Three options...
1. American Express charge card (green, gold or platinum) with Membership Rewards. Amex retail acceptance is much higher in the US than in the UK, and Membership Rewards earns 2 points per dollar at supermarkets, pharmacies, gas (petrol) stations, mobile phone service, and the postal service. Points transfer 1:1 to Virgin. (Be careful to avoid cards which participate in Membership Rewards Options, which transfer 2:1). I recommend Gold Rewards Plus as the best value because it includes free additional cards and bonus miles on charges made at Membership Rewards transfer partners, including several airlines and hotel chains.
You may wish to apply for an Amex card while you are still in the UK, and then move it to the USA using their "Global Transfers" program. You may also wish to investigate the "International Dollar Card" products, but the IDC version of Membership Rewards does not include the double points feature described above. (At present, IDC gives 2 points per dollar on all purchases, but this promotion is scheduled to end in February.)
2. American Express Starwood credit card. This card earns 1 point per dollar, and they seldom offer bonus points for specific purchases. Instead, they offer a 5,000 mile bonus when you transfer a block of 20,000 points to a partner airline, including VS and BA.
A popular strategy is to use an Amex charge card for the double point categories, and a Starwood card for other purchases, but this is only beneficial if your charge volume (and Starwood stays) will generate 20,000 points with sufficient frequency.
3. Citibank's Diners Club is a different product in North America than elsewhere. US issued Diners Club cards are accepted by Mastercard merchants which means it is accepted almost everywhere and by merchants who do not accept American Express. Diners Club Rewards program allows 1:1 transfers to most airlines, including VS and BA, although four domestic US airlines have recently ended participation. Diners Club seldom offers bonus points for purchases, but each month they offer a bonus for transfers to one or two partners, For example, once a year they offer a 50% bonus on transfers to BA. I do not recall any VS bonus offer.
dennis
Originally posted by KNM
I'll be relocating to Seattle around March next year - at the moment all my spending goes on my Virgin CC and I'm racking up a nice collection of miles 
When I move to the US what's the best CC to choose & use so that I can continue building miles (I know VS doesn't fly to SEA but I'll be travelling to/from other US cities also)
Ta
Ken
