CREDIT CARDS

Review to follow.

One account, two cards, more Flying Club miles. Now you can convert your Tesco Clubcard points into Flying Club miles, which you can use for flights, Premium Economy upgrades and more. This card will suit frequent Virgin Atlantic flyers who want to boost their Flying Club miles through its reward scheme. The card has an APR of 18.9% on purchases, but once you factor in the £140 annual fee, this shoots up to 47.2%. However, provided you clear your balance every month so you avoid paying interest, there are some good perks available. The card gives you 6,000 Flying Club miles with your first card purchase within 90 days of account opening. When you apply for the Virgin Atlantic Black card you get two cards under one account. You get an American Express card where you earn two Flying Club mile for every full £1 you spend, or four Flying Club miles for every full £1 spent direct with Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Holidays. You will also get a Visa card where you earn one Flying Club mile for every £1 you spend, or 2 Flying Club miles for every £1 spent direct with Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Holidays. You’ll also receive a Premium Economy reward upgrade on an Economy booking provided you spend £5,000 on your American Express card in a year. If you spend £7,500 on the American Express card in a year, you get a complimentary companion reward flight, so you can bring a friend with you free of charge. In addition to this, you get 0% on balance transfers for six months, subject to a 2% handling charge.

You will receive a fantastic 30,000 Avios when you first spend on the card. That is enough for 1 return flight to Moscow, Istanbul or Rome. Collect 1.5 Avios for virtually every £1 spent and double Avios on purchases with British Airways and BA Holidays. Spend £10,000 on your card in any given year and receive a companion ticket when you redeem your Avios for a British Airways flight. However this card comes with a representative APR of 19.9% on purchases, but once you factor in the high £150 annual fee, the APR shoots up to a massive 50.1%. You should therefore only take out the card if you are going to clear your balance every month and are using it just to collect Avios. If you don't pay your balance off in full and on time each month, the high APR is likely to cost substantially more than any rewards you may get back. The card comes with Travel Accident Insurance up to £250,000. Don't use the card to make cash withdrawals, as these will be charged interest at 27.9%.