How to Get Elite Status on Virgin Atlantic

If you're a fan of Virgin Atlantic, you're familiar with its unique features. With touches that set it apart from its competition, Virgin flights include purple and pink mood lighting and an inflight entertainment system, lovingly called Vera. Once you've grown accustomed to the niceties, you realize there's only one way the airline could make an everyday flight any more pleasant: by rewarding you with elite status. Here’s how it's done. 

How to earn elite status

Every time you fly with Virgin Atlantic or one of its global network partners, you earn Tier points. There are three elite tiers -- Red, Silver, and Gold. The more Tier points you gather, the higher the status you enjoy. Here's how it breaks down:

• Red: Awarded to anyone who becomes a Flying Club member
• Silver: Awarded when a customer earns 400 Tier points
• Gold: Awarded after a customer earns 1,000 Tier points

The tricky bit is this: Two different types of points exist, each earning different perks. Here are the major differences between the two:

• Tier points determine your status (Red, Silver, or Gold) but cannot be spent. The only way to earn Tier points is by booking flights. Tier points expire after one year.
• Virgin points can be spent on reward flights, upgrades, gift vouchers, merchandise, and other treats that may not fit your standard household budget. Virgin Points never expire.

Fly to earn Tier points

Remember, you'll already be a Red Tier member once you join the Flying Club. It's just a matter of working toward Silver and Gold status. Here's a rough idea of how many Tier points you can expect to earn in each cabin (one way) based on the type of ticket you purchase: 

You'll also receive Tier points for flying with one of Virgin Atlantic's partners to hundreds of places around the world. Partners include Delta, Air France, AeroMexico, China Airlines, Air New Zealand, and more. Even if Virgin Atlantic doesn't fly to your final destination, those points are yours if you fly with one of its partners. 

And there you have it. Flying is how to earn Tier points, but that's not where Virgin Atlantic Flying Club perks end.

Earn Virgin points along with Tier points

Let's say you book a flight from Chicago to London in Virgin Atlantic's "Economy Light" class (this is the airline's most basic seat). You could earn up to 900 Virgin points along with the 25 Tier points you pick up. Booking an "Economy Delight" seat instead means you'd earn up to 5,944 Virgin points and 50 Tier points.  

To give you a sense of how far Virgin Points can go, here are some examples of how much a seat upgrade costs:

• Economy to Premium, London to Tel Aviv: 7,000 Virgin points, plus taxes, fees, and charges of $132.
• Premium to Upper Class, London to Miami: 25,000 points, plus taxes, fees, and charges of $420
• Economy to Upper Class, London to New York: 37,500 points, plus taxes, fees, and charges of $552. 

More ways to earn Virgin points

The color of your tier is not the only thing that determines the number of perks you'll receive. Virgin points allow you to upgrade to another class seat, buy a companion ticket, stay in a great hotel, book a reward flight, and more. Here are some of the easiest ways to collect Virgin points. 

Use the Virgin Atlantic Credit Card

Depending on whether you apply for the Virgin Atlantic Reward card or Virgin Atlantic Reward+, you could earn between 3,000 and 18,000 Virgin points simply for making a purchase within the first 90 days. 

Insider tip: Before applying, compare the Virgin Atlantic card to top-rated cards on the market to determine whether it's right for you. 

Hang out with Virgin Atlantic Travel Partners

Every time you stay in one of Virgin's partner hotels (including Best Western and Hilton), you earn points. You earn more points each time you rent a car from a partner car rental company (including Avis, National, Hertz, and Alamo). Virgin Atlantic makes it surprisingly easy to earn points for travel expenses. 

Enjoy duty-free shopping

Virgin Atlantic gives you 2 Virgin points for every $1.27 spent at its duty-free shop, Retail  Therapy, either online or in person.

Either, or…

By booking a vacation through Virgin Atlantic Holidays, you can earn Virgin points or Tier points. For example, by spending $5,087 on a holiday and flying Economy Classic, you could earn up to 260 Tier points. If you'd prefer Virgin Points instead, you'll earn between 2 and 4 points for every $1.27 spent (depending on your color tier). Whether you're a big spender or book more modest vacations, you can count on effortlessly piling up points. 

If you haven't experienced a Virgin Atlantic flight's cool, calm interior, you're in for a treat. And if you really want to make all your Virgin flights special, you may want to begin working toward the status you deserve.