The Virgin Atlantic Flying Club program is a direct transfer partner of several major U.S. credit card rewards programs. This gives you over 20 credit cards that you can use to earn lots of Virgin Atlantic points via intro bonuses and everyday spending.
This page covers our top credit card picks for Virgin Atlantic, lists the best Virgin Atlantic credit card offers, and provides a Virgin Atlantic points calculator that you can use to find out which cards will earn you the most points.
Best Credit Cards For Virgin Atlantic
- The Platinum Card® from American Express: Best for lounge access and luxury travel.
- Citi Premier® Card: Best for everyday spending and travel.
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: Best for flexible travel rewards.
- American Express® Gold Card: Best for restaurant and supermarket purchases.
- Chase Sapphire Reserve®: Best for high value and travel benefits.
- Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card: Best for flexible business travel rewards.
- The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express: Best for small business.
The Platinum Card® from American Express
- Earning Rate: Earn 5X points on airfare booked direct or through American Express Travel (on up to $500,000 of these purchases per year) and 5X points on prepaid hotel bookings through American Express Travel. All other purchases will earn you 1X.
- Annual Credits: Up to $300 in Equinox credit, up to $240 digital entertainment credit, up to $200 airline fee credit, $200 Uber Cash (up to $15 per month and up to $35 in December), $200 in Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection credit on 2 night minimum bookings, $189 CLEAR® Plus credit, $155 Walmart+ credit (up to $12.95 per month, subject to auto-renew), and up to $100 Saks Fifth Avenue credit ($50 bi-annually).
- Main Highlights: Global lounge access (Centurion lounges, Delta SkyClub lounges, Airspace lounges, Escape lounges, and Priority Pass lounges), superb purchase insurance, complimentary elite status with Hilton and Marriott, and up to a $100 statement credit every 4 years for Global Entry or up to $85 statement credit every 4.5 years for TSA PreCheck application fee.
- Transfer Ratio: 1,000 AMEX Membership Rewards Points = 1,000 Virgin Atlantic Points.
- Intro Bonus: Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $6,000 on purchases on the Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
- Annual Fee: $695. $175 for up to 3 additional Platinum cardholders, then $175 per card for the 4th user onward. (See Rates and Fees)
- Summary: It has a high annual fee, but can easily be offset by making use of at least half of the $1,400+ in credits it offers each year. Lounge access, superb intro bonus, and many other benefits also adds significant value to the card that can make this easily worth it if you travel even a few times per year.
- Learn More about The Platinum Card from American Express.
- Calculate Card Value & Membership Rewards Points per dollar spent for The Platinum Card from American Express.
Citi Premier® Card
- Earning Rate: Earn an unlimited 3X points on restaurant, supermarket, gas station, air travel, and hotel purchases and 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
- Annual Credits: $100 hotel credit when you book a $500+ hotel stay through thankyou.com.
- Main Highlights: Grants the ability to transfer ThankYou Rewards points to Citi's full list of airline and hotel partners.
- Transfer Ratio: 1,000 Citi ThankYou Points = 1,000 Virgin Atlantic Points.
- Intro Bonus: Earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. Plus, for a limited time, earn a total of 10 ThankYou® Points per $1 spent on hotel, car rentals, and attractions (excluding air travel) booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through June 30, 2024.
- Annual Fee: $95.
- Summary: This is a fantastic option if you're looking to earn Virgin Atlantic points on everyday spending and travel thanks to the uncapped 3X categories featured on the card. Pair this card with the no-annual fee Citi® Double Cash Card and you'll be able to earn no less than 2X points on all of your purchases.
- Learn More about the Citi Premier Card.
- Calculate Card Value & ThankYou Points per dollar spent for the Citi Premier Card.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- Earning Rate: Earn 5X Ultimate Rewards points on travel purchases through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3X on dining, online grocery purchases, and select streaming services, 2X on other travel purchases, and 1X on everything else.
- Annual Credits: $50 credit towards hotels booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards portal.
- Main Highlights: 10% bonus points annually based on how much you spent the prior cardmember year and a 25% boost to point value when redeemed for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards.
- Transfer Ratio: 1,000 Ultimate Rewards Points = 1,000 Virgin Atlantic Points.
- Intro Bonus: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
- Annual Fee: $95.
- Summary: The Chase Sapphire Preferred is one of the best flexible travel rewards credit cards available. Not only can you transfer points to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and many other programs, but you can redeem points for 1.25 cents each through Chase Travel. This provides an alternative way to get solid value out of your points if you can't find good redemption value through Virgin Atlantic or their airline partners.
- Learn More about the Chase Sapphire Preferred.
- Calculate Card Value & Ultimate Rewards Points per dollar spent for the Chase Sapphire Preferred.
American Express® Gold Card
- Earning Rate: Earn 4X Membership Rewards points on restaurant purchases worldwide, 4X at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 per year, then 1X), 3X points on airfare purchased direct or through American Express Travel, and 1X points on all other purchases.
- Annual Credits: Up to $120 in annual dining credit ($10 per month) and up to $120 in annual Uber Cash ($10 per month).
