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Guides
How to upgrade your next Virgin Atlantic flight with Virgin points
Ben Smithson is a senior writer for TPG and is based in London. Originally from Australia and a qualified lawyer with a financial services background, he has almost a decade of experience writing about a broad range of travel and loyalty topics.
June 7, 2022 • 7 min read
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Quick summary
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points can be used to upgrade eligible flights, offering the option to move up one or two cabin classes, subject to award availability.
Upgrades are only possible from specific fare classes, with the lowest economy fares and certain premium fares excluded from eligibility.
Upgrade availability matches reward seat availability, making it straightforward to search for open seats, though last-minute releases are possible.
The number of points required for upgrades varies by route and whether travel falls on standard or peak dates, with additional taxes and fees potentially increasing the overall cost.
What to consider
Only certain fare codes are eligible for upgrades; the cheapest economy and some premium fares are excluded.
Upgrades must be booked by phone and completed before check-in, not at the airport or gate.
Higher cabin classes may incur increased taxes and fees, including luxury Air Passenger Duty, payable at the time of upgrade.
What you'll miss from the article
A detailed breakdown of eligible fare codes, upgrade pricing by route and season, and practical tips for finding and booking upgrade space.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
There are plenty of different ways to use your Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points — most notably, for reward flights. However, sometimes you can get the best value from those points by upgrading a flight.
Eligible flights
You can upgrade your flight operated by Virgin Atlantic, subject to award availability in the class you wish to upgrade to. You can upgrade either one class — Economy Classic or Economy Delight to Premium, or Premium to Upper Class — or you can upgrade two classes — from Economy Classic or Economy Delight to Upper Class. Virgin Atlantic does not offer first-class fares.
This is a real strength of the Flying Club program compared with British Airways Executive Club, which only allows you to upgrade one class with Avios.
The very cheapest Economy Light and Virgin Holidays fares (V, N and O codes) cannot be upgraded. So, your economy fare code must be the more expensive Classic or Delight fares (Y, B, R, L, U, M, E, Q or X codes).
To understand what fare code your ticket is, read our guide here. Fortunately, you can upgrade almost all Premium fares to Upper Class (W, S or H code fares). K fares are ineligible for upgrades.
You will still earn Virgin points and Flying Club tier points for the revenue fare class you paid for, but not for the higher class to which you are upgrading. Virgin Atlantic Upper Class. (Photo by Nicky Kelvin/The Points Guy)
Finding availability
Each airline manages its upgrades differently. Some allow upgrades at the time of booking, while others process them at the absolute last minute based on seats they would not be able to sell.
Some show availability for upgrades and redemptions together, while others show availability for just redemptions or just upgrades. Virgin Atlantic’s availability is simple. The seats available for upgrades must also be available for a straight Virgin points reward redemption.
This makes searching for upgrade availability easy because it’s the same as searching for reward availability. At the same time, you may find that the upgraded seat in a premium cabin you are looking for has already been taken by someone else as a full redemption.
Virgin Atlantic does usually release some additional redemption and upgrade availability at the last minute, so if there are no upgrades available when you first search, it can be worth checking again a few days before the flight departs. You can try and upgrade anytime after booking, but you must do it prior to check-in — don’t wait until you're at the airport or boarding gate.
For scenarios like this, ExpertFlyer (owned by TPG's parent company, Red Ventures) is an incredibly useful tool. With a subscription, you can set alerts for upgrades or redemption space. If space does open up, ExpertFlyer will send you an email right away so you can log in to book the newly available seat. Virgin Atlantic A350 Upper Class. (Photo by Nicky Kelvin/The Points Guy)
Cost
The number of Virgin points required to upgrade your flight depends on whether you are traveling on a standard or peak date. The dates for 2022 are as follows:
Given Virgin Atlantic’s fairly small route network, the carrier offers a handy chart to show how many miles you’ll need to upgrade classes on both standard and peak dates.
Standard dates upgrade cost (round-trip, per person listed in Virgin points)
To/from United Kingdom
Economy Classic or Economy Delight to Premium
Premium to Upper Class
Economy Classic or Economy Delight to Upper Class
Israel
16,000.
28,000.
42,000.
India
17,400.
37,400.
56,200.
Pakistan
17,400.
37,400.
56,200.
USA - Northeast (Boston, Newark, New York, Washington, D.C.)
17,400.
47,400.
71,200.
Caribbean
17,400.
57,400.
86,200.
USA - Midwest and South (Atlanta, Miami, Orlando)
22,400.
47,400.
71,200.
Nigeria, China and Hong Kong
22,400.
57,400.
86,200.
South Africa
25,000.
57,400.
86,200.
USA - West (Austin, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle)
27,400.
67,400.
101,200.
Peak dates upgrade cost (round-trip, per person listed in Virgin points)
To/from United Kingdom
Economy Classic or Economy Delight to Premium
Premium to Upper Class
Economy Classic or Economy Delight to Upper Class
Israel
20,000.
33,000.
49,500.
India
27,400.
47,400.
71,200.
Pakistan
27,400.
47,400.
71,200.
USA - Northeast (Boston, Newark, New York, Washington, D.C.)
27,400.
57,400.
86,200.
Caribbean
27,400.
67,400.
101,200.
USA - Midwest and South (Atlanta, Miami, Orlando)
32,400.
57,400.
86,200.
Nigeria, China and Hong Kong
32,400.
67,400.
101,200.
South Africa
42,400.
67,400.
101,200.
USA - West (Austin, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle)
37,400.
77,400.
116,200.
If your upgraded class has higher taxes and fees, you will have to pay this at the time of upgrading, in addition to the Flying Club points. This is important to note because, for flights in premium classes, the luxury Air Passenger Duty is payable. This can increase the cost of the redemption by hundreds of dollars per passenger. Make sure to pay with a credit card that earns bonus points on airfare, like The Platinum Card® from American Express, which earns 5 points per dollar on airfare booked directly with the airline or through Amex Travel (on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar spent). Virgin Atlantic premium economy. (Photo by Ben Smithson/The Points Guy)
How to book your upgrade
Many airlines allow upgrades online at any time. Flying Club upgrades can only be booked by calling 800-862-8621, from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays or 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends.
Upgrades must be processed no later than the day before departure.
Comments
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
