Boost your points with the Virgin Atlantic Credit Card to spend across hundreds of rewards
- New research from Virgin Red reveals more than half of credit card users have changed their spending habits over the past two years to maximise points earned.
- Brits are using loyalty points earned through credit card spend to supplement their spending, with food, meals out and clothes the top ways people spend their points.
- With the Virgin Atlantic Credit Card from Virgin Money, you can boost your Virgin Points balance to spend on flights, hotels, wine, coffees, concert tickets and more.
- Virgin Red and Flying Club members can earn up to 30,000 Virgin Points with the Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Credit Card between 4 September – 2 October 2023.
Today, Virgin Red reveals how credit card spending habits have changed, with more than half (55%) of credit card users having changed their spending habits over the past two years to maximise the points they can earn. Millennial and Gen Z credit card users are the most savvy with loyalty points, with 88% of 25–34 year-olds using their card more – but importantly, not increasing their spending – to build up their points balance.*
Food (38%), meals out (20%), clothes (20%) and coffees (14%) are the top ways credit card users are rewarding themselves using their loyalty points, revealing points are becoming more important for the essentials of day-to-day life. Consumers are regularly using points to supplement their daily spending, with 52% expecting to lean on their points balance to bolster their spending**.
Interestingly, Brits are using their credits cards more for everyday spending, with groceries (17%) meals out (12%) and household bills (11%) the top three things that people are using their cards for – but not necessarily increasing their spend on. Credit card users are not just using their card for bigger ad-hoc purchases but also for more everyday essentials to maximise the points earned.
With research revealing Brits are looking to spend points across a variety of different rewards, the Virgin Atlantic Credit Card, issued by Virgin Money, allows people to earn Virgin Points to spend across both Virgin Red and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. Whether it’s on everyday spending such as coffee, rail fares, charity donations or sausage rolls, to bigger, more special rewards such as flights, wine, or concert tickets, the opportunities are endless with Virgin Points.
In fact, for a limited time Virgin Red and Flying Club members can earn up to 30,000 bonus points with the Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Credit Card. Members that sign up for the card will automatically receive 15,000 Virgin Points for their first purchase. However, for a limited time only, members that apply for the credit card between 4 September and 2 October 2023 can receive a bonus 15,000 points when they spend £3,000 or more within the first 90 days.
There are two options for the reward credit card – the Virgin Atlantic Reward Credit Card and the Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Credit Card.
Virgin Atlantic Reward Credit Card:
- Equivalent to: 26.9% APR representative (variable)
- No annual fee
- Earn 0.75 Virgin Points for every £1 spent on everyday card purchases
- Earn 1.5 points for every £1 you spend with Virgin Atlantic or Virgin Holidays
Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Credit Card
- Equivalent to: 69.7% APR representative (variable)
- £160 annual fee
- Earn 15,000 bonus points with your first card purchase
- Earn 1.5 Virgin Points for every £1 spent on everyday card purchases
- Earn 3 points for every £1 spent with Virgin Atlantic or Virgin Holidays
The average Virgin Atlantic Credit Card users has a 12-month average points balance of 29,000 points, which is enough for a flight to New York***, a 12-bottle case of Prosecco or 145 sausage rolls – with points to spare!
Andrea Burchett, Managing Director Commercial, Loyalty for Virgin Red, says: “The Virgin Atlantic Credit Card goes far beyond the usual airline reward card, as we provide hundreds of ways to spend points earned through credit card spend with both Flying Club and Virgin Red. From flights and hotels to coffees and sausage rolls, it’s completely up to you how to spend those well-earned points – and there’s hundreds of options to choose from!”
“With research revealing the nation is getting savvier and changing spending habits to maximise points, now is the perfect time to start using the Virgin Atlantic Credit Card – and you can earn up to 30,000 bonus points with our limited time offer. "
Simon Norman, head of unsecured lending at Virgin Money says: “At Virgin Money, we’re committed to helping our customers make the most of their money, and the Virgin Atlantic Credit Card enables customers to earn Virgin Points simply by using the card to pay for their everyday spending. It’s brilliant to see our customers getting the very most out of their day-to-day spend through loyalty points earned on their Virgin Atlantic Credit Cards, and with so many options available on how to spend Virgin Points, we’re sure there’s something for everyone.”
With the Virgin Atlantic Credit Card, you can also double the points earned on certain brands – for example, if you buy something from Boots via Virgin Red and use your credit card to make the purchase, you earn points on both. If you spend £60 at Boots, you’d earn 90 points from the credit card spend (1.5 points per £1 spent) and 60 points from doing the purchase via Virgin Red (1 point per £1 spent) - so a total of 150 points. And you can earn even more points if you have the Boots Advantage Card.
Find out more at https://www.virginatlantic.com/gb/en/flying-club/credit-card.html and download the Virgin Red app on your smartphone to start spending points.
*The research of 1,000 adults who have a credit card that offers the ability to collect reward points was carried out through OnePoll from 6 July 2023 until 13 July 2023.
**The research of 2,000 adults (nationally representative sample) was carried out through OnePoll from 17 November 2022 until 24 November 2022.
***Taxes, fees and carrier-imposed surcharges apply and vary according to choice of cabin, departure airport, destination and date(s) of travel and are subject to change. Reward flights are subject to availability. Virgin Atlantic Flying Club membership required.