This card’s limited-time bonus has been raised to 80,000 points, and the spending requirement is still pretty easy to meet. If you’re interested, it’s worth applying soon. Their points are Virgin Points, the same as Virgin Atlantic miles.
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Synchrony Virgin Red Credit Card
Synchrony Virgin Red Credit Card
A good pick for Virgin fans!
- Welcome bonus: 60,000 Virgin Points miles (spend $4,000 in 3 months) + 20,000 (spend another $2,000 in 6 months)
- Rewards: 3x on Virgin flights, hotels, and cruises; 2x on groceries, dining, streaming, and EV charging; 1x on everything else
- Redemption: Redeem for flights, hotels, and travel packages
- Annual fee: $99
- Apply now>>
Benefits
- Additional cardholder bonus: Add an extra cardholder and earn 2,500 Virgin Points per additional cardholder (up to four additional cardholders).
- 5,000 points every year: Receive 5,000 Virgin Points when the card renews.
- Tier points: Earn 25 Flying Club Tier Points for every $2,500 in spending (up to 50 per month).
- Stay 2, Get 1: Each year, after booking two nights at participating Virgin Hotels, you can get the third night free.
High-spend bonus: When your annual spending reaches $15,000 or $30,000, you can choose one or both of the following benefits:
- Virgin Atlantic: A Flying Club companion-seat award voucher or a cabin upgrade.
- Virgin Hotels: One free night or a hotel suite upgrade.
- Virgin Voyages: Up to $300 in onboard bar credit or the Blue Extras package.
How to Use Virgin Points
Virgin Points are best used for airline award tickets, especially on partner flights such as ANA, Delta, Korean Air, and Air France/KLM. ANA is one of the most common sweet spots. A one-way business-class ticket between the U.S. and Japan usually costs about 52,500–60,000 points; short-haul Delta domestic flights in the U.S. can also offer good value, with prices starting at 7,500 points for flights under 500 miles. Virgin Atlantic flights now use dynamic pricing, so you can sometimes find low-priced awards, but taxes and fees are usually high. You can also transfer points from Chase, AMEX, Citi, Capital One, Bilt, and Wells Fargo, and Virgin Points earned from the Virgin Red card also pool with Flying Club. Overall, Virgin Points are better for high-value partner awards than for chasing Virgin Atlantic-operated flights.
My take
This card is basically a fairly standard airline co-branded credit card, and I’d still recommend it for people who fly Virgin Atlantic often, since earning tier points from spending is a nice perk. The rewards from spending are just average, but if you spend enough, the benefits are solid. If you can make good use of the companion ticket and hotel free-night certificate, they can be very valuable. Synchrony’s approval standards are not very clear, and it frequently changes card benefits, so you should be prepared for that.