The Virgin Atlantic Reward and Reward+ Credit Cards can be extremely rewarding for frequent Virgin Atlantic flyers, with easy-to-earn welcome bonuses, high rewards rates on spending and the chance to earn perks like upgrades, 2-4-1 Companion Vouchers or airport lounge access. How do the rewards compare to alternative rewards cards in the UK? Read our review to see how much you can earn.

Virgin Atlantic Credit Card Review

The Virgin Atlantic Reward credit cards are arguably some of the best rewards credit card in the UK, with the potential to create more value than most other cards. But, customer reviews on Trustpilot, as we discuss below, are pretty shocking with problems contacting customer service, being able to use the rewards and transactions being declined.

In terms of rewards, Virgin Atlantic travellers can earn a Virgin Atlantic Reward each year, plus every pound spent on the card adds to your Flying Club miles, which can then be used to purchase rewards seats or to upgrade existing seats.

There are two cards to choose from: a free card (Reward) an a £160/year card (Reward+) that earns miles at a faster rate, as you can see in the following table.

Note: The Virgin Atlantic Reward and Reward+ credit cards that are discussed in this review replaced the Virgin Atlantic Black and White Credit Cards—the old Virgin Atlantic rewards credit cards.

Rewards Rate

The ongoing rewards rate on spending with the Virgin Atlantic Reward+ card in particular is hard to beat.

We calculate that the spending rewards rate on a Virgin Reward+ card is 1.5% on general spending and 3% on Virgin Atlantic spending, assuming each Flying Club mile is worth £0.01. The free card can earn 0.75% and 1.5%, respectively. (For example, the Reward+ card earns 1.5 miles/£1 spent, so the rewards rates is 1.5 * £0.01 = £0.015, or 1.5% of every £1 spent.) Ultimately, the rewards rate depends on how you redeem your miles.

Virgin Atlantic Reward

In addition to earning miles on spending, cardholders can earn a Virgin Atlantic Reward each year if you spend enough on your card (£10,000 on the paid card and £20,000 on the free card). Depending on your membership tier at the time you redeem, a Virgin Atlantic Reward can be redeemed for:

These perks can be worth hundreds of pounds, if you use them. Rewards are valid for 24 months (12 months longer than the companion vouchers on the old Black/White Virgin credit cards), the same as the BA Amex Premium Plus card and 12 months longer than the free BA Amex card.

If you're an avid Flying Club miles collector, a Virgin Reward+ card can be your go-to card for all purchases since it's a MasterCard. The Virgin Reward+ card can be one of the most rewarding credit cards in the UK.

Which Virgin Atlantic Credit Card is Right for Me: Reward or Reward+?

Generally speaking, if you fly regularly and will spend £10,000 or more each year on your card, the rewards are higher on the £160/year Reward+ card; the free Reward card should be better for those spending less than £10,000 a year. Why? Because £10k of annual spend is enough to earn you a Virgin Atlantic Reward (e.g., premium upgrade, 2-4-1 Companion Voucher or airport lounge access) on the Reward+ card—a perk potentially worth hundreds of pounds if you fly Virgin Atlantic once every year or so. (This ignores any spending on the bonus category—Virgin Atlantic spend).

If we ignore the Virgin Atlantic Reward (e.g., premium upgrade, 2-4-1 Companion Voucher or airport lounge access) and consider only the value of miles earned from spending, then £21,000 is the general spending break-even level between the two Reward cards. At this level of spending the rewards are equal—that is, £21,300 of annual general spending earns an estimated £160 per year on both cards (assuming a value of 1 pence per Flying Club mile and taking into account the £160 annual fee on the Reward+ card).

Those who spend less than £21,000 a year on general spending are likely to earn more spending rewards with the free Virgin Reward card, since it has no annual fee. Those spending more than £21,000 per year should earn higher spending rewards on the paid Virgin Reward+ card.

However, for most people the paid Reward+ card becomes more valuable from £10k of spend since this level triggers the Virgin Atlantic Reward.

