It won’t be long until Virgin America’s Visa Signature Card will be discontinued. According to a statement released by the company, the officials decided to terminate the accounts using the rewards credit card, instead of converting them to a card from the new merging partner, Alaska Airlines.
The partnership between the two companies was officially settled in December 2016, but they are still working on integration, hence this late decision.
Customers will receive extra rewards, in order to compensate
Of course, some cardholders might lament the demise of the Virgin card accounts, but in order to compensate, they will be eligible for a new customer sign-up bonus, for a limited time, through the new Alaska Airlines Visa Signature Credit Card.
At this moment, the bonus stacks up at 30,000 miles, which is the equal of a $300 discount on Alaska Airlines travel, but just within the continental United States. Additionally, the value may vary, depending on the destination and total traveling time.
Also, it is worth mentioning that Alaska Airline miles are currently evaluated at 1.1 cents each on average, so the bonus is actually worth $330.
As for the Virgin America Visa Signature Card and Virgin America Premium Visa Signature Card, both of them issued by Comenity Capital Bank, they will no longer accept application. All accounts will be terminated on January 4, 2018, as well.
Cardholders can use them by the end of the year, though, and after that they won’t receive any bonuses, like free checked bags, even though flights were booked in 2017. Additionaly, there will also be an option of closing the account voluntarily.
Credit scores are in danger!
This whole action will eventually affect cardholders’ credit scores, since the age of the accounts, as well as the total available credit, can influence this number. Even more, if you apply for new credit – if you apply for the Alaska card – it can cause a temporary score dip.
Finally, you should know that credit card accounts won’t be converted from Virgin to Alaska Airlines, but on the other side, frequent flyer accounts will.
As for the airlines’ loyalty program, Elevate, it will be replaced by Alaska Mileage Plan on January 1st, 2018. The new company will use the Alaska name and logo, while the Virgin America name will be completely retired by 2019.
