What SkyTeam benefits do you get as a Virgin Flying Club Silver member?

What are the benefits of Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club Silver 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 Silver 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 Silver e-card at the lounge or check-in should do the trick.

Silver is Virgin Atlantic Flying Club’s mid-tier, with Gold above and Red (entry level) below. You need to earn at least 400 tier points in a single membership year to achieve Silver status

The article (click) looks at how many Virgin Atlantic tier points you will now earn flying with SkyTeam partners. It is possible 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 Silver benefits?

When flying Virgin Atlantic, you get the following benefits as a Silver member regardless of which cabin you’re flying:

• Premium check in
• Free seat assignment for you and any travel companions when travelling in Economy Light
• Priority baggage
• Additional checked bag of 23kg on Virgin Atlantic operated flights
• 30% Virgin Points bonus on Virgin Atlantic flights

The official list of Virgin Atlantic Silver benefits can be found on the Virgin Atlantic website here.

What about flying with SkyTeam partners?

As of 2nd March 2023, 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 Silver benefits on SkyTeam flights

For flights with SkyTeam partner airlines your benefits are slightly different.

Virgin Flying Club Silver is the equivalent to SkyTeam Elite status.

This is the mid level of SkyTeam status and comes with a handful of perks. These perks are fixed at alliance level, and you get the same benefits if you have Elite status with any other SkyTeam airline:

• Priority check-in and baggage drop-off
• 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

The benefits are limited. Crucially, lounge access is NOT included (this is reserved for SkyTeam Elite Plus members, which includes Virgin Flying Club Gold.) The biggest benefit is the use of priority services for check in, baggage drop and boarding, as well as free seat selection.

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):

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 30,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 30,000 Virgin Points.

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.

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.)