Using Abroad

While the cards can be valuable for earning miles and other travel rewards, you may want to keep them in your wallet once abroad. Purchases made overseas in a foreign currency will be subject to a 2.99% foreign transaction fee; cash withdrawals abroad from an ATM would be hit with the 2.99% foreign transaction fee plus an additional 5% cash fee.

If you plan on spending a lot on a card abroad, you may want to also consider a credit card that doesn't charge foreign transaction fees.

Bottom Line: Between high rewards rates and the chance to earn perks like a Premium Economy upgrade, a Companion Reward or Lounge Access each year, the Virgin Atlantic Reward and Reward+ credit cards can offer great earning potential to loyal Virgin Atlantic flyers. In most cases, those spending less than £10,000 a year will earn higher overall rewards with the free Virgin Atlantic Reward card but those expecting to spend more than £10,000 a year will create more value with the Reward+ card, so long as the Virgin Atlantic Reward can be used.

Virgin Atlantic Reward Credit Card Benefits & Features

Flying Club Tier Rewards

On both cards, you'll have the chance to earn one Virgin Atlantic reward for each year you hold the card, which can be used for an upgrade, 2-4-1 Companion Voucher or airport lounge access. The level of spend required to earn the reward varies by card, but is lower on the paid card:

How do you get the Virgin Atlantic Reward?

Once you've spent the required amount, the reward will be loaded into your account—you don't have to wait for the end of the year to receive it. Virgin Atlantic Rewards are valid for 24 months on both cards—this is a standout feature of the free Reward card over the free BA Amex whose companion voucher expires within just one year.

How to Use and Redeem Your Virgin Reward

There are a number of ways in which to redeem your Virgin Atlantic Reward, and the options available to you will depend upon your Flying Club membership tier (Red, Silver or Gold) when you decide to spend the reward—even if you were a lower tier when the reward was earned.

Note: the Upgrade Voucher reward can be used on one round-trip flight or used to upgrade two one-way flights.

Welcome Offer

The first part of the welcome offer of 15,000 Flying Club miles on the Reward+ card is relatively easy to earn. There is no minimum spend requirement; simply make one purchase within the first 90 days of your account opening and the miles will be credited to your account. Assuming each Flying Club mile is worth £0.01, we estimate the value of the welcome bonus at £150 on the Reward+ card (which practically pays for the £160 annual fee the first year). Until 2 October, there's also a limited offer to get an additional 15,000 miles if you spend £3,000 within your first 90 days.

There's no welcome offer for the free card right now.

These welcome offers change from time to time, so be sure to check their site to guarantee you're seeing the latest offers.

What is the Value of a Flying Club Mile?

We have assumed an average value of £0.01 per Flying Club mile for the calculations in this review. The actual value you achieve will depend on how you redeem your miles—like all airline cards, the rewards rate is quite variable depending on how you spend your Flying Club miles. After analyzing flight data on some popular routes out of the UK, we found that redeeming your miles on economy seats is a poor use of miles and the best use of miles is redeeming them for Upper Class flights or upgrading from Premium Economy to Upper Class, as you can see in the following table.

The value you get from an upgrade will depend on how you redeem it, however, and there's no guarantee of value.

Getting Value out of your Virgin Flying Club Miles

Flying Club Mile value can be tricky to pin down, so we'll offer another way to think about it. Below are examples from the Virgin Atlantic website showing example destinations for points based on standard season price for one return flight in Economy. (Taxes, fees and carrier-imposed surcharges payable separately.):

Premium Economy Upgrade

The table below (based on data gathered from searches on the Virgin Atlantic website) gives you an idea of the value of a Premium Economy upgrade, in both pounds and Flying Club miles, for some popular destinations out of the UK. You can see the Premium Economy upgrade can potentially be worth hundreds of pounds, or thousands of Flying Club miles. Prices can vary, however, so the value may differ for you.

Companion Reward Seat

The value of the Companion Reward is also dependent on how you use it. The chart below shows some sample flight costs for popular destinations out of London. While you clearly get the most value by using the Companion Reward on an Upper Class ticket, remember the original Flying Club member must first buy a ticket for cash in the same cabin class.

