Virgin Atlantic and Delta Air Lines open their own bar at The O2 arena

There is clearly a super-hot salesman at the O2 Arena in Greenwich who knows exactly what to say to make the big travel companies sign on the dotted line.

First we had the American Express Invites lounge at the O2.  This is a private bar which must be pre-booked and which is restricted to American Express customers.  The drinks and snacks are not free but it is a superior environment to the main concourse at the arena.

Secondly we had the launch of the Starwood Preferred Guest suite which I reviewed here.  You can now redeem 20,000 SPG points from your hotel stays at Sheraton, Westin, W, Le Meridien etc (or from the Starwood American Express card or from Amex Membership Rewards points) for two hospitality tickets for a major concert.  I am there again later this month.

Virgin Atlantic and their joint venture partner, and 49% shareholder, Delta Air Lines have joined the party.

A 300-seat bar called NY-LON is opening at the O2 in July.  It is meant to be ‘a celebration of our transatlantic network’ and to ‘showcase our airlines world class service’.

Virgin has announced that Virgin Flying Club members will ‘benefit from a range of discounts and special offers’.  We will need to see exactly how this works in practice – given the scale of the bar it is unlikely that it will be exclusively for Delta and Virgin frequent flyers or it will be fairly empty a lot of the time.

It is worth noting that Virgin and Delta also have a hospitality suite in the arena although I have never seen seats offered up as a redemption option.

PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 65,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.

How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards (April 2025)

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 18,000 Virgin Points and the free card has a bonus of 3,000 Virgin Points):

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard

3,000 bonus points, no fee and 1 point for every £1 you spend 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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express comes with 50,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 50,000 Virgin Points.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large 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

50,000 points when you sign-up 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.