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Virgin Atlantic will join SkyTeam alliance

Virgin Atlantic joining SkyTeam shouldn’t come as any huge surprise. After all, Virgin Atlantic is 49% owned by Delta and has a partnership with Air France/KLM, so it totally makes sense. In fact, during the height of the pandemic, Virgin Atlantic almost sold 31% of its 51% stake to Air France/KLM which would have left it with just 20% ownership. So I wouldn’t say this is a “huge shock,” but it’s something that has been rumored to be happening for years…so regardless I am a bit surprised at the news, and hope this doesn’t spell a watering down of the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club partnerships like ANA, Air New Zealand and Hawaiian. The Singapore partnership has never really been bookable to my knowledge and has lived as a partnership in name only as far as bookings are concerned.

Virgin Atlantic Silver Card holders will be recognised as SkyTeam Elite Members
Gold Card members will become Elite Plus.

Who is currently in SkyTeam?

Aeroflot,
Aerolíneas Argentinas,
Aeroméxico,
Air Europa,
Air France,
China Airlines,
China Eastern Airlines,
Czech Airlines,
Delta Air Lines, Inc.,
Garuda Indonesia,
ITA,
Kenya Airways,
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines,
Korean Air,
Middle East Airlines,
Saudia,
TAROM,
Vietnam Airlines
XiamenAir.

How to get Virgin Atlantic Tier Status

I fly back and forth to the UK a lot, and recently we’ve seen some very attractive business class sales out of mainland Europe/UK that Virgin as has been a part of…this news may incentivize me to pay cash for a couple of those flights since top tier Virgin Atlantic Gold can be attained with just 2 roundtrip upper class flights booked in J, C, D, or I ( some of the discounted flights were in I ). I’d then have elite benefits while traveling in the States on Delta which operates out of my home airport ATL.

I’m planning on trying out their latest Upper Class early next year on the A330neo – if possible I’d pay extra to sit in these bad boys.

Recap

While this will potentially open up more booking options ( I’m a big fan of China Airlines, would love to fly Korean and Vietnam Airlines ) we may also see the loss of an incredible sweet spot in the Virgin Atlantic chart with ANA. Only time will tell.

Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

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Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

4.8

Rated 4.8 out of 5

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is a great starter card that earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based including Hyatt, Southwest, United, IHG, and Marriott.

Welcome Offer

Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening

Annual Fee

$95

Points Earned

Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards

Card Benefits

5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
3x on select streaming services
3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
$50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
2x on all other travel
10% Anniversary Points Boost
- each account anniversary you’ll earn bonus points equal to 10% of your total purchases made the previous year
Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
No foreign transaction fees
Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
Complimentary DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees & lower service fees for a min. of one year when you activate by 12/31/27. Plus, a $10 promo each month on non-restaurant orders
$95 Annual Fee

Monkey Miles Related Articles

Is this the best ever offer?

We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.

Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.

Main Cast

Main Cast:

Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.

Supporting Cast:

Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.

Quick Breakdown

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.

If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners

Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.

The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.