Virgin Points: A Guide to Earning and Redeeming Your Rewards on Flights and More

Last updated on September 16th, 2023 at 06:17 pm

Virgin Air Miles is now known as Virgin Points. The reason for the name change is that points can now be used not only for flights but also for thousands of products and experiences, ranging from wine packages to hotel stays. However, the primary focus of this article is on free flights. (When we say ‘free flights,’ it’s important to note that they are not technically free, as you still have to pay taxes, even on reward flights).

How to collect Virgin points

Firstly, you need to create a free Flying Club account on the Virgin Atlantic website.

There are numerous ways to collect Virgin Points. The first method is by flying with Virgin (formerly known as Air Miles). When you book a fully paid-for flight, you earn points for every mile traveled. For instance, a round trip in economy class to Orlando will grant you slightly over 8,500 points. This is an excellent way to begin, considering that a return flight to Orlando using points typically requires 25,000 points (in addition to taxes, which currently amount to approximately £285 at the time of writing this article).

As mentioned earlier, there are numerous alternative methods to accumulate points and make the most of Virgin Points, even if you don’t fly.

Another effective way to collect miles is through a website known as “Shops Away” by Virgin.

Quoting shops away “You can choose from a variety of merchants to earn Points for shopping, dining, grocery, health and beauty, leisure and entertainment, sports, and more. Upon selecting the merchant you will be redirected to the merchant’s website to browse and complete your purchase. Your purchases will be tracked automatically via cookies to calculate how many Points you’ll earn”

So, if you’re planning on making a new purchase from, for example, Curry’s or AO, or you are booking a weekend break via Hotels.com if you go via the Shops Away you’ll earn points on your purchases.

Some retailers offer fantastic conversion rates, for example at the moment, Hotels.com offers 10 points for every £1 spent. So a £300 hotel stay will give you 3000 points. Offers change regularly so you need to set your mindset that for any online purchase you make, it’s worth seeing if there is an offer on Shops away before you complete the transaction.

There are many retailers who participate, and since you’d be spending the money with them anyway, why not collect your points, you’ll end up earning enough for a free flight away.

Another method to accumulate points is by automatically converting your Tesco Clubcard vouchers directly into Virgin Points. Currently, the conversion rate is 375 points for every £1.50 worth of Tesco vouchers. If you frequently shop at Tesco for your weekly groceries, this can provide a significant boost to your points when the time comes to redeem your quarterly vouchers. You have the option to set up automatic conversion of your vouchers to points on the Tesco website.

One of the most effective methods to accumulate points is by obtaining a Virgin Atlantic Credit Card. While this option may not be suitable for everyone, it is undoubtedly the best method, aside from flying, to earn points. Here’s why:

Virgin Atlantic credit cards are provided by Virgin Money and offer two types of cards.

The first option is completely free. With this card, you can earn points at a rate of 0.75 points per £1 spent on your card (and even more points if you use it for purchases with Virgin Atlantic or Virgin Holidays). It’s important to note that points can only be earned up to your credit limit. For instance, if your monthly credit limit is £5000, you will only earn points on the first £5000 you spend per month before it resets. Additionally, by meeting a minimum annual spend of £20,000, you can also earn Companion/Upgrade tickets, receiving one voucher annually.

A companion ticket allows you to bring a friend or partner along on a flight where you pay with points, and they can fly for free (with both of you only paying the taxes). Alternatively, you can use the points to upgrade yourself from one cabin class to another. For example, if you’re in Economy, you can upgrade to Premium by paying the difference in taxes.

The second card offered by Virgin Money is the Rewards+ card, which carries an annual fee of £160. However, the benefits you gain from this card make it well worth the investment.

Similar to the free card, you earn points when you make purchases. However, with the Rewards+ card, you earn 1.5 points per £1 spent (and even more when using it with Virgin Holidays and Virgin Atlantic). The spending limit to obtain your companion ticket is £10,000 per year. Additionally, you receive complimentary Wi-Fi access on select Virgin Atlantic fleet, specifically the A350 and Dreamliners (currently). The points you earn are also subject to your monthly credit limit.

There are numerous other benefits associated with using these credit cards. For full details, I recommend checking out their website.

By combining all the aforementioned methods, such as making a purchase at Hotels.com via Shops Away using your Virgin Credit card, you can potentially earn a return of around 11.5 points per £1, depending on the current offer. Your points will quickly accumulate, so it’s important to be strategic in how you make your payments.

How to spend Virgin points

So, spending them can be done in 2 ways. The first is Virgin Red

You have the flexibility to spend your points on a wide range of options, including cases of wine, fashion items, Virgin Experience Days, and various other experiences. Be sure to visit their website to explore the extensive list of ways you can utilize your hard-earned points.

The second and most popular way to redeem your points is by exchanging them for free flights (while still being responsible for paying the associated taxes).

This is where many people encounter difficulties and frustration when trying to utilize their points for flights.

First and foremost, it’s crucial to note that only a limited number of seats on each flight are allocated for reward use. These reward seats have a restricted availability across all cabin classes, so it is advisable to plan ahead and book in advance. Additionally, seat availability can change on a daily basis, so it’s wise to develop a habit of regularly monitoring for reward seat openings.

How to find a reward seat

Head across to the Virgin Atlantic website and do a search for a “ONE WAY” flight (I’ll explain why I say this later on in this article).

• Do a search for your route dates and class you want and the number of passengers.
• Click Show flexible ticket.
• Click the little arrow “Advanced search” and choose the flight class and the points tab
• click the red arrow.

The display shows you the availability of reward seats available plus 3 days on either side of your travel date. If you find one that suits you, then do another search again “One Way” for your return trip.

We recommend selecting the “One Way” option when searching for flights instead of choosing a return trip. This is because if you conduct a return search and find that there is no availability for either the outbound or inbound flight, the entire search will yield a negative result. By searching for specific flights individually, you can ensure there are available slots before proceeding.

Once you have identified an outbound flight and a return flight with reward seat availability, you can then conduct a return search for the two specific dates you found reward seats on. The final search results will provide you with the total cost, including taxes and the number of points used, for the return flight. If you are logged into your account, you can proceed to complete the purchase immediately.

If you possess a companion voucher that you wish to utilize, it is necessary to contact Virgin Flying Club directly to redeem it. It’s important to note that Virgin will not proactively inform you when you have a voucher available for use. It is your responsibility to keep track of your spending and reach out to Virgin Flying Club to inquire if Virgin Money has sent the voucher over. Admittedly, this process can be somewhat inconvenient.

Additionally, it is highly recommended to set up a subscription with air miles tracking websites such as Seat Spy. These platforms continuously monitor reward seat availability 24/7 and can send you alerts if seats for your desired dates become available. Subscribing to such services can greatly assist you in securing reward seats and maximising your points usage.

You can also upgrade to any class or seat available at the airport using miles and paying the taxes if there are available seats that haven’t been purchased (this used to be reward seats only but virgin changed this so that any seat at the airport can be purchased with points).

Virgin have released a new tool that also helps you find reward seats. This is available at THIS LINK

And that concludes our discussion on collecting and utilizing Virgin Points. I hope I have provided a clear explanation. I understand that there may be further questions, so please feel free to leave them in the comments section below, and we will do our best to answer them.

For more detailed information and insights about Virgin Points, you can watch our vlog on the topic. Simply click on the link below to access the vlog.

Thanks for reading.

Nick

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