5 Things to Know About the Virgin Red Rewards Mastercard

The Virgin Red Rewards Mastercard, a co-branded card for U.S. consumers issued by Synchrony, launched in September 2024. As its name implies, the $99-annual-fee card earns rewards for Virgin Red, the rewards program for the Virgin Atlantic airline, Virgin Hotels and Virgin Voyages cruises.

Here are five things to know about the Virgin Red Rewards Mastercard.

In order to apply for the Virgin Red Rewards Mastercard, you must be a Virgin Red member. If you’re not, you can first join the rewards program, and then apply.

Note that Virgin Red is different from the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. The former encompasses the airline/hotel/cruise trifecta of the Virgin brand, while the latter is the rewards program for the airline only. However, they’re connected. You can be a member of both programs and link your accounts for more flexibility in how you earn and redeem Virgin Points.

The Virgin Red Rewards Mastercard earns:

• 3 Virgin Points per $1 spent on Virgin Atlantic flights, Virgin Hotels bookings and Virgin Voyages cruises.

• 2 Virgin Points per $1 spent at grocery stores and restaurants, as well as on streaming services and electric vehicle charging.

• 1 Virgin Point per $1 on everything else.

As of this writing, new cardholders can also earn this welcome bonus: 40,000 Virgin Points when you spend $3,000 in the first 90 days.

The card offers these additional benefits:

• Once a year, if you book a two-night stay at participating Virgin Hotels, you get a third night for free.

• Earn 5,000 Virgin Points each card member anniversary.

• Earn 2,500 Virgin Points whenever you add an authorized user (up to a 10,000-point maximum).

• Earn 25 Tier Points for Virgin Atlantic Flying Club for each $2,500 of qualifying spending, up to 50 Tier Points a month. As noted above, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is the airline’s loyalty program. Earning Tier Points allows you to attain higher levels of status within that program.

Hitting an annual spending minimum unlocks Personal Perks, which can take a vacation to the next level. If you spend $15,000 in a year, you can choose one perk, while if you spend $30,000 in a year, you can choose two.

Personal Perks include a voucher for a companion seat or cabin upgrade on Virgin Atlantic, a free night stay or room upgrade at Virgin Hotels, a $300 bar tab credit on a Virgin Voyages cruise, and a Blue Extras Perks Package on a cruise (that gets you laundry service, an exclusive cocktail party and daily coffee credits).

You can cash in your Virgin Points for a variety of experiences, including hotel stays, flights, and train tickets, as well as food tours and other experiences. Point values vary based on how you choose to redeem them.