Virgin Atlantic Reward+

The Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard is the primary card for anyone building a Virgin Points balance. It earns 1.5 Virgin Points per £1 — matching the BA Amex Premium Plus earn rate — on a Mastercard that works everywhere. The annual fee is lower than the BA equivalent (£160 versus £300), there are no FX fees in the Eurozone, and the sign-up bonus of 18,000 Virgin Points requires only a single purchase of any amount. The card also generates an annual reward voucher that can be used as a companion discount or an upgrade — though the voucher mechanics are more complex than BA’s straightforward 2-for-1.

The Reward Voucher — How It Works

Spend £10,000 in a card year and you receive a reward voucher valid for two years. The voucher can be used in two ways:

Companion discount: Book a cash or reward flight for yourself, and use the voucher to discount a second ticket for a companion on the same flight, same cabin. The voucher covers up to 75,000 Virgin Points of the companion ticket’s cost for Red (basic) members, or up to 150,000 Virgin Points for Silver and Gold members. Taxes and charges still apply on both tickets.

Solo upgrade discount: Use the voucher toward the cost of upgrading a cash or reward ticket by one or two cabin classes. Same point caps apply (75,000 VP for Red, 150,000 VP for Silver/Gold).

The Eurozone FX Advantage

The Reward+ charges no foreign exchange fees on purchases in Euro (within the EEA), Swedish Kronor, or Romanian Lei. This makes it the only UK travel rewards credit card with meaningful FX fee savings. All other major UK points-earning credit cards (BA Amex, Barclaycard, Amex Gold/Platinum) charge 2.99% on non-GBP transactions.

For a week in Europe with €1,000 of card spending, this saves approximately £29 compared to a 2.99% FX fee card — and you still earn 1.5 Virgin Points per £1. Outside the Eurozone, the card charges the standard Virgin Money FX rate.

Virgin Points — Where They Go

Virgin Points earned from this card go directly into your Flying Club account. They can be used for Virgin Atlantic flights (now dynamically priced — costs vary based on demand), SkyTeam partner flights via the Virgin Atlantic fixed partner chart (Delta, Air France-KLM, and others), and partner airline flights including ANA. Virgin Points never expire.

Virgin Points can also be earned by transferring from Amex Membership Rewards (1:1), making the Reward+ card complementary to an Amex Gold or Platinum. Some collectors use the Amex for general UK spending and the Virgin card for Eurozone spending and Virgin Atlantic purchases (3 points per £1).

How It Compares to BA Amex Premium Plus

The BA Companion Voucher is simpler and usually more valuable — a full 2-for-1 in any cabin has no points cap. The Virgin voucher’s 75,000/150,000 VP cap means it cannot fully cover an expensive Upper Class redemption for a Red member. However, the Virgin card costs less, triggers its voucher at a lower spend threshold, charges no Eurozone FX fees, and works everywhere as a Mastercard.

Many serious UK collectors hold both: BA Amex for the Companion Voucher and Avios earning, Virgin Reward+ for the FX savings, Mastercard acceptance, and access to Virgin’s dynamic pricing sweet spots.

Switching to the Free Card — or Adding One

There are two scenarios where the relationship between Reward+ and the free Reward card becomes relevant: adding the free card alongside Reward+ for the dual-voucher strategy, and leaving Reward+ altogether.

Adding the free Reward card alongside Reward+

Reward+ holders can apply for the free Reward card and receive the 3,000 VP sign-up bonus on it — the two cards are treated as separate products with independent bonuses, voucher clocks, and anniversary dates. This makes sense if your household spending can realistically hit the free card’s £20,000 voucher threshold on top of the Reward+ threshold, or if a second cardholder wants their own earning vehicle. Each card then triggers its own voucher independently. Cancel whichever is no longer needed at your convenience; there is no pro-rata refund on the Reward+ fee.

Downgrading from Reward+ to the free card

Virgin Money offers an online tool to convert Reward+ to the free Reward card directly, without cancelling and reapplying. The mechanics are unfavourable in most circumstances: there is no pro-rata refund of the annual fee, and the earn rate drops immediately from 1.5 VP per £1 to 0.75 VP per £1. Any spend already accumulated towards the current year’s £10,000 voucher threshold does not carry over to a new free card clock.

The only rational case for using the downgrade route is narrow: if the next year’s £160 fee has just been charged and the card has had no use in the new membership year, the downgrade tool will trigger a full refund of that fee. Outside that specific window, cancelling through the standard route and reapplying for the free card after six months — or simply holding both and letting Reward+ lapse at renewal — is likely to produce better outcomes.

Who Should Get This Card

Yes, get this card if: You fly or want to fly Virgin Atlantic. You spend frequently in the Eurozone and want to avoid FX fees. You want a Mastercard that earns 1.5 airline points per £1. You want a second programme alongside Avios for optionality.

Skip this card if: You are fully committed to the Avios ecosystem and have no interest in Virgin Atlantic routes. You already have a Barclaycard Avios as your Mastercard and do not need a second one.