Book the first Manchester AO Arena tickets on Virgin Points
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Virgin Red, the new company which oversees your Virgin Flying Club points, has bought a suite at the AO Arena in Manchester. This is a similar arrangement to the one which Marriott has at the O2 Arena in London.
(Virgin Atlantic and Delta Air Lines jointly have their own suite at the O2, but oddly it is never used for the benefit of the frequent flyer scheme.)
The first concerts are now bookable. The pricing looks high. Marriott takes a big loss on its box – as it does with many of its other ‘Moments’ redemptions – because it believes it gives a halo effect to the Bonvoy programme. Virgin Red doesn’t seem to take the same view.
This is what you can book:
- Blossoms – 20,000 points for two tickets (3rd April)
- Celine Dion – 65,000 points for two tickets (15th April)
Packages come with car parking. They do NOT come with food and drink – it reads as if it is available in the suite but must be paid for. This is different to how Marriott runs its suite, when all food and drink is included.
This is very toppy pricing for Celine Dion, although I don’t know how well positioned the Virgin Red suite is. The Marriott one, to be honest, is poorly positioned if you want to be close to the artist.
If you assume that you can get 1p per Virgin Point on a premium flight redemption then you are looking at giving up £650 of flights for two tickets.
Marriott, at the very top end, would charge 75,000 Bonvoy points – which I value at £375 if used for hotel rooms – for Celine Dion. This is London pricing, however, and includes food and drink all night.
Virgin will, I’m sure, learn by experience what it can charge for concerts. In the short term it may benefit from the fact that there are few other ways to spend Virgin Points. It is also more aspirational than using 200 Virgin Points for a Greggs sausage roll …..
If you are not already a member of Virgin Red, you can register for free here and can then link it to your Flying Club account.
How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards (March 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.
SPECIAL OFFER: You receive a huge 120,000 Membership Rewards points if you apply for American Express Business Platinum by 9th April 2024. You receive 80,000 points for spending £12,000 within 90 days and a further 40,000 points if you retain the card for 14 months. Click here to apply.
SPECIAL OFFER: You receive 60,000 Membership Rewards points if you apply for American Express Business Gold by 9th April 2024. Remember that the card is FREE for the first year. You receive 40,000 points for spending £6,000 within 90 days and a further 20,000 points if you retain the card for 14 months. Click here to apply.
American Express Business Platinum
Crazy 120,000 points bonus (to 9th April) and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
Huge 60,000 points sign-up bonus (until 9th April) 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.)