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ENDS SUNDAY: Get 12,000 to 30,000 sign-up miles with the Virgin Atlantic credit cards

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You have only a couple of days left if you want to take advantage of the impressive special offer on the Virgin Atlantic Reward and Reward+ credit cards.

This is the biggest bonus that Virgin Atlantic has EVER run on these cards.  If you have not already applied then this is the ideal time to jump in.

Until Sunday 30th June:

you will earn an extra 7,000 miles (12,000 miles in total) on the FREE Virgin Atlantic Reward credit card 

you will get an extra 15,000 Flying Club miles (30,000 miles in total) if you take out the Virgin Atlantic Reward+ credit card, which has a £160 fee

You can apply here.

You have two choices – 12,000 Flying Club miles for free on the ‘no fee’ card, or 30,000 Flying Club miles for £160 on the paid card, plus an exceptionally high earning rate for the next 12 months.  It is up to you.

If this article sounds familiar it is because it is based on the one I used when this offer last ran.

Here are the details:

The free card

The free Virgin Atlantic Reward credit card is a Mastercard which earns 0.75 miles per £1 spent.  The representative APR is 22.9% variable.

New sign-ups to the Virgin Atlantic Reward Credit Card will be able to earn up to 12,000 miles:

  • 5,000 miles for the first purchase made on the card in the first 90 days
  • Plus another 7,000 miles when you apply on or before 30th June and you spend £1,000 on the card within 90 days of opening the account

This means that you are earning 12,000 Virgin Flying Club miles – which are worth around £120 if redeemed for long-haul premium flights – for free.

Virgin Atlantic Reward credit card

The paid card

The £160 Virgin Atlantic Reward+ credit card is a Mastercard which earns 1.5 miles per £1 spent.  The representative APR is 63.9% variable including the £160 fee based on a notional £1200 credit limit The interest rate on purchases is 22.9% variable.

If you take out the Virgin Atlantic Reward+ credit card you will be able to earn up to 30,000 miles:

  • 15,000 miles for the first purchase made on the card in the first 90 days
  • Plus another 15,000 miles when you apply on or before 30th June and you spend £3,000 on the card within 90 days of opening the account

With this deal, you are receiving 30,000 Virgin Flying Club miles, which are worth around £300 if redeemed for long-haul premium flights.

Virgin Reward Plus credit card extra bonus

The Reward+ card remains the better deal in my view.  Whilst the sign-up deals are roughly equal (12,000 miles for free vs 30,000 miles for £160), once you have the Reward+ card you are earning the superior 1.5 miles per £1 whenever you shop.  You also trigger the upgrade and companion vouchers more quickly.

Can I apply for the other card if I already have a Virgin Atlantic credit card?

It seems not.  Virgin Money has recently added this clause to the application form:

“I am not an existing Virgin Atlantic Credit Card customer and I have not closed another credit card issued by Virgin Money in the last 6 months.”

It is frustrating that Virgin Money is not offering an upgrade route for people on the free card who are now willing to pay the annual fee in return for the higher earning rate.

How do the upgrade and companion vouchers work?

Each year you can earn a special extra reward.  Your reward is triggered IMMEDIATELY upon hitting the spending target.  The target is £20,000 in a card year for the free Virgin Atlantic Reward credit card and £10,000 in a card year for the £160 Virgin Atlantic Reward+ credit card.

Unlike the British Airways American Express cards, the rewards vary depending on your tier in the Virgin Flying Club scheme.  If you have elite status, you get a better reward.

This is what you can pick from:

All Flying Club members

A 2-4-1 voucher, valid for two years, for a Virgin Flying Club redemption in Economy, or

A return upgrade to Premium when you book an Economy reward flight (requires reward availability in Premium)

Flying Club members with Silver status

A 2-4-1 voucher, valid for two years, for a Virgin Flying Club redemption in Premium or Economy, or

A Virgin Clubhouse lounge pass for Heathrow or Gatwick (requires a same-day Virgin Atlantic flight), or

A return upgrade to Premium when you book an Economy reward flight (requires reward availability in Premium)

Flying Club members with Gold status

A 2-4-1 voucher, valid for two years, for a Virgin Flying Club redemption in Upper Class, Premium or Economy

TWO Virgin Clubhouse lounge passes for Heathrow or Gatwick (require same-day Virgin Atlantic flights)

A return upgrade to Premium when you book an Economy reward flight (requires reward availability in Premium)

Taxes and charges are due on ‘free’ 241 seats in the same way as the British Airways American Express 241 vouchers.  Vouchers are valid for two years and you must fly the outbound leg of your trip before the expiry date.

