{"id":43353,"date":"2020-02-26T11:16:41","date_gmt":"2020-02-26T16:16:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/blog\/?p=43353"},"modified":"2025-11-17T13:34:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T13:34:13","slug":"air-france-klm-virgin-atlantic-award-partnership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/awardwallet.com\/airlines\/virgin-atlantic-air-france-klm-partnership\/","title":{"rendered":"Air France, KLM, and Virgin Atlantic Launch New Award Partnership"},"content":{"rendered":"

The newly announced<\/a> partnership between Air France-KLM and Virgin Atlantic is now live! Two of the most easily accrued point currencies, Virgin Atlantic and Flying Blue miles, just became even more valuable. Among other new partner benefits, you'll now have the ability to book partner awards on either airline using the other's currency.<\/p>\n

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Good News for Virgin Atlantic and Flying Blue Loyalty Members<\/span><\/h2>\n

Delta Airlines has long had individual partnerships with both Air France\/KLM and Virgin Atlantic, so this announcement has little effect for their loyalty members. On the other hand, Flying Blue and Virgin Atlantic previously had no such partnership. Consequently, this partnership opens a whole world of opportunities for their loyalty members going forward. This most notably includes the ability to earn and redeem Virgin Atlantic miles for Air France\/KLM flights, and vice versa.<\/p>\n

We're not going to focus on the complicated earning scheme between partners in this article. If you're curious, you can find the earning charts for all partner travel booked with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles\u00a0here<\/a>, and all partner travel booked with Flying Blue miles\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here are a few key takeaways from the expanded partnership:<\/p>\n

Cohesive Scheduling \u2014<\/strong>\u00a0All four airlines will coordinate with each other to provide “more convenient flight schedules<\/em>” and to ensure “a smooth and consistent travel experience<\/em>.” This includes the new ability to book flights on all operating carriers with each airline's respective website, mobile app, and travel agents.<\/p>\n

Mileage Earning \u2014\u00a0<\/strong>Loyalty Program Members will now be able to earn redeemable and elite-qualifying miles for travel on “any of the four airlines' worldwide operations<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

Partner Redemptions \u2014\u00a0<\/strong>Loyalty Program Members will now have the ability to redeem their miles on “any of the four airlines' worldwide operations<\/em>.”<\/p>\n

Reciprocal Elite Benefits \u2014 <\/strong>Travelers with eligible elite status on any of these partners will now have reciprocal benefits honored, including priority boarding\u00a0and access to “over 100 airport lounges when traveling internationally<\/em>“.<\/p>\n

How to Get Flying Blue and Virgin Atlantic Miles<\/span><\/h2>\n

Flying Blue and Virgin Atlantic miles are two of the easiest point currencies to accumulate, thanks to all of their bank transfer partners. Both are 1:1 transfer partners with:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. American Express Membership Rewards<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. Chase Ultimate Rewards<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. Citi ThankYou Points<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Additionally, Flying Blue is also a transfer partner of Capital One<\/a>, allowing transfers at a ratio of 1,000 Capital One miles to 750 Flying Blue miles.<\/p>\n

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    Virgin Atlantic's gorgeous new Upper Class Cabin<\/em><\/enter><\/figure>\n

    Existing Program Quirks<\/span><\/h2>\n

    Before I get into the comparisons and opportunities presented by this new partnership, I think it's important to remind folks of some of the quirks of booking with these programs, regardless of whose metal you're trying to fly on:<\/p>\n

    Booking Air France \/ KLM Awards<\/span><\/h3>\n