Are you a sucker for a status match? If free coffee, a cocktail reception and free laundry service sound like perks you’d enjoy on your next vacation, listen up. For three days only, Virgin Voyages will extend its existing status match offer to include airline and hotel loyalty status matches.
Members of Virgin Voyages’ Sailing Club loyalty program have been able to match with other cruise lines’ loyalty programs for a while. However, if you have airline or hotel status, now could be the time to book that voyage you’ve been considering.
Here’s all you need to know to take advantage of this offer.
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What’s the deal?
Book one of several select cruises with Virgin Voyages from April 24-26, submit proof of your loyalty status on Virgin Voyages’ website by April 26, and you’ll be automatically moved to Blue Extras, the second tier of Virgin Voyages’ three-tier Sailing Club program. You’ll be awarded the corresponding perks, starting on your first cruise following the match. (Rates start from $149 per person, per night for four-night sailings.)
Perks include one free bag of laundry to be sent out and returned to your cabin, one free specialty coffee per day and a special cocktail reception.
Which brands will Virgin Voyages match?
This promotion will take loyalty status match requests into account for the following major airline and hotel brands:
- United MileagePlus
- American Airlines AAdvantage
- Delta SkyMiles
- Southwest Rapid Rewards
- Frontier Miles
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Marriott Bonvoy
- Hilton Honors
- World of Hyatt
- Choice Privileges
- IHG One Rewards
- Wyndham Rewards
- Radisson Rewards
- Best Western Rewards
What’s the catch?
The obvious caveat is that you must book a cruise for your hotel or airline match to be considered.
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You also can’t be at the lowest tier within your airline’s or hotel’s loyalty program. Entry-level tiers don’t qualify for the match. It’s not enough to just be enrolled in a loyalty program. You must have earned some status within it first.
Additionally, this isn’t a traditional type of match. Regardless of the level you’ve reached with your airline or hotel, you will only be awarded middle-tier status — Blue Extras — with Virgin Voyages. This promotion won’t earn you Deep Blue Extras perks — the highest tier — no matter how elite you are elsewhere.
Which other cruise lines offer status matches?
Status matches are not common in the world of cruising. The only line that offers matches to cruise lines, hotels and airlines is MSC Cruises. MSC’s matching program awards passengers status based on the loyalty level they submit for consideration. The drawbacks are that major U.S. airlines aren’t yet part of the program, and if you don’t cruise within three years of obtaining your status match, you’ll lose it.
The only other megaship cruise lines that allow status matches are Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises — but only with one another since they’re sister brands. If you have status with one, you can submit a request to have it matched with the other.
Bottom line
Virgin Voyages prides itself on being a bit of an outlier in the cruise industry. The line has refreshingly managed to turn cruising on its head by eliminating buffets, hiring a resident drag queen and installing tattoo parlors on its ships.
Its current Sailing Club loyalty program hotel and airline status match is a great way to earn status and perks with a cruise line that offers a different way to cruise.
Want to learn more about Virgin Voyages? We’ve got you covered:
