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BIG NEWS: Major changes at Virgin Flying Club

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Virgin Atlantic announced major changes to Flying Club at 2pm today which, on the face of it, appear to move it closer to British Airways Executive Club in terms of earning and burning.

Unfortunately I am, literally, on a beach and Anika is, literally, getting onto a plane.  I am therefore leaving it to you lot to analyse 🙂

There will be a full article tomorrow.

You can see details of the changes to Virgin Flying Club by clicking here.

Here is the official Virgin statement:

“Our goal is to make Flying Club a key differentiator for Virgin Atlantic customers, through the value we offer with miles and by enhancing their Virgin Atlantic experience. As a long haul airline, we know that our members have different needs from a loyalty programme and, by reimagining each component of Flying Club, we ‘re making it more relevant and engaging.”

“The changes we’re making will mean that, whether a customer only travels long haul for a holiday every few years, or they travel frequently or on business, Flying Club will offer them great value and benefits that really make a difference to their experience with us. This is the first step in an exciting journey of change for Flying Club with many more enhancements in the works that we will be announcing through 2017.”


How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards

How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards (April 2024)

As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Virgin Points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

You can choose from two official Virgin Atlantic credit cards (apply here, the Reward+ card has a bonus of 15,000 Virgin Points):

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

15,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard

A generous earning rate for a free card at 0.75 points per £1 Read our full review

You can also earn Virgin Points from various American Express cards – and these have sign-up bonuses too.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is FREE for a year and comes with 20,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 20,000 Virgin Points.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express comes with 40,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 40,000 Virgin Points.

The Platinum Card from American Express

40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Small business owners should consider the two American Express Business cards. Points convert at 1:1 into Virgin Points.

American Express Business Platinum

40,000 points sign-up bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Virgin Points

(Want to earn more Virgin Points?  Click here to see our recent articles on Virgin Atlantic and Flying Club and click here for our home page with the latest news on earning and spending other airline and hotel points.)

Comments (92)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Simmo says:

    Ouch!

    • Simmo says:

      Upper seems to have increased and PE has got cheaper?

      Upper:
      LHR-NYC was 80,000 miles in upper to 95,000 (std) or 115,000 (peak)
      LGW-LAS was 100,000 miles in upper to 135,000 (std) or 155,000 (peak)

      Premium Economy:
      LHR-NYC was 55,000 miles in PE to 35,000 (std) or 55,000 (peak)
      LGW-LAS was 70,000 miles in upper to 55,000 (std) or 75,000 (peak)

  • Stewart says:

    Standard redemptions at 20k for a return looks fantastic value.

    Reduction in points accumulated for economy travel, less so!

  • RTS says:

    Wow… I am liking off-peak redemptions!

  • Ross says:

    I have a flight in UC booked for the 12th November..

  • Genghis says:

    I don’t like the look of the value placed on miles through part pay with miles: 3k miles = £18 off = 0.6p / mile. I look forward to the full analysis article tomorrow.

  • Alan says:

    Looks like massive hikes on UC -up from 100k return to US West Coast to 135k off-peak and 155k peak – bloody hell 🙁 🙁 US North East is 80k to 95k off-peak/115k peak so not quite as bad an increase.

  • Alan says:

    – 0.6p/mile value when paying with points (min spend 3k miles)
    – finally getting rid of stupid system of changing membership number when you change tier
    – family accounts for U12s
    – increased earning for premium classes, reduced for discount economy

    • VS says:

      Rather uncharitable to have the family account (not with respect to minors) solely for Gold members. It does solve the logistical issue of one member of the family earning at a substantially higher rate than another, but mostly for those for whom this was unlikely a binding constraint.

      Still, along with the Amex 2 for 1, one of the more valuable parts of the Avios system that Flying Club is lacking.

  • Roger Wilco says:

    Will I still be able to transfer to Hilton?

    • Alan says:

      Couldn’t see any mention of this going on the micro-site but always possible it gets enhanced away!

    • Genghis says:

      I do hope the IHG transfers do not go. Will make it much harder to make Spire Elite

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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