Guide to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club rewards program

As a smaller airline, Virgin Atlantic hasn’t always received much attention for its loyalty program, the Flying Club. Look past its size though and you’ll find this rewards program is quite versatile thanks to its large number of credit card partners and solid elite status perks.

How much are Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles worth?

According to our calculations based on the Virgin site, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles are worth about 1.5 cents per point on average.

Do Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles expire?

No, provided you keep your account active by earning or spending miles at least once every 36 months.

How do you earn Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles?

You can earn Flying Club miles most easily in two ways: flying with Virgin Atlantic or making purchases with eligible credit cards.

Virgin Atlantic’s cobranded card offers a way to jump right into the Flying Club by taking advantage of its welcome offer. You’ll earn 30,000 Flying Club bonus miles when you spend $1,000 or more in purchases within the first 90 days of account opening.

Consider a card from another airline

United℠ Explorer Card

• $0 first-year intro annual fee, then $95.
• Signup bonus: 40,000 miles after you make $2,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening.
• 2x miles on United purchases, hotel stays and restaurant purchases.
• Credit every four years for your Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee.
• 25% back as statement credit on United inflight purchases. Plus, priority boarding and your first checked bag free on United-operated flights.
• 2 United Club one-time passes each card anniversary.

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Compare cards for earning Virgin Atlantic miles

Virgin Atlantic currently offers just one cobranded credit card, the Virgin Atlantic World Elite Mastercard®. On top of the 30,000-bonus mile welcome offer, you’ll earn 3x miles on top of standard earnings when you make Virgin Atlantic purchases and 1.5x miles on all other purchases.

If you want to earn additional bonus miles for your Flying Club account but don’t want to invest in the Virgin Atlantic cobranded card, you’re in luck. Chase Ultimate Rewards, Amex Membership Rewards and Citi ThankYou Rewards all transfer to your Flying Club account at a 1:1 ratio.

This means you have a wide variety of cards to choose from and can pick the card that best suits your spending habits and reward preferences.

Loyalty program elite levels

Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club elite status features three tiers: Red, Silver and Gold. To progress to subsequent elite levels, you’ll need to earn a certain number of Tier Points during the calendar year.

Tier level	Tier Points required
Red tier	–
Silver tier	400 Tier Points in a year
Gold tier	1,000 Tier Points in a year

Data obtained April 2019. Values are subject to change and should be used only as a general guide.

The way Tier Points work is a little confusing, but the points you’ll earn on each flight depends on the ticket type and cabin.

Tier benefits

Chief among earned benefits is an increase to the number of miles you’ll earn during Virgin Atlantic flights.

	Red tier	Silver tier	Gold tier
Bonus miles earned	–	30%	60%

Progressing through the elite status ranks also earns you a variety of travel benefits based on your level.

• Red tier

  Red tier serves as the base Flying Club level you gain for signing up. Your base perks include:

  • The ability to earn and redeem miles through Virgin Atlantic and its partner brands
  • 7% off a Virgin Holiday when you book using your Flying Club number

• Silver tier

  Silver tier earns all of the benefits of Red tier, plus the following additions:

  • 30% more miles earned on every flight
  • Premium check in
  • Anytime seat assignment
  • Priority baggage
  • Earn two miles for every dollar spent on Virgin Holidays

• Gold tier

  Gold tier earns all the benefits of the Silver tier, plus the following additions and changes:

  • 60% more miles earned on every flight
  • Free exit row seat options in Economy Classic class
  • Anytime seat assignments for you and your companions
  • Upper class check in and priority boarding
  • One extra piece of hand and hold luggage on top of brand allowance
  • Clubhouse access for you and one guest when you fly with Virgin or Delta
  • Access to the Revivals lounge in Heathrow
  • 10% off Virgin Holidays and two miles earned for every dollar spent during purchase
  • Complimentary treatments plus 10% discounts on further treatments from menu
  • Nominate one Flying Club member for Silver tier status

  As a Gold tier member, you can also earn bonuses on Virgin Atlantic partner airline flights. These vary by airline, but can include bonus miles when flying with a partner, priority baggage and boarding, priority check in and additional lounge access.

Renewal bonuses

Virgin Atlantic rewards you for renewing your status tier each year, incentivizing sticking around in the higher tiers.

You’ll earn an extra 2,000 bonus miles when you renew Silver each year and for renewing Gold tier status you’ll earn one companion ticket. And if you’ve been a Gold member for 10 consecutive years and earned 7,500 Tier Points in that time, you’ll earn Gold status for life.

Bottom line

If you live near a Virgin Atlantic hub, consider adding the Flying Club to your rewards club repertoire. A healthy mile value, flexible and varied earning options — including a solid cobranded card — and status benefits may make this program worth keeping an eye on.

If you’re not located near a Virgin Atlantic hub or you prefer a different airline, compare airline credit cards to find a program that suits your travel and purchasing needs.

Frequently asked questions

• Do Tier Points expire?

  Yes. Tier points expire after 12 months. You can look at your tier expiration date on the Flying Club site.

• Can I pay for flights with miles and money?

  Yes. You’ll need at least 3,000 miles to use the miles and money option.

• Do I earn miles when redeeming with miles and money?

  Yes. However, it’s unclear whether redeeming this way earns your less miles than if you paid in full.