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Virgin Atlantic Launches a New Points Bonus for Long-Term Flying Club Members
Virgin will now reward you for staying loyal to the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club over time.
From 1st January 2026, if you’ve flown with Virgin Atlantic at least once per calendar year for the past 5 years, you will receive 12,000 Virgin Points as part of the new ‘High 5’ bonus, regardless of your Virgin tier.
If you are a Red member, you will also get a 10% Virgin Points bonus on all future flights.
As flights are being backdated to 1st January 2021, you may qualify as soon as the scheme launches, and you’ll have 12,000 extra points in your account in January! If you’ve missed a year but fly this year, you’ll qualify next year and so on. If you happen to fly out on 31st December and back on 1st January, that counts as two separate years.
Most loyalty programmes will only reward you for how often you fly or how much you spend, so this is a great idea! There are plenty of people who remain loyal to a particular airline, even if they only take 1-2 flights per year. From early 2026, you’ll be able to check your progress on your account. After you’ve received your points, you will have to fly with Virgin for another 5 years to requalify.
12,000 Points can go much further than you may expect if you know where to look. The most valuable way to spend Virgin Points is on Virgin flights, upgrades, experiences and cruises. Most other ways to spend points have a value of 0.5p per point. Read more about how to spend Virgin Points here. If you can find them, Saver Reward Seats are an excellent value.
High Five follows other fantastic Virgin Atlantic changes, such as reward flights counting towards status, non-expiring points, and better reward seat availability.
Priority Pass Black Friday Sale Details
The Priority Pass Black Friday Sale is now live with 40% off yearly memberships until 7th December 2025, and prices start at just £41 per year.
Unfortunately, the Prestige membership is not included in the sale. However, if you don’t have lounge access through your airline status or a credit card/bank account, a yearly lounge pass can be a great alternative to purchasing one-off lounge entries.
Priority Pass provides access to over 1,800 lounges and airport experiences worldwide. The network covers more than 85% of the world’s top 100 airports.
We do occasionally see sales on the yearly memberships. But Black Friday is usually the best time to buy. The Standard Plus discount is the best option here (as long as you access a Priority Pass lounge 8+ times per year). Each lounge entry costs just £17.10. If you access less than 8 times per year, the Standard option is an excellent value. Just make sure there are good lounges included at the airports you visit most.
2 More Days Left to Earn Double Virgin Points: Up to 48 Points per £1
Virgin is offering double points when you shop via their Shops Away portal until November 16th. This applies to eligible card-linked purchases. With over 1,000 online shops, the portal is one of the easiest ways to earn Virgin Points. Aside from merchants with a double points deal, there are also some other excellent offers.
Here are the top online deals. All rates are per £1 spent:
- Selfridges – Up to 20 (was up to 10)
- Harrods – Up to 22 (was up to 9)
- Harvey Nichols – Up to 26 (was up to 10)
- Marks & Spencer – Up to 12 (was up to 4)
- Boots – Up to 12 (was up to 2)
- Sephora – Up to 16 (was up to 10)
- LEGO – Up to 16 (was up to 4)
- Jellycat – 20 (was 12)
- Argos – From 4 (was from 2)
- TK Maxx – Up to 10 (was up to 4)
- Notonthehighstreet – 18 (was 4)
- Aspinal of London – 24 (was 12)
- Appleyard Flowers – Up to 48 (was up to 11)
- M&S Flowers & Hampers – Up to 48 (was up to 4)
- Fortnum & Mason – 12 (was 6)
- Laithwaites Wines – Up to 14 (was up to 11)
- Booking.com – 10 (was 6)
- Hotels.com – 12 (was 8)
- Agoda – 16 (was 8)
- TUI – Up to 8 (was up to 3)
- Thistle Hotels – 18 (was 6)
- Homes & Villas by Marriott – 9 (was 4)
- Virgin Experience Days – 30 (was 20)
- Viator – 15 (was 6)
- Europcar – Up to 14 (was up to 11)
- Enterprise Rent-a-Car – 20 (was 6)
- Db Luggage – 16 (was 4)
- Antler Luggage – 12 (was 4)
Before you make your purchase, make sure you check whether what you’re buying qualifies for the number of points above. Sometimes, only certain categories qualify.
You must have registered your card in your account before you can earn double points. Then, simply click through to the retailer and earn points. The Double Points will be credited to your account within 24 hours of the purchase being approved!
2 comments
Nothing about today’s articles.
Looks like Blue Islands has gone/going bust. All flights cancelled etc..
Wonder if Loganair will take over, as not many regional airlines left in UK.
Hi James, you can find some info about Blue Islands here (https://www.turningleftforless.com/virgin-atlantic-caribbean-partnerships-ihg-cyber-sale-loganair-replace-blue-islands-routes/). Loganair has been offering rescue flights and has plans to run the routes.
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