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.
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| Airline Alliance | No alliance |
| Hubs | London (England), Manchester (England) |
| U.S. Destinations | Atlanta, Boston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City, Newark, Orlando, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington D.C. |
| U.S. Credit Cards | Virgin Atlantic World Elite Mastercard |
| Redemption Options | Award 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 |
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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 Card® 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 Rewards® 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 Rewards® 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.
Flying Club Elite Status
Flying Club has three status tiers: Red, Silver and Gold.
You’ll need to earn Tier Points to qualify for elite status. The more you fly, the more Tier Points you’ll earn:
| Ticket Type | Tier Points Earned |
| Economy | 25 – 50 |
| Premium | 50 – 100 |
| Upper Class | 100 – 200 |
To reach status, you’ll need to rack up a certain number of Tier Points each year:
| Red | Silver | Gold |
| 0 Tier Points | 400 Tier Points | 1,000 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
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:
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 Bonus | Get 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 Rewards | 3x miles on Virgin Atlantic purchases 1.5x miles on all other purchases |
| Anniversary Bonus | Up to 15k miles after qualifying purchases |
| Annual Companion Reward | $25k minimum annual spend |
| Tier Points | 25 Tier Points per $2.5k in purchases (max 50/month) |
| Foreign Transaction Fees | None |
| Annual Fee | $90 |
Another great way to earn Flying Club miles is to transfer points from one of the following:
*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.
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:
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
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 UK | Taxes & 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 Details | Miles 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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