If you are a frequent traveller and Virgin brand lover, then you were super excited to hear that finally the Virgin Atlantic and Virgin America flying clubs have finally merged. But it was all pretty unclear as to what the hell this actually meant.
I have done some further investigation into the fine print and wanted to share my findings here for those of you, who like myself, can’t read.
- EARNING POINTS – You can credit Virgin America miles to your Virgin Atlantic account OR You can credit Virgin Atlantic miles to your Virgin America account.
- SPENDING POINTS ON EITHER – Virgin Atlantic Flying Club members and Virgin America Elevate members will be eligible to spend their miles or points on either airline as of the second quarter of 2011.
Miles earned on Virgin Atlantic for Virgin America flights – example San Francisco -> Los Angeles
Main Cabin – 50% of miles flown
Main Cabin Refundable – 100% of miles flown
Main Cabin Select Instant Upgrade – 100% of miles flown
Main Cabin Select – 100% of miles flown
First Class – 150% of miles flown
Miles earned on Virgin America for Virgin Atlantic flights – example London -> New York
Promo economy – 10%
Discount economy – 20%
Full economy – 40%
Premium economy – 50%
Business class (Upper class) – 60%
Basically I’m going to start crediting all my points to Virgin Atlantic. Because you can also (in theory) earn tier points (so I can keep my Virgin Atlantic Gold status).
The breakdown of tier points is:
| Cabin | Under 2,000 miles flown | Over 2,000 miles flown |
|---|---|---|
| Economy Class | 0 | 1 |
| Business Class | 1 | 2 |
| First Class | 1 | 2 |
