Virgin Atlantic Flying Club: The Ultimate Guide for Indians

Overview

Virgin Atlantic, founded by Sir Richard Branson out of frustration with airline delays, began as a fun and innovative venture. Today, it stands as a serious player in the aviation industry with a vast global network and strong airline partnerships. As a member of the SkyTeam Alliance, Virgin Atlantic connects passengers to key destinations worldwide while offering highly rewarding redemption opportunities through its loyalty program, Flying Club. Despite the recent revaluation of its dynamic award structure, which is making redemptions more challenging, the program remains undeniably lucrative. Let’s explore why Virgin Atlantic and Flying Club continue to be attractive choices for travellers.

Flying Club Elite Tiers

For frequent flyers looking to maximize their travel experience, Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club offers three elite status tiers: Red, Silver, and Gold. Each tier comes with exclusive perks that enhance your journey, whether you’re flying with Virgin Atlantic or one of its partner airlines.

Red Tier

Every new member of the Flying Club automatically starts at the Red tier. While it’s the base level, it still comes with some useful benefits, including:

• Priority boarding in Economy
• Free standard seat selection in Economy Light and Classic (available 7 days before departure when booked with Virgin Atlantic Holidays)
• Free seat selection in Economy Delight (7 days before departure with Virgin Atlantic Holidays)
• Access to a dedicated Flying Club phone line
• Discounted access and the ability to earn points at No1 Lounges

Silver Tier

Achieving Silver status requires earning 400 Tier Points. Silver members enjoy all the Red tier benefits, plus additional perks designed to improve the travel experience:

• Premium check-in
• Priority boarding
• 30% bonus Virgin Points on flights
• One additional checked bag
• Tier renewal bonus
• Ability to gift companion and upgrade vouchers to friends and family
• Exclusive benefits with Virgin Hotels
• Household accounts for up to nine people
• Status extension for maternity, paternity, or adoption leave

Gold Tier

The highest level of Virgin’s Flying Club, Gold status, is attained by earning 1,000 Tier Points. Gold members unlock all Silver benefits, along with even more luxurious perks:

• 60% bonus Virgin Points on flights
• Guaranteed Upper-Class seat
• Free standard seat selection in Economy Light and Classic (anytime for you and your party)
• Free seat selection in Economy Delight (anytime for you and your party)
• Preferred seat selection in Premium (member-only)
• Upper-class check-in, regardless of cabin class
• Lounge access for you and a guest when flying in any cabin
• Access to the London Heathrow Revivals Lounge
• 2,000 bonus points on your birthday
• Earn a Flying Club reward voucher when you renew your Gold status
• Ability to gift Flying Club reward vouchers to friends and family
• Gift Silver status to a friend
• Guaranteed Economy seat on any flight
• Receive two reward vouchers when reaching 2,000 Tier Points within your membership year

How to Earn Virgin Miles

Fly with Virgin Atlantic and Partners

You can earn Virgin Atlantic Virgin points by flying with the airline, with the number of points determined by your flight distance, booking class, and Flying Club elite status. To easily estimate your earnings, use Virgin Atlantic’s points calculator.

As a member of the SkyTeam alliance, Virgin Atlantic also allows you to earn points when flying with partner airlines. To check how many points you’ll earn on a partner flight, visit Virgin Atlantic’s partner page and select the airline you’re flying with. Your earnings will be based on your cabin class, booking category, and distance travelled.

Transfer Partners

Banking Transfer Partner

American Express

In India, the only direct way to transfer points to your Flying Club account is through American Express Membership Rewards (MR) points. All of the available American Express cards, namely the Centurion card, Platinum Charge card, Platinum Reserve credit card, Platinum Travel credit card, Gold Charge card, Membership Rewards Credit card, and Smart Earn credit card, will allow their Membership Rewards points to be transferred to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club at the same given ratio.

• A minimum of 800 MR points are required for the transfer

Hotel Transfer Partners

Marriott Bonvoy

You can also convert your Marriott Bonvoy points to Virgin Points.

*Additionally, for every 60,000 points transferred, you’ll receive a 5,000-mile bonus.

While this isn’t the most valuable option, it can be useful if you don’t have an American Express card. In that case, you can transfer your Axis Bank credit card points to Marriott Bonvoy and then move them to your Flying Club account. The Axis cards that may add some value are

• Axis Reserve
• Axis Magnus Burgundy
• Axis One Card / Burgundy Private credit card
• Axis Magnus
• Axis Primus
• Axis Olympus
• Axis Horizon
• Axis Atlas

You can refer to their transfer ratios from here. Though there are other cards of Axis Bank which do allow the transfer to Marriott Bonvoy, due to their poor transfer ratio, it’s advisable not to use them.

For better value, consider transferring to Club ITC first, then to Marriott Bonvoy, and finally to Flying Club. However, this process takes time due to transfer durations and capping limits, making it suitable only for long-term redemption plans rather than immediate use.

