New UK credit cards issue by Virgin Money

Virgin Atlantic Reward Credit Card - free
0.75 Flying Club miles earned for every £1 spent
Bonus 5,000 miles after first purchase is made within 90 days of account opening
Pick a reward at £20k annual spend

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Credit Card - £160 year
1.5 Flying Club miles earned for every £1 spent
Bonus 15,000 miles after first purchase is made within 90 days of account opening
Pick a reward at £10k annual spend

Both cards have double miles for all direct bookings with Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Holidays

Choice of reward at £10k/£20k spend based on the cardholder’s tier status:
Only one Virgin Atlantic reward may be earned in a twelve month period. Your year will reset on your credit card anniversary date. Once you have spent the specified amount on card purchases with your Reward or Reward+ card, the reward will be credited to your Flying Club account. It will be available to redeem for 24 months from the point it was issued.
Regardless of your tier when you earn the benefit and when it is credited to your Flying Club account, it’s your tier when you spend your reward that determines the choice of available reward.

Red members can choose one reward from:
- A Premium upgrade. Spend your miles for an Economy cabin reward flight and receive an upgrade to Premium with no additional miles required.
- A companion reward ticket in Economy. Spend your miles for a reward booking in Economy and take one companion with you in the same cabin for no additional miles.

Silver members can choose one reward from:
- A Premium upgrade. Spend your miles for an Economy cabin reward flight and receive an upgrade to Premium with no additional miles required.
- A companion reward ticket in Economy or Premium. Spend your miles for a reward booking in Economy or Premium, and take one companion with you in the same cabin for no additional miles.
- One Clubhouse pass allowing access to our London Heathrow or London Gatwick Clubhouse when flying with Virgin Atlantic. Each pass provides access to one person on one occasion. No additional guests can be permitted.

Gold members will be eligible to choose one reward from:
- A Premium upgrade. Spend your miles for an Economy cabin reward flight and receive an upgrade to Premium with no additional miles required.
- A companion reward ticket in Economy, Premium or Upper Class. Spend your miles for a reward booking and take one companion with you in the same cabin for no additional miles.
- Two Clubhouse passes allowing access to our London Heathrow or London Gatwick Clubhouses. Each pass provides access to one person on one occasion. No additional guests can be permitted.


https://uk.virginmoney.com/virgin/credi ... vaa-cards/

I can’t find any info that explains what happens if your an existing credit card holder ? Do we get migrated automatically with same credit limit etc ...? My current Virgin MBNA cards are valid until 2020 do I just keep using them with the same benefits ?

Nope - no automatic migration!

https://www.headforpoints.com/2018/04/0 ... dit-cards/

[mitchja]

As mentioned in the headforpoints article, the MBNA AmEx cards days are well and truly numbered now so I've applied for the new VS Reward+ M/card and will close my MBNA account before they charge me my next annual fee next month.


Does anyone know if you can use the free Boingo account that's included with the Reward+ card on VS flights? I can't remember if Boingo is an option when using VS WiFi? That will be a bonus if you can though

The Boingo T&C's don't specifically mention VS:

Your card entitles you to free global Wi-Fi access. You will need to register here to create an account directly with Boingo. Boingo provides you access to over one million hotspots worldwide as well as inflight access (selected aircraft and airlines only).

I've asked the question via Twitter.

If I remember right VS use T-Mobile or Gogo depending on which aircraft you're on (I can never remember which is which), I don't think Boingo features!

[mitchja]

If I remember right VS use T-Mobile or Gogo depending on which aircraft you're on (I can never remember which is which), I don't think Boingo features!

B789's is T-Mobile, everything else is GoGo. I do remember seeing a drop-down list of other providers though during the sign-up/sign-in process, just cannot remember who was on that list!!

I can’t find any info that explains what happens if your an existing credit card holder ? Do we get migrated automatically with same credit limit etc ...? My current Virgin MBNA cards are valid until 2020 do I just keep using them with the same benefits ?

There is no automatic migration. You need to be proactive and apply yourself.

Keep using until MBNA tell you to stop which Raffles thinks may be in the next few months.

[mitchja]

I'm just curious what's going to happen to people who have paid (or are about to pay in my case) their annual fee though for the existing black card?

I *guess* once the VS AmEx card does close, MBNA will just migrate existing accounts to a standard MBNA card.

That's what happened with the old BMI MBNA issued M/Cards anyway.

I hope they give us a proportion of the £140 back!

I’m keeping my black MBNA until I have to stop using it - higher earning rate on Amex, just about to get my renewal and 2x PE vouchers, plus chance to earn a companion reward voucher for UC.

Not very impressed with the restriction of the 241 UC to gold members only (having just dropped to silver), so am hoping the get another of the old companion vouchers before I’m forced to migrate!

[Darren Wheeler]

No Apple Pay is a real disappointment. Nearly all my contactless purchases these days are via Apple Pay as it gets past the £30 limit.

Won't migrate until I have to.

