Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is an underrated program that offers all kinds of useful redemption opportunities. In particular, the program has some of my favorite niche, sweet spot award deals in the world.
Virgin Atlantic joined SkyTeam in 2023, greatly expanding the opportunities to redeem points through the program. On top of that, Flying Club also has some other individual partners with attractive redemption values. Best of all, Virgin Atlantic points are easy to come by, which is one of the main reasons people should care about the program.
In this post I wanted to take a closer look at how you can redeem Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points for the best value.
In this post:
How to earn Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points
One major aspect in assessing the value of a frequent flyer program is how easy points are to earn with the currency. For those of us in the United States with access to transferable points currencies, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points are among the easiest currencies to rack up.
For one, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club partners with Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Citi ThankYou.
Best of all, we often see transfer bonuses from these currencies to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club in the range of 25-30%, which is a way to stretch points even further. In some cases, it could be worth making a speculative points transfer to take advantage of this, in my opinion.
On top of that, Flying Club frequently sells points at a reasonable cost, which could be a way to get outsized value.
How to redeem Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points
Let’s now take a look at some of the best ways to redeem Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points. One thing that makes this somewhat complicated is that Flying Club doesn’t have a single award chart that applies across all airlines. Rather, the program has different award pricing for different airlines, and in some cases even multiple award charts for the same airline. Specifically:
- Flying Club has dynamic award pricing for travel on Virgin Atlantic, but there are maximum amounts charged when there’s saver award space available
- Flying Club has a zone-based award chart for travel on each individual non-SkyTeam partner airline
- Flying Club has both zone and distance-based award charts for travel on Delta, with peak and off-peak pricing for some awards
- Flying Club has both a zone and distance-based award chart for travel on Air France-KLM, with peak and off-peak pricing for some awards
- Flying Club has a distance-based award chart for travel on SkyTeam partners (excluding Virgin Atlantic, Delta, and Air France-KLM, which have their own charts, as mentioned above)
Before I share some of my favorite redemption values, let me cover a few of the basic logistics of redeeming Flying Club points:
- Awards can be booked online for travel on Air France-KLM, China Airlines, Delta, Garuda Indonesia, Korean Air, ITA Airways, Middle East Airlines, and Xiamen Air; all other partner awards need to be booked by phone
- When it comes to Flying Club’s change and cancelation policy, changing or redepositing an award costs £70 in the UK or $100 in the United States, and can’t be done within 24 hours of departure
- Flying Club generally lets you hold award tickets for one day, but only by phone
- Flying Club points don’t expire, regardless of any activity
With that out of the way, let me share my favorite ways to redeem Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points, in no particular order.
Redeem for travel on Virgin Atlantic
The most obvious way to redeem Flying Club points is for travel on Virgin Atlantic. The program recently overhauled award pricing for Virgin Atlantic flights, and adopted dynamic pricing. While that might sound bad, there’s quite a silver lining, as some redemption values are better than ever before.
While you can redeem points for a seat on any Virgin Atlantic flight, of course the value won’t necessarily be good. The good news is that on around 75% of flights, at least some saver award seats will be made available. They don’t have consistent pricing, but they do have a pricing maximum, and you’ll see these awards with a “saver” tag when doing a search.
Below is the maximum that you’ll pay one-way for a saver award during off-peak periods.
Below is the maximum that you’ll pay one-way for a saver award during peak periods.
The good news is that in some cases, redemption rates will be way lower than those amounts, and more attractive than ever before. For example, below is some one-way award pricing I see from New York to London. 29,000 points for Upper Class? Yes please!
While these awards have carrier imposed surcharges (in addition to the UK Air Passenger Duty on many types of awards), they’re largely much lower than in the past. For example, I see some long haul business class awards with just $250 or so in taxes.
I would argue that if you’re flexible, there’s more value to be had than ever before with Flying Club when redeeming on Virgin Atlantic.
Redeem for travel on All Nippon Airways
Now it’s time for what’s one of my favorite sweet spot redemptions out there, which is the ability to redeem Flying Club points for travel on All Nippon Airways, the Japanese Star Alliance airline. ANA has exceptional premium products, including in first class and business class. While these redemptions have been devalued a bit over the years, there are still some good opportunities.
