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#936170 by Sealink
23 Jun 2017, 13:58
With the capping of credit card charges at 0.3% Amex is withdrawing licensing of their brand to other card providers.

So the days of the Mbna Amex are numbered. Hopefully the Visa version will have improved earning or an actual Virgin Amex (like BA) will be *ahem* on the cards...

More info here:
http://www.headforpoints.com/2017/06/23 ... edit-card/
Last edited by Sealink on 23 Jun 2017, 18:54, edited 1 time in total.
#936184 by Sealink
23 Jun 2017, 18:55
mitchja wrote:MBNA have been offering a VISA version of the VS card for some time now.


Yes they come as a pair. But Amex earned more.
#936188 by mswadley
23 Jun 2017, 21:05
Not sure how much influence Virgin has on MBNA or Amex?
If his does happen I'd probably go to the BA Amex card along with I suspect many others.

Would Virgin consider a similar arragement? 80% of my miles are from the CC, 15% from shopping and only 5% from flights.

Even though I rate VS way above BA this could prove a game changer for me.

How do others feel?
#936196 by mitchja
24 Jun 2017, 08:15
Not that this would change the fact AmEx are pulling their license for other card issuers, but weren't there rumours that Virgin where looking at bringing the VS card back 'in house' to Virgin Money when MBNA was put up for sale last year? Lloyds Banking group now own MBNA since early this year.

If MBNA do ditch the AmEx card, my black VS card will be going here too as it's barely worth the £140 annual fee now as it is now as I never spend enough to even get the upgrade voucher anyway. Mine next re-news in April (your re-newal month is the month before you pay the annual fee)
#936197 by tvr_p
24 Jun 2017, 08:37
I can see quite a few options:

1. They discontinue both cards
2. They follow the AA model and charge ~£70 for a white Visa which earns ~1mile/£1, keeps the vouchers at the same thresholds as now. Continue to charge £140 for a black Visa which earns ~2miles/£1 and the same thresholds
3. Bring the cards into Virgin Money
4. Go the BA route and ask Amex to issue a free and paid card
5. Have a single Visa which is better than the current white, worse than the current black & priced around £75-£100
6. As per 2, but include either TP earning potential and/or silver/gold status

There are probably a load of other options I haven't thought of, ultimately we'll see what happens when the current contract with MBNA expires and each make a decision depending on the offerings and our personal circumstances/preferences
#936198 by dickydotcom
24 Jun 2017, 09:27
One thing I did pick up on in the linked article was paying income tax by card.
I've just check on the legislation and a Visa credit card gets a fee of .415%
So a £4000 tax bill is only going to cost £16.60 to earn 4000 air miles as opposed to £75 if I wanted to buy them.
Have I done my sums correctly?

Dick D
#939293 by mitchja
26 Oct 2017, 15:58
If VS do go back to Virgin Money, Virgin Money need to shape up big style....as other than offering contactless, there's no ApplePay, no Android Pay and not even a specific iOS/Android app!!

They seem a long way behind the others.
#939297 by Raffles
26 Oct 2017, 19:56
mdhayes wrote:sounds like an announcement tomorrow about this, according to HFP


No there isn't - and I have pushed back the article I was going to run. Looks like the New Year.
#939305 by oldboy
27 Oct 2017, 11:21
mswadley wrote:Not sure how much influence Virgin has on MBNA or Amex?
If his does happen I'd probably go to the BA Amex card along with I suspect many others.

Would Virgin consider a similar arragement? 80% of my miles are from the CC, 15% from shopping and only 5% from flights.

Even though I rate VS way above BA this could prove a game changer for me.

How do others feel?


I will probably also switch to the BA Amex card if the VS one is discontinued. I have just paid for our round the world cruise (Jan 18), I booked via VH due to the miles (£200k) that I would earn.
#939363 by David-A
30 Oct 2017, 14:54
The cards have disappeared from the MBNA overview page (listing the cards they offer).

However the application forms still appear to be live - if you click through direct from Virgin Atlantic website, or ironically, Virgin Money website.
#940637 by DocRo
08 Jan 2018, 21:37
dickydotcom wrote:One thing I did pick up on in the linked article was paying income tax by card.
I've just check on the legislation and a Visa credit card gets a fee of .415%
So a £4000 tax bill is only going to cost £16.60 to earn 4000 air miles as opposed to £75 if I wanted to buy them.
Have I done my sums correctly?

Dick D



This was great while it lasted but seems HMRC will no longer allow payment of tax liability by personal credit card from end of this week
Bye bye 10s of thousands of cheap miles for me
#941066 by AlphaEcho
22 Jan 2018, 12:10
I thought that with the annual charge for my card due this month I would have heard from Virgin / MBNA that the cards were going to be stopped.

However, checking my balance today I can see that the £140 annual fee has been added to my account. Maybe they are waiting for your cards to expire before you have to look elsewhere, if that's the case I still have over a year to go.
#941077 by sungod
22 Jan 2018, 14:11
DocRo wrote:
dickydotcom wrote:One thing I did pick up on in the linked article was paying income tax by card.
I've just check on the legislation and a Visa credit card gets a fee of .415%
So a £4000 tax bill is only going to cost £16.60 to earn 4000 air miles as opposed to £75 if I wanted to buy them.
Have I done my sums correctly?

Dick D



This was great while it lasted but seems HMRC will no longer allow payment of tax liability by personal credit card from end of this week
Bye bye 10s of thousands of cheap miles for me


have you looked into this...
https://www.headforpoints.com/2018/01/2 ... rd-no-fee/
#941379 by Paul
01 Feb 2018, 17:03
With the new month I was hoping for some info on a new Virgin Atlantic credit card (and a nice sign up bonus???) but can't find any info. Does anyone know what happening?
#941382 by mitchja
01 Feb 2018, 20:16
oceanscape wrote:They've got the FAQ ready
https://uk.virginmoney.com/virgin/vaa-amex/faq.jsp


I wouldn’t read too much into that as if you read down to the very bottom of that page though, it does mention MBNA several times in the text:

The Virgin Atlantic Credit Cards are issued by MBNA Limited.


I think that’s just a generic FAQ.
Virgin Atlantic

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