Status match you say? Let’s say you climb the ranks with BA from Blue, through Bronze and to Silver taking either 25 flights in 1 calendar year or gaining 600 Tier Points. Well Rather than starting from scratch with another airline, companies offer the chance to match your status with their own equivalent.
This isn’t anything new, Virgin Atlantic themsleves have been doing this for years, albeit under the radaar. Previously you’d have to:
- be in the top teir with your chosen airline
- Email a certain address
- Provide photo proof of your current status
- Provide documentation proving how you earned said status
- Then to round it all off, you need a booking in Upper Class
What’s new then?
Well, firstly this is targetted specifically at British Airways Executive Club members. Secondly and perhaps the biggie, rumour has it that this is the last chance saloon. After Feb 28th Virgin Atlantic will no longer offer a status match.
The Ins and outs
- BA Bronze members match to Flying Club Silver status if you have a Premium or Upper-Class booking.
- BA Silver members match to Flying Club Silver status so long as you have a ticket booked with Virgin (be it cattle class or rubbing shoulders with celebs at the pointy end).
- BA Gold members match to Flying Club Gold status again, you just need a ticket with Virgin regardless of class.
Basically, you need a ticket with Virgin for it to be applicable, here’s the kicker though… It doesn’t have to be a cash ticket, it can be a points booking!
Flying Club Silver
- Earn 30% more Virgin Points on every Virgin Atlantic flight
- Premium Check-In and priority boarding in whichever cabin you fly on Virgin Atlantic flights
- Anytime standard seat assignment in any cabin, including Economy Light
- Priority baggage whenever you travel
- 7% discount on Virgin Holidays
- Finally, as a yearly birthday gift, you get 2,000 Virgin Points
Unlike BA, With Virgin, you don’t actually get access to any lounges being a Silver member. To compensate for this, if you status match from either BA Bronze or Silver membership, Virgin will include 2 complimentary passes to their Clubhouse lounge at Heathrow Terminal 3.
Flying Club Gold
- Earn 60% more Virgin Points on every Virgin Atlantic flight
- Upper-Class Check-In and priority boarding, regardless of the cabin you’re flying
- Clubhouse access every time you fly with Virgin Atlantic or Delta Air Lines for you and one guest
- Re-energise when you land at Heathrow with access to our Revivals lounge
- Enjoy any one of our complimentary treatments plus receive 10% off any other treatments from the menu.
- Anytime seat assignment for you and your companions in any cabin, including Economy Light
- Free exit row seat options in Economy Classic (This isn’t the lowest class so be careful)
- Take one extra piece of hand and hold luggage on top of the brand allowance
- 10% Discount on Virgin Holidays
As a Flying Club Gold member, you also get decent perks on other airlines such as Air France, KLM, Delta, Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines and Virgin Australia.
More Info
If you want all the ins and out or want to get the hookup, you’ll want to click here.
My Take
Firstly, Lockdown Life… so status with another airline is fantasy land, lets point that out straight away, otherwise…
The majority of people I know are either bronze or Silver with BA. If this is you, this should be right up your strata, Especially if you live anywhere North of Oxford. Being able to use your Virgin perks on the likes of KLM and Air France who put a bit of effort into service the UK (Excluding London) is a beauty.
I made the switch to Virgin last year when BA decided that unless I was booked in First, they weren’t interested in any sort of customer service.