Virgin America has two co-branded credit cards that are issued by Comenity Bank. We will be reviewing both cards in this article to see if they are worth signing up for. The cards they offer are as follows:
The White card has the better features and benefits, but a higher annual fee than the Black card. We will review the Black card, followed by the White card followed by some information that is the same for both cards including the value of Virgin American points (the loyalty currency that both of these cards earns).
Contents
Virgin American Visa Signature Black Card Review
The basics of this card are as follows:
- Annual fee of $49 is not waived
- Receive a sign up bonus of 10,000 Virgin America points after $1,000 in spending
- Card earns at the following rates:
- 3x points on all Virgin America purchases
- 1x points on all other purchases
- $150 off a companion ticket every year
- First checked bag free
- Points don’t expire as long as you’re a cardholder in good standing
- 20% off in flight RED purchases (RED is their in flight entertainment system which you can also use to order snacks, meals, drinks and more. WiFi is excluded)
Virgin American Premium Visa Signature White Card Review
The basics of this card are as follows:
- Annual fee of $149 is not waived
- Receive a sign up bonus of 15,000 Virgin America points after $1,000 in spending
- Card earns at the following rates:
- 3x on all Virgin America purchases
- 1x on all other purchases
- Earn 5,000 status points for every $10,000 in spend (limit of 15,000 points)
- No change or cancel fees
- $150 off a companion ticket every year
- First checked bag free
- 20% off in flight RED purchases (RED is their in flight entertainment system which you can also use to order snacks, meals, drinks and more. WiFi is excluded)
- Priority boarding
- Points do not expire as long as you’re a cardholder
Common Information
Do these cards ever offer increased sign up bonuses?
Yes, we’ve seen double bonuses on both cards in the past. Unfortunately these offers have always been targeted. These offers are always sent out by e-mail, although it’s sometimes possible to get the double bonus inflight when it’s being offered. It’s currently not being offered, but you can follow us on Twitter or receive daily e-mail updates and we will surely post when/if an increased bonus comes along.
How much are Virgin America points worth?
Virgin America points are worth a fixed value of 2.2¢ when redeeming them for domestic Virgin America flights.
What will happen to this card & Virgin America when they merge with Alaska Airlines?
Nobody can say for certain what will happen, I imagine that existing cardholders will be automatically transferred to the Alaska Airlines card issued by Bank of America. But that depends if Bank of America purchases the backbook from Comenity Bank or not. We also ran an article called ‘Should You Apply For The Virgin America Credit Cards Before They Merge With Alaska Airlines?‘, that is worth reading.
In terms of what will happen to your Virgin America points, I’d say that they will be converted to Alaska Airlines at a ratio of 1:1 (there is a chance you’ll get a better ratio than this, but I’d say 1:1 is the minimum you’d receive).
How does the companion pass work?
When you first sign up for the card, you’ll receive the discount code for your discounted companion ticket approximately 6-8 weeks after you make your first purchase. For every year thereafter, the code will arrive 6-8 weeks after paying the annual fee. The code is valid for one year after it was e-mailed to you. The $150 code can be redeemed for $150 off the base fare (e.g this includes mandatory taxes and fees) for a companion when travelling with another passenger on a paid airfare on the same itinerary.
The code can only be used for new, round trip tickets that are purchased directly from Virgin America on Virgin America operated flights. You can still use the discount if the base fare is under $150, but any additional remaining credit will be forfeit. It cannot be applied to an award booking. It’s also important to note you must book at least fourteen days in advance.
The exclude fees are as follows:
- Passenger Facility Charges of up to $9 each way
- September 11th Security Fees of $5.60 per one-way trip or stopover
- Federal Segment Tax of $4.00 per domestic segment
- Service to/from Mexico, base fares do not include the U.S. Immigration User Fee of $7, the U.S. APHIS fee of $5, the U.S. Customs processing fee of $5.50, a U.S. International Arrival/Departure Tax of $17.50 each way and additional taxes/fees of up to $70, including: Mexico International Departure Tax and Mexico Tourism Tax
If anybody knows the blackout dates and other restrictions for 2016/2017, please let us know in the comments.
Can I get the sign up bonus on these cards more than once?
According to this comment, it’s possible to get the sign up bonus on these cards more than once. The reader had held the cards for more than one year, then cancelled them and reapplied after one month and got the bonus again. That means these cards are churnable.
Our Verdict
Both cards are OK value if you have frequent paid flights on Virgin America, the sign up bonuses are lackluster though and the annual fees aren’t waived the first year. Unless you have a lot of paid flights with Virgin America, there are definitely much more reward cards out there. Keep in mind that SPG points now transfer to Virgin America at a 1:1 rate now (with a 5,000 bonus if you transfer 20,000).
