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I have been thinking of getting the Virgin+ credit card because of the new sign off bonus. I never travel with Virgin – I don’t even have a Virgin Flying Club account.
However I do have a large non-amex spend. Ideally I just want points to redeem for upper class LON-NYC, ideally with my better half via the 2for1 voucher. But I have heard redemptions are virtually impossible on Virgin. Is that the case on LON-NYC as well?
Is there anything I’m overlooking?
Thanks!
And I forgot to mention that I am spending a lot of time in Sweden. So the no FX fee would be a nice plus.
If you check SeatSpy you’ll see plenty of VS redemptions, I think they started releasing more seats in recent times.
There is loads of availability to JFK. Have a look at Seatspy.
What could you be missing?
Well fees and surcharges are outrageous.
If you don’t have status then the 241 is a 2 for 1.5 so not as good as BA’s Amex 241 voucher.
But the upgrade voucher (you choose if you want this or 241) is a genuine upgrade voucher.
It would certainly improve your flexibility as E.g. you could booking LHR-JFK with Virgin, using the upgrade voucher for the two of you one-way and then book coming back with BA.
For the first year’s annual fee of £160 you’d get 30,000 points plus whatever you earn. 30,000 points could be transferred out to Hilton for 45,000 Hilton points so it is pretty low risk to try it.
Well fees and surcharges are outrageous.
^^^ this ^^^ … but if you look at other redemption opportunities, you may find it works for you. Upper to the states is now the weak spot, not the sweet spot, in Virgin’s programme.
It’s worth keeping in mind that you earn tier points on redemption bookings with Virgin. Something I really like and wish BA would introduce.
I use virgin only for Hilton. Virgin destinations do not often work for me. That is still a good deal I think to bag some HH points.
And double check if virgin has no fee for Swedish krona, I thought it was just the euro zone.I’m pretty sure it includes currencies of some EU countries not in the euro zone, including Sweden. It specifies in Rob’s articles.
I’m pretty sure it includes currencies of some EU countries not in the euro zone, including Sweden. It specifies in Rob’s articles.
Eurozone, Sweden + Romania.
In terms of payment card fees for foreign use, it is always Eurozone, Sweden + Romania where the fees must be the same as for use in the issuing country.
The ECB wanted all EU countries to sign up to this rule when the SEPA was set up, but only Sweden + Romania of the non-Euro countries actually did so.
So if a UK (or Danish, or Czech etc) bank wants to issue a payment card that is free of foreign transaction charges in the Eurozone, it has to include Sweden + Romania by default.At least the Eurozone continues to expand, but for the moment you will pay fees in Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Hungary + Poland.
But is it a good deal to use the card for EUR payments or is the exchange rate not very good (even without paying the extra 3%)?
But is it a good deal to use the card for EUR payments or is the exchange rate not very good (even without paying the extra 3%)?
They use the Mastercard rate:
Points diversification provides flexibility. U never know when a last minute or partner redemption is handy. £160 for the 30k is a good deal and if you can hit the voucher even better. If u start collecting only when u need it, it’s probably too late for that occasion.
I got the Virgin card when IHG decided they didn’t want my business and the Avios Barclaycards didn’t exist. Got the bonus and voucher, put my non-AmEx spend on it for about 10months + some Tesco points + MR points and got two W redemptions to JFK in October (+like £900!).
The booking process on the phone was a pain and took 45mins. The vouchers only being worth 1.5x in J is a pain.
There were plenty of Y and W redemption options to JFK when I looked for October travel, some J seats too. Oneworld have tonnes more in all classes.
Overall I think the Barclaycard cards are much more useful and flexible in addition to AmEx. Virgin being in Skyteam now theoretically helps, but not for the routes I generally need. So Avios all the way for me.Eurozone, Sweden + Romania.
In terms of payment card fees for foreign use, it is always Eurozone, Sweden + Romania where the fees must be the same as for use in the issuing country.
The ECB wanted all EU countries to sign up to this rule when the SEPA was set up, but only Sweden + Romania of the non-Euro countries actually did so.
So if a UK (or Danish, or Czech etc) bank wants to issue a payment card that is free of foreign transaction charges in the Eurozone, it has to include Sweden + Romania by default.At least the Eurozone continues to expand, but for the moment you will pay fees in Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Hungary + Poland.
Thanks for explaining this. I always wondered.
Regardless of the politics and stated policies listed above, I have used the card with no fees in Iceland and Denmark over the last couple of years. As always with something that appears to be better than the Ts and C’s, anyone else would do best to check with a small purchase first.
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