Get 5,000 Virgin Points for activating Tesco Clubcard Auto-Convert

Tesco and Avios may have gone their separate ways but Virgin Atlantic remains a Tesco Clubcard partner.

Now, slightly confusingly, Virgin Red is also on board as a Tesco Clubcard partner.

To promote the expanded partnership, Virgin Red has brought back the exceptionally generous offer it ran in June. You will receive 5,000 bonus Virgin Points if you switch your Tesco Clubcard account to auto-convert points to either Virgin Flying Club or Virgin Red.

To put this offer into context, we had never seen an offer higher than 2,500 Virgin Points before June.

Here are three things you need to know

5,000 Virgin Points is an exceptionally generous deal and there is no logical reason for not doing this if you qualify.

We’d value 5,000 Virgin Points at £50 if used for premium cabin flights, and in the worse case scenario you can order £25-worth of bits and pieces from the Virgin Red app.

Before you do anything, please note:

• this bonus is for setting up a conversion into either Virgin Red or Virgin Flying Club – to go Virgin Red, you will need to have downloaded the Virgin Red app to your phone (here’s a link with 1,000 bonus points) and – if applicable – linked it to your Virgin Flying Club account to pool the points

• you do not qualify for the bonus if you currently, or at any time in the past, have received a bonus for activating auto-convert into Virgin Flying Club

• you will need to have 250 Clubcard points in your account on 17th October, which may require you to divert some of your supermarket or petrol shopping to Tesco in the next few weeks (1 point per £1 in-store, 1 point per 2 litres of fuel)

How do you set up your Clubcard account to auto-convert to Virgin Atlantic or Virgin Red?

To turn on auto-convert, you need to visit the Clubcard website here.

Sign in to your account and click on ‘Clubcard Account’.  Select ‘Clubcard Management’ and then ‘Voucher Schemes’.  From this page you can select the “Virgin Points” box to enable auto-exchange.

You need to input your Virgin Red ID or your Virgin Flying Club number.

Here are the rules for getting the 5,000 Virgin Points:

• you must not have received a bonus for turning on auto-convert to Virgin Flying Club in the past

• you must activate auto-convert to Virgin Flying Club or Virgin Red by 17th October 2024

• you must have at least 250 Tesco Clubcard points in your account on 17th October 2024, which is the next cut-off date for transfers to Virgin Points

• you must keep auto-convert activated until at least 17th October 2024

• your 5,000 bonus Virgin Points will be awarded by 28th November 2024

Is it worth auto-converting Clubcard points to Virgin Points?

I am usually a little sceptical about auto-converting your Clubcard points. You would miss out if a conversion bonus came along, or indeed a better Tesco Clubcard offer launched with another partner.

In general, it is better to keep your Clubcard vouchers in a drawer until you need them, or until a conversion bonus appears.

However …. the days of lucrative offers on Tesco Clubcard seem to be over.  5,000 Virgin Points is also a VERY good incentive – you’d usually need to spend £2,500 in Tesco to earn £25 of Clubcard vouchers to receive 5,000 Virgin Points.

On this basis, assuming you’d only generate a few pounds of vouchers per quarter, you are far better off activating auto-convert for a while and seeing how it goes.

You can see details of this new Tesco / Virgin Points bonus on the Virgin Flying Club / Tesco Clubcard page here.

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

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 40,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 40,000 Virgin Points.

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

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Platinum is increased to up to 80,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 80,000 Virgin Points. You will receive 8 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 22nd October 2024, the bonus on American Express Business Gold is increased to up to 40,000 Membership Rewards points, worth 40,000 Virgin Points. You will receive 4 points per £1 spent for the first three months, on up to £10,000 of spending. The card is FREE for your first year. Click here to read our full card review. Click here to apply.

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.)