Richard Branson often seems like he’s from another, far cooler planet than the one that we mere mortals live on. Starting in 2013, he, Stephen Hawking, Ashton Kutcher, and other wealthy luminaries will be exploring outer space through Virgin’s new venture, Virgin Galactic, which will be offering two-hour space tourism flights starting next year.

It is for a good reason that only the extreme have announced plans to explore outer space, even though it’s something probably on most people’s “bucket list” – a single flight is $200,000. Now, Virgin Airlines is offering their customers a way to visit space and feel like they are part of the extraordinary lifestyle that Branson leads. 

Virgin Airlines is giving the customer who racks up the most frequent flyer miles between now and August 7 of next year a suborbital space flight. 

Anyone enrolled in Virgin’s Elevate frequent flyer program is eligible to participate in vying for what is being called the “most elite” frequent flyer status anywhere in the world. If you don’t win, you can still reap a big reward; the second-place winner will receive a zero-gravity flight from Virgin.

If you’re one of the corporate world’s great “road warriors” and can relate to George Clooney’s character from Up in the Air, all of your hard work and careful sky mile accumulation may finally be paying off in a very big way. This new reward will keep Virgin’s Elevate Gold Status members loyal for a reason that goes far beyond three free checked bags and other incentives.

The more that you fly Virgin Atlantic, Virgin America and Virgin Australia over the course of the next year, the greater that your chances are of getting to fly Virgin Galactic. 

Virgin is taking customer appreciation to a whole new plane.

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