Virgin Atlantic has announced major changes to Flying Club, including earning and spending rates, tier point value, reward seat ‘seasons’ and accounts for under 12s. These changes will be introduced on the 13th November 2016.
Earning miles has changed, so it’s now based on the type of bucket class you’re in. The more expensive classes earn significantly more miles than before, but bad news if you’re an Economy flyer in the cheapest buckets as you’ll see your earning potential drop. Silver members will get a 30% bonus on flown miles, and Gold members get 60% – this stacked on top of the cabin bonus.
Inflation hits the Tier Point system – by a factor of 25. An Economy flight now earns you 25 Tier Points whereas an Upper Class flight (in J, C, D or I) earns you 200 Tier Points. With 400 Tier Points you gain Silver status and 1000 for Gold. Any Tier Points currently in your Flying Club account prior to 12th November will be multiplied by 25.
Virgin has introduced the concept of reward seat ‘seasons’, so January to March, May and September to November are considered ‘Off-peak’ and at other times ‘Peak’. You’ll need to spend more for a reward seat during Peak season, but the upside is that Virgin has promised more availability, so snagging that reward to Orlando in August may cost you more miles, but at least there’s a better chance of getting one.
Upgrading seats changes. A one cabin upgrade is now 50% of the mileage reward on that route. For example, a PE one-way reward from London to New York is 17,500, so an upgrade from Economy is 8,700, which is just over half of the current mileage cost. A two cabin upgrade is 75% of the full mileage cost, so on that same flight going from Economy all the way to Upper will set you back 35,600 one-way – almost the same as it is now. But with the winners there are big losers – an Economy to Upper Class upgrade from London to the West Coast USA which used to be 40,000 miles will be 50,600 Off Peak, or a whopping 65,600 miles during Peak season.
Miles Plus Money changes so 3,000 miles now equates to an £18 discount on your fare, and there’s no limit to the amount of miles you can throw at it, so you can MpM your entire fare including the taxes and fees if you so wish. More importantly, you’ll now earn miles and Tier Points on your Miles Plus Money fares. And about time to.
Membership numbers are now for life. No longer will you get a new number when you move between tiers, and there’s also a digital membership card coming in a new Virgin Atlantic app.
Young flyers will soon be able to earn miles as Flying Club opens its doors to the under 12s. And Gold members will be able to pool family miles into one account called the Household Account.
Oli Byers, SVP of Revenue Management and Customer Loyalty told V-Flyer “Our goal is to make Flying Club a key differentiator for Virgin Atlantic customers, through the value we offer with miles and by enhancing their Virgin Atlantic experience. As a long haul airline, we know that our members have different needs from a loyalty programme and, by reimagining each component of Flying Club, we ‘re making it more relevant and engaging.”
“The changes we’re making will mean that, whether a customer only travels long haul for a holiday every few years, or they travel frequently or on business, Flying Club will offer them great value and benefits that really make a difference to their experience with us. This is the first step in an exciting journey of change for Flying Club with many more enhancements in the works that we will be announcing through 2017.”
So, expect to see even more news regarding Virgin’s loyalty programme over the next 12 months.
Full details of the changes announced today are available here:
http://discoverflyingclub.virginatlantic.com/