Virgin Flying Club is a partner program first: ANA business between the US and Japan runs about 90,000 points round trip and first class about 110,000, with low surcharges, and short partner hops start near 9,000 points each way. Estimate an ANA trip end to end in the award trip estimator.
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is a partner-award program first and a Virgin Atlantic program second. Its famous value is on partners, not on Virgin’s own planes: ANA business and first class to Japan at prices that rival anything in the hobby, plus low-surcharge Delta and Air France or KLM redemptions. Eight currencies feed it at 1:1, so funding it is the easy part.
Every figure below was checked in June 2026. Award pricing and partner space shift, so treat the numbers as current ranges. The transfer partner finder shows which of your points reach Virgin.
Who can reach Virgin points
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is fed by eight transferable currencies at 1:1: Amex, Chase, Capital One, Citi, Bilt, Wells Fargo, US Bank, and Bank of America. That is one of the widest transfer footprints of any airline program, so whichever card you collect, Virgin points are within reach.
The breadth matters because the marquee Virgin sweet spots need a chunk of points at once. Being able to pool from any major currency, and to catch a transfer bonus from one of them, is what makes the big ANA redemptions practical.
The ANA sweet spot
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The headline is ANA, All Nippon Airways, between the US and Japan. Virgin prices ANA business class at about 90,000 points round trip and first class at about 110,000 round trip, with low surcharges. ANA’s product is superb, and those numbers undercut almost every other way to book the same seats.
The one rule to know: ANA awards through Virgin must be booked round trip, not one way. That makes them less flexible than a typical award, but for a planned round-trip to Japan it is the best premium-cabin value many travelers will ever book.
Other partner value
Beyond ANA, Virgin added Air France, KLM, and a deeper Delta relationship, and those partners can be booked with Virgin points from as little as 9,000 each way on short routes. Delta awards in particular pair low surcharges with Delta’s large US network, which makes Virgin points useful for domestic and transatlantic Delta seats when SkyMiles prices are high.
None of these is as headline-grabbing as ANA first class, but together they make Virgin points a flexible currency with several uses, especially for travelers based near a Delta hub.
| Award | Virgin points from this guide |
|---|---|
| ANA business, round trip | About 90,000 points, low surcharges |
| ANA first, round trip | About 110,000 points, low surcharges |
| Air France, KLM, and Delta short routes | From 9,000 each way |
| Transfer bonuses | Often 25 to 30 percent |
The ANA awards book round trip only, as the section above explains.
Virgin’s own flights and the surcharge trap
Virgin Atlantic’s own transatlantic Upper Class looks tempting because the points price can be modest, but it carries heavy UK departure surcharges that push the cash co-pay into the hundreds, sometimes approaching the price of a discounted paid ticket. The points are cheap; the ticket is not.
Virgin metal can still be worth it, so always read the total before booking. For many travelers the right call is to save Virgin points for low-surcharge partners and book Virgin’s own flights only when the cash co-pay is genuinely reasonable.
Fees, compared
The pattern to remember: ANA, Delta, and Air France or KLM through Virgin carry minimal fees, while Virgin’s own UK-departing flights carry large ones. The points cost is only half the equation, and on this program the fee half swings dramatically by which airline you choose.
Before you transfer, price the all-in cost of the partner option against the Virgin-metal option for the same trip. More often than not the partner award wins on total cost even when the points are similar.
Finding award space
ANA releases award space seasonally and it can be thin, especially in first class, so the constraint is usually seats rather than points. Search a wide range of dates, look months ahead, and be ready to move when space appears. Award-search tools that scan ANA availability save a lot of manual checking.
Because the space is the bottleneck, hold the award before you transfer. Speculatively moving points into Virgin and then hunting for ANA seats is the common way people end up with a stranded balance.
Earning Virgin points
The simplest way to build a balance is to transfer from whichever flexible currency you already collect, covered in our Chase transfer partners and Amex transfer partners guides. Virgin runs frequent transfer bonuses, often 25 to 30 percent, which lower the effective cost of the ANA awards further.
Time a transfer bonus to a confirmed award and the ANA business or first redemption gets even cheaper. As always, only transfer once you have the seats held.
How to book
Some Virgin partner awards book online, but ANA and certain partner bookings have historically needed a phone call to Flying Club, and Virgin’s systems can be finicky. Confirm space first, transfer the exact points, then book promptly, and be patient with the phone line for the premium ANA awards.
Keep your reserve in a flexible currency until the award is confirmed, since transfers into Virgin are one-way and the ANA space can vanish during a slow booking.
Is it worth it
For ANA business and first class to Japan, Virgin points are one of the best values in the hobby, and the wide transfer footprint makes them easy to collect. The skill is steering toward low-surcharge partners and away from Virgin’s own high-fee UK departures. Pair Virgin with a surcharge-free Star Alliance option like Aeroplan and you have premium routes to Asia and Europe well covered.
The downsides are real but manageable: round-trip-only ANA awards, thin first-class space, and the surcharge trap on Virgin metal. Plan around them and Virgin points punch far above their weight.
See where this program lands in the 7 airline sweet spots ranking.
Related guides
- 7 airline sweet spots ranked by value
- Singapore KrisFlyer sweet spots: Suites and Saver
- Avianca LifeMiles sweet spots: no surcharges
FAQ
Which cards transfer to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club?
As of June 2026, Amex, Chase, Capital One, Citi, Bilt, Wells Fargo, US Bank, and Bank of America all transfer at 1:1. That eight-way coverage means almost any flexible balance can reach Virgin points.
What is the ANA sweet spot?
Virgin prices ANA business class between the US and Japan at about 90,000 points round trip and first class at about 110,000 round trip, with low surcharges. It is one of the best premium-cabin values anywhere, with the catch that ANA awards must be booked round trip, not one way.
Should I use Virgin points on Virgin Atlantic’s own flights?
Carefully. Virgin’s own transatlantic Upper Class can be cheap in points but carries heavy UK departure surcharges, so the cash co-pay is high. The better value is usually partner awards on ANA, Delta, Air France, and KLM, which carry far lower fees.
Are there fuel surcharges on Virgin partner awards?
Partner awards on ANA, Delta, and Air France/KLM carry minimal or no carrier surcharges, which is what makes them the sweet spots. Virgin’s own metal is the exception, especially flights leaving the UK.
How do I find ANA award space?
ANA releases award space seasonally and it can be limited, especially in first class. Search a range of dates, look well ahead, and have the points ready, since the space disappears faster than you can earn it after the fact.
Last reviewed October 2026. We verify every rule, ratio, and figure against issuer terms and current reporting, and date each one. See our editorial standards for how we research and correct guides.
We re-check these guides as issuer rules and award charts change. 2 ways to follow along, no account needed.