AwardWallet receives compensation from advertising partners for links on the blog. Terms Apply to the offers listed on this page. The opinions expressed here are our own and have not been reviewed, provided, or approved by any bank advertiser. Here's our complete list of Advertisers.
Offers for the Virgin Atlantic® World Elite MasterCard® are not available through this site. All information has been independently collected by AwardWallet and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. Some offers may have expired. Please see our card marketplace for available offers.
Virgin Atlantic is on a roll this year with adding new partners. First, the London-based airline added more than a dozen new mileage partners when Virgin Atlantic joined SkyTeam in March 2023. Then, in July 2023, Virgin added ITA Airways as a mileage partner. Now, without any announcement, Virgin Atlantic just added award redemptions on LATAM-operated flights.
That means travelers now have even more options for booking award flights to South America and even more uses for their Virgin points. Here are the details we know so far about this new mileage partnership.
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Adds LATAM Awards
This morning, we at AwardWallet found an unexpected result when searching for a flight between New York (JFK) and Santiago, Chile (SCL): LATAM-operated awards bookable through Virgin Atlantic!
Virgin Atlantic and LATAM already have an existing partnership. However, this partnership previously only included codeshare flights and earning Virgin points on LATAM flights. Also, this new mileage redemption option works differently than any other Flying Club redemption.
Related: Overlooking Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Can Be Costly
Digging into other award search results, we found that Virgin Atlantic is charging the same rate for a connecting itinerary through Lima (LIM) as the nonstop from New York to Santiago. That's peculiar, as Virgin Atlantic Flying Club typically charges additional points when you book connecting itineraries:
The above search results show a connection through Lima. Curious if the award rate would be the same, I searched for an award from New York to Lima…and got no nonstop results:
This indicates that LATAM is releasing awards to Virgin Atlantic using “married-segment logic.” That generally means that you need to search from your origin to your destination to see if an award is actually available. While a segment may have availability as part of some awards (e.g. JFK-LIM as part of JFK-LIM-SCL), that segment isn't necessarily bookable on its own.
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Award Chart for LATAM
Shortly after we published this post, Virgin Atlantic published the full award charts for LATAM award flights. For long-haul flights, Virgin Atlantic prices LATAM award flights at the following rates:
| Region | Economy | Premium Economy | Business Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| North America to Brazil/Chile | 37,500 | 65,000 | 95,000 |
| UK to Brazil [not currently operating] | 40,000 | 72,500 | 102,500 |
| Rest of the World to Brazil/Chile | 45,000 | 80,000 | 115,000 |
For short-haul flights within South America, Virgin Atlantic is using the following distance-based award chart:
| Distance | Economy | Premium Economy | Business Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 - 250 miles | 7,500 | 15,000 | 20,000 |
| 251 - 400 miles | 12,500 | 22,500 | 30,000 |
| 401 - 550 miles | 17,500 | 25,000 | 35,000 |
| 551 - 1,250 miles | 22,500 | 32,500 | 45,000 |
| 1,251 - 4,000 miles | 25,000 | 35,000 | 50,000 |
This award chart is unique in a few ways. First, Virgin Atlantic's other award charts price awards simply based on the distance flown — instead of this hybrid award chart. Where it prices awards based on the region, Virgin Atlantic is charging the same amount for nonstop and connecting flights — instead of pricing each segment individually.
Perhaps the strangest aspect we've seen so far is that LATAM seems to be releasing “married-segment logic” award availability to Virgin Atlantic. That means you won't necessarily be able to piece award flights together by searching segments individually.
Ways To Boost Your Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Account
Thanks to its numerous transfer partnerships, Virgin points are one of the easiest mileage currencies to generate. You can transfer points to Virgin Atlantic from any of the following programs:
U.S. travelers can earn Virgin points directly with the Virgin Atlantic® World Elite MasterCard®.
Bottom Line
Virgin Atlantic just added award bookings on LATAM Airlines, adding yet another airline to Virgin Atlantic's impressive network of partners. However, LATAM awards price a bit differently than other Flying Club partners. Instead of a straightforward mileage-based award chart — as it uses for most of its SkyTeam partners — Virgin Atlantic is using a region-based award chart for some awards and a distance-based award chart for other awards. Plus, award availability seems to be complicated by so-called married-segment logic.
While the redemption rates are a bit disappointing, it's always good to see another mileage redemption option added. And it's encouraging that Virgin Atlantic is continuing to add more mileage partners.
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.