How to redeem your Virgin Points at Greggs – a step-by-step guide!

This is actually a serious article, although I accept that you may have your doubts ….

When the Virgin Red app launched a few years ago as the new ‘home’ for Virgin Points, the ability to redeem your points at Greggs became – for better or worse – the highest profile redemption.

Whilst most Head for Points readers would see redeeming for ANA’s business and First Class seats to Tokyo to be the ultimate redemption, it was Greggs that people were talking about.

If you are not a Virgin Red member, you can register for free here. You will get 1,000 bonus points via this link and you get this even if you are an existing Virgin Flying Club member. You can merge your two balances in the app.

How do you redeem Virgin Points at Greggs?

I was interested to see how the redemption process works and how smooth it is.

A Greggs sausage roll costs £1.45, at least on Cheapside by our office, and it requires 200 Virgin Points. You’re getting 0.7p per point.

This is better value than most Virgin Red redemptions which get you 0.5p of value. You can smash this with a premium cabin flight redemption in most cases, where you should be aiming for 1p.

Redeeming via the Virgin Red app

Assuming that you have registered for Virgin Red and then downloaded the Virgin Red app and linked it to your Virgin Atlantic account, the first thing to do is find Greggs products on the long list of redemptions. Unless you filter by ‘Food and Drink’ it will take a while.

This is what you are looking for, if a sausage roll is your goal:

Click into it and you see a big ‘Redeem’ button.

The points are deducted from your account and a QR code created. It pops up on screen, and I would recommend saving it as a screenshot in case you have reception problems when you are inside the store:

The voucher is valid for a month. You can also see it inside the ‘Vouchers’ section of the Virgin Red app:

There is some small print which is emailed to you after you have redeemed. Here are the highlights:

• Code is only valid for either a single Sausage Roll or Vegan Sausage Roll.
• Code is redeemable with Greggs up until the ‘Valid Until’ date noted on the code. After this date, the code will expire and you will not be able to use the code with Greggs. Please note that this code will not be reissued.
• You must display your code to a member of staff at Greggs.
• Code is valid for one use only.
• Only one code can be used per person per visit.
• Subject to availability and while stocks lasts. If there are no Sausage Rolls or Vegan Sausage Rolls available, an alternative product may be supplied by Greggs (at equal or lesser value) but this is not guaranteed.
• Valid for take away only – product cannot be consumed in store.
• Please note, Virgin Red codes are not valid / accepted at Greggs stores located within service stations.
• Code is non-refundable, non-transferable and has no cash value (or cash value equivalent).
• Codes do not qualify for a Greggs Rewards stamp and they cannot be added to the Greggs Rewards app.

How does it work in practice?

It is a slick process, I have to admit.

Having popped down to our local branch of Greggs, I asked for a sausage roll and scanned the QR code on a scanner at the till when asked to pay.

It scanned first time and I was left with nothing to pay.

Caffe Nero redemptions with Nectar points work in exactly the same way. Using 400 Nectar points for a Caffe Nero drink – any drink, any size – is arguably the best way of spending Nectar points.

Conclusion

Using your Virgin Points at Greggs isn’t a great way to redeem if you’re looking to maximise the value you get, although it is better than most Virgin Red offers.

However, I am impressed by the technology behind it and by the way that Virgin Red has got it working. I’m sure there are other retailers who would be interested in similar spontaneous redemptions, especially those who – like Pret – already have QR code scanners in place at their tills.

What Virgin Red needs to do is find someone like Caffe Nero who is willing to offer outsize value in the hope of picking up additional sales. It’s the croissant or cake you buy with your coffee that encourages Nero to offer such a good deal to Nectar in the first place.

You can find out more about Virgin Red, and register for free, here.

PS. If you are not a regular Head for Points visitor, why not sign up for our FREE weekly or daily newsletters? They are full of the latest Avios, airline, hotel and credit card points news and will help you travel better. To join our 65,000 free subscribers, click the button below or visit this page of the site to find out more. Thank you.

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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):

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.

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.

Small business owners should consider the two American Express Business cards. Points convert at 1:1 into Virgin Points.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Virgin Points.