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Virgin Atlantic is best known for its transatlantic operations, flying out of its home in London Heathrow. However, with a global network and now a SkyTeam member, there are plenty of ways to earn points with the carrier's loyalty program: Flying Club. From all purchases in the Virgin Group to renting cars and, of course, flying, here's the Simple Flying guide on earning miles with Flying Club. Read until the end to learn about one of the easiest ways to double or triple your points on each flight as well!

Fly, fly, fly

The easiest way to earn (and spend) points with Flying Club is by traveling with Virgin Atlantic, a partner airline, or any SkyTeam member. The list is long and includes Singapore Airlines (which previously owned half of the carrier), Air New Zealand, ANA, Hawaiian, and several others. Virgin also joined the airline alliance in March, meaning Delta Air Lines (49% shareholder), Korean Air, Air France, KLM, China Eastern, and a dozen others will all get you points.

Miles earned as calculated based on the distance flown and in which cabin you fly. If flying with Virgin Atlantic, you receive points based on the type of fare selected: Economy Light/Classic/Delight, Premium, or Upper Class (business). On a roundtrip from London Heathrow (LHR) to New York JFK on the lowest fare, you'll earn up to the following miles:

  • Economy Light/Classic/Delight: 1,728/3,457/10,371 miles
  • Premium: 6,941 miles
  • Upper Class: 13,828 miles

Considering the earning potential, it always makes sense to pay for Classic or Delight economy fares if the price difference isn't too high. This has an added benefit, which we'll touch upon at the end.

Check in desks for a Virgin Atlantic flight.
Photo: photosounds / Shutterstock

All partners have their own earning formula based on fare class and distance. For example, flying on Delta One suites can earn up to 400% of the distance flown, while Singapore Airlines Suites will fetch you 200%. Each carrier has its own scale from 25% onward, so check on the Virgin Atlantic website before booking.

On the ground

Flying Club has several partners with whom you can enjoy and earn points on the ground as well. Virgin Group companies like Virgin Holidays (2 points per £1 spent), Virgin Hotels, and others all earn excellent bonuses and benefits. Virgin Red is a rewards program that links to Flying Club and has some interesting deals, like credit card sign-on bonuses and more.

Outside of its ownership, Flying Club is partnered with virtually every large hotel program, such as Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton, IHG Rewards, World of Hyatt, and smaller groups like Yotel and Virgin Limited Edition. Rental cars are the same, with Avis, Hertz, Enterprise, Sixt, National, and all earning points. Finally, Eurostar, Heathrow Rewards, and No 1 Lounges are also earning partners.

A Virgin Atlantic Boeing 787-9 landing at London Heathrow Airport.
Photo: Fasttailwind / Shutterstock

You can also earn with Retail Therapy online, applying for credit cards, and much more. If you're partaking in anything travel-related, from shopping to trains, safe to say you can earn some points.

Double up: Points Booster

Virgin is one of the few airlines that allows you to double or triple the points earned on any revenue or miles ticket. With their points booster, you can increase the miles earned for just £0.01 (1.2 US cents) each. Considering you can extract over 2 cents of value from each point, this is a quick and inexpensive way to top off your balance. On a recent redemption from New York to London for 10,000 points, I managed to purchase 6,900 miles for just £69, bringing down the redemption cost substantially.

Points Booster also ensures your mileage balance never falls too much since you can purchase back nearly 70% of the miles spent with a 2x boost. You can boost points for flights up to six months in the past, so give Virgin a call if you took a flight recently! We'll go into more detail about this feature in a stand-alone article, so stay tuned!

Do you have status or earn points with Virgin's Flying Club? Do you know any more interesting ways to earn points? Let us know in the comments!