Some tips on applying

Do NOT use the ‘pre-approval checker’ on the Virgin Money website.  It is a joke.  It is designed for Virgin Money’s mass-market cards and is likely to reject you for being too wealthy and so unlikely to pay interest.  Apply directly.

If your full application is rejected, this can often be overturned if you appeal in writing. Write to Virgin Atlantic Credit Cards, PO Box 10609, Wigston, LE18 9HA with a couple of paragraphs expressing your dismay, referencing your Virgin Atlantic status and/or that you had the old MBNA credit cards, and outlining your income and lack of non-mortgage debts.  They will reconsider and you will normally end up being successful.

Conclusion

This is an excellent sign-up bonus.  If you haven’t taken out one of the new Virgin Atlantic credit cards yet, I doubt you will see a better deal than this.  I genuinely don’t know how Virgin Money / Virgin Atlantic can afford such a bonus in the world of 0.3% interchange fees, and you should take advantage before they realise.

The £160 Reward+ card is the better overall package because of the high earning rate and the long-term spending bonus triggered at just £10,000.

However, even if the Reward+ card is not for you, EVERY Head for Points reader should think about picking up a cheeky 12,000 Virgin Flying Club miles by getting the free Virgin Atlantic Reward credit card and spending £1,000 within 90 days.

You can apply for either of the new Virgin Atlantic credit cards via this link.  Remember that the deadline is Sunday night.

Disclaimer: Head for Points is a journalistic website. Nothing here should be construed as financial advice, and it is your own responsibility to ensure that any product is right for your circumstances. Recommendations are based primarily on the ability to earn miles and points. The site discusses products offered by lenders but is not a lender itself. Robert Burgess, trading as Head for Points, is regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as an independent credit broker.


How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards

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 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.

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.)

Comments (65)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • shd says:

    How do you receive the voucher (or indeed get the choice of which voucher) once you’ve reached the spend target?

    • Genghis says:

      Voucher posts just after you’ve spent the target, showing as a line item in VFC acct. the choice is then made on redemption

      • mitpat474 says:

        How Odd.. I have spent over the £10k in first couple months and no sight of this voucher.

        • stevenhp1987 says:

          Took almost a month for the voucher to hit my account. It will appear as a line item on your Virgin Flying Club account.

      • Lawro says:

        Any idea if the Reward can be applied to a booking for anyone other than the cardholder? I suspect the 2-4-1 option wouldn’t work but curious re the others…

  • Chrisasaurus says:

    Does anyone know whether the FC number must belong to the cardholder?

    OH has.no.FC balance but I do, and she was going to go for this…

    • Peter K says:

      They match it with your FC account, including DoB.

      • OP says:

        Ah suck. OK thanks.

        Shame, Silver and plenty of miles but declined when I applied. OH will have to just start from scratch

  • EOC says:

    Slightly OT but apologies and here goes.
    Just got my VFC voucher.Already have our 241s with Amex for the year. What next? Still have 6 months of calendar year left to accumulate with a purpose. Got Amex Gold/Plat cards already. If I bin Virgin card and wait till next bumper sign up offer, what is the next best non Amex to have in these straitened times !

    • Doug M says:

      IHG Premium Rewards. 2 points £, £99 fee, free night at any IHG if you spend £10K. Free night not awarded until card anniversary, but you can get without second year fee by getting it, and cancelling card without spending in 2nd year for fee refund.

  • Gene says:

    Rob, do you have an article comparing non Amex miles/points credit cards out there?

  • Murray says:

    I currently have the VA Rewards card for which my partner has a supplementary card. Can my partner apply for one in her name and still get the bonus as she would with an AMEX?

  • Dave B says:

    What is the expiry date on Virgin points?

    • stevenhp1987 says:

      3 years since you last earned/redeemed any flying club miles.

      So if you have the card and spend on it every month, your points will never expire.

  • Chrisasaurus says:

    But, not always :-/

  • Jason Wiltshire says:

    Does anyone know if it is possible to pay off the balance or part-balance, on a HSBC World Elite Mastercard (premier) – with a debit card? I’d be looking to get this card to put some business expenses on (to earn miles), but would need then to pay off these expenses with my biz debit card before statement date. Any holders know if this is possible? (you can with virgin, amex etc)

    • Lawro says:

      As the WE Mastercard appears as an item within your HSBC online banking, rather than a dedicated login like Virgin/Amex, only option I believe is a payment made via a current account.

    • John says:

      Revolut might help

    • James says:

      It is not possible with any debit card. Only options are payment from a HSBC account, or a direct debit…and getting the direct debits set up is old-fashioned and silly (paper form sent in the post, to be completed and returned).

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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