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Virgin Atlantic Changes Clubhouse Guesting Rules
Virgin Atlantic has suddenly removed a useful benefit of travelling in Upper Class. From today (2nd November), you can no longer bring a guest into Virgin Clubhouse lounges, third-party lounges and the Upper Class Wing at Heathrow Terminal 3 just by holding an Upper Class ticket.
The good news is that nothing has changed if you hold Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Gold status. You can still bring one guest travelling on the same flight when flying internationally with Virgin Atlantic or Delta, regardless of cabin. This also applies to Delta SkyMiles Diamond and Platinum Medallion members. It also applies to Flying Blue Platinum status holders travelling in Premium or above on eligible flights. Passengers with a Delta One ticket already couldn’t bring a guest into the Clubhouse based on travel class alone.
Other eligible elite members, including certain SkyTeam, Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand status holders, can instead use Heathrow’s No1 Lounge with a guest. This also applies to eligible Delta and Flying Blue Platinum status holders travelling in Economy.
Virgin has attributed the change to customer feedback. I’m not entirely sure which customers were asking for fewer benefits. However, there have been many instances of people being approached outside lounges by people asking to be guested in, or even people selling access on social media and asking for access via forums. Is this what Virgin is trying to stop? It could also be a move to persuade Upper Class flyers to work towards Gold status by offering an extra guesting benefit they wouldn’t otherwise have.
It’s also surprising that this is a sudden change, and nothing has been put in place for people who have already booked expecting to bring a guest.
While this may make the lounge less busy, It’s also an odd time for a change like this, given Delta will be moving from T3 to T4, which will again reduce the number of eligible passengers using the Heathrow Clubhouse.
Unfortunately, there’s no way around this if you want to bring a guest who doesn’t qualify independently. You can’t purchase Clubhouse access, except in a few cases outside the UK where Clubhouse access is available via lounge passes at certain times of day. Keep this change in mind before paying an Upper Class fare.
Flying Blue November Promo Rewards Now Live: Any Deals?
The Flying Blue November promo rewards are now live, with some fantastic deals (all one-way).
Book by 30th November 2026 for travel up to 30th April 2027, with up to 25% off the miles required for select Air France and KLM reward flights.
Business Long Haul
- Paris to New York – 45,000 Miles
- Paris to Beijing – 63,750
- Amsterdam to Cape Town – 63,750
- Amsterdam to Panama City – 63,750
Remember, you can also add a connecting flight to a long-haul reward if available.
Business Short and Medium Haul
- Paris to Malaga – 15,000 Miles
- Paris to Venice – 15,000
- Amsterdam to Madrid – 15,000
- Amsterdam to Marseille – 15,000
Premium
- Paris to Montreal – 30,000 Miles
- Paris to San Diego – 30,000
- Paris to San Jose – 37,500
- Amsterdam to Osaka – 37,500
- Air France Chicago to Shanghai – 48,750
- Air France New York to Nairobi – 48,750
- Air France Toronto to Nairobi – 48,750
Some deals are open to everyone, whereas some are reserved for Flying Blue Extra, which starts at €379 (£317) per year, including:
Business Long Haul
- Paris to Fort-De-France – 63,750 Miles
Business Short and Medium Haul
- Paris to Barcelona – 15,000
- Amsterdam to Istanbul – 15,000 Miles
- Amsterdam to Budapest – 15,000
Premium
- Amsterdam to Cairo – 30,000 Miles
- Paris to Saint Martin 37,500
- Paris to Pointe-à-Pitre – 37,500
- Amsterdam to Tokyo – 37,500
- Amsterdam to Curaçao – 37,500
There are also plenty of Economy deals starting at just 6,000 miles for short-haul and 18,750 miles for long-haul.
If you need to top up your balance to afford a redemption, Amex Membership Rewards transfers to Flying Blue at 1:1. You can also move Marriott points across (3:1, with a 5,000-mile bonus for every 60,000 points transferred) or purchase miles. If you purchase miles and book a promo reward, it will sometimes work out cheaper than paying with cash.
Keep in mind that you won’t earn XP for Reward Flights, and the Promo price is for the new Light fare, which doesn’t come with checked baggage, and Economy and Premium tickets don’t come with flexibility (unless you have this with Flying Blue status).
If no deals suit you this month, make sure you check next month.
AMEX OFFER: Get £75 cashback on European IHG hotel stays – Up to 25% Off
A new IHG offer has appeared on targeted AMEX cards, giving £75 cashback on a spend of £300 or more by 31st December 2026.
You can spread the spend across multiple purchases or do it all at once. Whether you regularly stay at hotels or you’re planning a short trip away, you can easily spend £ 300.
There is also a list of participating European hotels (plus some unexpected additions in Kazakhstan and Mongolia), so make sure your chosen hotel is included before you commit to a stay.
You must save the offer to your card before spending anything. Be quick; only the first 50,000 registrations will be accepted.
You must also pay at the hotel rather than pre-paying. If you already have a stay booked, you’ll still qualify as long as you’re paying at check-out.
It’s also worth checking supplementary Amex cards. If two cards have the offer saved, you could potentially split a £600 hotel bill between them and receive £150 cashback.
For even more value, you can also combine the promotion with the current bonus promotion, which runs until the end of the year. From your second eligible stay, you’ll earn triple base points on bookings made through the IHG app or double base points on other eligible stays. You’ll need to register separately.
