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Home Credit Cards

Virgin Atlantic: The Complete Guide To Flying Club Miles

Diana Mason by Diana Mason
October 26, 2022 1:13 am CDT
in Credit Cards
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Virgin Atlantic, based in England, is a great option for U.S. travelers looking to fly “across the pond.” Flying Club is the airline’s frequent flyer program. Here, you can collect miles and earn elite status credit. While Virgin Atlantic isn’t in an airline alliance, Flying Club has individual partnerships with a number of carriers, which gives members plenty of unique award flight options.

Want to join Virgin Atlantic Flying Club? Keep reading for everything you need to know about this frequent flyer program.

See the best credit card sign-up bonuses here

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Quick Facts
Airline AllianceNo alliance
HubsLondon (England), Manchester (England)
U.S. DestinationsAtlanta, Boston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Newark, Orlando, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington D.C.
U.S. Credit CardsVirgin Atlantic World Elite Mastercard
Redemption OptionsAward flights, upgrades, companion seats, Miles Plus Money, hotel stays, airport services, Virgin Group purchases, transfer or gift miles and more.
Average Mile Value$0.015

THE PLATINUM CARDยฎ FROM AMERICAN EXPRESS

Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.

The Platinum Cardยฎ from American Express has a special offer for 100,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $6,000 in purchases within your first 6 months.

Membership Rewardsยฎ points are some of the most valuable in the market. Redeeming these points by booking travel through American Express or by redeeming for gift cards will give you a standard 1 cent per point value. The 100k bonus points are worth $1,000 going this route.

You can potentially get more value by transferring your points to Membership Rewards travel partners. Using this strategy can get you up to an average value of 2 cents per point. Get around $2,000 in value with 100,000 points this way. Read more on this here.

With this card, earn 5X Membership Rewardsยฎ Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year.

The biggest drawback to this card is the $695 annual fee (see Rates & Fees, Terms Apply), which puts it in the premium class of credit cards. The card has a market because it offers premium travel benefits, such as 5X points for flights (up to $500,000 on these purchases) and eligible hotels, access to 40+ Centurion Loung and Studio locations worldwide, up to $200 airline fee credit annually, and an annual Walmart+ membership. These benefits are given as statement credits.

For frequent travelers, the added benefits make sense in terms of value and added luxury.

Card Review


Flying Club Elite Status

Flying Club has three status tiers: Red, Silver and Gold.

EARNING STATUSSTATUS BENEFITS

You’ll need to earn Tier Points to qualify for elite status. The more you fly, the more Tier Points you’ll earn:

Ticket TypeTier Points Earned
Economy25 – 50
Premium50 – 100
Upper Class100 – 200

To reach status, you’ll need to rack up a certain number of Tier Points each year:

RedSilverGold
0 Tier Points400 Tier Points1,000 Tier Points

Red. The time frame is calculated from the current date back to the first day of the month to the previous year. For example, if it’s December 5, 2019, Flying Club will count the Tier Points you earned from December 1, 2018 to determine status upgrade to Silver.

Silver and Gold. The Upgraded Fixed Membership Period starts on the day you earn status and continues for the remainder of that month until the end of the following 12 months. During this time, you have to earn either 400 Tier Points (Silver) or 1,000 Tier Points (Gold) to requalify.

From March 2020 until further notice, Flying Club Gold and Silver members have 24 months to earn the required tier points to maintain their status.

*The information presented has been collected independently by MoneysMyLife. It is current at the time of publishing and will be updated from time-to-time but for the most up-to-date information, please click here to find our source.

