Virgin Atlantic revamping Flying Club, offering every seat for booking with points

Andrea Thompson

ByAndrea Thompson

September 30, 2024
morning.

Virgin Atlantic has today announced that Flying Club members will be able to pay for any seat onboard with Virgin Points. This is in addition to the launch of new Saver reward seats and increased points earn rates in Premium and Upper Class.

From 30 October these enhancements will revolutionise the world of redemptions for Virgin Atlantic customers, continuing a long history of innovation in Flying Club, alongside our rewards club partner Virgin Red.

Flying Club members will be able to use Virgin Points to pay for any seat on the plane on any date, offering absolute choice and flexibility for our loyal customers. The price of seats will vary in line with demand, in a similar way to standard tickets.

To make flying with points even more accessible, Virgin Atlantic is launching new Saver reward seats at our lowest possible prices. Flying Club members will benefit from the best value we’ve ever offered, with Saver reward seats available across thousands of flights. And they will start from prices even lower than reward seats today, with flights to New York from as little as 6,000 Virgin Points.

We know that everyone loves an upgrade, and so members will be able to use their points to upgrade to any available Premium or Upper Class seat from standard or reward tickets. In addition, members will be able to use their Companion or Upgrade vouchers on any seat, removing constraints of availability from even more products within Flying Club.

And in a further boost to Flying Club members, the number of Virgin Points earned on Upper Class and Premium tickets will also be increased at the same time.

Improvements announced to reward seats today

  • In 2022 Virgin Atlantic launched Guaranteed Availability making 12 seats available on every flight for Flying Club members. We are now going further.
  • From 30 October, every seat on a Virgin Atlantic operated flight will be made available for Flying Club members to purchase using their Virgin Points, including for upgrades.
  • A new Saver reward seat product will be launched for seats priced at or below today’s prices. These will include some of our lowest ever prices in points.
  • Saver reward seats will be available across thousands of flights, at the same price or lower than they are right now.
  • All vouchers issued today to credit card holders and to Gold tier members will be moving to a new Flying Club reward voucher.
  • The new voucher will remain redeemable for a Companion Seat or upgrade, and will be redeemable on any seat in any cabin for any customer.
  • The voucher will be valid up to a maximum of 75k points for Flying Club Red tier members, or 150k points for Flying Club Silver or Gold tier members based on status at the time of voucher redemption.
  • Above these maximum amounts, customers can use their Virgin Points balances to top up the amount required, giving even more flexibility.
  • Virgin Red members will continue to be able to spend their points on Virgin Atlantic by joining Flying Club and linking their account, just as today.
  • The amount of Virgin Points earned on Upper Class tickets will increase by up to 50% and Premium tickets will increase by up to 75%, allowing customers to earn even more on Virgin Atlantic.
  • Between now and launch, customers will be able to book reward seats without any changes to pricing or availability.

Shai Weiss, CEO, Virgin Atlantic, commented: “Our customers mean the world to us. We are flying because of them and for forty years we have existed to make their journeys safe and special. Our aim is always to do right by them and to make them smile. In our special Ruby anniversary year, we are making every single seat available for purchase with points, becoming even more rewarding for our millions of loyal Flying Club members.”