Redeem Virgin Points for 0.5p via Virgin Trains Ticketing

Virgin Trains Ticketing is a smartphone rail booking app which allows you to earn 3 Virgin Points for every £1 you spend.

I tried it last weekend (there is a 9% cashback offer on my Virgin Atlantic Mastercard which doubled up with the points) and it worked fine. You can now add tickets to your Apple or Google Wallet as well as view them via the app, which wasn’t possible when the service launched.

It is now possible to redeem Virgin Points for rail tickets booked at Virgin Trains Ticketing.

The rate is the ‘usual’ Virgin Red rate, eg 0.5p per Virgin Point. You will need to update to the latest version of the Virgin Trains Ticketing app to see this option.

This clearly isn’t great value compared to a premium flight redemption. However, if you are booking train tickets anyway then it is as good as redeeming your points for cash. Some people with very high (or very low) Virgin Points balances may be tempted.

Do check for any American Express cashback deals for other train booking sites first. LNER was offering selected people 10% cashback via Amex in recent months, for tickets booked on any rail company.

Until 30th September, Uber is offering 10% back in Uber or Uber Eats credit for train tickets booked via its app, including Eurostar.

Anyone who books via Virgin Trains Ticketing between now and 27th August will be entered into a prize draw to win 1 million Virgin Points.

PS. One plus point about Virgin Trains Ticketing is that it shows split ticketing options. You won’t see these prices via ‘official’ ticketing apps such as the LNER one. ‘Split ticketing’ is where you are sold two tickets instead of one because it is cheaper, eg if travelling London to Birmingham you may be sold London to Nuneaton and Nuneaton to Birmingham. You don’t need to change trains but the train you are on must stop at the split point.

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How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards (September 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):

SPECIAL OFFER: The sign-up bonus on the Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard is doubled to 30,000 Virgin Points if you apply by 2nd October. You receive 15,000 Virgin Points with your first purchase and a further 15,000 points if you spend £3,000 within 90 days. Apply here.

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.

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

Small business owners should consider the two American Express Business cards. Points convert at 1:1 into Virgin Points.

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.)