18 Best Ways To Earn Lots of Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Miles [2017]
Virgin Atlantic is the British airline that services more than 30 destinations from bases at London-Gatwick, London-Heathrow, and Manchester airports.
Due to its partnership with Delta Air Lines, Virgin Atlantic offers connections to more than 200 North American gateways. In the U.S., Virgin Atlantic operates flights between the U.K. and Los Angeles, Atlanta, San Francisco, and Washington.
On November 13, Virgin Atlantic made major changes to the earnings rates, currency value, and qualification requirements for its Flying Club loyalty program.
One major change is that earned miles cannot be used for Virgin America flights, leaving Delta as the only partner to fly U.S. domestic flights.
Overall, Upper Class, full-fare premium economy, and full-fare economy tickets now earn more miles, while fewer miles are earned in other fare classes.
In this article, we will explain the new requirements and show you how to earn miles in the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club (so you can spend them on upgrades, rewards flights, and more!).
Table of contents
The Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Frequent Flyer Program
Enroll in Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
It’s free to sign up for the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club! In just a few minutes, you can enroll and enter your login details.
Members enjoy discounts and perks while earning Flying Club miles. Earned miles can be redeemed for free flights, hotel stays, and other rewards.
1. The Virgin Atlantic Credit Card
With the Virgin Atlantic World Elite MasterCard® from Bank of America, it’s possible to earn Flying Club miles fast. Cardholders earn up to 3 miles per $1 spent on Virgin Airlines purchases.
Like other airline credit cards, this one comes with a sign-up bonus to help you start banking points. Always evaluate your spending patterns before signing up for a credit card so you choose the best option for your financial situation.
Click the link below to learn more about the Virgin Atlantic World Elite MasterCard® from Bank of America, and apply if you think this card makes sense for you!
| Loyalty Program | Credit Card |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | Virgin Atlantic World Elite MasterCard® from Bank of America |
2. Add an Authorized User
Why not earn miles for purchases made by a family member too? After all, the Virgin Atlantic World Elite MasterCard® from Bank of America gives you 5,000 Flying Club miles just for adding an authorized user!
3. Fly Virgin Atlantic
Booking flights with Virgin Atlantic is another way to increase your Flying Club miles balance quickly. The more you fly, the more points you’ll get.
The number of miles possible depends on flight mileage, cabin choice, and ticket type (it also depends on your Flying Club membership tier, which we will cover in the next tip.) Take a look at the mileage chart for Flying Club members:
| Fare Class | Earned Miles |
| Discount Economy E, Q, V, N, O | 50% |
| Mid-Tier Economy L, U, M | 100% |
| Full-Fare Economy Y, B, R | 150% |
| Discount Premium Economy H, K | 100% |
| Premium Economy W, S | 200% |
| Discount Business I, Z | 200% |
| Full Fare Business J, C, D | 400% |
4. Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Elite Status
As a Flying Club member, you start out with Red status. Achieve Silver and Gold status, and you’ll earn more Flying Club miles.
Remember, Flying Club has made some big changes. Before, members needed 15 tier points to reach Silver and 40 tier points to reach Gold in the old elite status program.
The new requirements are 400 tier points for Silver and 1,000 tier points for Gold!
Prior to the restructure, members received a 50% bonus (Silver) or 100% bonus (Gold) for flights. Now, Silver and Gold bonuses are 30% and 60% respectively.
However, while status bonuses are slightly lower, they now apply to cabin bonuses and not just base miles. This could mean a big increase if you purchase premium fares.
See the chart below for the number of points you can earn:
| Type of Fare | Cabin Class | Bonus |
| Full Fare Business | J, C, D, I | 200% |
| Discount Business | Z | 100% |
| Premium Economy | W, S | 100% |
| Discount Premium Economy | H, K | 50% |
| Economy | Y, B, R, L, U, M | 50% |
| Discount Economy | E, Q, X, V, N, O | 25% |
Earn Flying Club Miles With Credit Cards
5. Chase Ultimate Rewards Credit Cards
If you aren’t a member of Chase Ultimate Rewards, you may want to consider enrolling, since Ultimate Rewards points can be transferred to your Flying Club account! For every 1,000 Ultimate Rewards points, you’ll get 1,000 Flying Club miles.
