How tens of thousands of Virgin Flying Club members can earn bonus points starting next month

When Virgin's new loyalty reward program launches in 2026, tens of thousands of passengers may receive an increase in points the following year

Could you be eligible?

Flying Club is Virgin Atlantic's loyalty rewards program, which allows you to accrue points when you book flights and vacations with the airline. The Virgin Atlantic Credit Card is one of the other ways to accrue points.

The system is comparable to British Airways and Avios points in that you can use your accumulated Virgin points to upgrade your seats to premium or upper class or to purchase flights and vacations.

Frequent travelers can now earn an additional 12,000 Virgin Points through Virgin Atlantic's new Flying Club reward program.

The High Five bonus program will be available to tens of thousands of customers starting in January 2026.

Here is all the information you need to understand how Virgin Atlantic Flying Club operates, what is available, and who is eligible for the High Five bonus.

How do you define virgin points?

Virgin's loyalty program uses Virgin points as its currency. They can be earned by using the Virgin Atlantic Credit Card, flying with Virgin Atlantic or its partners, or making purchases at specific stores.

Virgin Red also allows you to accrue points for regular purchases. Although Virgin Red and Virgin Atlantic's Flying Club are different, both allow you to accrue Virgin points on eligible purchases. To increase the points, you can connect the two accounts.

If you'd like, you can also purchase or trade points.

If you have a Tesco Clubcard, you can exchange your Clubcard points for Virgin points to receive an additional boost. Additional instances include trading 5,000 World of Hyatt points for 3,000 Virgin points or one American Express membership rewards point for one Virgin point.

What is the Virgin Atlantic High Five reward?

High Five is a brand-new program that will debut in January 2026.

This means that whether or not they fly with Virgin Atlantic for five consecutive years, members of the Flying Club will receive a reward.

12,000 Virgin points will be awarded to all Flying Club members, regardless of their membership statusred, silver, or gold.

Once they unlock the High Five award, Flying Club red tier members will receive an additional boost for their loyalty: a 10 percent Virgin points bonus on all subsequent flights.

According to Virgin Atlantic, "tens of thousands" of members will receive the bonus starting in January 2026 because the program will be retroactive to January 1, 2021.

This is due to the fact that during the five years since January 2021, some members of the Flying Club will have taken flights with Virgin Atlantic.

Early in 2026, you will be able to monitor your progress through the Virgin Atlantic app, and once you meet the requirements, the reward will be automatically credited to your Flying Club account.

A return saver reward seat from London to New York, according to Virgin, starts at 12,000 Virgin points in economy class and 16,500 in the premium cabin, though availability and taxes, fees, and charges apply.

How to use points from Virgin.

Virgin points can be used to make travel reservations. Reward seats are those that can be purchased with Virgin points, and their cost varies according to demand. Additionally, you will have to pay a certain amount for the flight's taxes and fees.

According to Virgin Atlantic, reward seats from London to New York start at 6,000 points for economy, 10,500 points for premium, and 29,000 points for upper class. The extra costs and taxes are not included in this example.

As of the time of writing, BFIA discovered that a return trip from London Heathrow to New York on specific dates in February/March 2026 would cost 12,000 points (Economy Classic) plus 277 in tax. Currently, the same flight costs 484 in Economy Classic and 374 in Economy Light.

Additionally, if a premium or upper class seat is available, you can use your Virgin points to upgrade. Be aware that if you switch cabins, you might have to use cash to cover the difference in taxes and fees.

Virgin Atlantic Holidays and other Virgin businesses, like Virgin Voyages, Virgin Hotels, and Virgin Active, also accept Virgin points. Wines and experiences are examples of treats that can be purchased with points.

At Somerset House in London, an off-peak adult ice-skating ticket is currently available for 4,000 points. Adult tickets cost between fifteen and twenty-eight dollars.

Flying Club tier points: what are they?

Virgin and Flying Club tier points differ from one another.

Booking Virgin Atlantic vacations or flying with Virgin Atlantic or its affiliated airlines earns you tier points.

You will be eligible for better rewards as you move through the tiers. Free economy seat selection, priority boarding and premium check-in, additional checked luggage, and even access to airport lounges are examples of rewards.

Depending on how many tier points you earn in a 12-month period, you can advance from the "red" tier to silver and gold.

You will stay in that status for a full year if you achieve silver or gold. Your tier points will be reset and you will drop down a tier if you don't re-qualify within that time.

For instance, you would become a silver member of Flying Club if you joined on January 1, 2025, and by March 15, 2025, you had accumulated 400 tier points. By March 31, 2026, you would need to accumulate 400 tier points in order to maintain your silver status.

The same traveler would become a gold member if they accrued an additional 600 tier points before December 31, 2025, since they would have accumulated 1,000 tier points in the 12-month period.

You would need to accrue 1,000 points during the 12-month renewal cycle in order to keep your gold status for an additional year. For instance, if you earned 1,000 tier points on October 20, 2025, you would need to accrue an additional 1,000 tier points between October 21, 2025, and October 31, 2026.

What advantages are available with Virgin Flying Club tier points?

Red awards.

The red tier is where Flying Club members begin automatically. When you travel with Virgin, you can earn Virgin points. Your booking class, the distance flown in miles, and your Flying Club tier status will all affect how much you get paid.

In the meantime, you will receive two Virgin points for each dollar you spend on Virgin Atlantic vacations.

On Virgin Atlantic flights, you can use Virgin points to pay for any available seat; however, keep in mind that fees and taxes may require cash.

There are additional advantages.

Silver rewards for advanced economy boarding, which allows you to board first in economy.

You can access additional rewards, such as the following, once you've attained the silver tier.

Virgin Atlantic, Delta, Air France, and KLM all offer free economy seat selection seven days prior to departure, 30% bonus Virgin points, premium check-in for all passengers, regardless of cabin, priority boarding, priority baggage handling, and one additional checked bag (up to 23 kg) Gold rewards.

Virgin offers many benefits to its gold members. Some of the main advantages are listed below.

One extra checked bag (up to 23 kg) and one extra piece of hand luggage (up to 10 kg) Priority baggage handling when flying with Virgin Atlantic, Delta, Air France, and KLM 2,000 Virgin Points on your birthday Access to Virgin Clubhouses and shared lounges with a guest Access to the Revivals lounge upon arrival at London Heathrow A complimentary 12-month silver membership to a friend or family member 60% bonus Virgin points when you fly with Virgin Atlantic. You will receive a reward voucher worth up to 150,000 Virgin points if you renew your status.

You will receive two additional vouchers if you reach 2,000 tier points in a membership year.

You will obtain Lifetime Gold status and be able to take advantage of all the benefits without having to renew every year if you maintain gold status for ten years in a row and accrue 7,500 tier points on Virgin Atlantic flights.

In a different piece, we describe the British Airways tier point system.

How many Virgin Atlantic tier points are available?

The booking class determines how many tier points you get for each flight.

For instance, you will receive 200 tier points if you are enrolled in classes J, C, D, or I in upper class. For classes Z and G reservations, this falls to 100 tier points.

If you're in booking classes W and S., you can also receive 100 in the premium cabin. If you're in Premium's H, K, and P booking classes, you can earn 50 tier points.

Both Economy Classic customers in L, U, M, Y, B, and R and Economy Delight customers in booking class V are eligible to earn 50 tier points.

Both Economy Light travelers and Economy Classic customers in E, Q, X, N, O, and A can receive 25 tier points when booking class T.

According to Virgin, a red Flying Club member could earn silver by taking one return Upper Class flight or four return Virgin Atlantic Economy Delight flights.