Virgin America Launches Partnership With Starwood Preffered Guest

SAN FRANCISCO and STAMFORD, Conn., April 13, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Virgin America, the upscale, low-cost airline today announces an exciting new partnership with Starwood Preferred Guest® (SPG®), the award winning loyalty program of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. (NYSE:HOT). Beginning immediately, SPG members will be able to transfer Starpoints into Elevate points at a 1-to-1 ratio, and Elevate members will earn two points for every one dollar spent on Starwood Hotel stays. The additional rewards provided to Elevate members given the breadth of brands in the Starwood portfolio, will make it even easier to earn points wherever their travels take them.   

Additionally, Virgin America is announcing its "Work Hard, Hawai'i Hard" promotion*, aimed at incentivizing Angelenos to make the ultimate #Hawaiiscape with Virgin America's new seasonal daily nonstop flights from Los Angeles to Honolulu, Oahu (starting May 5, 2016) and Kahului, Maui (starting June 14, 2016).  The promotion gives travelers the chance to win the ultimate escape package that includes tickets to paradise on Virgin America's upscale flights, luxury accommodations at either the Westin Moana Surfrider Hotel or the Sheraton Maui, and 50,000 Elevate points. To enter the #Hawaiiscape sweeps, participants must submit their Elevate number and tell us why they need a vacation at www.MakeYourHawaiiscape.com by May 27. All entrants who enter the promotion will automatically receive 250 Elevate points**.  

"We're thrilled to announce our new loyalty partnership with Starwood Preferred Guest," said Stuart Dinnis, Director of Loyalty at Virgin America. "Both of our brands are known for providing fresh, modern and upscale travel experiences and Starwood Properties will be tremendously popular with our discerning flyers. We're looking forward to welcoming SPG members who may not have yet experienced Virgin America's award-winning service."  

Virgin America and Starwood have also partnered to create two tropical SPG Moments^SM to commemorate the partnership launch. SPG members can start bidding today on packages for two to Maui and Honolulu that include seats on Virgin America's inaugural flights to both locations and a four-night stay at either the Westin Maui or the Sheraton Waikiki. Both packages offer amazing foodie extras including a tour of Maui farms followed by a private lunch using collected ingredients, or an one-hour chartered Mai Tai Catamaran ride around the coastline of Oahu and a private 5-course wine pairing dinner on the pool lawn at the Sheraton Waikiki. These Moments also include Gold status on Virgin America for one year. For more information on SPG's Moments, including a complete schedule of 2016 events and bidding details, please visit spg.com/moments.

"This new partnership will enable SPG and Virgin America to extend loyalty outside of our hotels and beyond the window seat by giving our members transfer benefits and earning power," said Dana Rosenberg, Vice President, Global Partnerships at Starwood. "This will enhance the travel experience for our most valuable members and gives both Virgin American and Starwood an opportunity to reach frequent travellers who aren't part of our programs and capture greater share of the global, high-end traveller."

For more information about Virgin America's partnership with Starwood Hotels, visit: www.virginamerica.com/spg .

Virgin America's service is uniquely tailored to the modern traveler with new aircraft that offer three custom-designed classes of service, touch-screen personal entertainment and an award-winning on-demand food and cocktail menu on every flight. Virgin America has been named the "Best Domestic Airline" in both Condé Nast Traveler's Readers' Choice Awards and in Travel + Leisure's World's Best Awards for the past eight consecutive years.

Since launching in 2007, Virgin America's Elevate frequent flyer program has pioneered a number of loyalty benefits in the U.S. industry, including being the first to offer dynamic reward pricing – with the ability for guests to redeem reward points for any unsold seat – on any flight, at any time – with no blackout dates. Virgin America offers two status levels, Elevate Gold and Elevate Silver, which offer perks such as: priority check-in, security clearance and boarding; points earning bonuses; free checked bag allowances; an expanded advance purchase upgrade window for the airline's exclusive eight-seat First Class; complimentary space-available upgrades to the carrier's premium Main Cabin Select service; and complimentary access to the best seat assignments within Main Cabin – as well as access to the airline's airport lounge -- the Virgin America Loft at LAX, which offers guests a sleek and modern retreat, with a selection of amenities and a space that reflects the look and feel of the airline's mood-lit aircraft and overall design aesthetic. Virgin America Visa Signature Premium card holders can also avoid paying additional fees to change or cancel non-refundable Virgin America flights. 

Virgin America's new nonstop daily service to Hawaii will provide a fresh new option for Los Angeles travelers to head to paradise. The Aloha state is the 'most wanted' destination by members of Virgin America's Elevate® loyalty program and Hawai'i continues to be the number one tourism destination from the West Coast, with over 3.3 million visitors in 2014¹.    