Recommended Chase Cards (Personal)
| CREDIT CARD | CARD INFO |
|---|---|
| #1 - Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card Need Inspiration? > Best Ways To Redeem Ultimate Rewards Points |
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| Chase Sapphire Reserve℠ Card |
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| Chase Freedom® |
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| Chase Freedom Unlimited℠ |
|
Recommended Chase Cards (Business)
| CREDIT CARD | CARD INFO |
|---|---|
| Ink Business Preferred℠ Credit Card |
|
| Chase Ink Business Cash℠ Credit Card |
|
6. American Express Membership Rewards Credit Cards
Transfer 1 Membership Rewards® point into 1 Flying Club mile. Rack up Membership Rewards points with the following American Express credit cards:
Recommended Amex Cards (Personal)
| CREDIT CARD | CARD INFO |
|---|---|
| The Platinum Card® from American Express Need Inspiration? > 57 Best Ways To Use Amex Points |
|
| Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express |
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| The Amex EveryDay® Credit Card from American Express |
|
Recommended Amex Cards (Business)
| CREDIT CARD | CARD INFO |
|---|---|
| The Business Platinum Card® from American Express OPEN Need Inspiration? > 57 Best Ways To Use Amex Points |
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| The Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express OPEN |
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| The Blue Business℠ Plus Credit Card from American Express |
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7. Citi ThankYou Rewards Credit Cards
Transfer Citi ThankYou Rewards points to Flying Club miles in increments of 1,000 at a 1:1 ratio. Even better, from time to time you’ll get a bonus for your transfer!
Earn Citi ThankYou Rewards points with the following credit cards:
| CREDIT CARD | CARD INFO |
|---|---|
| Citi Prestige® Card |
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| Citi ThankYou® Preferred Card |
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| Citi ThankYou® Premier Card |
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Use Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Travel Partners
8. Fly With Partner Airlines
Flying with Virgin Atlantic airline partners will also help you earn Flying Club miles.
As we mentioned earlier, Virgin Atlantic ended their partnership with Virgin America, so you can’t earn and redeem Virgin America miles by flying Virgin Atlantic (or vice versa).
But there are plenty of partners that do offer bonus miles! Click on a carrier for terms and conditions.
| Airlines | Bonus | Airlines | Bonus |
| Delta Air Lines | 50%-200% | Jet Airways | 50%-200% |
| Singapore Airlines | 100%-160% | Air China | 25%-200% |
| Air New Zealand | 50%-200% | Hawaiian Airlines | 50%-150% |
| Virgin Australia | 50%-200% | Malaysia Airlines | Up to 150% |
| South African Airways | 50%-125% | Scandinavian Airlines | 25%-150% |
| All Nippon Airways | 50%-300% |
9. Book With Hotel Partners
Not only can you earn 1,000 miles per stay at Virgin Hotels, but you can also earn miles with the following Flying Club hotel partners:
| Hotel | Miles Earned | Hotel | Miles Earned |
| Hilton Honors | 2 miles and 10 Honors points/$1 | Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group | =1,000 miles/stay |
| Marriott Rewards | Up to 2 miles/$1 | Marco Polo Hotels | Up to 1,000 miles/stay |
| Starwood Preferred Guest Starpoints | 2 miles/$1 | Millennium Hotels & Resorts | 1,000 miles/stay |
| World of Hyatt | 750 miles/stay | Preferred Hotels & Resorts | 750 miles/stay |
| IHG Rewards Club | Up to 500 miles/stay | Radisson Blu Edwardian | 500 miles/stay |
| Edition Hotels | 2 miles/$1 | Red Carnation Hotel Collection | 2,000 miles/night |
| Morgans Hotel Group | Up to 1,000 miles/stay | Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts | 750 miles/stay |
| Best Western Hotels & Resorts | 500 miles/stay | Taj Hotels, Resorts & Palaces | 500 miles/stay |
| The Mayfair Hotel | 500 miles/stay | Travelplus | (UK only) |
| Langham Hospitality Group | Up to 500 miles/night | Virgin Hotels | 1,000 miles/stay |
| Blue Sky Luxury | 1 mile/$1 | Worldhotels | 500 miles/stay |
| Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts* | 1 mile/$1 | Yotel** | Up to 500 miles/stay |
*15+ nights in calendar year 5,000 bonus
**Must book on Yotel.com
10. Use Other Hotel Booking Companies
Book rooms directly with the following hotel booking companies and get extra Flying Club miles! Click on a link to learn more about each program.
