By: Kate Anderson | Updated: 17th December 2020.
Unsurprising for a brand that also sells holidays, Virgin Money has a travel credit card that is designed to help you get exploring. The Virgin Money Travel Card offers interest-free introductory periods to help you pay for your holiday, plus no fees for overseas usage.
This card charges no fees for overseas use, so making spending abroad more affordable, plus it offers 12-month interest-free introductory periods for purchases and balance transfers, so that you can pay for your holiday in the first place. Add to that travel discounts for Virgin Holidays and the offer of cashback on travel insurance, and you have a good all-round travel package.
12 months 0% interest on balance transfers and purchases
KEY SCORES:
This card charges no fees for overseas use, so making spending abroad more affordable, plus it offers 12-month interest-free introductory periods for purchases and balance transfers, so that you can pay for your holiday in the first place. Add to that travel discounts for Virgin Holidays and the offer of cashback on travel insurance, and you have a good all-round travel package.
If you are looking at getting a credit card to fund your holidays, then the Virgin Money Travel Card has several points going for it.
I worked on the front line of personal-finance best buys for over eight years at one of the world’s largest research companies, Nielsen. I reported daily on the developments of the 2008 financial crisis and beyond, keeping up with the changing financial landscape and providing insights to all the major banks in the UK. I know the key players in the market and the tactics behind how they behave. All of which I will apply to highlight the best deals and give honest reviews to help you in your search.
The Virgin Money Travel Card is largely selling itself on travel offers, so here are a couple of points you should bear in mind.
The Virgin Money Travel Card offers more than the average travel credit card. While it has that essential no fee for non-sterling transactions, it also offers a decent interest-free introductory period for both purchases and balance transfers (though there’s a 2% balance transfer fee during the promotional period, and 5% after that). Even if you weren’t necessarily interested in the travel aspects of the card, the 0% purchase and balance transfer offers are still a nice selling point.
Virgin Money says that it requires applicants to have a good credit history if they want to apply for the card. A Card Checker service on the Virgin Money website allows applicants to see whether they would be likely to be accepted for the card, without impacting their credit rating. The provider also asks that applicants have a minimum annual income of £7,000 or a household income of at least £15,000.
Applications can be made through the Virgin Money’s website, and you will receive an instant decision. You will need to be aged 18 or over and a UK resident. As part of the application you will be required to provide a UK bank or building society account number and sort code, plus details of any accounts you want to make a balance transfer from. You will also need to provide your personal details, contact details and information regarding your income and outgoings.
If you are looking for a card that you can use on holiday but that will also help fund the cost of a trip abroad, then the Virgin Money Travel Card could be one to consider. Alongside free overseas usage, which is typically the first thing to look at when considering a travel card, it also has decent interest-free introductory periods. With 12 months’ 0% interest on purchases, you could conceivably pay off the balance for a holiday within that time. Meanwhile, the balance transfer deal of 0% for 12 months is a decent standalone offer, though you do have to pay a 2% balance transfer fee during the promotional period.
The Motley Fool receives compensation from some advertisers who provide products and services that may be covered by our editorial team. It’s one way we make money. But know that our editorial integrity and transparency matters most and our ratings aren’t influenced by compensation. The statements above are The Motley Fool’s alone and have not been provided or endorsed by bank advertisers. The Motley Fool has recommended shares in Lloyds, Tesco and Barclays.