Virgin Atlantic will NOT be joining the SkyTeam alliance

If you have been following the Virgin Atlantic / Delta tie-up, this statement may have taken you by surprise.

Late last year, Delta Air Lines of the US announced that it was buying the 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic held by Singapore Airlines, a sale which crystalised a large loss for Singapore.

At the time of the deal, it was widely assumed that Virgin would join the SkyTeam alliance.  Delta is already a core member, the alliance has only a modest existing presence at Heathrow, and it would drive extra business to Virgin Atlantic.

Given how much money Virgin lost last year (£135m), I assumed it would be desperate for all the business it could get.  It would also make Virgin Flying Club into a more serious competitor to British Airways Executive Club, since you would have been able to redeem across all 19 SkyTeam members.

But, according to this new statement, it isn’t going to happen.  At least not in the short term.  And Virgin Flying Club will be all the worse because of it.

Of course, Virgin didn’t join Star Alliance despite having Star member Singapore Airlines as a 49% shareholder for years.  But we all know how that turned out ….

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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):

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.

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

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

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.)