Virgin Atlantic Flying Club: options for Australian frequent flyers

With Virgin Atlantic axing its Sydney-Hong Kong route as of May and pulling out of Australia altogether, many local members of the airline's Flying Club rewards scheme have been left sitting on a pile of frequent flyer points but with seemingly no way to use them.

Fortunately you can funnel your points through Virgin Atlantic's partner airlines, hotels and credit card affiliations.

We've scoped out some clever strategies to help you make the most of your Flying Club miles.

NOTE | A previous version of this article listed several mileage rates as one-way, when the mileage cost indicated was accurate for both one-way and return bookings in most cases.

Additionally, errors were discovered with the Singapore Airlines business class redemption rates found on the Virgin Atlantic website, which were taken down by the airline but have since reappeared. We have amended certain SQ rates based on the ‘correct’ rates provided to us from the airline’s London office, which seemingly differ from those found on their website.

Partner airlines

Although Virgin Atlantic will no longer fly in Australian skies after May 5 you'll still be able to use your Flying Club miles with Virgin Australia, Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines.

That unlocks travel to Asia, Europe and even the United States, in some cases for fewer points than would be required for a similar flight with Virgin Atlantic.

The simplest way to use Flying Club miles for booking a seat on a partner airline is to call Virgin Atlantic.

Within Australia, dial 1300 727 340 and press 3 to speak to the Flying Club team, who can assist with your points redemption.

Past May, however, you'll need to contact one of Virgin Atlantic's overseas offices.

Hong Kong is probably best because it's closer to our timezone: dial + 852 2532 6060. You can also go straight to Virgin Atlantic's UK head office on + 44 844 412 2414.

(To keep your phone bill down you might want to consider using Skype rather than your landline or mobile number, unless you've got plenty of spare calling credit on your mobile account.)

Flying from Australia to Asia

These are the cheapest international flights you can book from Australia using your Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles.

You'll need at least 50,000 Flying Club miles to book a return trip from Australia to Kuala Lumpur with Virgin Atlantic partner Malaysia Airlines, or 55,000 to head to Singapore and back with Singapore Airlines.

Singapore Airlines is one option for your Flying Club miles

Return business class fares will cost you 80,000 and 85,000 points, respectively, while 130,000 Flying Club points lands you in Singapore Airlines' luxe first class cabin.

[Click on the tables in this article to enlarge them]

However, we must share one rather odd caveat of the program – it’s possible to make one-way Flying Club redemptions with certain partner airlines (including Malaysia and Singapore Airlines), though in these cases you’ll be slugged the full return price.

Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Australia flights are the exception to the rule here: one-way Flying Club redemptions are priced at half the return rate – though some partners (including Delta and Virgin America) don’t permit one-way redemptions at all, even if you’re willing to pay the return price.

Flying from Australia to Europe

Here's where former Virgin Atlantic customers who are sitting on a mountain of frequent flyer miles can really clean up.

A return ticket from Australia to Europe would have cost you 200,000 Flying Club miles in Virgin Atlantic's 'Upper Class' business class, however it's only 150,000 points for Singapore Airlines’ business class, and just 220,000 for first class.

But there's a catch: Flying Club miles can't be redeemed for first or business class seats on Singapore Airlines' Airbus A380 or Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. And as it happens, those are the only planes that SQ flies between Singapore and London.

So what are your options? We’d suggest skipping London and heading to Amsterdam, Copenhagen or Istanbul – destinations served by Singapore Airlines' Boeing 777-200 fleet.

These cities are well-connected to London by air, so you could always book your final segment on a separate itinerary.

Malaysia Airlines will get you to Europe for fewer points than Virgin Atlantic

You can also fly business class to Europe with Air New Zealand and Malaysia Airlines coming in under Virgin Atlantic's rate, at 180,000 points and 195,000 points return, respectively.

The economy rates aren't quite so keen. Things kick off at 100,000 points for a return economy ticket with Singapore Airlines; 115,000 for Malaysia Airlines; and 120,000 on Air New Zealand.

(The catch with Air New Zealand is that you'll be going from Auckland through the USA which makes for a long flight, especially in economy!)

Flying from Australia to North America

Fancy trading in your Flying Club points on a trip to the USA? Look to Air New Zealand, Delta and Virgin Australia.

Virgin Australia's daily Sydney-Los Angeles-Sydney flights will cost you 94,000 Flying Club points for a return economy ticket; 141,000 for premium economy; and 188,000 in business class – with one-way awards available at half these rates.

The same return journey on Delta will set you back 100,000 points in economy and 150,000 in business, though one-way Flying Club awards aren’t permitted on Delta flights.

Lie back and let Air New Zealand take you stateside with your Flying Club miles

If you don't mind going to Los Angeles via Auckland, Air New Zealand offers better value at 80,000 points for return economy and 125,000 for business class – which is actually less than premium economy with Virgin Australia.

Hawaiian Airlines is also an option, though Flying Club doesn’t have a set ‘Australia to USA’ rate – instead, you’ll have to book an Australia to Honolulu flight and connect that with an onward flight to the Continental United States.

The same forward planning would be required in the reverse direction, so if Hawaii is on your destination map, make sure you leave plenty of time between connecting flights.

Regional flights within Asia

Another option is to use your Flying Club miles to book a shorter trip within Asia.

For example: if you're already going to Singapore, 35,000 Flying Club miles will get you to Hong Kong and back in economy class with Singapore Airlines. That's great for fitting in some extra business or pleasure.

A business class return ticket on SQ's Singapore-Hong Kong route is even better value at only 60,000 Flying Club miles, as long as you avoid flights on the Airbus A380 or the Boeing 777-300ER.

At the time of writing, the flights you'll want are SQ860, SQ868, SQ872 and SQ890 to Hong Kong; and SQ857, SQ863, SQ871 and SQ891 back to Singapore – these flights are usually operated by a Boeing 777-200 so are therefore available for Flying Club redemptions.

Exiting the Flying Club

Even if you don't have enough Flying Club miles to take a flight they don't have to go to waste.

Members of the Hilton HHonors loyalty program can convert 10,000 Flying Club miles to 15,000 HHonors points, with a 'pro rata' 2:3 exchange rate for every 5,000 additional Flying Club miles.

(It's free to join Hilton HHonors, if you haven't already signed up.)

This is probably the best option if you're a platinum member of Virgin Australia's Velocity Frequent Flyer scheme and have taken up the option of free Hilton Hhonors Diamond status.

You might also be in the habit of funnelling American Express Membership Rewards points to your Virgin Atlantic Flying Club account (it's an option on American Express Centurion, Platinum, Gold, David Jones, Charge and Business Accelerator.)

Now's the time to choose a different airline for your Amex favours, and there are plenty to choose from.

Virgin Australia’s Velocity, Cathay Pacific’s Asia Miles, Etihad Guest, Malaysia Airlines’ Enrich, Singapore Airlines’ Krisflyer and Thai Airways’ Royal Orchid Plus all support converting Membership Rewards points to their own frequent flyer currency on a straight 1:1 basis, with slightly different rates applying to Emirates’ Skywards and Air New Zealand’s Airpoints – so take your pick!

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Chris C.

Chris is a a former contributor to Executive Traveller.