Virgin Trains Ticketing launched as a standalone points-earning app
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Back in May 2021, Virgin Red launched a new way of letting you earn Virgin Points – its own exclusive train ticket booking platform, called Virgin Trains Ticketing.
At the time Virgin Trains Ticketing was only available as an extra function inside the Virgin Red app. No longer – it is now downloadable as a stand-alone app.
It is a very simple structure:
- you can log in to Virgin Trains Ticketing by using your existing Virgin Red ID and password
- you can book rail tickets across England, Scotland and Wales
- you earn 3 Virgin Points per £1 spent
- there are no booking fees with e-tickets (there is one if you choose station collection)
- there are no delivery fees with e-tickets or station collection
E-tickets sit inside the app or, in a change, can now be downloaded into your mobile wallet.
As long as the rail company you are using does not have exclusive discounts for users of its own website, you will be getting the same price as you would pay elsewhere.
From time to time, LNER runs a 5% cashback deal on American Express cards. When this offer is running, the LNER website should be the most rewarding place to book rail travel irrespective of which train company you are travelling on. Avanti West Coast has also run a similar Amex offer recently.
In the absence of these deals, the Virgin Points offer is competitive.
Note that you need to have a Virgin Red account in order to collect Virgin Points from Virgin Trains Ticketing. Having a standalone Virgin Flying Club account is not enough – you need to register for Virgin Red and link it to your Flying Club account.
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How to earn Virgin Points from UK credit cards (April 2025)
As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Virgin Points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.
You can choose from two official Virgin Atlantic credit cards (apply here, the Reward+ card has a bonus of 18,000 Virgin Points and the free card has a bonus of 3,000 Virgin Points):
Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard
18,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review
Virgin Atlantic Reward Mastercard
3,000 bonus points, no fee and 1 point for every £1 you spend Read our full review
You can also earn Virgin Points from various American Express cards – and these have sign-up bonuses too.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is FREE for a year and comes with 20,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 20,000 Virgin Points.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express comes with 50,000 Membership Rewards points, which convert into 50,000 Virgin Points.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.
The Platinum Card from American Express
80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review
Small business owners should consider the two American Express Business cards. Points convert at 1:1 into Virgin Points.
American Express Business Platinum
50,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review
Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Virgin Points.
