How to book companion reward seats with Virgin Atlantic

If you've booked your next flight, or you're looking to book one, and you want to take your favourite person with you, you can do just that by spending your Virgin Points. 

With so many sublime destinations to travel to with Virgin Atlantic, why not experience them with someone else? Whether you want to shop ‘til you drop and explore ‘til your feet hurt in New York, or chase the sunshine to Barbados, Virgin Atlantic has it all. 

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You can book an Economy Classic, Premium or Upper Class companion seat for a loved one, so learn how to do it, and get globe-trotting with a special someone. 

How to earn a companion reward seat

Virgin Atlantic offers three main types of Companion Rewards: 

• Standard Companion Seats – this permits a companion to travel with a Flying Club member at a preferential points rate plus taxes, fees and surcharges.

• Gold Renewal Companion Reward – this allows a companion to travel points free, however taxes, fees and surcharges are payable. 

• Credit Card Companion Reward – as part of the Virgin Atlantic Reward and Reward + Credit Card, a companion can travel points free, but taxes, fees and surcharges are payable.You can earn a companion reward if you spend £20,000 in a year on the Virgin Atlantic Reward Credit Card, or £10,000 in a year on the Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Credit Card. 

You, as the Flying Club member, need to travel on the same flight as your companion, whoever that may be. If you want to upgrade, you can with Virgin Points or money.

However, the person you’re travelling with can only be upgraded if you pay with money, not points – provided there is space in the cabin. You’ll get a discounted rate (plus taxes, fees and surcharges) for your travel buddy. If you upgrade with points, unfortunately they need to stay in the lower cabin.

What do you need to know before you book a companion seat?

Before booking a companion seat, here’s the lowdown: 

• You must book your companion reward seat by calling the Virgin Atlantic Customer Centre - they cannot currently be booked online.

• When you earn a companion reward seat, taxes, fees and surcharges are still applicable for both you and your companion and booking is reliant on reward seat availability for both passengers.

• As the Flying Club member, you must be travelling in one of the seats.

• From the date the voucher is issued, you have 24 months to take the outbound flight. The Gold Companion vouchers are valid for 12 months.

• They are also flexible like reward seats, so can be changed or cancelled for £30 per person and have no minimum or maximum stay.

• Companion reward seats are based on return tickets. 

• You can take a child as a companion. However, a child cannot be fared so they will be fared as an adult and then a refund of overpayment of taxes must be requested. 

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There are also some restrictions on booking companion reward seats for some Flying Club members.

1. Companion seats are subject to reward availability, so they are not necessarily available on every flight.

2. If you’re a Red tier member, you can only use the companion voucher earned through the Virgin Atlantic Reward, or Reward+ Credit Card in Economy or Premium Economy.

3. However, Silver and Gold tier Flying Club members can use it in Economy, Premium Economy or Upper Class.

4. If you’re a Red tier Flying Club member and you want to fly Upper Class, you can still redeem this way, but your companion will have to pay 50% of the points required for the reward seat.

5. Economy Light tickets are not eligible for the Companion Reward.

6. Companions in Economy are available in Economy Classic service only. A revenue ticket can be purchased in Economy Delight, but the companion will only be eligible for Economy Classic service. 

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Standard Companion Seats: How many points do I need to take someone with me?

If you’ve got Virgin Points to spend and fancy taking a friend on your next flight, it’ll cost you a different amount of points, depending on whether your travel in standard or peak season.

For example, if you and your friend want to fly to New York, it'll cost you from 10,000 points each if you fly during standard season, but from 20,000 points each during peak season – so you could nab a great deal if your travel dates are flexible.

Virgin Atlantic guarantees a minimum of 12 reward seats on every flight, helping you to book your dream trip. These seats will be allocated as reward seats when the flight is put on sale. Book fast to reserve your reward seat, so you don’t miss out. If there are not reward seats available when you’re looking to book, check back because often more do get released during the flight selling period. If these reward seats are sold out you can still use your points as part payment on a normal flight from 3,000 Virgin Points with Points Plus Money.

If you’re not sure you’ve got enough points, visit the Virgin Atlantic website and calculate what you need.

Please note: Taxes, fees and carrier imposed surcharges apply to all reward flights and vary according to choice of cabin, departure airport, destination and date(s) of travel and are subject to change. All points shown above are per roundtrip. For one way, the points are simply half of the round trip. All Reward Flights are subject to availability and can only be used on Virgin Atlantic flights. 

So, get booking, sit back and enjoy your flight!

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Terms and conditions

• We always do our best to include the most up to date information, but our offers do change from time to time. Click on each offer for the current points price and all the details. 

• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club membership is required for upgrades and reward flights. Take a look at the Flying Club terms and conditions.

• Reward flights are subject to availability.