| Hotel Booking Company | Miles Earned |
| Rocketmiles | 500-10,000 miles/night |
| Kaligo.com | Up to 10,000 miles |
| PointsHound | Up to 5,000 miles/night |
11. Book With Car Rental Agencies
When you need a rental car, be sure to book it through one of the Flying Club car rental partners, so you earn miles in the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. See the table below for the miles you can earn with a rental:
| Car Rental Agency | Miles Earned | Car Rental Agency | Miles Earned |
| Avis | 250-1,000 miles/rental | My Driver by Sixt | (UK only) |
| Alamo | 1,000 miles/rental | National Car Rental | 600-1,200 miles |
| Hertz | Up to 1,000 miles/rental | Enterprise | 100 miles/day |
| Sixt | 500 miles/rental |
Convert Partner Points to Flying Club Miles
12. Diners Club International
Since Diners Club is a Flying Club partner, you can transfer Club Rewards points to miles. U.S. cardholders can convert starting at 1,000 Club Rewards points!
13. Transfer Hotel Loyalty Points
We already showed you a list of all the hotel partners you can stay with to earn Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles. Another way to take advantage of the many Flying Club hotel partnerships is by transferring hotel loyalty club points into miles.
Check out the loyalty clubs that participate in the program and the transfer ratios they offer
| Hotel | Transfer Ratio |
| Intercontinental Hotel Group (IHG) | 10,000:2,000 |
| Hilton Honors | 10,000:1,000 |
| World of Hyatt* | 5,000:3,000 |
| Marriott Rewards | 10,000:2,000 |
| Starwood Preferred Guest | 1:1 |
* Receive 7,500 Flying Club bonus miles when you convert 50,000 World of Hyatt points
Of course, you can increase the balances in these hotel loyalty program accounts by using credit cards, such as those shown in the table below:
| CREDIT CARD | CARD INFO |
|---|---|
| Hilton Honors™ Surpass® Card from American Express |
|
| Hilton Honors™ Card from American Express |
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| Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express |
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| Starwood Preferred Guest® Business Credit Card from American Express |
|
| Chase Marriott Rewards® Premier Credit Card |
|
| Chase IHG® Rewards Club Select Credit Card |
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| Chase Hyatt Credit Card |
|
Shopping To Earn Flying Club Miles
14. Shops Away Purchases
You don’t have to live in the U.K. to shop at the Shops Away site; even those in the U.S. may participate. Choose from more than 1,000 popular retailers and earn miles for your purchases. It’s a terrific way to boost your earnings.
You must access the Shops Away site through the Shops Away Miles Finder on the Firefox toolbar, or by clicking the “Shop Now” button in your Flying Club account.
It can take up to 45 days for miles to appear in your account.
15. Order (And Drink!) Virgin Wines
One perk of being a member of Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is access to special deals from Virgin Wines. Order 12 exquisite wines worth more than $225 for only $79.99 (plus free shipping!) and get 3,000 Flying Club miles.
Then, earn 2 miles per $1 spent on future purchases!
16. Buy Virgin Atlantic Miles
If you’re close to an award and need extra miles to make a nearby redemption or you want to buy extra miles at a discount, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club has got you covered. (But we only recommend doing this if you’re really in a pinch!)
You can buy Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles here.
17. Virgin Group Partners
Earn and spend miles in the U.K. with Virgin Group Partners. For instance, travel with Virgin Trains, invest with Virgin Money, and take part in an exhilarating opportunity of a lifetime with Virgin Experience Days.
Discover all the ways you can earn miles with Virgin Group Partners in the U.K. here.
18. Special Flying Club Partner Offers
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club partners offer some great ways to earn miles, as you’ve seen from all the tips above.
But sometimes they take it one step further and offer special chances for you to earn even more.
These special offers are listed on the Partner Offers page of the Flying Club website, which is updated regularly. Look for new deals every so often, and you may benefit big time!
Conclusion
Whether you choose to earn credit card points and transfer them to miles, fly with Virgin Atlantic and its partner carriers, or shop to earn miles, you certainly have plenty of options.
Now that you’ve learned strategies for earning and maximizing Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles, it’s time for you to get started! Soon enough you’ll be on your way to a sweet vacation.