In addition to a Main Cabin that offers custom leather seating with a deeper, more comfortable pitch, Virgin America's First Class cabin offers plush white leather seating with 55 inches of pitch, 165 degrees of recline and lumbar massagers. The carrier's Main Cabin Select service offers 38-inches of pitch, free food and cocktails, an all-access pass to media, dedicated overhead bins and priority check-in/boarding. The Red® entertainment platform offers guests their own seatback touch-screen, with +25 latest release films, TV, interactive maps, videogames, a 3,000 song library, surround sound technology and an on-demand menu, which allows flyers to order from their seatback any time during a flight.

Virgin America flies to Austin, Boston, Cancun, Chicago, Dallas Love Field, Denver, Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Los Cabos, Newark, New York (JFK and LGA), Orlando, Palm Springs, Portland, Puerto Vallarta, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington D.C. (IAD and DCA), Honolulu and Kahului, Maui.

PHOTOS AND VIDEOS: Photos & broadcast-quality video of Virgin America aircraft: https://www.virginamerica.com/cms/about-our-airline/photos.html

ABOUT VIRGIN AMERICA: Known for its mood-lit cabins, beautifully designed classes of service and innovative fleetwide amenities — like touch-screen personal entertainment, WiFi and power outlets at every seat, Virgin America has built a loyal following of flyers and earned a host of awards since launching in 2007 — including being named both the "Best U.S. Airline" in both Condé Nast Traveler Readers' Choice Awards and "Best Domestic Airline" in Travel + Leisure World's Best Awards for the past eight consecutive years.  The airline serves Austin, Boston, Cancun, Chicago, Denver,Dallas Love Field, Fort Lauderdale, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Los Cabos, Newark, New York (JFK and LGA), Orlando, Palm Springs, Portland, Puerto Vallarta, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington D.C. (IAD and DCA), Honolulu and Maui-Kahului. For more: www.virginamerica.com

ABOUT STARWOOD PREFERRED GUEST: Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG®) is an innovative, award-winning frequent traveler program that unites each of Starwood's 11 distinctive hotel brands and includes more luxury hotels in more destinations around the world. SPG reinvented the hospitality loyalty landscape when it launched in 1999 with its breakthrough policy of no blackout dates, and over the years has continued its tradition of innovation with enhancements such as Cash + Points, SPG Moments^SM, and most recently Your24™ and SPG Lifetime™. In addition to Free Night Awards at almost 1,300 hotels and resorts and Award Flights on over 350 major airlines without blackout dates, the Starpoints® that members earn through SPG can be redeemed for access like no other to experiences in music, sports and the arts through SPG Moments. SPG offers the opportunity for meeting and travel professionals to earn rich rewards including Starpoints and elite status through SPG Pro. SPG also has an ongoing commitment to digital innovation to meet the needs of today's connected global traveler – from the SPG app for iPhone that utilizes state-aware technology to create a more personalized hotel stay to Starwood's Best Rate Guarantee on SPG.com, to SPG's integration within various social media platforms. Offerings such as these have helped SPG build a passionate member base among the world's most frequent travelers. Learn more at spg.com, spg.com/pro and spg.com/moments and connect with us on facebook.com/spg, twitter.com/spg,foursquare.com/spg, pinterest.com/spglife, and youtube.com/sp

*Work Hard, Hawaii Hard Sweepstakes Official Rules:  www.virginamerica.com/cms/dam/vx-pdf/Official-Rules---Hawaiiscape-LAX---FINAL

**250 Elevate Point Offer Terms and Conditions: No purchase necessary to enter. Only one registration is required to participate in this offer. Offer is only valid for new and Elevate members who register between April 13, 2016 and May 27, 2016.  Offer open only to U.S. residents 21and older. Employees, officers and directors of Virgin America Inc., and their immediate family members and members of the same household, are not eligible. To qualify for this bonus point offer, registrants must a) be enrolled in Elevate prior to registering for the offer, b) correctly add their Elevate account number to their registration prior to entering. Any errors might result in disqualification from the offer. Each registrant will be given the equivalent of ONE entry. Each registrant will have the option to share their entry on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter and will receive and extra entry per share. All registrants will be awarded 250 bonus Elevate points. Bonus Elevate points cannot be transferred between accounts and will only be deposited if the winning member has entered their Elevate membership number during registration. Bonus Points will be posted to the member's account within 4-6 weeks after the sweepstakes has concluded. Bonus points earned in this offer do not qualify towards reaching Elevate Gold or Elevate Silver status. For complete Official Rules, including entry instructions and complete prize details, visit: www.virginamerica.com/cms/dam/vx-pdf/Official-Rules---Hawaiiscape-LAX---FINAL, terms and conditions apply, as detailed at https://www.virginamerica.com/cms/elevate-frequent-flyer/member-guide.

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SOURCE Virgin America

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