I’m keeping my black MBNA until I have to stop using it - higher earning rate on Amex, just about to get my renewal and 2x PE vouchers, plus chance to earn a companion reward voucher for UC.

Not very impressed with the restriction of the 241 UC to gold members only (having just dropped to silver), so am hoping the get another of the old companion vouchers before I’m forced to migrate!

Agreed.

If you read headforpoints you’d be forgiven for thinking this is the best thing ever to happen in the world of airline credit cards, such is Rob’s glowing praise for it.

But as far as I can see if you currently have a VS Amex card and no status, you’re considerably worse off.

[mitchja]

For ApplePay etc, all I suggest people do is keep pestering Virgin Money about it. It's get's asked for quite a lot via their Twitter account already so they must be already well aware of it.

Silly question but where the heck will your credit card number and other details be on these new cards as apparently there's nothing on the front? I'm guessing it will be on the back?

Yep card number and details are on the back. Virgin Money have done this with quite a few of their designs now.

I’m keeping my black MBNA until I have to stop using it - higher earning rate on Amex, just about to get my renewal and 2x PE vouchers, plus chance to earn a companion reward voucher for UC.

Not very impressed with the restriction of the 241 UC to gold members only (having just dropped to silver), so am hoping the get another of the old companion vouchers before I’m forced to migrate!

Agreed.

If you read headforpoints you’d be forgiven for thinking this is the best thing ever to happen in the world of airline credit cards, such is Rob’s glowing praise for it.

But as far as I can see if you currently have a VS Amex card and no status, you’re considerably worse off.

The HFP article is written in the context of what other cards are currently on the market. It is INDISPUTABLE - unless you have a ludicrously low value of a Virgin miles - that this is the most generous Visa / MC travel rewards card that you can currently apply for.

(Even HSBC Premier, which requires you to earn a bomb and stick your money with HSBC, is only marginally better if you get the £195 World Elite card - and if you value the VS vouchers then it still trumps World Elite.)

There is little point writing an article comparing these cards with others which people cannot sign up for! We don't want to get into "life was so much better in the 1950's and whatever happened to farthings?" territory .....!

I am p-r-e-t-t-y p-r-e-t-t-y confident in my guess that the MBNA cards won't see the summer (with apologies to Larry David).

It is INDISPUTABLE - unless you have a ludicrously low value of a Virgin miles - that this is the most generous Visa / MC travel rewards card that you can currently apply for.

I get your point. But it is also indisputable that, for anyone who currently has a VS Amex card, and particularly those without status, this is a worse deal.

And that’s not harking back to the ‘good old days’. It’s comparing now with now.

Whilst the points earning isn't as good as the soon to be defunct Black Amex isn't the new companion a better reward (especially if you are AU and are using it for upper)? Now its a a 2-4-1 mileage redemption rather than a fairly useless companion ticket against a fully flexible fare.

Hubby has spoken with MBNA as our renewal date is also May, and they have told him that there is a "communication" from them coming in the next few days.

They did also say that "if" the card was cancelled after renewal then there would be a pro-rata'ed refund of the fee - I'm not sure if hubby pressed on whether the pro-rata'ed refund would be if we cancelled or if MBNA cancelled .....

Whilst the points earning isn't as good as the soon to be defunct Black Amex isn't the new companion a better reward (especially if you are AU and are using it for upper)?

Yes, but the number of Golds is, relatively speaking, tiny so this will benefit only a very small number of cardholders.

It’s still a far worse deal than the BA Amex - its 2-4-1 voucher can be used by anyone in any cabin (for now at least ...)

[preiffer]

Just signed up for the new card to pre-empt the removal of my old one, to be fair, a really quick and easy application.

Credit limit slightly reduced (only by 5k) on the new card, but close enough - shame they didn't just auto-enroll, or at least give the elective option to customers to switch across, but I'm guessing the commercials with MBNA/VM are a bit of a hornet's nest right now...

I'm guessing the commercials with MBNA/VM are a bit of a hornet's nest right now...

IHG told me that, when they switched from Barclaycard, they were not allowed to email existing cardholders to tell them about the new cards.

Even if IHG did a blanket email to their entire UK membership base, they had to filter it first to remove all of the Barclaycard credit card holders.

Applied and accepted for the + card, very easy. If anything now I have extra motivation to achieve Au

Mine and OH MBNA basic cc (No fee) keep offering us silly transfer rates of two years 0% until Oct 2020. Very tempted as I have a car to pay off shortly, wonder what will happen when they cancel our cards before then. Unless you can still pay off existing balances although he actual card will be withdrawn. Linda

Mine and OH MBNA basic cc (No fee) keep offering us silly transfer rates of two years 0% until Oct 2020. Very tempted as I have a car to pay off shortly, wonder what will happen when they cancel our cards before then. Unless you can still pay off existing balances although he actual card will be withdrawn. Linda

You would be transferred to a standard unbranded MBNA credit card, like all of the BMI Diamond Club cardholders were.