Yesterday Virgin Atlantic announced some major changes to their Flying Club frequent flyer program, and they’re bad news. I’m sorry for the delay in writing about these changes, as I was flying without Wi-Fi for most of the day yesterday.
Simply put, these changes follow the general industry trend we’ve been seeing the past few years — high revenue flyers may do slightly better on the surface, while a vast majority of people will lose out as a result of these changes. Let’s dig a bit deeper into these changes:
When do Virgin Atlantic changes kick in?
Unfortunately Virgin Atlantic isn’t giving much advance notice of these changes:
- Changes to earning miles and elite status kick in as of November 13, 2016
- Changes to redeeming miles kick in as of January 15, 2017
Virgin Atlantic 747 at Heathrow Airport
Virgin Atlantic’s award chart devaluation
Let’s start with Virgin Atlantic’s massive award chart devaluation, which is probably the biggest change for most of us. Virgin Atlantic is transfer partners with American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou, and Starwood Preferred Guest, so there are lots of ways to earn Virgin Atlantic miles.
Virgin Atlantic is following British Airways’ lead and introducing seasonal award pricing — they’re introducing standard (off-peak) and peak award pricing.
As far as standard vs. peak award pricing goes:
- Standard dates include: January 16, 2017 – March 30, 2017; April 19 – June 21, 2017; September 7 – December 12, 2017
- Peak dates include: March 31 – April 18, 2017; June 22 – September 06, 2017; December 13 – January 3, 2018
Below is a chart with the changes in Virgin Atlantic award pricing, listing the current prices, as well as the new ones (as you can see, the amounts in bold represent an increase in cost):
| Round-trip to/from London and: | Economy | Premium Economy | Upper Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| US – Northeast: Boston, Newark, New York (JFK), and Washington DC | Current: 35,000 New Standard: 20,000 New Peak: 40,000 Fuel surcharges of $645.10 to $774.12 | Current: 55,000 New Standard: 35,000 New Peak: 55,000 Fuel surcharges of $750.00 to $900.00 | Current: 80,000 New Standard: 95,000 New Peak: 115,000 Fuel surcharges of $1,120.00 to $1,344.00 |
| US – Midwest: Atlanta, Chicago, and Detroit | Current: 35,000 New Standard: 25,000 New Peak: 45,000 Fuel surcharges of $645.10 to $774.12 | Current: 55,000 New Standard: 45,000 New Peak: 65,000 Fuel surcharges of $750.00 to $900.00 | Current: 80,000 New Standard: 95,000 New Peak: 115,000 Fuel surcharges of $1,120.00 to $1,344.00 |
| US – South: Miami and Orlando | Current: 42,500 New Standard: 25,000 New Peak: 45,000 Fuel surcharges of $645.10 to $774.12 | Current: 70,000 New Standard: 45,000 New Peak: 65,000 Fuel surcharges of $750.00 to $900.00 | Current: 100,000 New Standard: 95,000 New Peak: 115,000 Fuel surcharges of $1,120.00 to $1,344.00 |
| US – West: Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle | Current: 42,500 New Standard: 30,000 New Peak: 50,000 Fuel surcharges of $603.00 to 723.60 | Current: 70,000 New Standard: 55,000 New Peak: 75,000 Fuel surcharges of $707.90 to $849.80 | Current: 100,000 New Standard: 135,000 New Peak: 155,000 Fuel surcharges of $1,153.93 to $1,384.68 |
The cost of most economy and premium economy awards is going down if traveling during the standard period, while it’s going up for Upper Class and during peak periods.
Obviously the sweet spot in redeeming on Virgin Atlantic is for Upper Class, and in many cases the cost of those awards are going up significantly:
- New York to London roundtrip is going from 80,000 miles to 95,000-115,000 miles
- Los Angeles to London roundtrip is going from 100,000 miles to 135,000-155,000 miles
The cost of Virgin Atlantic Upper Class redemptions is going up a lot
Of course what’s not included in the above amounts is the $1,000+ in carrier imposed surcharges and fees that you’ll pay for a roundtrip business class ticket.
So those who typically redeem for economy awards may come out ahead, though I’m not even sure that’s necessarily true, since in the past Virgin Atlantic frequently ran promotions offering discounted economy and premium economy awards.
