LAST DAY: Virgin Atlantic will BEAT your British Airways Executive Club status

I wanted to remind you that today, 14th February, is your last day to take advantage of the Virgin Atlantic status match for British Airways Executive Club members.

You can find full details, and apply, on this page of the Virgin Atlantic website.

You will receive Virgin Atlantic status which is one level ABOVE your British Airways status. Bronze gets Virgin Atlantic Silver, Silver gets Virgin Atlantic Gold. Gold gets, erm, Gold, obviously.

How does the Virgin Atlantic status match work?

It is a simple deal:

• you must have an existing Virgin Atlantic booking (one way or return – Virgin has confirmed a one-way is OK) in Upper Class or Premium, or make one by TONIGHT, 14th February

• your flight can be for any future date

• cash OR REDEMPTION bookings count

• your status will be upgraded 72 hours before your flight – this is actually a good thing, because Virgin Atlantic status works on a rolling year and this maximises the time you have to earn enough points to requalify

• you must not have received a status match before – but you can apply if you previously held Virgin Atlantic status which you earned via flying

What match will I get?

This is how it works:

• British Airways Executive Club Bronze members will receive Flying Club Silver status

• British Airways Executive Club Silver members will receive Flying Club Gold status

• British Airways Executive Club Gold members will receive Flying Club Gold status

Remember that having a cash OR POINTS booking with Virgin Atlantic is good enough to get you matched, but you must be booked into Premium or Upper Class.

What are the benefits of Virgin Flying Club Silver status?

Look at the Flying Club website here.

The key benefits are:

• 30% bonus Virgin Points on every flight
• use of Premium Economy check-in desks where available
• additional baggage allowance
• priority boarding
• free seat assignments in Economy (from seven days before travel)
• able to open a Household Account
• extra benefits at Virgin Hotels

What are the benefits of Virgin Flying Club Gold status?

Look at the Flying Club website here.

The key benefits are:

• 60% bonus Virgin Points on every flight
• Clubhouse access when flying Virgin Atlantic or Delta, with a guest
• able to force open reward seats on any flight, paying double Virgin Points
• Revivals (arrivals) lounge access at Heathrow
• use of Upper Class check-in desks
• priority boarding
• free seat assignments in Economy from time of booking
• additional baggage allowance
• able to open a Household Account
• extra benefits at Virgin Hotels
• earn a Companion Voucher (valid on a cash or points ticket) when you renew your Gold status

Can I use my status on other airlines?

Yes.

Virgin Atlantic is now a member of the SkyTeam airline alliance. This means that your status will also be valid when flying on:

• Aerolíneas Argentinas
• Aeromexico
• Air Europa
• Air France
• China Airlines
• China Eastern
• Czech Airlines
• Delta Air Lines
• Garuda Indonesia
• ITA Airways
• Kenya Airways
• KLM
• Korean Air
• Middle East Airlines
• SAUDIA
• TAROM
• Vietnam Airlines
• XiamenAir

Silver members of Flying Club receive SkyTeam Elite status. This gets you:

• 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

Gold members of Flying Club receive SkyTeam Elite Plus status. This gets you:

• 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

It’s not just SkyTeam ….

There are also benefits when flying Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia if you are Flying Club Gold.

How long will my status last?

Virgin Flying Club status runs on a rolling 12-month basis. Your status will last for a year from the date you are upgraded.

Your upgrade is processed 72 hours before your upcoming Virgin Atlantic flight, which allows you to maximise the time you hold Silver or Gold status.

Remember that redemption flights on Virgin Atlantic booked with Virgin Points earn tier points. This means that you could retain your Silver or Gold status in Flying Club purely from redemption flights!

There’s an extra carrot ….

Virgin Atlantic is currently running a special promotion on new ticket bookings.

Until 18th February, for bookings flown by 30th June:

• Economy tickets (excluding Light) will earn a bonus 2,000 Virgin Points return
• Premium tickets will earn a bonus 5,000 Virgin Points return
• Upper Class tickets will earn a bonus 10,000 Virgin Points return

And, of course, the flight you book would also trigger your British Airways Executive Club status match.

Full details are on the Virgin Atlantic website here.

We went through the small print in an article here.

How do I apply for my match?

You need to visit this page of the Virgin Atlantic website.

You will need to upload a photo or screenshot of your British Airways Executive Club membership card, as well as details of your upcoming Virgin Atlantic booking.

A future cash or redemption booking, one way or return, in Premium or Upper Class is required. The application website does not specify that redemptions are acceptable but I have confirmed this with the airline.

You need to apply by TONIGHT, 14th February.

If you want to look at a potential booking to take advantage, you can browse the Virgin Atlantic site here.

PS. If you have been matched to Gold or Silver, remember that the Virgin Atlantic credit cards become a lot more attractive. This is because the annual voucher you receive for spending £10,000 or £20,000 is more flexible. This HfP article looks at how the Virgin Atlantic credit cards work – remember that the ‘Plus’ card has a special sign-up offer running at the moment. You can apply here.

PPS. If you have status with another major non-SkyTeam airline, but not BA, Virgin Atlantic will probably also match you. There is a list on the status match page. Emirates has just been added. However, you will not get an ‘enhanced’ match – Senator with Lufthansa will only get you mid-tier with Virgin Atlantic, for example. British Airways flyers benefit from getting a higher level of status.

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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 18,000 Virgin Points and the free card has a bonus of 3,000 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.)