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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)

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  • Virgin Atlantic Flying Club devalues miles, adds features - Frequent Miler says:

    […] Tip Head for Points via IAD […]

  • Virgin Atlantic Guts Earning of Miles and Status for Flying, Reduces Cost of Many Coach Awards - View from the Wing says:

    […] (HT: Head for Points) […]

  • Oh! Matron! says:

    F*** me…

    Retaining gold is a s*** load more difficult if you only travel economy (20, not 14 economy flights), no change for PE, and easier if you travel upper class

    *Applies to all flexible tickets in the following booking classes: W,S,Y,B,R,L,U,M

    The calculator indicates wholesale changes to tier points…

  • Chris jones says:

    This is just a massive devaluation! I’ve been planning a UC for April 2018. But that’s me totally stuck!

  • Ricky says:

    I have an award booking to travel in upper class one way from HK to LON in June ’17. I purchased this for 60,000 miles. If it’s fewer miles under the new scheme do you think they’ll let me gain the difference back?

    • Kai says:

      Upper class becomes more expensive.

      • Ricky says:

        Actually it’s 115k return off peak intead of 120 – no much of a saving anyway. 2500 miles one way

        • Kai says:

          Sorry! In any case what you could do is probably make a re-booking. That saves you 5000 miles but you will have to pay the £30 change fee.

  • Anon says:

    If they still run the 2x Black MBNA Amex PE upgrades then the EC/Y miles of 20k for offpeak rtn to Orlando could be v attractive.

    I’m flying UC out and PE rtn in a few weeks, IIRC I booked during a reward seat sale so my total using one PE upgrade voucher was 142.5k

    Using the new schedule as my rtn is in Dec it would offer no major saving.
    ie new pricing = 135k

    It might however encourage me to go out and rtn in Nov to save a further 20k, and I guess that’s the whole point… 🙂

    • Anon says:

      Just seen the cut off is 12th Dec, so fair chunk of Dec, that’s impressive for anyone visiting for Thanksgiving.

      And using the example above I’d only need 115k for that booking…

      Now if only I could guarantee availability in UC or PE, that won’t be an issue with VS giving out these new rates will it??? doh! 😉

      • Anon says:

        And for my orig calc above (for 2x pax) wasn’t in the sale, that’s the current pricing..

        Might have to get a fee free MBNA White card….. (The Black card fee of £140 puts me off)

      • Anon says:

        Actually its 120k, so a saving of 22.5k.

        For a 2x EC –> PE voucher rtn LGW-MCO…

        Old price for 2x upgraded PE rtn is 85k + vouchers

        New price for 2x upgraded PE rtn is 50k + vouchers

        Good price for the PE product which I rate, esp. if you already have a priority or lounge pass.

  • Yemi says:

    If you have reward seat booked for December but with the new rules I would need fewer miles, would the difference between refunded?

    • Stuart Ross says:

      The new “off-peak” Reward Flights only start from mid-January 2017. Check out the linked page on the Virgin Site,

    • Rob says:

      Unlikely, because they wouldn’t charge you extra if it went the other way.

      You could cancel and rebook IF availability was still there but you are paying the fee.

  • Londonbus says:

    I think this devaluation like Exec Club is a sign of rapidly improving margins in aviation – easier to get higher yielding customers. Wait for the next downturn..

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

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