Virgin Atlantic has announced today that their miles will no longer expire. They’ve also changed the name of their miles to “Virgin Points” in preparation for turning points into a common currency across multiple Virgin businesses.
My take
This is good news. I hate it when loyalty points expire and so eliminating expiry dates is a good thing. Further, I don’t expect Virgin Atlantic to devalue their awards as a result of this, or anytime soon in general.
It’s too soon to know how useful it will be to have a common currency across Virgin businesses. For the US market, I expect that the main outcome will be that stays at Virgin Hotels will earn the same Virgin Points as flights with Virgin Atlantic. We might also see some reciprocal elite benefits where Virgin Atlantic elites get room upgrades, etc. It will be interesting to see if the Virgin Atlantic credit cards remain tied to the airline or if they’ll morph into something more general for Virgin Red properties. I doubt that will happen, but this change seemingly opens the door for it.
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Hmm I remember a similar tale from United.. Well Virgin, it was good knowing you :'(
Luckily I maxed out my Virgin Points in high school
Comment of the year candidate right there…
Now with the joint venture, Delta and Virgin Atlantic do not have an expiration date on their miles/points. I wish Flying Blue would follow suit.
What do you make of the new owners of the currency, Virgin Red? What is that all about?
I don’t think it means anything. I think it’s just a way of making the Virgin Group overall the owner instead of Virgin Atlantic.