Virgin Atlantic Black Card

getting_there1

Hi all, I am thinking of getting the above card which has an annual fee of £140, 18.9% p.a and Equivalent to 52.1% APR representative (variable). Does anyone have any experience/knowledge of this card. Is it worth it.

Earn 6,000 Flying Club miles with your first card purchase*
Earn 2 Flying Club miles for every £1 spent with your American Express® Credit Card
Earn 1 Flying Club mile for every £1 spent with your Visa card
Earn double miles when you spend direct with Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Holidays**
The chance to earn upgrades, a companion reward flight and more. Conditions apply
0% on balance transfers for 6 months†
From the date your account is opened. (2% handling fee) 18.9% p.a. variable on card purchases

StevenDr

I wouldn't advise getting this card. I have a Virgin Atlantic white card and have been looking for options to spend my Virgin miles. There aren't many great options at the moment as air fuel costs and flight taxes are so high on Virgin Atlantic flights. That makes the miles less valuable, so I wouldn't pay £140 a year for the chance of getting those miles.

getting_there1

Okay, yes taxes etc are pretty ridiculous at the moment. Thanks for your reply StevenDr.

Fruit_and_Nut_Case

How long is a piece of string? Only you know how much you will spend on the card and whether suitable flights will be available when you want to travel.

Here are some previous threads on the subject; sorry about the length of the link.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?client=ubuntu&channel=fs&q=site:forums.moneysavingexpert.com+%22company+credit+card%22+%22credit+check%22&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&gl=uk&gws_rd=cr&redir_esc=&ei=MRf1UaGRJMjb0QXz6ICIBQ#safe=off&client=ubuntu&hs=Dqm&channel=fs&gl=uk&sclient=psy-ab&q=site:forums.moneysavingexpert.com+virgin+atlantic+black&oq=site:forums.moneysavingexpert.com+virgin+atlantic+black&gs_l=serp.3...5586.15443.1.15976.57.30.0.0.0.3.617.12086.3-4j7j14.25.0....0...1c.1.22.serp..57.0.0.IrgObuseH1M&psj=1&fp=1&biw=1162&bih=572&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&cad=b

jamesml

I've got a BMI Credit card which convert to Avios, which I used to pay for and upgrade flights recently, which were fine. Looked ahead in advance and booked my holiday around the flights mind.

Not sure if you can still get the card, but a BA card gives almost as good miles/£ rate.

chattychappy

Fruit_and_Nut_Case wrote: »

How long is a piece of string?

The one I have here is just over 3 inches. Not very handy.

A key problem of frequent flyer programmes is whether you can actually get availability when you want to fly. I'd check out the Virgin forum on https://www.flyertalk.com to see what the experience of others with Virgin is. Many would say it is better to accumulate miles with a programme connected to one of the alliances - oneworld, star alliance or skyteam.

Unless you actually do some regular flying (ideally long haul and not on the most discounted tickets), accumulating miles can be a bit of a slow grind.