The Guide to Virgin Atlantic Partners

Many American travelers are familiar with Virgin Atlantic because of its well-known founder, Richard Branson. But they may not know how strong the airline's points are when booking international travel.

When redeeming points through Virgin Atlantic partners, you can find tremendous value — and possibly lower prices — than if you booked directly using that airline's miles.

Learn who the Virgin Atlantic transfer partners are, how to use points to book flights and how your elite status can earn you benefits on other airlines.

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club partners with the SkyTeam alliance and has relationships directly with other airlines. Members can earn or redeem Virgin points for flights, hotel stays and more.

The airline joined the SkyTeam alliance in March 2023. As a SkyTeam member, you can earn and redeem points with any of the other 18 members of the alliance.

Flying Club Silver and Gold members also receive extra benefits when flying with SkyTeam partners, like priority check-in and boarding and an extra baggage allowance.

These airlines make up the SkyTeam alliance:

The airline also has direct relationships with nine other airlines:

Flying Club Gold members get lounge access, priority check-in and extra baggage allowances when flying Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines and Virgin Australia.

» Learn more: Best uses of Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points

The process is relatively simple to redeem points for flights on Virgin Atlantic Flying Club partners.

1. Log in to your Virgin Atlantic loyalty account. Go to VirginAtlantic.com to enter your username and password.

2. Search for flights. Select departure and arrival cities, round-trip or one-way flights, travel dates and number of passengers. Then select "points" or "points plus money" to use your points to pay for the trip.

3. Review flight options. In the search results, you'll receive flight options from Virgin Atlantic and any partner airlines that fly that route.

4. Choose your preferred flights. Select the flights with the price and itinerary you like best.

5. Pay for your flight. Finalize your flight by paying the taxes and fees with your preferred credit card. The points are then deducted from your Flying Club account.

Another option is the Virgin Atlantic reward seat checker, which searches for award space on direct flights from the United Kingdom. However, its search capabilities are limited to Virgin Atlantic and Delta, so you won't be able to find flights on other partner airlines.

This example shows award availability for August 2023 on Delta flights from Edinburgh to Boston:

» Learn more: What's the value of Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points?

As a member of the SkyTeam alliance, Virgin Atlantic elite members receive SkyTeam status benefits as well. Flying Club Silver members receive SkyTeam Elite status, while Gold members receive Elite Plus.

SkyTeam Elite status benefits include the following:

• Additional checked bag.

• Priority check-in.

• Priority boarding.

• Priority seating.

• Priority airport standby.

Flying Club members with Elite Plus recognition also receive:

• Airport lounge access.

• Priority baggage handling.

When flying with one of Virgin Atlantic's partners, you can earn Flying Club points instead of miles from that airline.

This minimizes the number of orphan miles and points with random loyalty programs and accelerates your ability to redeem points for free flights.

Credit your flight to your Virgin Atlantic Flying Club account

You can credit your flight with one of the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club partners by adding your Flying Club number to your reservation online, over the phone or when checking in at the airport.

Most airlines allow you to modify your reservation online to choose a partner airline and provide your loyalty number.

Take advantage of bonus points in premium cabins

When booking premium cabins, you may be eligible to earn bonus points on your flights. For example, booking Air France Premiere class long-haul flights will earn you 400% Flying Club points and 200 tier points.

Be aware of varying earning rates from airline partners

Earning power varies by airline, so keep that in mind when choosing which partners to fly with. While you can earn up to 400% points and 200 tier points with Air France, AeroMexico caps out at 200% points and 75 tier points on long-haul flights.

These differences add up if you're flying with partners regularly.

Earn Virgin Atlantic points with hotels, car rentals and shopping

Members earn Flying Club points from flights, but Virgin Atlantic has other options. Start online shopping at Virgin Atlantic Retail Therapy to earn points at participating retailers.

Plus, link your accounts to earn Flying Club points with partner hotels, rental car agencies and other travel partners.

Get points from transfer partners

In addition to partner airlines, Virgin Atlantic is a transfer partner of American Express, Bilt, Capital One, Chase and Citi.

These partners transfer points at a 1:1 ratio with a minimum of 1,000 points at a time. Marriott Bonvoy points also transfer but at a less desirable 3:1 ratio. However, you get a 5,000 bonus for every 60,000 Bonvoy points you transfer. Terms apply.

» Learn more: The pros and cons of SkyTeam alliance

As a Virgin Atlantic Flying Club member, you can earn and redeem points with any Virgin Atlantic partner. The airline is part of the SkyTeam alliance with 18 other airlines and has direct relationships with nine other airlines.

Additionally, Virgin Atlantic is a transfer partner of most credit card points programs, so cardholders can transfer points to Flying Club to book flights. If you have elite status, you also qualify for reciprocal benefits with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club partners to save time and money on your trip.