Why Flying Club members Should Sign Up to Virgin Red

Virgin has pulled off a daring move, one that has the potential to reshape the existing status quo of transferable credit card loyalty points currencies like the American Express Membership Rewards.

Virgin Red is an integrated loyalty programme that allows you to earn and redeem points across practically all Virgin branded enterprises, including Virgin Atlantic. You can also earn rewards from outside the Virgin universe, thanks to partnerships with companies including Octopus Energy, John Lewis & Partners, Adidas, eBay, Asos and Just Eat.

If you join Virgin Red, you’ll receive a signup bonus of 500 Virgin Points and there are several offers to increase your earnings above the standard rate. For example, at the time of writing, you can earn 21,000+ points by booking Virgin Atlantic Upper-Class flights to LA.

Let’s face it, travelling by train in the UK isn’t typically very rewarding but you can earn 3 points for every £1 spent on railway tickets across the UK, with Virgin Trains ticketing. You can even spend some points at Greggs, to buy a sausage roll to combat your hunger pangs, during the inevitable signal failure delay at Clapham Junction.

What exactly is Virgin Red?

Virgin describes Virgin Red as “The new rewards club from Virgin designed to give you access to more of the things you need, want and love from the Virgin family and beyond”.

Practically speaking, within the new Virgin Red loyalty program, all the Virgin companies, including Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Hotels, Virgin Active, Virgin Voyages, Virgin Wines, Virgin Money and Virgin Media, all share one single loyalty currency — ‘Virgin Points’.

Any points previously earned, within the loyalty programmes of any UK based Virgin company, have now been converted (or at least renamed) as Virgin Points. For example, if you have any ‘Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Miles,’ they are now ‘Virgin Points,’ and may be used in the same ways as before with Virgin Atlantic, or on other Virgin offers.

You can also exchange Tesco Clubcard points or American Express Rewards for Virgin Points, via the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, which means, along with the aforementioned partnerships, the earning potential for those looking to build up enough points for a reward flight is huge. If you shop at Tesco, use a Clubcard, pay with a Virgin Atlantic credit card, work out at a Virgin gym, buy the train tickets for your weekly commute from Virgin Trains ticketing, call your friends on Virgin Mobile…well you can start to see how quickly you could rack up enough points to book a reward flight.

The caché of the Virgin group and the energy they are putting behind Virgin Red points to the likelihood there will be more, exciting redemption partnership agreements in the future too.

Does Virgin Red Replace Virgin Atlantic Flying Club?

No, Virgin Red does not replace the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. Your points, tier status and benefits when flying with Virgin Atlantic will continue to be earned via the Flying Club programme. You will also still be able to redeem reward flights with Virgin Atlantic as a Flying Club member. However, your Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Miles are now Virgin Points.

If you open a new Virgin Red account, you can then link it to your Virgin Atlantic Flying Club account to use your cumulative Virgin Points balance with any other Virgin Red partners. Virgin is offering a 500 Virgin Point bonus, on your first transaction, if you open your Virgin Red account by the end of July 2021. That’s worth roughly £6 when applied to a Reward Flight redemption, so not a bad perk.

Essentially, by lining Virgin Red to your existing Flying Club account you are broadening the opportunities you have to earn and redeem Virgin Points. Members will be more directly rewarded for their participation in the Virgin Red and partner community. Essentially, the more you participate, the more you get.

It’s worth noting that, if you are a Flying Club member, Virgin Points can still can be redeemed on Delta, Air France, KLM, ANA, Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines, and a number of other Virgin Atlantic partner airlines, as well as converted into hotel points with IHG or Hilton.

How can I earn & redeem points with Virgin Red?

You can earn Virgin Points with Virgin Red by purchasing online at many of the UK’s favorite retailers, like Adidas, Apple, Asos, Argos, eBay, Etsy, John Lewis, Made.com, TK Maxx and more. You simply make your purchases through the Virgin Red website or app, instead of the retailer site. It’s a similar approach to using a cashback website or the Avios eStore. Of course, you can also earn Virgin Points from purchases with Virgin companies, including Virgin Atlantic.

You can redeem your Virgin Points as a Virgin Red member with 100+ reward partners with redemptions starting from as little as 200 points. Concert tickets, bottles of wine, hotels or even a Greggs sausage roll can all be yours with Virgin Points! You can make charitable donations through Virgin Giving, or purchase theatre tickets through London Theatre Direct.

Virgin Red also offers ‘Experience Days,’ where members can redeem points for unforgettable experiences from the worlds of movies, food, sports, balloon flights and more.

Of course, if you want to get the best cash equivalent value for your Virgin Points, look no further than redeeming them for Virgin Atlantic Reward Flights.

Download the Virgin Red app on iOS or Android to get a unified view of all the possible rewards and spending options you have, making it much easier to track and maintain your Virgin Points balance.

The Virgin Red programme is expected to continue to expand over the course of 2021, with further access to events and businesses beyond the existing list and an emphasis on the UK. Exciting time ahead for Virgin Atlantic Flying Club members when they link their membership to Virgin Red!

Original Source: https://rewardflightfinder.com/news-and-advice/why-flying-club-members-should-sign-up-to-virgin-red