Virgin lures British Airways fliers after loyalty club change
Virgin will match BA’s silver and gold status for members who switch loyalty programmes
Virgin Atlantic Airways is seeking to win over loyalty programme customers from British Airways who are disgruntled about recent changes that have made it more expensive to earn or retain top-tier status.
Virgin will match BA’s silver and gold status for members who switch loyalty programmes, and is even offering a lucky draw that will award one million points to five customers who match their BA status before mid-February.
The carrier’s Flying Club programmes has seen enrollments triple in recent weeks and expects to see more sign ups with the status match programme, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information.
In December, BA announced that it would overhaul its loyalty programme in early April. As part of the changes, tiers will now be tied to spending and the airline will offer 1 tier point for every £1 spent. To achieve the top Gold echelon will require £20,000 of expenditure in a year, or about 4 London-New York round-trips in business class.
The carrier’s existing system of awarding tier points based on flights and class of travel spawned a sub-industry of mileage hunters looking for bargain business class seats to achieve top-tier status at the lowest cost, resulting in overcrowded lounges and priority boarding lines.
BA’s overhauled loyalty programme is similar to models that other airlines use, a spokesperson said in an email. There will be more ways to earn tier points through package holidays, extra luggage and credit card spend, underlining the carrier’s investment in its loyalty club and customers, the spokesperson said.
Still, BA’s changes to the loyalty programme made tabloid headlines and complaints from disgruntled members on social media.
“Our Flying Club status match makes it easy for customers who are not feeling the love from their existing airline to experience the award-winning hospitality of Virgin Atlantic,” said Anthony Woodman, the vice-president for Flying Club, in a statement.
