Reader Question: Virgin Atlantic Status Match As Alternative To BA Executive Club?

Today we received a Reader Question about the possibility of a status match to Virgin Atlantic for disappointed British Airways Executive Club members following the massacre of status devaluation this month.

Readers are encouraged to send us questions, comments, or opinions by email, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. We’ll try to cover them here several times a week.

Choosing the right loyalty program for the frequent (and even more so infrequent) flyer is an important choice, as not every program rewards you equally depending on your travel profile.

The way in which British Airways has conducted it’s program devaluation also left a bitter taste in the mouth of many program members so naturally many are looking for a new home right now.

Here is John’s coverage of this devaluation which will also affect those hunting for lifetime status:

British Airways Moves To Revenue Based Tier Points From April 1, 2025 (Read It & Weep)

To put it mildly, what BAEC is doing to the program is nothing short of a disaster, and the program is practically gutted post-April 1.

Our reader Jennifer asks about the possibility of matching status to Virgin Atlantic:

I’m a longtime British Airways Gold member with roughly 11,000 lifetime points and managed to comfortably qualify for Gold status each year with a mix of personal and business travel.

Your reporting about the changed that will kick in on April 1 made me realize there is no way I can continue doing this. I don’t have the travel and spend volume to make BA Gold in the future.

For travel purposes, I live in Bray, which is not far from Heathrow Airport, so I can really use any airline that serves LHR. I’ve been satisfied with Virgin Atlantic in the past. Is there a status match that could help me to gain new standing with another alliance?

Reasonable points and questions. She’s definitely not alone in this situation and there is nothing wrong with the approach she’s considering.

In short, yes Virgin Atlantic continues to offer status matches to its Flying Club frequent flier program and has previously updated the match-eligible programs. Additionally, redemption bookings are eligible for the Gold Fast Track.

We have covered it last year in a separate article:

Virgin Atlantic Now Status Matches More Airlines (July 2024)

Members of competing programs on the match list can match to Virgin Atlantic Gold with a fast-track component attached to it:

Become a Flying Club Gold member in an instant, by proving you are in the top tier of one of the below airline loyalty schemes. You’ll also need to have a future revenue or redemption flight booked with Virgin Atlantic on a Virgin Atlantic flight or one of our codeshare partners with a VS flight number in either Premium or Upper Class, and not have held a Flying Club status previously.

There are a few other things to say about the thought process behind the reader’s issue in a broader sense.

British Airways made the decisions surrounding the BAEC changes after analyzing its business needs and fundamentals. Whatever the reasons for these unpopular modifications were, British Airways’ executive management decided that they were necessary and in the company’s best interest.

Time will tell, but from a customer perspective and my position as an analyst in the matter, I can only recommend that everyone be rational, not emotional. This isn’t personal; it’s business. Programs have always changed or even disappeared over the decades (remember BMI Diamond Club?), and we simply have to adapt to it rather than whinge and complain endlessly about it.

Conclusion

Our reader asked about a status match opportunity from British Airways to Virgin Atlantic. The option still exists and I have provided the appropriate channels to apply for it.

The best course of action is to make a clear-minded decision, evaluating which competitor has the better benefits and, in some cases, whether you need a status at all.

You could just as well choose the “best price Business Class” strategy, in which case the benefits of status largely come with the booked class of service.

Rather than tying oneself to a specific airline such as BA, which is expensive ex London, competitors might offer better value for money, and you can fly almost anywhere in the world ex LHR. Virgin isn’t a bad choice but their route network is rather limited. I’m also not a huge skyTeam fan, but for the time being, Virgin keeps non-alliance airline partners as well.

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