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Virgin Atlantic announced in an email the launch of household accounts. Members of the same household can now pool all their points into one account. This allows members to pool all the points earned from flights, allowing them to reach their travel goals much quicker.
Virgin Household Account Overview
- The Household account must be created by the Household leader, who invites other members.
- Members over 18 must accept an invitation to join an account; members under 18 are added automatically.
- All members must have the same address on their account to be eligible to join a household account.
- Once joined, a member will stay in the household account for 12 months.
- All points earned by all members go into the household account.
- Points already earned remain with the members’ account.
- Virgin Red points remain in your Virgin Red account unless the member transfers them to Virgin Atlantic.
- Only the household leader can spend household points.
- Tier points balances and future earnings remain with individual members.
- Only the household leader can change the household address, which changes for everyone.
- Points can only be redeemed by the household head.
How To Unlink Your Accounts
While you are committed to a household account for 12 months, Virgin acknowledges that things change, life often gets in the way, and you may need to leave the account before the initial 12-month commitment is up. In that case, all you need to do is reach out to the Virgin Customer Care team, and they will help you.
Who keeps the Virgin points?
Interestingly, if a member opts to unlink from a household account, they leave empty-handed. So, in a two-person account, the member leaving the account forfeits all the points accumulated so far. However, they get to keep all the points they earn going forward.
This does raise quite a few questions when it comes to separation and divorce. In most states, points and miles are considered divisible community property. So, while Virgin’s T&Cs may say you leave your points behind when unlinking, a judge may beg to differ with Virgin. They could then be ordered to split the points between both account members.
Our Take
The bottom line is that this new household account idea is great news, but it will not be for everyone. Consider a family with two or three kids. If they fly with Virgin two or three times per year, the kids will earn a substantial balance of points that would significantly boost the main account balance.
On the other hand, a household account for a couple who travel regularly, both together and separately, may find a household account much less useful. The restriction on who can redeem adds friction to quickly redeeming your points. Considering you can transfer points between accounts for a nominal fee of £10/$15, it may be more convenient for some people to keep separate accounts.
Either way, this new feature from Virgin is a tiny spot of good news in a week of bad news for the airline, including the abolition of its 12-award seat guarantee on every flight.
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