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

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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.

Virgin Atlantic status match

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.

Virgin Atlantic status match

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
Virgin Atlantic status match

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!

Virgin Atlantic status match

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

How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards (April 2025)

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):

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard

3,000 bonus points, no fee and 1 point for every £1 you spend 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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express comes with 50,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 50,000 Virgin Points.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large 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

50,000 points when you sign-up 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. 

Category

British Airways and Avios, Virgin Atlantic and Flying Club

Comments (62)

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

  • Safety Card says:
    14 Feb14 February 10:07

    I was rejected due to a status match 10+ years ago. With 2 Virgin Upper returns booked keeping me at my silver status, I’ll now put the rest of my travel through BA to hit Gold there. Seems like an easy way for Virgin to loose revenue based on a somewhat ridiculous rule. Perhaps rather than one match in a lifetime they should consider one match every 5 / 10 years or something, as peoples circumstances change throughout life.

    That said, I recently took Virgin Upper to LAX and was really disappointed in how downhill they’ve gone. The food in particular was not good, small portions, poorly plated, with poor quality meat. I’d choose CWS over Virgin Upper any day at the minute.

    • Alan says:
      14 Feb14 February 11:11

      I agree with the Virgin catering issue in Upper, especially out of LHR, worse than outstations catering. Always small portions, poor quality, and poorly plated. I still remember last year PVG-LHR in Upper, I had the chicken rice as a main, my rice portion was only 1 tiny spoon for 1 bite, and 2 small pieces of chicken in a big empty bowl. Some people might say, eat something in the lounge, but some VS lounges in outstations are not good, not much food offering as well.

    • Alan says:
      14 Feb14 February 11:23

      And for people who often travel in tight schedule, from office straight to the airport, sometimes just no time pop into the lounge but expect decent catering onboard in business. Personally I found BA Club catering is better than Virgin Upper.

      • Safety Card says:
        14 Feb14 February 11:43

        Fully agree, BA have come on leaps and bounds with the catering and it’s putting Virgin to shame. Also on an 11 hour West Coast flight the offerings really aren’t substantial enough. I had the chicken curry which had 3 small pieces of poor quality chicken on it.

  • nbdm says:
    14 Feb14 February 11:07

    Presumably a credit card voucher is an eligible way to go from economy to premium for the status match?

    So, in theory you could book a one way flight in Economy on points & then use the cc voucher to get that to premium?
    For example, some Caribbean routes (and DXB) one way to LHR are quite reasonable in economy. The taxes in premium are also under £200.

    • marks7389 says:
      14 Feb14 February 13:44

      I believe so. I got it on an UC redemption, upgraded from Premium (though in my case, of course, it would have qualified without the upgrade).

  • gamesetmatch says:
    14 Feb14 February 12:08

    If I was to cancel or move my fully refundable cash or milage booking after the 72 hours before the flight (when the status is triggered) but before the 24 hour limit to do so, would the status be revoked?

    • Deek says:
      14 Feb14 February 12:37

      Yes, T&C’s very clear that status will be cancelled if you cancel the flight.

      My guess is if you move the flight they will probably just move the date you earn status to 72 hours before the new date, but not sure.

  • Dominic Barrington says:
    14 Feb14 February 12:43

    How quickly are VS responding to the status match when the request is made?

    • marks7389 says:
      14 Feb14 February 13:44

      I applied on Thursday, and got the confirmation email on Sunday.

    • Wayne says:
      14 Feb14 February 18:31

      I applied Sunday Evening and had it confirmed this afternoon at 4pm

    • SharonC says:
      15 Feb15 February 12:42

      I did mine last Friday, got the match on Monday. Did my husbands request on Monday after I had received mine ok, but no response as of 15th Feb at 12:30. Might come through later

  • Sarah says:
    14 Feb14 February 20:01

    If I change the date of the outbound or return leg (return is currently not open for booking) will I still qualify for the status match? Hoping that the most important think is the booking today and submitting the status match evidence?

    • Rob says:
      14 Feb14 February 20:13

      Logically I’d say you’re fine BUT you may need to contact them so they can update your file, as the upgrade is probably done manually.

  • TomB says:
    15 Feb15 February 12:15

    Will VA still match BA gold to gold in the future even if you’ve already used this offer?
    Starting to think I might email back and ask them to unmatch the silver status as it’s absolutely useless for anyone who travels in PE and above.

    • Rob says:
      15 Feb15 February 12:25

      No. It’s a ‘once per lifetime’ offer in theory. Perhaps in a decade you’re OK, but this thread shows people being refused who were matched in recent years.

      • TomB says:
        15 Feb15 February 14:14

        I don’t understand the commercial logic behind that. There must be a large market of business travellers who can choose which airline for Atlantic flights. Say, for example, you are BA Silver but only Virgin Red. There’s no way you’re going to fly VA when BA is a choice. If VA match you to Gold, there’s a high chance you might put business through VA instead. If they have some stupid rule about not being eligible due to a status match almost a decade ago they’re missing out surely? Also what’s to stop people creating a new account and just status matching to that, if you’re Red the chances are you won’t care about lifetime tier points if that’s even a thing with Virgin.

        • Rob says:
          15 Feb15 February 14:48

          You need to draw a line somewhere. Allowing multiple matches would actually make people less likely to commit to VS – the idea is that you get the match and then you ‘justify’ the match by renewing. If you don’t keep your end of the deal then that’s up to you, but Virgin isn’t going to make it easy for you to do it again.

  • Alex says:
    16 Feb16 February 15:45

    Other airlines matches seem to be enhanced as well. I sent LH Senator expiring in 2 weeks and got a confirmation for a VS Gold status for my upcoming flight.

  • Dirtyneedlebluesky says:
    17 Feb17 February 08:54

    Can I just check if you were meant to receive an email confirmation when you submitted the request?

    I made the application on the last day but have still not heard anything yet.

    Thanks

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

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