The Offer
- Receive up to 75,000 Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles when you sign up for the Virgin Atlantic World Elite MasterCard® credit card from Bank of America. Sign up bonus is broken down as follows:
- 20,000 miles after first purchase
- 50,000 miles after you spend $12,000 or more within six months of account opening
- 2,500 miles when you add an authorized user (up to a maximum of two, or a total of 5,000 miles)
- There is also an anniversary bonus of 15,000 miles that has a spending requirement as well:
- 7,500 miles if you spend $15,000 within the previous year
- An additional 7,500 miles if you spend $25,000 within the previous year
The Fine Print
- Annual fee of $90 is not waived
- Earns 3x miles on all Virgin Atlantic purchases that are made directly
- Earns 1.5x on all other purchases
- Valid until September 7th, 2014
Our Verdict
This is the highest sign up bonus I’ve seen for this card, in the past they have offered 50,000 miles + 15,000 miles as an anniversary bonus, although you were only required to spend $2,500 rather than $12,000 (this offer is still available for those interested). That said I’m not a fan of Virgin Atlantic miles as when you redeem them you’re required to pay fuel surcharges + taxes which are incredibly expensive.
You can also transfer Virgin Atlantic miles to Hilton HHonors points at a rate of 1 mile : 1.5 point. Let’s take a look at this option, let’s assume you spend $12,000 the first year and add two authorized users you’d earn a total of 75,000 mile. You’d also earn 18,000 miles from your spending (assuming none of it was on Virgin Atlantic flights). This gives us a total of 93,000 miles which would translate into 139,500 Hilton HHonors points.
Alternatively you could sign up for the Citi Hilton HHonors reserve which gives you two free weekend night certificates + $100 statement credit ($95 annual fee not waived). This card also earns 3x Hilton HHonors points on all purchases, so you’d also net 36,000 Points with your $12,000 in spend.
I’m not going to bother with this offer because of the fuel surcharges. If you’re thinking about signing up for this offer, you might find the following pages useful (feel free to chime in with any other useful Virgin Atlantic resources).
- Virgin Atlantic May Have The Worst Miles, But There Are 8 Great Ways You Can Use Them : View From The Wing
- Virgin Atlantic FlyerTalk Subforum
This might also be a good option for those wanting to stock up on Hilton HHonors points. 139,500 points is a lot, but keep in mind the $90 annual fee and also the fact that $12,000 in spend is required. I’d personally prefer to go for a different hotel credit card and put the $12,000 in spend through a card that earns at a high rate on all purchases but if you’re able to find some category one properties this could translate into 27 free nights.
Direct link to offer | Screenshot of offer
Hat tip to PointsCentric