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It's your last chance to earn up to 80,000 bonus miles on the Virgin Atlantic Mastercard

Katie Genter
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Katie Genter is a location independent digital nomad who has traveled full time since June 2017. Her focus at TPG is points, miles, loyalty and credit cards.
Dec. 10, 2019
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5 min read
It's your last chance to earn up to 80,000 bonus miles on the Virgin Atlantic Mastercard
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Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.

Official application link: The Virgin Atlantic World Elite Mastercard with up to 80,000 bonus miles

If you've been considering adding the Virgin Atlantic World Elite Mastercard to your wallet, you may not get a better opportunity than this. Virgin Atlantic Flying Club miles can offer excellent value thanks to the airline's lucrative partner award charts. And since mid-September 2019, the program's cobranded credit card, the Virgin Atlantic World Elite Mastercard, has been offering an elevated sign-up bonus for a limited time. This offer is about to disappear, though, and we aren't sure we'll ever see it come back around.

If you sign-up during this limited-time offer (offer ends Dec. 18, 2019), you can earn up to 80,000 Flying Club bonus miles within your first year. Specifically, the bonus miles you can earn in your first year include:

  • 60,000 bonus miles after spending $2,000 or more in purchases within 90 days of account opening.
  • 2,500 miles for each of the first two authorized users added to your card, up to a total of 5,000 bonus miles.
  • 7,500 anniversary miles after you spend a minimum of $15,000 with your card within your anniversary year.
  • An additional 7,500 anniversary miles after you spend a total of $25,000 with your card within your anniversary year.

We've seen this card with a bonus of 90,000 miles in the past, but the bulk of the miles under that offer (70,000) required spending at least $12,000. In this case, you can get 60,000 miles with just $2,000 in spend, which is a huge advantage. TPG's valuations peg the value of Virgin Atlantic miles at 1.5 cents each, so if you earn the entire 80,000 miles, that's $1,200 in value.

On top of the bonus miles noted above, you'll also earn miles when you make purchases with your new card. You'll earn 3 miles per dollar spent when you purchase tickets or duty free items directly from Virgin Atlantic Airways and 1.5 miles per dollar spent on all other purchases, with no limit to the number of miles you can earn. Based on TPG's valuations, that means you'll earn an effective 4.5% return on Virgin Atlantic purchases and a 2.25% return on all other purchases.

The card charges a $90 annual fee that's not waived the first year. But besides earning valuable Virgin Atlantic miles, the card unlocks some valuable benefits for travelers that spend a lot on their card. In addition to up to 15,000 bonus miles each cardmember anniversary year, you can also earn 25 tier points per $2,500 in purchases (up to 50 tier points per month) which can help elevate your Flying Club status.

And in a recent addition to the card, if you spend $25,000 or more in purchases within a cardmember year, you can choose either a companion award in the same cabin class when you redeem Flying Club miles for a Virgin Atlantic award ticket, or a one-cabin upgrade from economy to premium class on a Virgin Atlantic award flight.

You'll also have access to other benefits. For example, most items purchased with your card are protected against damage or theft within the first 90 days after purchase. And, the card's extended warranty protection doubles most original manufacturer’s warranties of one year or less when you purchase the item with your card.

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Related: Unlock Incredible Value With Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Virgin Atlantic miles aren't difficult to obtain — you can transfer them instantly from American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards and Citi ThankYou Rewards, as well as within 48 hours from Marriott Bonvoy. But having a Virgin Atlantic card will allow you to earn Flying Club miles directly which allows you to top off your Flying Club account as needed.

However, it's important to note that value of the Flying Club program isn't in booking Virgin Atlantic flights, as you'll usually find large carrier surcharges associated with awards on the airline's own metal. Instead, the true value comes in using Virgin Atlantic miles to book award flights on partners. For example, Delta flyers will be thrilled to learn you can get good value when you use Flying Club miles to book Delta-operated flights. Likewise, you can use Flying Club miles to book round-trip premium-cabin awards from the US to Japan on ANA for fewer miles than most airlines charge for a one-way ticket.

If you can maximize Flying Club redemptions, this card may be a great option, especially considering the current limited-time sign-up bonus. The card can be even more lucrative if you put significant spending on the card each month, as then you'll be eligible for anniversary miles, tier points and choice of companion reward or one-cabin upgrade based on your spending.

Sound like an offer you want to take advantage of? Make sure you apply before Dec. 18, 2019.

Official application link: The Virgin Atlantic World Elite Mastercard with up to 80,000 bonus miles

Additional reporting by Madison Blancaflor.

Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.