How do people get so many airmiles?

I travel with Virgin several times a year, usually in Upper Class, but it is really difficult to find good deals on tickets most of the time. I've noticed a lot of people on here book their UC tickets with miles but I am wondering how you manage to accumulate enough miles? Even one flight to the US is 100k miles or more

Also are there any reliable ways to find Z class fares to book as these always seem to be £1000s cheaper than the next fare class but I don't find them often on Google's flight matrix?

google flights finds the cheapest flights it can. Depending on how far in advance you book it's possible the cheaper fare buckets have been bought out.

As to earning miles many people have an e.g. VS credit card so earn on their spending plus do shopping via 'shops away' to earn even more miles. Regular orders from Virgin Wine club also earn miles. Even train tickets on Vorgin Trains will get you VS miles.

I will caution that not all these methods are suitable for everyone and you should chose e.g. a credit card based on factors such as interest rate / charges then the potential to earn miles.

Have a look at the various 'partner' pages on the VS website for ideas.

[mitchja]

Welcome to V-Flyer

VS/MBNA are also not currently accepting any new credit card applications as the rumours are that VS are looking at changing the card provider.

American Express is an option though by converting Membership Rewards into Flying Club miles at a 1:1 ratio.

Other ways to earn Flying Club miles are through Tesco Clubcard, e-Rewards online surveys or hotel partners, details of which can be found here.

VS/MBNA are also not currently accepting any new credit card applications as the rumours are that VS are looking at changing the card provider.

It's not a rumour. The new cards will be issued by Virgin Money. Raffles over on HeadForPoints has seen the details but is currently under NDA for an undisclosed amount of time.

Doing your food shopping at Tesco generates a 1 clubcard point per £1 spent and each clubcard point is worth 2.5 Virgin Miles. Throw in another 1 Amex MR point per £1 when paying and this can generate quite a lot of points quite quickly.

Miles Booster helps you rack up those miles quickly too.

Also are there any reliable ways to find Z class fares to book as these always seem to be £1000s cheaper than the next fare class but I don't find them often on Google's flight matrix?

I would note that it depends on what you're searching for. If you're dates of travel don't include a Saturday night stay at your destination, then generally speaking that rules out many of the cheapest fares in each cabin (e.g. rules out Z in UC). For e.g. my employer has a Y only policy at present, my trips are generally Mon-Fri and that turns what would be a ~£600 X fare into a ~£1700 R fare.

Simple answer; I fly a lot, have a VS MBNA issued amex and use shops away for as many online purchases as possible.

Also are there any reliable ways to find Z class fares to book as these always seem to be £1000s cheaper than the next fare class but I don't find them often on Google's flight matrix?

Z fares usually come with some very restrictive booking conditions (Saturday night stay, 14 day advance booking etc..) Best place to find these is probably on the VS website.

Hope that helps

Just to add to everyone's comments it's not just Shops Away (ie online shopping) that can rack up the miles, it's offline (in store) shopping too.

If you add your payment card to your VS account you can rack up miles when you buy your wine or bananas!

https://shop.virgin-atlantic.com/en/in- ... se-instore

I get 5000 or so every few months with Tesco... then still they seem to throw in a 1000 bonus every now and again

we just complained a lot a few years back until we got enough points to upgrade to Upper - admittedly they shouldn't have given us so much cause for complaint!

I live in the US, and its very easy to earn miles here. Credit Cards hand them to you hand over fist with 'sign up bonuses'. Virgin's own credit cards are pretty generous, but there's also Amex (converts to VS) and Chase bank, who's CC sign up was 100,000 miles after spending only ~$5000, iirc, they also had a business card with 80,000, you could get that as well. And there was another one (forget the name) with 50,000. Got all 3 and made the wife and MIL do so too. Chase 'Ultimate Reward' points convert to VS miles 1:1. Hello to half a million miles. Chase also gives 3 miles per $1 spent on meals, transport, flights, etc. That's 3 miles for every 70p! I spend 100k+ a year on my card, so you do the maths...

Nobody wants/values VS miles here due to the ridiculous 'carrier surcharge' on tickets, that's why they have to try so hard. I fly to UK all the time, in UC, still pay $1100+/ trip in charges, so VS are not doing that badly, and it's worth it to me. You may disagree, of course - we all have different priorities.

Oh, and we both went to New Zealand on ANZ in Biz on partner miles, for 30 quid each. Twice. Been great for us, obviously!

Call me old fashioned... but I just fly a lot :P