When you join Flying Club, you automatically get Red status. Benefits at this base tier include:

  • Earn miles when you fly
  • Spend miles on reward flights
  • Miles Plus Money on flights
  • Access to partner brands
  • Discounted access to Flying Club lounges
  • Dedicated Flying Club phone line

Silver status members enjoy all Red benefits, plus:

  • 30% bonus miles on flights
  • Free seat selection in Economy Light
  • Premium check-in
  • Priority waitlist
  • Tier renewal bonus
  • Maternity/paternity membership pause

Gold status members get all Silver benefits, plus:

  • 60% bonus miles on flights
  • Extra baggage allowance
  • Upper Class check-in
  • Clubhouse passes for you +1
  • 1 complimentary Clubhouse spa treatment, 10% discount thereafter
  • London Heathrow Revivals Lounge access
  • 2,000 bonus birthday miles
  • Complimentary companion ticket (upon status renewal)
  • Complimentary Silver membership for a friend

Once you’ve reached Gold status, you’ll unlock even more perks for hitting certain Tier Point thresholds.

  • 1,500 Tier Points: Clubhouses passes for you to keep or share
  • 2,000 Tier Points: Cabin upgrade rewards

The information presented has been collected independently by MoneysMyLife. It is current at the time of publishing and will be updated from time-to-time but for the most up-to-date information, please click here to find our source.


Earning Flying Club Miles

FLIGHTSCREDIT CARDTRANSFER PARTNERSOTHER WAYS

Get Flying Club miles when you fly with Virgin Atlantic. The number of miles you’ll earn depends on your flight distance, fare class and your status.

To easily figure out how many miles you’ll receive for a particular flight,
use the Flying Club earning calculator.

You’ll also earn Flying Club miles by flying with Virgin Atlantic’s partner carriers. The amount of miles you’ll receive varies by airline, fare class and cabin of travel.

Airline partners include:

  • Air France
  • Air New Zealand
  • ANA
  • Delta Air Lines
  • Hawaiian Airlines
  • KLM
  • SAS
  • Singapore Airlines
  • South African Airways
  • Virgin Australia

Earn miles when you make purchases with the Virgin Atlantic World Elite Mastercard, issued by Bank of America. This is quickest way for United States residents to rack up on Flying Club miles.

Welcome BonusGet 30k miles when you spend $1k in 90 days
Get up to 5k miles when you add authorized users to your card
Bonus Value$750
Ongoing Rewards3x miles on Virgin Atlantic purchases
1.5x miles on all other purchases
Anniversary BonusUp to 15k miles after qualifying purchases
Annual Companion Reward$25k minimum annual spend
Tier Points25 Tier Points per $2.5k in purchases (max 50/month)
Foreign Transaction FeesNone
Annual Fee $90

Another great way to earn Flying Club miles is to transfer points from one of the following:

  • American Express Membership Rewards (1:1)
  • Chase Ultimate Rewards (1:1)
  • Citi ThankYou Rewards (1:1)
  • Marriott Bonvoy (3:1)*

*Get a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 points you transfer.

Collect miles a number of other ways with a variety of Flying Club partners, including hotels, car hire, shopping, financial, Virgin Group and more.

If you’re just shy of an award, you can also purchase Flying Club miles. It costs $27 for every 1,000 miles you purchase, and there’s also a $25 transaction fee. So to buy 1,000 miles, you’ll have to pay a total of $52. For 5,000 miles, the total cost is $160. Log in to your Flying Club account to learn more.

The information presented has been collected independently by MoneysMyLife. It is current at the time of publishing and will be updated from time-to-time but for the most up-to-date information, please click here to find our source.


Redeeming Flying Club Miles

Flying Club miles will expire after 36 months if there is no earn or burn activity on your account.

AWARD FLIGHTSOTHER OPTIONS

The best way to use your Flying Club miles is for award travel, including flights, cabin upgrades and even companion tickets.

There are two types of awards to choose from: Standard Season and Peak Season, which are determined by travel dates. Standard Season roundtrip tickets start from 20,000 miles, while Peak Season ones start from 40,000 miles.

To easily figure out how many miles you’ll need for a particular award flight, use the Flying Club spending calculator.

Upgrade award pricing also depends on when you’re planning to travel. For Peak Season roundtrip upgrades, you’ll need to spend 10,000 miles more than Standard Season awards.

