Frequent Miler's latest team challenge, Million Mile Madness, is almost done! The last two weeks Greg, Nick, and Stephen competed to earn 1 Million SAS miles by flying 15 airlines. But who completed the challenge with the most Speed, Affordability, and Style?
Update 9/19/24: As of today, the Synchrony Virgin Mastercard is live and accepting applications.
~~~
In May, Virgin Red and Bank of America announced that Virgin would be moving away from BOA and releasing a new co-branded credit card with a new issuer later in 2024. Perhaps surprisingly, that new issuer turned out to be Synchrony, a company perhaps most widely-known for issuing box store-branded cards.
Last week the details of the new card were announced and a waitlist was opened (as an aside – can we stop with the new card waitlists already? This isn’t brunch in LA). Now that we more or less see the Full Monty, we thought it would be worth comparing the old Bank of America card and the new Synchrony version side-by-side.
Is the change to Synchrony an improvement, a downgrade or pretty much the same old, same old?
Key Card Details
Note that the Bank of America Virgin Atlantic Mastercard is no longer available for new applicants. The benefits below are for information purposes only.
| Card Name w Details & Review (no offer) |
|---|
$90 Annual Fee Earning rate: 3X Virgin Atlantic ✦ 1.5X everywhere else Card Info: Mastercard World Elite issued by BOA. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: Companion award ticket with $25K annual spend ✦ 7,500 bonus points with $15K cardmember year spend + an additional 7,500 points with $25K cardmember year spend ✦ 25 tier points towards elite status per $2,500 spend (max 50 tier points per month). |
| Card Name w Details & Review (no offer) |
|---|
FM Mini Review: The Tier Points and annual 3rd night free at Virgin Hotels might be useful for some, especially with the anniversary bonus...but it's more "meh" than "yeah" for most of us. $99 Annual Fee Earning rate: 3X Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Hotels and Virgin Voyages ✦ 2X dining, at grocery stores, on select streaming services and for EV charging ✦ 1X everywhere else Card Info: Mastercard Signature issued by Synchrony. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: Spend $15k in a calendar year to choose one or $30k to choose two of: voucher for companion seat or cabin upgrade; one free night or suite upgrade at Virgin Hotels up to $300 Bar Tab credit or Blue Extras perks package on Virgin Voyages Noteworthy perks: 25 Tier Points for each $2,500 in eligible purchases (max 50 Tier Points per month) ✦ 3rd night free at participating Virgin Hotel once/year ✦ 5,000 point yearly anniversary bonus |
Comparing the major benefits of each Virgin card
| BOA Virgin Mastercard | Synchrony Virgin Mastercard | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual Fee |
|
|
| Bonus Categories |
|
|
| Big Spend Bonus |
|
|
| Yearly Perks |
|
|
| Tier Points Earning (towards elite status) |
|
|
Quick Thoughts (the verdict)
There was a bit of hand-wringing when cardholders found out that Virgin would be moving away from Bank of America. It seemed like the majority of that was based on the ability to earn tier points towards elite status with Virgin Atlantic.
The new Synchrony card is very similar to the old BOA card, which makes sense given that Virgin probably isn’t thrilled about having to ask current cardholders to apply for a new card – which for points enthusiasts will use up a valuable 5/24 slot. In fact, the cards are identical when it comes tier points earning. The only differences are with the earning categories, big spend bonuses and anniversary perks (and a $9 difference in annual fee).
The BOA card offered 1.5x everywhere, but no bonused categories. The new Synchrony card offers 2x on dining, grocery, streaming and EV charging. For folks that were spending to status, my assumption is that 1.5x everywhere would be more desirable than having substandard 2x bonus categories…although neither is very appealing unless you’re trying to get Tier Points to begin with.
The BOA card offered a companion ticket after $25k in spend, the Synchrony card gives one to you at $15k as choice benefit. The BOA card also gave you 7,500 redeemable points after both $15k and $30k in spend, while the new version gives you a choice between the companion fare, a free night or upgrade at Virgin Hotels or a $300 tab on Virgin Voyages; you get one choice after $15k and another one after $30k.
Were it just those spending bonuses, I’d say that the new Synchrony card is a clear downgrade to the BOA card. But the Synchrony version also gives you a 5,000 point anniversary bonus and a yearly 3rd night free certificate at Virgin Hotels, both with no spending required at all.
In the end, if you were to spend $30k on the BOA card, you’d get 300 Tier Points, 15,000 redeemable points and a companion certificate. With the Synchrony card, you’d get 300 Tier Points, 5,000 redeemable points, a 3rd night free certificate and two choices from the list above. If you were to choose one companion cert, the difference would be 10,000 redeemable points vs a 3rd night free certificate and one of the choice benefits.
For most folks that aren’t interested in spending for Virgin Tier status, neither card would be terribly sexy outside of the welcome offer…although you could make a case for the Synchrony card if that 3rd night free cert came in handy.
My assumption is that most folks who are spending for status would take the previous card’s 1.5X everywhere and simpler bonus structure over the new card but it might depend a lot on whether or not you pay for Virgin Hotels or Virgin Voyages.
I’d be very interested to hear what current cardholders think of the new setup, so let us know in the comments below.
Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
synchrony customer service is crap. I still have a 2% mastercard from a converted Rakuten. I will cancel it soon.
When I got the Virgin Atlantic card it was the best I knew of for ‘everything else’ spend. With $25,000 spend I would get 2.25 Virgin points per $, a companion ticket and within shouting distance of Virgin service.
There are better cards now, but even last Decemer it was my go to ‘everything else’ card for foreign spend, and that’s without going for Virgin status or the big spend bonuses.
I can see the Virgin Red card as a very niche card, depending on the companion ticket terms and conditions.
Just canceled my BofA VS card, and won’t be applying for this new one. The loss of 1.5x miles for everything is a deal killer. Most of my spending is on dining (which usually goes on my AmEx Gold, Bilt, or Citi Premier), but the 1.5x for everything made it worthwhile to carry the card.
Thanks for this comparison. I am one of the people who spends $5k a month or $60k a year to earn 600 tier points, putting me well on my way for Gold status with Virgin. The new card is definitely weak at 1x for everyday spending. 2x for groceries is nice but minor compared to the loss of 1.5x everywhere. I estimate a loss of about 30,000 miles a year compared to the old card but a gain in one more companion certificate. I have been able to use the certificate for Upper Class tickets in conjunction with Gold status. Let’s see if that still works.