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Virgin Atlantic raises another £160 million

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According to a Sky News report, see here, Virgin Atlantic is close to completing an additional £160 million fundraising.

It is believed that Sir Richard Branson will lend another £100 million, with “a further £60 million of deferrals from creditors”.

Virgin Atlantic raises £160 million

I would imagine that these creditors are likely to be Virgin Group, potentially deferring further brand license fees, and fellow shareholder Delta Air Lines.

This latest financing comes after the £1.2 billion refinancing agreed last year although – as our article explained – the amount of ‘new money’ that deal provided was just a fraction of the headline amount.

The airline also freed up $230 million in January by refinancing two Boeing 787 aircraft.


How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards

How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards (December 2023)

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.

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.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points (TO 9th JANUARY), FREE for a year & four airport ….. Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express comes with 30,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 30,000 Virgin Points.

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.

The Platinum Card from American Express

Crazy 100,000 points (TO 9th JANUARY) 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 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 (21)

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

  • Max says:

    Do AMEX do hard credit check on you when applying the business cards? I already have an BA AmMEX with them. I’m trying not to have hard searches on my credit report as I plan to get a mortage soon.

    • Peter K says:

      Sometimes Amex do, sometimes they don’t seems to be the consensus on here. Considering the long term financial implication of a mortgage application, you need to think whether a bonus of £1000 (- the pro-rata card fee) makes sense.

    • kk says:

      i hv a 4000 ish credit line w amex and they rejected me. buggering! (hv a company bank account…)

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

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