Virgin Atlantic, the UK’s boutique long-haul airline, has a very interesting a niche frequent flyer program – Flying Club. Virgin Atlantic partners with a variety of airlines – ranging from Air France/KLM to Hawaiian Airlines to Singapore Airlines; the airline will eventually join the SkyTeam Alliance as Virgin’s strongest partnerships are with Air France/KLM and Delta Air Lines.
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is a very interesting frequent flyer program in that it won’t solve all of your award travel needs, but it does nicely complement other programs. And where other frequent flyer programs may not provide the best value, that’s where you might be able to use Virgin Atlantic points at an exceptional value – let’s cover some of the best Sweet Spots in the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club program.
You can easily gain more points by transferring in from:
- American Express Membership Rewards
- Capital One Rewards
- Chase Ultimate Rewards
- Citi ThankYou Points
- Marriott Bonvoy
Flying Club Sweet Spots Notes
The sweet spots listed below are valid for one-way travel during the regular/low/standard season. Virgin Atlantic does also publish peak season award charts – the season is determined by the date you fly and can be viewed directly on Virgin’s website. Standard and Peak Season award rates may or may not apply to partner airlines; if a connecting flight is required, you may be charged for each flight separately on some partner airlines (though some partner airlines also allow “free” connecting flights within the same region).
This post will cover sweet spots on (next post will cover other airline partners):
- Virgin Atlantic
- Air New Zealand
- Delta Air Lines
- Singapore Airlines
- Virgin Australia
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 some 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.
redeem Flying Club miles for Virgin Atlantic flights
Sweet Spots: Virgin Atlantic
search for award space: directly on Virgin Atlantic’s website
- UK <-> Israel: Economy Class: 9k, Premium Economy: 16k, Upper Class: 28k
- UK <-> India/Pakistan: Economy Class: 10k, Premium Economy: 17.5k, Upper Class: 37.5k
- UK <-> US (BOS, EWR, JFK, IAD): Economy Class: 10k, Premium Economy: 17.5k, Upper Class: 47.5k
- UK <-> US (ATL, MIA, MCO, TPA): Economy Class: 12.5k, Premium Economy: 22.5k, Upper Class: 47.5k
- UK <-> US (AUS, LAS, LAX, SFO, SEA): Economy Class: 15k, Premium Economy: 27.5k
- UK <-> Caribbean: Economy Class: 10k, Premium Economy: 17.5k, Upper Class: 57.5k
- UK <-> Nigeria/China/Hong Kong: Economy Class: 12.5k, Premium Economy: 22.5k, Upper Class: 57.5k
- UK <-> South Africa: Economy Class: 12.5k, Premium Economy: 25k, Upper Class: 57.5k
Sweet Spots: Air New Zealand
search for award space: using Air Canada Aeroplan or United Airlines MileagePlus
- New Zealand <-> New Zealand: Economy Class: 7.5k
- New Zealand <-> Australia: Economy Class: 10k, Business Class: 15k
- New Zealand <-> Pacific Islands: Economy Class: 10k, Business Class: 15k
- New Zealand <-> Asia: Business Class: 40k
- New Zealand <-> Hawaii: Business Class: 45k
- New Zealand <-> North America: Business Class: 62.5k
Air New Zealand award availability in Business Class is hard to find – so if you see something, book it right away!
Sweet Spots: Delta Air Lines
search for award space: directly on Virgin Atlantic’s website or using Air France/KLM Flying Blue
- UK <-> US (BOS, JFK): Economy Class: 15k, Delta One: 47.5k
- UK <-> US (ATL, DTW, MSP): Economy Class: 17.5k, Delta One: 47.5k
- UK <-> US (SLC): Economy Class: 20k
- Europe (excluding the UK) <-> US: Delta One: 50k
- all other flights with range of 0 – 500 miles flown: Economy Class: 7.5k
- all other flights with range of 501 – 1,000 miles flown: Economy Class: 8.5k
- all other flights with range of 1,001 – 1,500 miles flown: Economy Class: 11.5k
- all other flights with range of 1,501 – 2,000 miles flown: Economy Class: 12.5k
- all other flights with range of 2,001 – 3,000 miles flown: Economy Class: 15k
- all other flights with range of 3,001 – 4,000 miles flown: Economy Class: 22.5k
Sweet Spots: Singapore Airlines
search for award space: using Air Canada Aeroplan or United Airlines MileagePlus
- Singapore <-> Brunei/Indonesia/Malaysia: Economy Class: 7.5k
- Singapore <-> Japan/South Korea: Business Class: 35k, First Class: 50k
- Singapore <-> China (PEK, PVG): Business Class: 35k, First Class: 50k
- Singapore <-> Turkey/UAE: Business Class: 40k, First Class: 60k
- Singapore <-> South Africa: Business Class: 50k, First Class: 70k
Note that Singapore Airlines releases more award space to their own members, especially in the premium cabins.
Sweet Spots: Virgin Australia
search for award space: using Air Canada Aeroplan
- flights less than 400 miles: Economy Class: 8k
- flights in distance of 600 – 1,199 miles: Economy Class: 15k
redeem Flying Club miles and travel the world
All in All
As you can see by the various sweet spots above, Virgin Atlantic’s program can truly be powerful when redeeming points on different airlines in several regions. Remember that fuel surcharges do vary based on your airline, route, class, etc. Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points are relatively easy to earn as you can transfer in from a bunch of transferable bank points programs and from Marriott Bonvoy.
Remember that not all redemptions can be done directly on Virgin’s website and some do require you calling in; changes and cancellations are also simple with Flying Club for a small fee of GBP30 or USD50. Redeeming miles for award tickets through Flying Club can be an incredible deal in many cases – just make sure the surcharges on your itinerary aren’t too expensive.