Below you can find Virgin Atlantic’s award chart for travel on ANA (prices shown are roundtrip, and you can fly one-way for half the cost).
As you can see, all award pricing is to and from Japan, so if you plan on connecting beyond Japan, you’ll need to book your ticket as two separate awards. The good news is that since you can book one-ways for half the cost of a roundtrip, you can easily mix-and-match options.
Most exciting is that business class awards between the US mainland or Europe and Japan cost 52,500-60,000 points one-way, while first class awards between the US mainland or Europe and Japan cost 72,500-85,000 points one-way. While there are carrier imposed surcharges for travel on ANA, they are quite mild.
The major catch with this redemption opportunity is that coming by premium cabin award seats on ANA isn’t easy. Is it impossible? Absolutely not. But it takes some effort.
Redeem for travel on Delta Air Lines
Virgin Atlantic and Delta have a joint venture (and for that matter, Delta owns a 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic). As a result, the airlines have a special arrangement when it comes to reciprocal award redemptions.
Unfortunately this arrangement isn’t at all straightforward, as there are three separate award charts. There’s still potentially good value to be had redeeming Virgin Atlantic points on Delta, though there have also been some devaluations.
Below you can find Virgin Atlantic’s award chart for travel on Delta between the United States and United Kingdom (there are carrier imposed surcharges on all of these awards).
Below you can find Virgin Atlantic’s award chart for travel on Delta between the United States and Europe, with the exception of the United Kingdom (there are also carrier imposed surcharges on these awards).
Below you can find Virgin Atlantic’s award chart for travel on Delta in all other regions, which is distance based (most of these awards don’t have carrier imposed surcharges).
The major catch with these redemptions is that Delta isn’t great about making long haul business class award space available at the saver level. So, what should your takeaway be from this opportunity?
- Generally I wouldn’t consider the Europe awards to be a great value, given the carrier imposed surcharges that apply across the board
- There’s primarily value to be had for short haul and medium haul awards, as you can book many non-long haul Delta awards for 7,500-15,000 points in economy, which is quite a good deal
- There are also some long haul awards that can be a great value and which sometimes have availability, like flying from the US to Africa (including New York to Dakar)
The award search tool Seats.aero can be really useful for finding availability, as it has a Delta One award finder. Just enter the origin and destination region, and you’ll see all the flights with reasonably priced awards.
Redeem for travel on Air France-KLM
Virgin Atlantic, Air France-KLM, and Delta, all belong to the same transatlantic joint venture. As a result, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club has special award pricing for travel on Air France-KLM, and it can represent an exceptional value. As is the case with many Flying Club partners, the actual redemption details are a bit complicated, though at least these awards can be booked through Virgin Atlantic’s site.
Below you can find Virgin Atlantic’s award chart for short haul travel on Air France-KLM, which is distance based.
Then below you can find Virgin Atlantic’s off-peak and peak award charts for travel on Air France-KLM, which are zone based (you can find the zone inclusions here — for what it’s worth, Zone 1 includes Western Europe, and Zone 6 includes the Eastern United States).
The redemption rates here are in some cases significantly better than what you’ll find through Air France-KLM Flying Blue. For example, a one-way Amsterdam to London business class award would cost 20,000 miles through Flying Blue, while it costs only 8,000 points through Flying Club.
For long haul flights, the off-peak redemption rates are typically better than the pricing you’ll find through Air France-KLM Flying Blue. For example, being able to redeem just 48,500 Flying Club points for business class from the United States to Europe is a great value.
Redeem for travel on Air New Zealand
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is just full of amazing niche redemptions. Redeeming Virgin Atlantic points on Air New Zealand can be a great value as well, as the airlines have a partnership despite belonging to different alliances.
Below you can find Virgin Atlantic’s award chart for travel on Air New Zealand, which is zone based.
