Virgin Money UK travel credit cards: comparison and review

Planning a trip soon? Whether you’re going on a city break, a beach holiday or something else, you’ll need to find a convenient way to spend.

Spending outside the UK on your main credit card can sometimes be quite expensive. Also, you might not want to carry it with you while travelling for safety reasons. In this guide, we’ll tell you all about the Virgin Money travel credit cards, and how these can be good travel companions.

We’ll also show you an alternative for spending abroad – the Wise card from the money services provider Wise. It’s designed for travel, letting you spend in the local currency in 150+ countries worldwide for low, transparent fees* and mid-market exchange rates.

Learn more about the Wise card 💳

What travel credit cards Virgin Money offers?

Virgin Money has two credit cards perfect for frequent travellers - the Virgin Atlantic Reward credit card and Virgin Atlantic Reward+ credit card. When you spend using these cards, you earn Virgin Points. You can then exchange them for various rewards, such as hotels, flight discounts and even reward flights.¹

Virgin Money travel credit card’s benefits

One of Virgin Money travel credit card benefits is the fact that there aren’t any foreign exchange fees charged whenever you spend in Europe. There also aren’t any foreign transaction fees for purchases made in Euros, Swedish krona or Romanian Lei made within the EEA.¹

Also, if you use these cards to spend with Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Holidays, you’ll get double the amount of points. This way you can get rewards quicker.¹

They even have a cashback programme. If you use either the Virgin Atlantic Reward credit card or the Virgin Atlantic Reward+ credit card when shopping with certain brands, you’ll get money back into your account.¹

Does the Virgin Money credit card have travel insurance?

If you plan on travelling soon, you’ll want to get an insurance policy. So, does your Virgin Money credit card have travel insurance? The answer is likely no, since there’s no information about it on their website. However, you can contact them directly and check for any updates.

Virgin Money travel credit cards’ quick comparison

Let’s look at a quick comparison of both travel credit cards:

Virgin Money travel credit cards

Now, let’s take a closer look at the main features of the Virgin Money travel credit cards.

Virgin Atlantic Reward Credit Card

When you use your Virgin Atlantic Reward credit card, you get 0.75 Virgin points for each pound you spend. If the purchase was made with Virgin Atlantic or Virgin Holidays, the points will be doubled. So, instead of getting 0.75, now you’ll get 1.5 per pound.²

There’s a 3,000 point sign-up bonus for this card and all its new users. You activate it with the first purchase, which needs to happen in the first 90 days. The amount doesn’t matter, only that you buy something during this time. When you spend £20,000 in one year, you can start getting upgrades to Premium or Companion tickets.²

The representative APR is 26.9% variable. Lastly, in order to even qualify, you need to have an annual income of at least £7,000 or instead a household income of at least £15,000 per year.²

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Credit Card

Since this card is much more expensive, it comes with a set of benefits. Every time you spend £1, you get 1.5 Virgin Points. When you pay for a service with Virgin Atlantic or Virgin Holidays, you’ll get the double amount of points. In other words, you’ll get 3 points for each pound you spend.³

If you decide to sign up for this credit card, you’ll get a bonus of 18,000 Virgin Points. The points will be in your account once you use your card for the first time, as long as you do that in the first 90 days. When it comes to Premium or Companion flight updates, they’ll be available to you if you spend £10,000 in a year.³

The representative APR is 69.7% variable. The representative APR on purchases is 26.9% variable. This card also comes with a £160 annual fee.³

Just like it is with the free card, you need to have either an individual income of £7,000 per year or a household income of at least £15,000 a year to be able to get this card.³

Virgin Money travel credit cards’ fees

Let’s start with the Virgin Atlantic Reward credit card:⁴

• No monthly fees
• 3% handling fee during the promotional period for balance and money transfers (regular rate is 5%)
• £12 for going over your credit limit or for a late payment

Here are the fees for Virgin Atlantic Reward+ credit card:⁵

• £160 annual fee
• 3% handling fee during the promotional period for balance and money transfers (regular rate is 5%)
• £12 for going over your credit limit or being late with a payment

For both cards, a foreign transaction fee is charged in some situations. In general, this is a non-sterling transaction fee and its amount is 2.99% of the transaction. However, if the transaction is in euros, Swedish krona or Romanian lei and it’s made in the UK or the European Economic Area (EEA), there’s no fee.

A great alternative for low-cost spending abroad - the Wise card

Looking to do some travelling and need a convenient and cost-effective card?

Get yourself a Wise card and you can spend at the mid-market exchange rate in 150+ countries, whenever you want.

Open a Wise account online and you can get a Wise card for a one-time cost of just £7. Your card automatically converts currency whenever you spend, so you don’t need to worry about preloading foreign currency to your account or converting cash. There’s only a small conversion fee* to pay.

And if you need cash, your Wise card has you covered. You can withdraw up to £200 a month (max 2 withdrawals) from ATMs for free (although double-check that the ATM operator doesn’t charge its own fee).

Sign up with Wise today 💰

Sources used:

Sources last checked on date: 04-Sep-2024