Do you know you can get a sign-up bonus on BOTH the Virgin Atlantic credit cards?

If you have ever had a British Airways American Express card, you will know that it is NOT possible to have both the free BA Amex and the paid BA Premium Plus version.  You need to choose.

Virgin Atlantic also offers two different credit cards – the free White cards and the £140 annual fee Black cards.

You may assume that the same rules applied as with the British Airways card – ie that you had to choose between White or Black.  However, this is not the case.

MBNA is perfectly happy, subject to credit etc, to let you have BOTH the Virgin White and Virgin Black credit cards.

The current sign-up offers on the cards are:

The free White card offers 3,000 Flying Club miles

The £140 Black card offers 18,500 Flying Club miles

We have seen better deals on these cards in the past but those days may be numbered given the EU caps on interchange fees which will slash credit card profitability.

Please note that the White cards have a representative APR 22.9% variable.  The Black cards have a representative APR 57.4% variable including the fee based on a notional £1200 credit limit.

MBNA is almost certainly losing the Virgin credit cards soon

Virgin Money recently announced that it has signed a partnership deal with Virgin Atlantic.  Whilst the credit cards were not specifically mentioned, it is unthinkable that this deal does not include the Flying Club cards.

On the basis that MBNA may stop offering the Virgin Atlantic cards at any time, it makes sense to take advantage of this offer whilst it is running.  If / when the cards move to Virgin Money, you will be able to get another sign-up bonus through them!

Can I apply for both White and Black cards at the same time?

I know people who managed to apply for both sets of Virgin cards at once, although this is pushing your luck.  It makes more sense to get one now and then the 2nd one later on.

If you already have one of the Virgin cards, however, you should think about whether you should get the other one:

If you currently have Virgin Black, you have nothing to lose – and 3,000 miles to gain – by taking out Virgin White.  You can always cancel it as soon as the free miles have hit.

If you currently have Virgin White, applying for Virgin Black means you are effectively paying £140 for 18,500 miles, which is a decent deal.  Once you have triggered the sign-up bonus you need to decide whether to keep spending on Black – with the higher earnings rate – or go back to White if you are close to hitting the upgrade voucher.  You CANNOT get a pro-rata refund of the £140 fee if you cancel Black.

---

Want to earn more points from credit cards? – December 2023 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit card, here are our top recommendations based on the current sign-up bonuses.

In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.

You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the best of the other deals currently available.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 9th January 2024, you will receive 30,000 Membership Rewards points (convertible to 30,000 Avios) with American Express Preferred Rewards Gold. You receive 25,000 points if you spend £3,000 in three months and a further 5,000 points if you hold the card for 15 months. You can apply here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 9th January 2024, you will receive a huge 100,000 Membership Rewards points (convertible to 100,000 Avios) with The Platinum Card. You receive 75,000 points if you spend £10,000 in six months and a further 25,000 points if you hold the card for 15 months. You can apply here.

Earning miles and points from small business cards

If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers:

For a non-American Express option, we also recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback card for sole traders and small businesses. It is FREE and you receive 1% cashback on your spending.