Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is quickly becoming one of my favorite frequent flyer programs due to their unique partnerships and redemption opportunities. Virgin Atlantic itself operates long-haul flights from the United Kingdom to international destinations; the airline is very much a boutique airline in that they don’t have the global reach of British Airways and do not operate that many flights in comparison to other major airlines. Virgin Atlantic has a close partnership with Air France/KLM and Delta Air Lines and will eventually join the SkyTeam Alliance. In addition to these partnerships, Virgin Atlantic does partner with other airlines and on some of which you’re able to both earn and redeem Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points.
Transferring Points to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points are fairly easy to acquire since you can transfer them in from most major transferable bank points programs:
- American Express Membership Rewards
- 1:1 transfer ratio
- instant transfer
- Capital One Rewards
- 1:1 transfer ratio to the Virgin Red program
- instant transfer
- Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 1:1 transfer ratio
- instant transfer
- Citi ThankYou Points
- 1:1 transfer ratio
- instant transfer
- Marriott Bonvoy
- 3:1 transfer ratio (for every 60k Marriott Bonvoy points you transfer, you will get a bonus of 5k Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points)
- average transfer time is 1-2 days
The transferable bank points programs frequently offer transfer bonuses, for example, like 30% more airline miles/points. Under a bonus like this you would receive 30% more Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points when transferring from a bank program.
see the world with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Award Fees
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club has very reasonable award fees, should you require them. There is no fee when making a booking over the phone, which is useful since some of their airline partners do not show up directly on their website and must be booked over the phone (you would find award availability elsewhere and call Virgin Atlantic to book).
- award ticket change fee: GBP30 or USD50
- award ticket redeposit/cancel fee: GBP30 or USD50
The currency you are charged in depends on what currency your ticket was issued in and/or the address on your Flying Club account.
Virgin Atlantic Partner Airlines
In addition to obviously being able to redeem Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points on Virgin Atlantic flights, you can also redeem them on a number of partner airlines, which include:
- Air France
- Air New Zealand
- ANA All Nippon Airways
- Delta Air Lines
- Hawaiian Airlines
- KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
- Singapore Airlines
- South African Airways
- Virgin Australia
Virgin Atlantic does also partner with the following airlines, but you can only earn miles for flights on these airlines and you aren’t able to redeem your Virgin points:
- IndiGo
- SAS Scandinavian Airlines
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, a Virgin Atlantic Flying Club partner
Redeeming Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Points
You can search for award availability and redeem your points directly on Virgin Atlantic’s website for flights on Virgin Atlantic and some of their airline partners. Not all of their airline partners show up on Virgin’s website and some must be booked over the phone.
Search for Air New Zealand, ANA All Nippon Airways, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways award availability using Air Canada Aeroplan or United Airlines MileagePlus. Keep in mind that you should search for award availability using a partner program (for example, Singapore Airlines offers more award availability to their own members and therefore you should search for a Singapore Airlines flight on Air Canada or United and if you find award space, you will be able to book it using Virgin points).
Search for Hawaiian Airlines award availability using Hawaiian Airlines’ website at their lowest/saver-level award rates. You can also check for award availability on international Hawaiian Airlines flights using American Airlines AAdvantage.
Search for Virgin Australia award availability using Air Canada Aeroplan.
Once you find award availability on your desired flight you can call Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and provide them the exact flight information and they should be able to book it without issue. Virgin does publish award charts for their own flights and for partner awards so you can easily see how much a flight will cost directly on their website.
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Fuel Surcharges
In addition to the mandatory airline taxes and fees that must be paid on an award ticket, some airlines also charge fuel surcharges – which can be hundreds of dollars in some cases. Sadly, Virgin Atlantic does charge fuel surcharges on award tickets – in some cases these can be very high (especially on their own flights). The good news is that for travel on some of their airline partners, fuel surcharges can be relatively low – this depends on the airline you are flying, the route, class of service, and more. Expect to pay more in taxes/fees and fuel surcharges if redeeming points for Business Class flights.
All in All
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is a very niche frequent flyer program with some great airline partners and sweet spots. You can easily acquire Virgin points by transferring in from various bank points programs or even from Marriott Bonvoy. This frequent flyer program won’t solve all of your redemption needs, but it does nicely complement other programs and provides powerful redemption opportunities across several regions.