Tesco launches 30% bonus on Virgin Flying Club conversions …. will BA match?
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Virgin Flying Club has announced a 30% bonus on conversions of Tesco Clubcard points!
This is, of course, not as generous as the 50% bonus that ran in January. Possibly a sign of the (improving) economic times.
There are few rules:
The offer is open to everyone it seems (although it is not showing on the Tesco website yet)
You must convert by 31st October
One converter will win 4 UK domestic flights on Little Red (woo!)
The bonus appears to post automatically with the base miles
There are two versions of this offer. One email also promises readers 1,000 Flying Club miles if they sign-up to autoconvert before 31st October. The other email does not. It is not clear if everyone will earn the extra 1,000 miles for switching to auto-convert. (The 1,000 mile auto-convert email seems quite rare, I only know one person who got it.)
Virgin has made real efforts recently to make economy redemptions more attractive in recent months. As I posted here, Virgin has cut taxes on many routes (New York is £120 cheaper than BA) and charges fewer miles at times (5,000 fewer for an economy ticket to New York.)
However, you need to remember that you lose 25 per cent of your miles if you cancel, and lose a crazy 100 per cent if you cancel within 7 days of travel. Truly shocking.
Virgin Flying Club miles can also be converted to Hilton HHonors at a decent ratio of 1:2 (and also to IHG Rewards Club at a poor 1:1!) so this is also a potential opportunity to bump up your Hilton balance as well.
That said, if you value Hilton HHonors points at 0.3p, as I do, then you are effectively only getting (1 CC = 3.25 Virgin = 6.5 Hilton =) 2p of value for each Clubcard point. Not outstanding, but OK if topping off a balance.
Now, the big question …. will BA match? They didn’t in January ….
How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards (April 2024)
As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Virgin Points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.
You can choose from two official Virgin Atlantic credit cards (apply here, the Reward+ card has a bonus of 15,000 Virgin Points):
Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard
15,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review
Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard
A generous earning rate for a free card at 0.75 points per £1 Read our full review
You can also earn Virgin Points from various American Express cards – and these have sign-up bonuses too.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is FREE for a year and comes with 20,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 20,000 Virgin Points.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express comes with 40,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 40,000 Virgin Points.
The Platinum Card from American Express
40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review
Small business owners should consider the two American Express Business cards. Points convert at 1:1 into Virgin Points.
American Express Business Platinum
40,000 points sign-up bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review
Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Virgin Points.
(Want to earn more Virgin Points? Click here to see our recent articles on Virgin Atlantic and Flying Club and click here for our home page with the latest news on earning and spending other airline and hotel points.)
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