Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

[Spotting Bad Guys]

Following on from the 'Upgrade' thread, I've been a member of Virgin Atlantic's Flying Club for a while and have found it difficult to step up to silver/gold due to the stop-start nature of my use of the airline (I'll fly with them for a series of trips then can go quite some time between flights).

Besides the obvious "well, fly more often then" does anyone have any useful hints and tips as to how to build up miles and tier points at a faster rate?

Thanks all

SBG

[striparella]

^ Lol 'fraid not!

Try flying with partner airlines as well maybe, and don't use your miles for upgrades you can do without.

[PAXboy]

SPG The folks back at the Flying Club ranch will be very pleased to read your post and to know that they have got it just right!!!

[Globaliser]

Originally Posted by Spotting Bad Guys

Besides the obvious "well, fly more often then" does anyone have any useful hints and tips as to how to build up miles and tier points at a faster rate?

If not flying more often, then buy more expensive tickets (ie premium classes).

Trust me, these are really the only ways. You can get miles on their own from more partners, but that's not going to help you get to silver or gold.

[ILOVEMCO]

i believe you get miles by having and using a virgin credit card

[PAXboy]

You do earn points with the VS credit card, supplied via MBNA, and I currently earn most of my miles this way!

You can also earn Tier points with partner airlines, not as many per sector of course, but they can add up - BD and so forth. Log on to your Flying Club account to see the details of mileage and points.

Another way that I add miles to my VS account is from my American Express charge card. The transfer rate is good at 1 Mile per £1, which is the same as on the VS credit card. Between these two plastics I gain a great amount of Miles. Because I fly much less these days (different job), I get minimal Tier points but I can always afford an upgrade with Miles.

Lastly, the BAA Worldpoints scheme, allows me to export to VS as well. So I have three additional ways to build Miles for VS, apart from actually flying. Oh yes, Avis as well on occasions, so that's four.

However, I must add that, the BAA scheme is one of the worst paying and mealy-mouthed scheme in the world. But then - that's no surprise is it!

[10secondsurvey]

I knew someone who made it to gold several years ago, and all but one of the flights was with Virgin. The rest, as has been rightly pointed out above, were from partner flights, especially with BMI flying business class (his company paid).

Amex is good for getting miles for upgrades.

[geraintw]

Stay at a Hilton Hotel and use their double dip feature, specifying your VS flight club number, or just order a crate of wine frmo Virgin Wine club to add a few points to your account.

[Spotting Bad Guys]

Thanks all for the tips - I'm waiting on the credit card arriving and the wine is on its way....

I might have to start being creative about routing - maybe that'll help!

Cheers

SBG