in increments of 1,000 points. Note that you must pay a transaction fee when you buy points.

*Information about the Virgin Atlantic World Elite Mastercard® and Virgin Red Rewards Mastercard® has been collected independently by Bankrate and has not been reviewed or approved by the issuer.