What SkyTeam benefits do you now get as a Virgin Flying Club Gold member?
Links on Head for Points may pay us an affiliate commission. A list of partners is here.
What are the benefits of Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club Gold status when flying on SkyTeam partner airlines?
Now that Virgin Atlantic is part of the SkyTeam airline alliance, we thought it was time to take a look at what benefits you’ll get as a Virgin Flying Club Gold member. These benefits are applicable now as long as you have included your Virgin Flying Club number on your booking – and even if you haven’t, flashing your Virgin Gold card at the lounge or check-in should do the trick.
Gold is the top tier in Virgin’s Flying Club frequent flyer membership scheme. You need to earn at least 1,000 tier points in a single membership year to achieve Gold status.
The article looks at how many Virgin Atlantic tier points you will now earn flying with SkyTeam partners. It is possibe to earn Virgin Flying Club status entirely from travel on SkyTeam airlines – there is no requirement (unlike with British Airways Executive Club) to fly a minimum number of segments on Virgin Atlantic itself.
What are the Virgin Flying Club Gold benefits?
When flying Virgin Atlantic, you get the following benefits as a Gold member regardless of which cabin you’re flying:
- Upper Class check in and priority
- Clubhouse access anytime you fly Virgin Atlantic or Delta for you and a guest
- Access to the Revivals arrivals lounge at Heathrow (review here)
- Anytime seat assignment for you and any travel companions
- Free exit row seat options in economy
- Additional cabin bag
- Additional checked bag
- 60% Virgin Points bonus on Virgin Atlantic flights
The official list of Virgin Atlantic Gold benefits can be found on the Virgin Atlantic website here.
What about flying with SkyTeam partners?
As of 2nd March, you get additional benefits when flying other SkyTeam Alliance airlines, of which there are 17:
- Aerolíneas Argentinas
- Aeromexico
- Air Europa
- Air France
- China Airlines
- Czech Airlines
- Delta Air Lines
- Garuda Indonesia
- ITA Airways
- Kenya Airways
- KLM
- Korean Air
- Middle East Airlines
- SAUDIA
- TAROM
- Vietnam Airlines
- Xiamen Air
Virgin Flying Club Gold benefits on SkyTeam flights
For flights with SkyTeam partner airlines your benefits are slightly different.
Virgin Flying Club Gold is the equivalent to SkyTeam Elite Plus status.
This is the top level of SkyTeam status and comes with a raft of perks. These perks are fixed at alliance level, and you get the same benefits if you have Elite Plus status with any other SkyTeam airline:
- Lounge access for you and a guest when flying with any SkyTeam airline
- Priority check-in, baggage drop-off, immigration and security
- Priority boarding
- Free seat selection at the time of booking for you and anyone else on your booking,
- One additional bag per person, or 20kg increased weight allowance, depending on the flight
- Reservation assurance on full-fare economy tickets, guaranteeing you a seat even on full or overbooked flights, when booked at least 24 hours before departure
The key benefits here are access to lounges as well as priority services and increased baggage allowances.
Make sure you have included your Virgin Flying Club membership number on any SkyTeam bookings in order to claim these benefits. You can do so on the ‘Manage My Booking’ page of the airline you booked with. Note that it is possible that some SkyTeam members have yet to adjust their systems to accept Virgin Flying Club membership numbers.
How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards (March 2023)
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 points bonus 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 30,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 30,000 Virgin Points.
The Platinum Card from American Express
30,000 points and unbeatable travel 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.
Until 30th March 2023, the sign up bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased to 120,000 Membership Rewards points – click here. The bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased to 60,000 Membership Rewards points – click here. T&C apply, see the application forms for details.
American Express Business Platinum
Crazy 120,000 points bonus (to 30th March) and a £200 Amex Travel credit every year Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
60,000 points sign-up bonus (to 30th March) 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.)
riku 
Save East Coast Rewards 
Blair Waldorf Salad 
Anders 
Marcw 
Steven Ford 
Littlefish 
AL 
Rhys 
r* 
Peter 
JDB 
David 
Mike Hunt 
TimT 
Greg 
Joe 
Lee 
Comments (20)