The Virgin Atlantic Flying Club program is changing: What I hope to see is frequent flyer loyalty

Last month, Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club loyalty program teased major changes, notably a shift to flexible pricing and more opportunities to redeem and earn points. These changes will take effect on October 30, but specifics are yet to be announced.

According to the press release, award seat prices “will vary based on demand;” therefore, frequent flyers can expect to pay more points for more in-demand flights. While Virgin Atlantic has yet to reveal the increased prices, it has promised that flights from the US to Europe will start at just 6,000 Virgin points, the lowest number of points any program charges for transatlantic flights to Europe.

So, this is all really good news, right? Well, it’s not.

Delta Air Lines owns 49% of Virgin Atlantic, so it’s hard not to think that Delta has at least agreed to all the changes, if not made them. So, why is this important? Delta was one of the first airlines to introduce flexible pricing, which has created a low rate of customer redemptions, such as a Delta One award seat that is now worth more than 375,000 Delta SkyMiles.

In fact, since Delta has a large stake in Virgin Atlantic, what is the best we can hope for to make the program profitable yet competitive?

As a loyal Virgin Atlantic passenger for many years, having flown all types of flights the carrier operates, I have earned and redeemed Virgin points for as long as I can remember. While Flying Blue has recently become my SkyTeam loyalty program of choice, Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club program has always had some merit, despite my complaints about its higher costs.

Since the schedule will change significantly on Oct. 30, here are the changes I hope to see from the relaunch of Flying Club.

Related: Virgin Atlantic Flying Club: How to earn and spend points at maximum value

A reasonable estimate of dynamic pricing

Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club program has maintained a very reasonable award chart, starting at just 10,000 Virgin points for premium economy flights between the eastern US and the UK. of competing systems, and availability is often respectable.

Daily Newsletter

Reward your inbox with the TPG Daily newsletter

Join over 700,000 readers for the best news, in-depth guides and exclusive deals from TPG experts

With the transition to dynamic pricing, my biggest concern is how much these award prices might go up on high season flights. Since the Flying Club program promises that low-cost low-cost flights will start at just 6,000 Virgin points, I hope that if these flights operate using variable rates, there is a reasonable limit to the number of points it will cost to book a flight. , regardless of how much currency prices rise.

Although the 155,000 one-way business class seat to London would be significantly higher than current prices, it would still compete with other programs during the busy summer season.

Related: Is Virgin Atlantic premium economy worth it on the A330-900neo?

Ability to pay additional fees with points

Virgin Atlantic charges some of the highest carrier-imposed surcharges of any airline in the world, adding nearly $2,000 to the cost of a round-trip business class redemption across the Atlantic. If I had one wish for the Flying Club program, it would be a sharp reduction in these additional fees. However, I am also a realist.

Allowing members to pay these extra costs with Virgin points at a rate of 1 percent per point will improve the program’s appeal while keeping it competitive. For example, members can redeem an additional 200,000 Virgin points to save $2,000 in additional fees. However, as of our October 2024 valuation, Flying Club points are worth 1.4 cents per point, so you won’t be increasing your points with this redemption.

But more choice is not a bad thing in my opinion.

Related: 10 things to know about Virgin Atlantic’s premium business class flight, the Retreat Suite

Discounts on additional fees during off-peak periods

There have been reports that Flying Club will also change its fees under the new model.

I can’t think of any other airline that does this (charges full or nothing at all), and this would be an unusual guide to take.

In theory, this would mean that at peak times, in addition to charging more points, the Flying Club could also choose to double its penalty. I doubt anyone would be willing to pay a $4,000 fine for a return flight to London (and up to 310,000 points if they double the current Virgin points required again), so I highly doubt the charges will increase.

It should be easy to find business-class fares under $4,000, especially if you’re willing to connect, which would make this exemption a no-brainer.

The system can be innovative by reducing additional costs on off-peak days. For example, a high-class round-trip flight from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) during the winter season can be had for as little as $400.

Therefore, it is unlikely that anyone will part with the current 20,000 points again pay an extra $508 in taxes, fees and surcharges when the fare requires less cash and no points.

But if the fee is cut in half, maybe they will.

With fares this low, Virgin flights are less likely to be overbooked, so trial members with reduced surcharges can win by filling flights and reducing Flying Club points balances.

Related: How much can you bag an hour at Virgin Atlantic’s London Clubhouse?

Points improvement only

I remember boarding a Virgin Atlantic flight in St. Lucia’s Hewanorra International Airport (UVF). Passengers at the desk next to me asked if they could use their Virgin points to upgrade from premium economy to business class. They seemed happy to be told that seats were available in the Upper Class cabin and that the required number of Virgin points were not available.

Passengers were about to pull the trigger and book themselves an overnight flight back to London when they were told they would also need to pay hundreds of dollars each in an additional upgrade fee of more than tens of thousands of points.

Frustrated and frustrated, they turned down the upgrade offer and went to security, accusing the loyalty program of being “a scam full of hidden fees.”

If you’ve already paid all the airport fees and taxes for a premium economy seat and want to upgrade one class, can you expect to pay hundreds of dollars more in points? Of course, if the flight departs from London and higher Air Passenger Duty is paid, it is understood that you will need to pay additional government tax. However, the extra charge goes straight into the airline’s pocket on top of what might have been an expensive cash ticket.

Instead, Virgin could consider offering a points-only upgrade. As Virgin has promised members that all seats will be available for upgrades, giving members the opportunity to upgrade without the required fee would be a real improvement to the programme.

Related: Stuck on a coach that doesn’t have a special status? That upgrade may be cheaper than you think

Continuous network-wide discounts on award seats

For the past few years, Flying Club has offered periodic redemption sales, reducing the cost of seat points across its network by approximately 50%. This has been a terrible way to tempt members with large Virgin points balances, like myself, to redeem them at lower rates.

Although the program will reportedly reduce the price of select seats during low-demand periods in accordance with its new pricing model, I hope that Virgin will go ahead and continue to offer network-wide discounts from time to time.

For example, I flew economy class from New York City back home to London with 5,000 Virgin points, which saved me over $650 on my flight.

Bottom line

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about the upcoming changes to the Flying Club program, as I can’t help but fear the worst. While flights will reportedly start at 6,000 Virgin points, the program has not revealed where the maximum number of awards will go up.

Except for marketing, I’m not naive enough to think that all changes are going to be good.

With Delta pioneering a flexible pricing model and SkyMiles now costing less than Virgin points in our October 2024 estimate, I hope the value of Virgin points won’t drop too much.

Flying Club has always been a unique program for award travelers. Its higher fees set its pricing model apart from SkyMiles, which only charges taxes and fees. Therefore, I don’t see a huge increase in both Virgin points and the additional fees required to compete in today’s loyalty market, where credit card customers have a variety of options to transfer their hard-earned points and miles to. .

Hopefully, the system can keep changing while still being competitive within the market.