Guide

How Virgin Atlantic points work

Virgin Points buy the seat. Tier Points buy the status. They are two separate currencies that are easy to confuse, and knowing which one a thing earns is most of the game. Start here, then go deeper on whichever part you need.

How Virgin Atlantic points work

The two currencies

Flying Club runs on two balances that behave nothing alike.

Virgin Points

The spending currency. These pay for reward seats and upgrades. You can earn them without ever boarding a plane — a credit card, a supermarket loyalty scheme, a hotel stay — and they are what PointsRadar watches the price of.

Tier Points

The status currency. These decide whether you are Red, Silver or Gold. They come almost entirely from flying, they cannot be bought or transferred in, and spending them is not a thing — they accumulate through your membership year and then reset.

The practical consequence: a big credit card spend can fund a reward seat but will never make you Gold, and a cheap Economy Light fare earns very little of either. Work out which one you are short of before deciding how to fix it.

The guides

Virgin Atlantic credit cards The two Virgin Money credit cards side by side: annual fee, points per £1, welcome bonus and the spend needed for a reward voucher. Checked August 2026. Read it → Earning Virgin Points by flying Virgin Points from flights scale with distance and cabin, then your Flying Club status adds 30% at Silver and 60% at Gold. How the earn actually works. Read it → Transferring points into Flying Club Amex Membership Rewards and Tesco Clubcard both convert into Virgin Points. Transfer rates, bonus periods, and why transfers are one-way. Read it → Tier points and Flying Club status 400 tier points for Silver, 1,000 for Gold. Every benefit of each Flying Club tier compared, and how the 12-month upgrade cycle works. Read it → Reward vouchers A reward voucher covers a companion seat or a cabin upgrade, up to 75,000 points at Red and 150,000 at Silver or Gold. How to earn and use one. Read it → Spending Virgin Points well Reward seats are capacity-controlled and the points price moves. Which cabins give the best value, and why dates matter more than routes. Read it →

Common questions

What is the difference between Virgin Points and Tier Points?

Virgin Points are spent on reward seats and upgrades and can be earned without flying. Tier Points decide your Flying Club status — Red, Silver or Gold — come almost entirely from flying, and cannot be bought, transferred or spent.

Can I buy Flying Club status?

No. Tier Points cannot be bought or transferred in. Virgin runs occasional promotions that award Tier Points on holiday bookings, but there is no route to status through credit card spending alone.

Put it to use

See what your points already reach

Every Virgin Atlantic reward route we track, with the cheapest points price found. No account needed to look.

Browse destinations Search reward flights

Figures on this page were checked against Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Money in August 2026. Loyalty schemes change their rates, thresholds and benefits regularly — treat this as a map, not a quote, and confirm anything you are about to act on. PointsRadar is an independent service, not affiliated with or endorsed by Virgin Atlantic, and earns nothing from any link on this page.