As of now, no changes have been announced to Virgin Atlantic partner redemptions, though that could still be coming.
Change in Virgin Atlantic mileage earning
Virgin Atlantic will also be changing the number of redeemable miles you earn for travel starting November 13, 2016. Unfortunately these changes follow the industry trend, and you’ll earn more miles for Upper Class, full fare premium economy, and full fare economy tickets, while you’ll earn fewer miles in all other fare classes.
Up until now Virgin Atlantic has continued to offer 100% miles on discounted economy tickets, though that’s finally changing.
Here’s a comparison of the new and old mileage earning chart:
| Fare Class | Prior to November 12, 2016 | After November 13, 2016 |
|---|---|---|
| Discount economy (E, Q, V, N, O) | 100% of flown miles | 50% of flown miles |
| Mid-tier economy (L, U, M) | 100% of flown miles | 100% of flown miles |
| Full fare economy (Y, B, R) | 100% of flown miles | 150% of flown miles |
| Discount premium economy (H, K) | 125% of flown miles | 100% of flown miles |
| Premium economy (W, S) | 125% of flown miles | 200% of flown miles |
| Discount business (I,Z) | 150% of flown miles | 200% of flown miles |
| Full fare business (J, C, D) | 300% of flown miles | 400% of flown miles |
Changes in elite status
Here are the most important things changing about Virgin Atlantic elite status:
- Gold members go from earning a 100% mileage bonus to earning a 60% mileage bonus, while Silver members go from earning a 50% mileage bonus to earning a 30% mileage bonus; however, elite bonuses now apply to the cabin bonus as well, and not just the base miles, so members who book premium tickets could end up earning significantly more miles
- Silver and Gold status used to require 15 and 40 tier points, respectively; under the new system, members will need to earn 400 or 1,000 tier points to earn status, respectively
- Existing tier points will be multiplied by 25 (so 15 tier points is the equivalent of 375 under the new system, and 40 tier points is the equivalent of 1,000 under the new system)
Unfortunately Virgin Atlantic has made this ridiculously complicated, as they’re changing the earnings rates, the value of the currency, and the qualification requirements all at once. But to put it as simply as possible, here’s a comparison of the old and new earnings rates (for the old rates I’m also multiplying by 25, since that’s the closest we’ll get to a fair comparison):
| Fare Class | Old Tier Points Earned | New Tier Points Earned |
|---|---|---|
| Discount economy (V, E, Q, X, N, O) | 2 ( = 50 in new system) | 25 |
| Economy (Y, B, R, L, U, M) | 3 ( = 75 in new system) | 50 |
| Discount premium economy (H, K) | 3 ( = 75 in new system) | 50 |
| Premium economy (W, S) | 4 ( = 100 in new system) | 100 |
| Discount business (Z) | 5 ( = 125 in new system) | 100 |
| Discount business (I) | 5 ( = 125 in new system) | 200 |
| Full fare business (J, C, D) | 6 ( = 150 in new system) | 200 |
As you can see, the rate at which you earn tier points increases for three of the four Upper Class fare classes, but otherwise these changes are neutral, or bad news.
Bottom line
These changes follow the industry trend, so unfortunately I’m not surprised. Those flying in premium cabins will largely earn more miles, while most passengers (not booking full fare or premium cabin tickets) will earn significantly fewer miles. Add in the massive award chart devaluation, and almost no one will come out ahead.
This change is especially annoying for two reasons:
- It’s so damn confusing, as they’re changing almost every aspect of the program. I follow loyalty programs for a living, and it took me quite a while to make sense of all this. They’re changing so many things at once.
- These new redemption rates are ridiculous, especially in conjunction with Virgin Atlantic’s offensive carrier imposed surcharges. 155,000 miles plus $1,200+ in fees for a roundtrip business class saver level award ticket between the US and Europe? Girl, gone. On top of that, unlike British Airways, Virgin Atlantic has limited partner redemption opportunities.
Perhaps the one bright spot is that the cost of some non-premium redemptions is going down. But that has never been an especially good use of Virgin Atlantic miles anyway.
Personally the only value I got out of Flying Club was transferring points from other currencies for the purposes of Upper Class redemptions. That could sometimes represent a good deal, especially in conjunction with a transfer bonus.
Unfortunately there’s not much value to be had there anymore…
What do you make of the big changes coming to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club?
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