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Got a Virgin Atlantic credit card? Earn cashback rewards via the app

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If you have either of the Virgin Atlantic credit cards, you now have access to cashback rewards.

This is similar to what is offered by American Express, and indeed what has just been launched by MBNA – see our article on MBNA ‘Smart Rewards’ here. The MBNA offers are now available via their app, having originally launched on the desktop site.

How does the Virgin Atlantic credit card cashback work?

Cashback is available to all Virgin Money cardholders, so you can also take part if you have a non-Virgin Atlantic credit card.

Importantly – and in contrast to American Express and MBNA – Virgin Money does not require you to activate any particular offer. You only need to opt-in to cashback rewards and you are automatically registered for all deals, now and in the future.

This means that you may get a pleasant surprise if you use your Virgin Atlantic credit card in a retailer which is offering cashback but which you hadn’t spotted.

How is cashback paid?

Unlike the American Express scheme, which triggers cashback instantly, the Virgin Money scheme requires you to wait 35 days before you receive your cash.

Interestingly, you have a choice of what to do with it. You can transfer it to your bank account or ask for it to be used against your credit card balance.

There is no ability to take your rebate in Virgin Points. It was presumably seen as easier, IT wise, to make a standard cashback offer available across all Virgin Money cards.

Can I register online if I don’t have a smartphone?

No. Much to the chagrin of some cardholders, all desktop card management functionality for Virgin Money cards has been removed.

In practice, it is now very difficult to operate the Virgin Atlantic credit cards if you do not have an Apple or Android device.

What sort of offers are available?

Here is a typical list supplied by a HfP reader from his own account:

Origins – 15%
Aveda – 10%
Charriol – 30%
Laithwaites – 15%
Crew Clothing – 15%
Sunday Times Wine Club – 15%
Urban 15%
Sweaty Betty – 15%
Mac – 12%
M&M Direct – 10%
Donald Russell – 7%
Byron – 10%
Feel Unique – 10%
Gousto – 10%
Lands End – 3%
Gett – 10%
H&M – 10 %
Coach – 10%
Far Fetch – 4%
Kitbag – 7%
Clinique – 7%
Europcar – 1%
David Clulow – 3%
Caffe Nero 5%
P&O Ferries – 5%
Matalan – 3%
John Lewis Opticians – 5%
Sun Glass Hut – 1%
Church’s – 5%
ATG – 4%
Hughes – 2.5%
Q Park – 2%

Conclusion

This is a good addition to the benefits package on the Virgin Atlantic credit cards.

What is especially valuable is that you don’t need to register. Simply use the cards for your daily spending and you should find that you trigger cashback without having to give it a second thought.

Click for an article which will help you decide which of the two Virgin Atlantic credit cards is best for you.


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 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.)

Comments (42)

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

  • Harry T says:

    So I’m looking at taking out the Virgin Rewards + credit card again after cancelling it mid 2020. I keep failing the eligibility checker. I recall when I applied last time I was rejected and had to appeal in writing – this was successful but I was given a low credit limit (10% of my average Amex credit limit). Has anyone successfully appealed in writing recently and been given the card with a decent credit limit? I’m wondering whether to waste my time engaging with Virgin Money’s customer service.

    • Tom1 says:

      Can’t comment about appealing, but the second time I got this card (automatic acception), my limit was approx 25% lower than the first time.

      • Harry T says:

        Thanks. I think they aren’t keen on people spending larger amounts on the card and being able to pay the bills.

        • Mikeact says:

          And yet my Nectar/Sainsbury application shot through a couple of weeks back, with a five figure, just, credit limit…more than my Amex card ever was!

        • Chrisasaurus says:

          Refused first time and written appeal rejected, rejected second time, third time got instant approval and decent limit.

          Not much of a pattern at all from here

          • Harry T says:

            @Chris would you mind telling me what the interval was between your applications and cancellations, and if anything significant changed about your financial situation etc? I don’t mean to pry at all, I’m just trying to figure out if there’s anything I can do to improve my chances. It does all seem very nebulous.

    • pigeon says:

      The customer service is literally the worst I’ve had from any UK financial institution. Seriously, if anything goes wrong I would be surprised if it got fixed!

  • Etk says:

    “ The personal data we’ll share with them includes:
    • Your name
    • Your postcode
    • Your birthday
    • Your email address
    • Some of your credit card details
    • The last six months of your transaction history

    …But don’t worry we won’t share any more personal information with them.”

    No thanks!

    • CarpalTravel says:

      I am absolutely staggered that no one has replied to you about this or acknowledged the egregious amount of detail being shared.

      Perhaps like me they thought you were kidding, but I have just looked and see you are not! Holy cow, that is beyond belief. I get they need to be able to target the offers, but those elements combined are highly, highly sensitive. It is quite unbelievable that they are sharing Name and DOB. These could be anonymised easily and should be. I don’t feel particularly comfortable about sharing this amount of info when applying for a mortgage.

      So glad I cancelled this card. It’s a terrible proposition.

  • Rob says:

    I suppose its a free hit, but none of the retailers participating are of any interest (so far).

    Same old tedious list of names.

    • TGLoyalty says:

      Laithwaites 15% plus 10% on airtime plus avios / other portal money back. Might work for some

  • C says:

    My list has significant overlap with my Amex BA PP list.

    • WaynedP says:

      Yes but many VA R+ offers with significantly longer expiry dates, eg many out to June, and some as far out as 28 July !

  • ThinkSquare says:

    I wonder if Laithwaites will stack with Ba Wine Flyer?

  • Baji Nahid says:

    Omg these offers are great! Come in Amex im rooting for you!

  • FFoxSake says:

    “Church’s – 5%”…. woo!!!
    Double Monks with a discount!

  • Chas says:

    Was just about to comment the same.

    • Rob says:

      Yes, apologies, I know how it works but it wasn’t phrased well. I will tweak.

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

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