Other Hotel Loyalty Programs

From an Indian traveller’s perspective, you can transfer your World of Hyatt, IHG One Rewards, and Hilton Honors points to the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. However, this transfer is not recommended, due to their poor conversion value.

• A transfer from World of Hyatt gives you 7,500 extra Virgin Points if you convert a minimum of 50,000 Hyatt Points in a single go

How to Redeem Virgin Miles

For Virgin Atlantic Flights

In October 2024, Flying Club revamped its loyalty program, introducing dynamic pricing. Now, every seat on a Virgin Atlantic-operated flight can be booked with Virgin points. Similar to cash fares, award seat pricing varies based on demand. However, the points required for redemption are not directly tied to cash prices, leading to both great and poor redemption values.

When searching for award flights, look for Saver seats marked with a red tag, as they offer the lowest redemption rates. However, they won’t be available on every flight. To find the best deals, use Virgin’s Reward Seat Checker for the lowest-priced options. The only downside of this tool is that it only allows you to check award availability for flights to or from the UK.

For Partner Airlines

Virgin Atlantic is a member of the SkyTeam Alliance, the newest among the big three airline alliances, founded in the year 2000. Being a part of SkyTeam allows Flying Club members to redeem points across 18 partner airlines, including:

• Aerolíneas Argentinas
• Aeroméxico
• Air Europa
• Air France
• China Airlines
• China Eastern Airlines
• Delta Air Lines
• Garuda Indonesia
• ITA Airways
• Kenya Airways
• KLM
• Korean Air
• Middle East Airlines
• Saudia
• TAROM
• Vietnam Airlines
• XiamenAir
• SAS

In addition to these SkyTeam airlines, Virgin points can also be redeemed for award flights with other global airline partners:

• Air New Zealand (Star Alliance)
• All Nippon Airways (Star Alliance)
• El Al
• Hawaiian Airlines
• LATAM Airlines
• Singapore Airlines (Star Alliance)
• South African Airways (Star Alliance)
• Virgin Australia

You can find the SkyTeam award chart here

Redemption Ideas & Redemption Sweet Spots

India to UK

A one-way flight from Delhi (DEL) to London (LHR) typically costs 6,000 points in Economy, 10,500 points in Premium Economy, and 23,000 points in Upper Class (Business Class).

India to USA

A one-way flight from Delhi (DEL) to New York (JFK) typically costs 12,000 points in Economy and 21,000 points in Premium Economy.

Meanwhile, a one-way flight from Delhi (DEL) to San Francisco (SFO) usually requires 15,000 points in Economy.

India to Japan

A one-way flight from Delhi (DEL) to Tokyo (HND/NRT) via Vietnam Airlines typically costs 27,000 points in Economy and 75,000 points in Business.

You can also book ANA flights, but after the recent devaluation, check the miles requirement over the phone. However, you can not see ANA flights on the website, you need to call customer care to book the flight. Alternatively, view the ANA flight on United’s award search to confirm your date and availability.

Intra Europe

A one-way flight from Stockholm, Sweden (ARN) to Helsinki, Finland (HEL) typically costs 5,500 points in Economy

A one-way flight from Amsterdam, Netherlands (AMS) to Paris, France (CDG) typically costs 4,000 points in Economy

Infant Fee

Virgin Atlantic applies a flat-rate mileage system based on its partners, Unlike most airlines that charge a fixed percentage of the revenue fare for infants on international routes. The minimum miles required for infants are:

• 1,000 miles in Economy
• 2,000 miles in Premium Economy
• 5,000 miles in Upper Class (Business Class)

Date Change & Cancellation Fees

• Date Change: You can modify your travel date, route, or class of service before departure for a fee. The amendment fee is £30 for international flights originating in the UK, US$50 for those originating in the US, or the local currency equivalent of US$50 for flights from other regions.
  
• Cancellation: If you cancel a flight reward more than 24 hours before departure, 100% of your Virgin Points will be re-credited to your account. A cancellation fee applies: £30 for flights originating in the UK, US$50 for those from the US, or the local currency equivalent of US$50 for flights departing from other regions.

Points Expiry

Virgin Points never expire, giving you unlimited time to redeem them. So do not worry if you miss your planned date for the best redemption.

Getting in Touch

You can contact customer care using the following numbers:

• India: +91-124-4693030 (9:15 AM to 5:15 PM)
• UK: 0344 209 2722

Additionally, they offer live chat support with highly efficient agents handling queries.

Bottomline

Despite the recent devaluation, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club remains a strong option for redemptions—whether you’re flying to the UK or booking intra-European connecting flights. While taxes can be on the higher side, the valuable redemption opportunities make it a compelling choice.

The key to maximizing Virgin Atlantic redemptions is flexibility with travel dates. This lets you secure the best value for specific routes where Virgin points offer unmatched benefits.

Are you planning to redeem with Virgin Atlantic? Let us know below!

Subhankar Dutta

Former Civil Servant | Entrepreneur | Credit Card Enthusiast | Travel The World | Learning & Growing Everyday | Gratitude is The Attitude