Companion seat award pricing is based on destination and cabin class. For Peak Season roundtrip companion seats, you’ll need to spend an additional 10,000 miles compared to Standard Season awards.

Use Miles Plus Money when you want to spend less cash on your next Virgin Atlantic flight. With just 3,000 Flying Club miles, you can reduce the cost of your flight while still earning miles and Tier Points.

You can also redeem your Flying Club miles for award flights with partner airlines. They include:

  • Air New Zealand
  • ANA
  • Delta Air Lines
  • Hawaiian Airlines
  • Singapore Airlines
  • South African Airways
  • Virgin Australia

The information presented has been collected independently by MoneysMyLife. It is current at the time of publishing and will be updated from time-to-time but for the most up-to-date information, please find it here for redeeming miles and here for airline partners.

Spend your Flying Club miles with a variety of partners, including:

Hotels

  • Hilton Honors
  • IHG Rewards Club
  • Kaligo.com

Airport Services

  • Chauffeur
  • Wellness Spa

Virgin Group

  • Virgin Balloon Flights
  • Virgin Galactic
  • Virgin Trains East Coast

Other Partners

  • Eurostar
  • WE

However, these options will typically yield less than $0.01 per mile. We recommend you stick with flight awards instead.

You can also transfer or gift your Flying Club miles to another member at a maximum of 100,000 miles in one calendar year.

The information presented has been collected independently by MoneysMyLife. It is current at the time of publishing and will be updated from time-to-time but for the most up-to-date information, please click here to find our source.


Flying Club Tips & Tricks

MILES BOOSTERPROMOTIONSTAXES & SURCHARGESSWEET SPOTS

The above are examples of Miles Boosters that give you the option to purchase extra miles based on how many miles you’re flying. You can use this feature for past, future and even award flights.

Flying Club regularly offers limited-time earning promotions. Past offers include:

  • Earn 3x miles shopping with Apple
  • Earn 3,000 bonus miles on your first RocketMiles hotel booking

Click here for current Flying Club earning offers.

Flying Club is very transparent about its hefty taxes and surcharges, especially for premium and upper class cabins. For Standard Season award flights, expect to pay:

Route To/From UKTaxes & Surcharges
USA – Northeast$435 – $1,425
USA – Midwest & South $435 – $1,405
USA – West$475 – $1,460

In general, you’ll have to pay a lot on taxes and surcharges when you’re flying roundtrip from London. If you’re flying from another airport, or on a one-way flight, you’ll save a lot on fees.

In general, you’ll get the best value for your miles when you redeem for international flights on partner airlines in premium cabins. Keep in mind, however, you can only book Virgin Atlantic and Delta award flights online through the Virgin Atlantic website. Bookings on other partner airlines will require a phone call to Flying Club at 800-365-9500.

Based on information we have at the time of publishing, below are some of our favorite Flying Club sweet spots:

Flight DetailsMiles Required
US to Europe
Delta | One Way | Business
50,000
US to Asia
Delta | One Way | Business
60,000
US to New Zealand
Air New Zealand | Round Trip | Business
125,000
US to Senegal
South African | Round Trip | Business
50,000
US to Japan
ANA | Round Trip | Business
90,000 – 95,000
US to Japan
ANA | Round Trip | First
110,000 – 120,000


Bottom Line

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is a strong frequent flyer program, thanks to its ease of accumulation and relatively high value of its miles. When it comes to using your Flying Club miles, remember to avoid Virgin Atlantic award flights to/from the United Kingdom because of the ridiculously high taxes and surcharges. Instead, we recommend redeeming for international flights on partner airlines in premium cabins to make the most of your miles.


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Diana Mason

Diana Mason

My passion for travel eventually led me away from the 9 to 5 office life and into the embrace of freelance work. Born in Cali and raised in Philly, I am a creative professional with a delightful knack for words. When I'm not gallivanting across the globe, you can find me writing (of course), teaching yoga, and dreaming of my next big adventure.

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