- Main Highlights: Book hotels through The Hotel Collection with American Express Travel and receive a $100 hotel credit and room upgrade upon arrival (when available) when booking at least a two consecutive night stay.
- Transfer Ratio: 1,000 AMEX Membership Rewards Points = 1,000 Virgin Atlantic Points.
- Intro Bonus: Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $4,000 on eligible purchases with your new Card within the first 6 months.
- Annual Fee: $250. (See Rates and Fees)
- Summary: This is the best travel rewards credit card in the market for earning on restaurant and U.S. supermarket purchases. If you frequently spend across these categories, you'll rake in the equivalent of 4X Virgin Atlantic points which is a great rate.
- Learn More about the American Express Gold Card.
- Calculate Card Value & Membership Rewards Points per dollar spent for the American Express Gold Card.
Chase Sapphire Reserve®
- Earning Rate: Earn 10X points on Chase Dining and both hotel and car rental purchases through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 5X on airfare through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3X on dining and other travel purchases, and 1X on everything else.
- Annual Credits: $300 travel credit.
- Main Highlights: Priority Pass Select membership, up to $100 towards a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application, top-notch travel insurance, and a 50% boost to point value on travel redemptions made through Chase Ultimate Rewards.
- Transfer Ratio: 1,000 Ultimate Rewards Points = 1,000 Virgin Atlantic Points.
- Intro Bonus: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
- Annual Fee: $550.
- Summary: High annual fee, but offers excellent value and solid benefits. If you can't find solid redemption value with Virgin Atlantic, you can redeem points through Chase Travel for a whopping 1.5 cents each. Pair it with the Chase Freedom Unlimited® and never earn less than the equivalent of 1.5X Virgin Atlantic points on your purchases.
- Learn More about the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
- Calculate Card Value & Ultimate Rewards Points per dollar spent for the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
Chase Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
- Earning Rate: Earn 3X points on up to $150,000 on travel, shipping, internet, cable services, phone services, and advertising purchases each account anniversary year. All other purchases earn 1X.
- Main Highlights: 25% point value boost towards travel booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards.
- Transfer Ratio: 1,000 Ultimate Rewards Points = 1,000 Virgin Atlantic Points.
- Intro Bonus: Earn 100k bonus points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,000 cash back or $1,250 toward travel when redeemed through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
- Annual Fee: $95.
- Summary: The Ink Business Preferred is the best business credit card for earning points on business purchases and travel. Points earned with the card can be transferred to Virgin Atlantic and other partners as well as be redeemed for 1.25 cents each towards travel booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal.
- Learn More about the Chase Ink Business Preferred Card.
- Calculate Card Value & Ultimate Rewards Points per dollar spent for the Ink Business Preferred Card.
The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express
- Earning Rate: Earn 2X Membership Rewards points on the first $50,000 in annual purchases, then 1X for the remainder of the year.
- Main Highlights: The 2X points at no annual fee.
- Transfer Ratio: 1,000 Membership Rewards Points = 1,000 Virgin Atlantic Points.
- Intro Bonus: Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership.
- Annual Fee: $0. (See Rates and Fees)
- Summary: The Blue Business Plus is the best credit card for small business and miscellaneous purchases. You can pair this card with any business or personal Membership Rewards credit card to make sure you're always earning at least 2X points on your purchases (at least up until you hit the $50K annual cap).
- Learn More about the Blue Business Plus Credit Card from American Express.
- Calculate Card Value & Membership Rewards Points per dollar spent for the Blue Business Plus Credit Card from American Express.
Top Credit Card Offers
Need to boost your Virgin Atlantic points balance? Here are 10 of the best credit card offers currently available for Virgin Atlantic from our partners. This table is updated automatically whenever our partner offers change, so you will always find the most up-to-date bonuses listed.
Virgin Atlantic Points Calculator
This calculator will give you a list of the best credit cards for earning Virgin Atlantic points based on the monthly and yearly spend you enter into the tool. Results will include credit cards that earn Virgin Atlantic points directly and credit cards that earn rewards that are transferable to your Virgin Atlantic Flying Club account.
Find out which credit cards will earn you the most rewards and best value based on the spend amounts you entered
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Results
These estimates are to help guide you towards making the best decision when it comes to picking up a rewards credit card. They should be used for illustrative purposes only.
You can click on the estimated earnings to see the calculations or click on the card to learn more and apply for the card through our partners.
Do note that all spend amounts entered into the tool above will carry over to every credit card rewards calculator on the site, so there's no need to re-enter spend if you choose to dive deeper into calculating rewards for credit cards on the site.
**Amount of rewards when transferred to program.
We've run the calculations for you and here are our top picks for best credit cards of 2023:
- Best premium card for unlimited miles: Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card.
- Best for flexible travel rewards: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.
- Best for everyday spend and travel: Citi Premier® Card.
- Best cash back card for groceries: Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express.
- Best for dining and supermarkets: American Express® Gold Card
- Best for business travel rewards: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.
- Best cash back business card: Capital One Spark Cash Plus
Our Credit Card Rewards calculator can help you find the perfect card and offers based on your monthly and yearly spending habits. Simply enter your spend amounts into our tool and let us do the work for you!