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Virgin Atlantic has announced that it will be shaking up its frequent flyer program — Flying Club.
At a time when airlines, hotels, and the travel industry are still adapting in unprecedented ways, it’s refreshing to hear of positive news, especially when it’s in favor of the flying public.
The news comes just a day after the airline operated its first flights carrying British citizens to the U.S. in over 600 days.
“We know our Flying Club is the best in the business and the raft of new measures we’ve announced today brings fresh benefits to our existing members and new customers who are looking for something more rewarding,” commented Siobhan Fitzpatrick, Chief Digital and Marketing Officer at Virgin Atlantic.
Let’s discuss what there is to be excited about.
After months of travel restrictions and little-to-no flying whatsoever, Virgin has decided that now is the time to incentivize its Flying Club members to take back to the skies.
Improvements include lower tier thresholds, additional Clubhouse access, and a new way of earning Tier Points.
Virgin is making it easier to climb from Red through to the Silver and Gold status levels of the Flying Club.
As of April 2022, members will need to earn 300 instead of 400 Tier Points to reach Silver from Red, and then just 800 instead of 1,000 to climb from Silver to Gold. That’s a reduction of 25% and 20%, respectively.
The table below shows how many Tier Points can be earned when flying certain cabin classes:
| Economy | Premium | Upper Class | |||||
Ticket Type | Light (T) | Classic (A*, E, Q, X, N, O) | Classic (L, U, M, Y, B, R) | Delight (V) | (H, K, P*) | (W, S) | (G*, Z) | (J, C, D, I) |
Tier Points Earned | 25 | 25 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 100 | 100 | 200 |
*A, P, and G tier points earning is only applicable to full points reward flights and companion bookings. If you upgraded from a revenue fare to a higher cabin with points, your account will be credited with the tier points and Virgin Points based on your original revenue class.¹
Just 3 return trips from the U.S. to the U.K. would earn you Silver status as of April 2022.
Spending time in a Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse is an incredible way to start any journey.
Now, Silver members will receive a 1-time access Clubhouse pass. It will grant you and a guest access to any of the Clubhouses, even if you’re flying in coach.
Hot Tip: Select Amex cardholders can also now access Virgin Atlantic Clubhouses in the U.S. and Johannesburg. See our dedicated article for full details.
Not only do you earn more Virgin Points when booking a Virgin holiday, but as of November 9, 2022, all Virgin Holiday bookings will earn a bonus of 20 Tier Points for every £500 (~$679) spent. The maximum bonus Tier Points that can be earned with 1 booking is 400.
Changes are also being made to the amount of Virgin Points up for grabs when booking a Virgin Holiday. For every £1 (~$1.35), Red members will now earn 2 Virgin Points, Silver will earn 3, and Gold will earn 4.
In addition to those 3 main changes to the Flying Club, Virgin is making it even easier for Flying Club members to earn Virgin Points.
To celebrate the return of transatlantic travel, Virgin will reward all Flying Club members with a bonus of 20,000 Virgin Points when taking 2 round-trip Premium or Upper Class flights between November 9, 2021, and March 31, 2022.
There’s never been a better time to be a member of Virgin’s Flying Club.
Not only has the transatlantic corridor between the U.S. and the U.K. been fully reopened, but there are also now more ways to be rewarded for being a loyal member of the Flying Club.
It will be interesting to see whether a similar slew of new benefits are unveiled by Virgin’s main competition — British Airways.