Virgin Atlantic Air Partners

Those who want to travel to a destination not serviced by Virgin Atlantic can use their Flying Club miles with Virgin’s partner airlines. In most cases, you can both earn and spend loyalty programme Flying Club miles on any Virgin codeshare flights.

Customer Reviews

Virgin Money has quite dire customer reviews, achieving only 1.3 out of 5 stars from over 6,500 customers on Trustpilot. However, the majority of negative reviews seem to be complaints regarding their Virgin Money balance transfer and purchase cards, not their Virgin Atlantic credit cards. But we've scoured the reviews to see some of what real customers have to say about Virgin Atlantic credit cards. Here's some of what we found:

"Really poor customer service - will avoid in the future. They clearly have some issues. The problems I experienced range from a clear lack of staffing numbers to answer calls (and a system engineered to prevent customer calls at all costs), poor staff training and knowledge levels, and not Treating Customers Fairly, in accordance with FCA requirements, in my opinion. I shall be closing my account. Virgin Atlantic partnered with Clydesdale Bank (Virgin Money) to provide their credit card - a big mistake in my opinion. Much better when managed by MBNA."

"I applied for a Virgin Atlantic credit card ran by Virgin Money (Clydesdale) over 3 weeks ago. I have no idea if I have been accepted or not. I do receive weekly emails asking me to contact them, when I phone they don't actually want to speak to me. They are automated emails and will only stop when they look at my application. This could be a further 30 days..."

"I have a Virgin Atlantic Credit Card. Tens of thousands of air miles on it but can you book a flight? No, you can't, nothing is ever available, even if you try months in advance. And if you can get a seat they charge so much in "extras" that it would be cheaper to pay cash than use the points. The app has been broken for ages, and there is no website access."

"I sent secure messages in relation to a dispute and never received any replies."

"Horrible service really, especially compared to AMEX. My Credit Card often gets declined when trying to purchase something (at any price - except when online, all online payments go through fine)."

FAQs

What if You Already have a Virgin Black or White Credit Card?

If you had a MBNA Virgin Atlantic Black or White card, you can still apply for one of these new Virgin Atlantic Rewards cards by Virgin Money. MBNA closed the Black and White cards to new applicants back in 2017, which you can read more about in our article Re-Launch of the Virgin Atlantic Credit Cards.

Virgin Atlantic Rewards Credit Card vs Other Credit Cards on the Market

To better understand the value of the Virgin Atlantic Rewards Cards you need to see them relative to other available options. We compared the cards to other cash back and airline rewards cards so you can decide which is better for you.

Virgin Atlantic Reward Card vs British Airways American Express Credit Card

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The British Airways American Express card is another solid free air miles card, for those trying to accumulate Avios points for free BA flights and upgrades. Those spending less than £20,000 won’t earn the Companion Voucher, which is potentially worth hundreds of pounds. And anyone spending between £10k and £20k might be better off with the BA Amex Premium Plus card anyway, as £10k triggers the Companion Voucher on the paid card and you can earn higher rewards with it. With 1 mile earned per £1 of spend, you'll earn around 1% on your spending.

Quick Takeaway: The BA card might earn a touch higher rewards rate on general spending (around 1% vs. 0.75%) but a larger factor is probably your preferred airline.

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Card vs Platinum Cashback Card by American Express

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The Platinum Cashback Credit Card by American Express is one of our favourite cashback rewards cards for those seeking an easy and flexible rewards program. Cardholders earn an ongoing rewards rate between 0.75% and 1.25% on all purchases (with a higher initial rate of 5% up to £125 cashback in the first three months). The annual fee is relatively low at £25. Those spending less than £10k a year might be better off with the free Amex Platinum cashback card instead, despite its lower rewards rates.

Quick Takeaway: Frequent Virgin Atlantic flyers who are savvy managing an air rewards programme are likely to get more value out of the Virgin Reward+ card, especially by putting the Premium Upgrade or Companion Voucher to good use, as you can see in our write up of the UK's best rewards credit cards. Individuals who would rather not actively manage a rewards program may value the simplicity of Amex's cashback rewards program, despite the lower estimated rewards. But remember that American Express is not accepted everywhere so you'll need another card in your wallet anyway.