Well, that’s sort of the award chart. Don’t ask me why, but Air New Zealand awards between New Zealand and the United States cost 62,500 points one-way. That’s an amazing deal, especially as there aren’t surcharges.
The value is very good, though the catch is that Air New Zealand is rather stingy with making award space available. It’s not impossible, though — for example, I’ve redeemed Virgin Atlantic points for Air New Zealand business class across the Pacific. Nowadays availability is sometimes quite good when booking within a couple of months of departure.
Redeem for travel on SkyTeam partners
Virgin Atlantic has one award chart for travel on all SkyTeam partner airlines. The award pricing is distance based, and is calculated from the cumulative distance you fly one-way. Below you can find Virgin Atlantic’s award chart for travel on SkyTeam partners.
Is this the most exciting award pricing in the world? Absolutely not. But the truth is that SkyTeam doesn’t have that many useful programs for partner redemptions (just look at Delta SkyMiles’ absurd award pricing), so this is among the better programs for that (along with Air France-KLM Flying Blue).
I usually focus on premium redemptions (since it’s where you’ll get the most outsized value), so just to give some examples:
- Redeeming 15,500 Flying Club points for a distance of 501-1,000 miles could be useful for short haul travel in Asia, like on China Airlines, Garuda Indonesia, Korean Air, etc.
- Redeeming 85,000 Flying Club points for a distance of 5,001-6,000 miles could be valuable for travel across the Atlantic or Pacific on partners; for example, Virgin Atlantic has access to ITA Airways awards, while other SkyTeam partners don’t, and you could also book Korean Air business class for that price from the west coast to South Korea
- Redeeming 100,000 Flying Club points for a distance of 6,001-7,000 miles could be valuable for some transpacific awards on partners; for example, you could fly China Airlines from Vancouver to Taipei
Like I said, those aren’t necessarily amazing award values, but if you factor in the potential for a 25-30% transfer bonus from a transferable points currency, the value really adds up.
Bottom line
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is a program that’s worth understanding. Not only are the points easy to come by thanks to transferable points currencies, but if you time your transfers right, you should be able to consistently get a 25-30% transfer bonus.
While I wouldn’t consider Flying Club to be the most broadly useful program, it has some of the world’s best niche redemption opportunities. Particularly, you can’t beat the value of redemptions on All Nippon Airways, Delta, Air France-KLM, and Air New Zealand, when you can find award availability.
On top of that, redemptions on Virgin Atlantic can be a great deal as well, especially if you’re flexible and are willing to travel when the best deal is available. Lastly, with Virgin Atlantic in SkyTeam, there are solid opportunities to redeem on SkyTeam partners, ranging from China Airlines to ITA Airways.
What’s your favorite use of Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points?
Huge value for my family flying KE direct between ICN and IAD. Four seats usually available in economy, way easier to get our hands on these points than KE miles, and if we redeem directly through KE, the taxes RT end up being $1800 vs. $250. HUGE savings.
Ben - you’ve not included using miles on South African (SAA). Even since joining Skyteam, VA allow redemptions on SAA using points - the table is here: https://flywith.virginatlantic.com/il/en/flying-club/airline-partners/south-african-airways.html
The Chart for redeeming on DL isn’t accurate either. The chart indicates 17,500 for MSP-LHR and it prices as 12,500, westbound is 17,500 when you book one ways. It prices higher (and total tax is higher) when you book round trip. Makes no sense but no complaints, 12.5K is a great deal for the non-stop.
These changes are great. Just booked 2 economy IAD -LHR for 6k plus 74 bucks. I have been redeeming points for 35 years and this is the lowest for Us- Europe ever.
I am transferring some more speculatively during Chase 40% bonus.
Yep, it’s definitely a net positive.
net positive...if your goal is to fly economy
No Jules, 44k west coast plus $250 for UC is a steal.
when i search Korean air for a 2200 miles flight, the system shows 17K, is that correct or is it a glitch?
“For one, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club partners with Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Citi ThankYou.”
And Wells Fargo. This was announced earlier this week.
And that's why they moved to dynamic pricing, they are specifically targeting points transfers at the expense of the people who actually fly them with any regularity.