Virgin Atlantic is currently offering a simple status match to its own frequent flyer program, the Flying Club. You can be matched up to the Gold status, which will get you precious benefits on flights with Virgin and its partners (e.g. Delta, KLM & Singapore Airlines).
Sadly, the match has a downside: You need to show that you have at least one flight booking with Virgin Atlantic. It can either be a regular booking or an award flight, but has to take place in the future.
The landing page only targets British Airways Executive Club members. It does, however, explicitly state that it is also available to members of other programs, e.g. Iberia Plus or Miles&More – you just need to send the application through the contact form.
These Programs Will be Matched
The status match site explicitly lists the following tiers:
- BA Executive Club Bronze → Flying Club Silver (only with a Virgin booking in Premium Eco or Business)
- BA Executive Club Silver → Flying Club Silver
- BA Executive Club Gold → Flying Club Gold
It is definitely a bit disappointing, that the Executive Club Silver status will only be matched to Flying Club’s Silver status. While they share the same name, Virgin’s Silver status only offers a fraction of the benefits that the Executive Club Silver status offers.
Luckily, there are also some other programs that will be matched. In the contact form, the following options are listed:
- Air New Zealand Airponts
- Alaska MVP
- American Airlines AAdvantage
- ANA Mileage Club
- Cathay Pacific Marco Polo Club
- El Al Frequent Flyer
- Emirates Skywards
- Etihad Guest
- Garuda Indonesia Garuda Miles
- HawaiianMiles
- Hong Kong Airlines Fortune Wings Club
- Iberia Plus
- JetPrivilege
- Miles&More
- Qantas Frequent Flyer
- Qatar Privilege Club
- SAS Eurobonus
The list sadly does not offer any insight into which Flying Club status you would get. With regard to the Executive Club matches, you shouldn’t set your expectations too high.
Conditions
After a successful match, the status will remain valid for 12 months. To extend it, you will have to comply with the regular requirements. That is not easy: 400 points for the Silver status, and 1,000 for Gold.
You should be aware of the following conditions:
- The deal is valid until February 28, 2021
- Status expiration: 12 months after the upgrade
- The match can take up to 30 days to be processed.
- The deal is not available for members of Delta SkyMiles (however they intend to check this).
- Virgin Atlantic reserves the right to revoke the status match if you subsequently cancel or modify your Virgin-booking.
The Process
1. Sing up at the Flying Club
If you still don’t have an account at Virgin Atlantic, you will have to create one. That is possible for free on the following website:
When signing up, you’ll have to enter the usual personal data, such as name, address, and date of birth. Please be aware that while you’re signing up, you need to explicitly click on the following button if you don’t want to receive ads per mail or phone:
2. Apply for the Status Match
If you’re a member of British Airways’ Executive Club, you can simply apply for the status match on the status-match-site. Everyone else merely needs to use the link below that will redirect you to the contact form and then select the right frequent flyer program:
There, you will once again have to enter your name, mail-address, and 10-digit membership number. The latter can either be found in the confirmation email, or in the top right corner of the website (if you’re logged in).
In the next step, you have to submit two pieces of evidence:
- Proof that you hold a status (e.g. screenshot of the online account or photo of the plastic card)
- Proof that you have a Virgin Atlantic booking.
Subsequently, you can send the form and…
3. Wait
The processing of the status match can take up to 30 days, according to Virgin. As soon as the match is successful, you’ll receive a notification by mail.
Benefits
Let’s get to the most important aspect: The benefits of a frequent flyer status at Flying Club. These begin with the Silver status, but it really becomes interesting starting at Gold. You can also find an overview of the benefits on Virgin’s website.
Flying Club Silver
As a Silver member, you’ll receive the following benefits:
On Virgin Atlantic flights:
- Two vouchers to enter the Clubhouse in Heathrow
- 30% more points
- Premium check-in and boarding
- Priority luggage
- Free seat reservation (except exit row)
On Delta, KLM, and Air France:
- Priority-check-in and boarding
- Priority luggage (maybe only with Delta)
- Virgin’s website lists some benefits only for Delta, but according to Insideflyer, these also apply to flights with KLM and Air France since early 2020
Flying Club Gold
The interesting benefits of the Gold status are especially the lounge access and various benefits on Virgin’s partner airlines.
On Virgin Atlantic flights:
- 60% more points
- Free seat reservation (incl. exit row in economy classic)
- Upper Class check-in and boarding
- An additional piece of checked luggage
- An additional piece of hand luggage
- Access to the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse Lounge
- Access to the Arrival Lounge in Heathrow
On Delta flights:
- An additional piece of luggage
- Access to the Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse Lounge and the Delta Sky Clubs (when flying transatlantic flights from the UK)
- Free Upgrade to Delta Comfort+ at the gate (not in basic economy)
On KLM and Air France flights (Source):
- An additional piece of luggage
- SkyPriority (priority check-in, luggage, and boarding)
- Access to SkyTeam lounges
On Singapore Airlines flights:
- 20 kg of additional luggage
- Business class check-in
- Priority luggage and boarding
- Access to the Silverkris lounge in ADL, BKK, BNE, DEL, HKG, KUL, LHR, MNL, MEL, PER, SFO, SYD, and TPE
- In Singapore: Access to the KrisFlyer Gold lounge
On Virgin Australia flights:
- Business class check-in
- Priority boarding and luggage
- Lounge access in Australia (only domestic)
On Air New Zealand flights:
- An additional piece of luggage
- Business class check-in
- Priority luggage
- Lounge access in SYD, RAR, AKL, CHC, DUD, MEL, WLL, and ZQN (only on Virgin Atlantic ticket)
Conclusion
While Virgin may not be an especially popular airline in most of Europe, they do often offer some good deals from the UK. If you’ve booked one of the business class deals in the past few months, you can now get your Virgin status with only a few clicks.
The Gold status definitely offers some interesting benefits, especially on Virgin’s partners in the Star Alliance and SkyTeam. If you’ll be able to actually benefit from them in 2021 is sadly still unclear. What you probably shouldn’t do is to book a Virgin flight, merely to do this status match.
Source: Head for Points