Virgin Galactic selling tickets to space for an out-of-this-world price - $450,000
The price for the once-in-a-lifetime experience of flying to the edge of space keeps going up, up, up.
Virgin Galactic, billionaire Richard Branson's spaceflight venture, has reopened ticket sales for seats on its suborbital rocket plane for the first time in nearly 10 years. But if you want to take in that incredible view Branson saw when he took a flight on the Unity craft on July 11, be prepared to cough up a small fortune.
How steep is the price? Try $450,000 per ticket.
Virgin Galactic is offering several types of opportunities for deep-pocketed thrill-seekers. The first is the single-seat reservation that costs $450,000, a substantial bump from the initial prices years ago, when they were sold for between $200,000 and $250,000. The second tier is the chance for a family or group of friends to buy multiple seats, and the third is the option to reserve all six seats on a given flight, which according to CEO Michael Colglazier will cost a "modest premium." The fact the company didn't put a number on the "modest premium" leads us to believe it will be anything but a modest increase.
Related: Could you redeem miles for a space flight?
There will also be seats made available for "microgravity research and professional astronaut training," which will be priced at $600,000 apiece. Tickets will be first offered to the people who joined Virgin Galactic's Spacefarer Community in recent months and put down a $1,000 deposit. A company spokesperson says about a thousand people have put deposits down, signaling a strong interest in the brief journey more than 50 miles above the earth.
Related: Richard Branson goes to space
Wall Street appears to be optimistic about commercial passenger space travel. Shares of the company jumped 5% when tickets were announced last week. Maybe one reason they're bullish on Virgin Galactic's prospects is that it already has 600 people with purchased tickets waiting for their chance to visit space.
Virgin Galactic received approval from the U.S. aviation safety regulator to fly people to space in June. As TPG noted before, passengers who fly on Virgin Galactic trips to space will earn astronaut wings.
Related: Virgin Galactic is getting closer to taking passengers into space
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The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
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- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
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- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
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- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month
Rewards Rate
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
| 10X miles | 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel |
Intro Offer
Earn 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200K miles when you spend $150K in the first 6 monthsLIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus milesAnnual Fee
$395Recommended Credit
Credit ranges are a variation of FICO® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.740-850Excellent
Why We Chose It
The Capital One Venture X Business Card has all the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has to offer and more. It offers an incredible welcome bonus and requires an equally impressive spend to qualify. In addition, the card comes with premium travel perks like annual travel credit. (Partner offer)Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a very lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Earn up to 400K bonus miles: 200K miles when you spend $30K in the first 3 months, and an additional 200k miles when you spend $150k in the first 6 months
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month