Virgin Atlantic boosts bonus Flying Club miles on credit cards

Virgin Atlantic is offering a big boost for people who apply before 23rd June.

Virgin Atlantic is offering additional bonus Flying Club miles for anyone who applies for the Virgin Atlantic Black and White credit cards before 23rd June.

New Black Credit Card account holders can get an additional 13,500 additional bonus miles if they apply before 23rd June and spent £3,000 within the first 90 days of account opening.

Similarly, 7,000 additional bonus miles are up for grabs for anyone who applies for the White Credit Card before 23rd June and spends £1,000 within account opening.

Virgin Atlantic White Credit Card

The White Credit Card comes with two cards: the Virgin Atlantic American Express Credit Card from MBNA and the Virgin Atlantic Visa Credit Card.

With the former, you’ll earn one Flying Club mile for every pound spent on card purchases and two miles for every pound spent direct with Virgin Atlantic and via telephone with Virgin Holidays (excluding Virgin Flightstore).

You can upgrade from Economy to Premium Economy when you spend £10,000 in a year, though you’re limited to two upgrades a year.

You’re also entitled to a companion reward flight (same flight, same cabin) when you spend £15,000 on your card in a year and when you buy a qualifying full fare flight. All you have to pay for is taxes and charges.

The Visa card doesn’t have as many perks, but you can still bag one Flying Club mile for every £2 spent on everyday card purchases and one Flying Club mile for every pound spent with Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Holidays (same exclusions apply). 

You'll earn 3,000 bonus miles on your first purchase in the first 90 days of getting the card, then a further 7,000 miles when you spend £1,000 in the first three months.

The representative APR on this card is 17.9%.

Virgin Atlantic Black Credit Card

The Black Credit Card is similar to its sister account in that it comes with two cards, an American Express and a Visa. 

You’ll earn two Flying Club miles for every £1 spent on everyday card purchases, a whopping four miles for every pound spent with Virgin Atlantic and via telephone with Virgin Holiday (excluding Virgin Flightstore) on the American Express. There’s the opportunity to upgrade from Economy to Premium Economy up to twice a year if you spend £5,000 in an anniversary year.

You’ll be entitled to the companion reward flight when you spend £7,500 on your card within a year as well.

With the Visa you’ll collect one Flying Club mile for every £1 spent on everyday card purchases and two for every pound spent directly with Virgin Atlantic and via telephone with Virgin Holidays.

There's 18,500 bonus miles on offer when you make your first purchase, and a further 13,500 miles if you spend a total of £3,000 in the first 90 days.

The catch here is the £140 annual fee.

Where will those miles get me?

Here are some examples of how you could use those miles

Avios alternatives

If you’re still loyal to Avios, you can build them up using American Express, Lloyds and TSB credit cards. The Lloyds and TSB cards are similar to the Virgin Atlantic ones, in that they actually consist of two cards, an American Express and a MasterCard.

The British Airways American Express Credit Card rewards you with 9,000 Avios when you spend £1,000 in the first three months. You’ll collect one Avios for virtually every £1 spent and a Companion Voucher when you spend £20,000 per anniversary year, which is valid for 12 months. The representative APR on this card is 15.9%.

With the British Airways American Express Premium Plus you’ll get 25,000 bonus Avios if you join before 17th June 2015 and spend £3,000 in the first three months of card membership. There’s a higher 1.5 Avios for virtually every £1 you spend and three Avios for virtually every pound spent direct with British Airways or BA Holidays. You’ll also get the aforementioned Companion Voucher if you spend at least £10,000 in an anniversary year.

Watch out for the £150 annual fee; it may not be worth it if you don’t plan on using the card very often. The representative APR is 56.4%.

The Lloyds Bank Avios Rewards Credit Card gives you 1.25 Avios for every pound spent on the American Express card and for every £5 spent on the MasterCard. There’s also a chance to ear double Avios for six months when you spend with the American Express card. The representative APR is 23.7% and there's an annual fee of £24.

As its name suggests, the Lloyds Bank Premier account will give you that bit more. You can collect 1.5 Avios per every £1 spent on the American Express card and 1.5 for every £5 spent on the MasterCard. There’s also a chance to double your Avios for the first six months. The representative APR is 52.1% and there's a £140 annual fee.

And finally, there’s TSB. The Avios Credit Card Account will give you Avios on almost every purchase you make with the American Express card. You’ll also get Avios for every £5 of eligible spend on the MasterCard and double Avios for eligible spend abroad. The APR is 17.9%.

With the TSB Premier Avios Credit Card Account you collect 1.25 Avios for every £1 of eligible spend on the American Express card and 1.25 for every fiver spent on the MasterCard. The extra perk with this one is that you’re entitled to a Companion Ticket if you spend at least £15,000 in one year.   There is an annual fee of £50 and the representative APR is 23.7%.

Even more air mile credit cards

There is more choice out there if you don’t want to commit to Flying Club Miles or Avios.

For example, there's Flybe’s Spend&Fly, Etihad Guest, Emirates Skywards Miles or American Airlines Advantage Miles. Find out more at The best air mile credit cards.

Get rewarded for your spending

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