by Roisi Proven

Created on: March 07, 2009   Last Updated: March 31, 2009

In the current economic climate, finding the right credit card is as much about the lifestyle benefits it may provide as it is about interest on balance transfers and a competitive variable rate. This is why cards such as the Virgin Atlantic American Express card from MBNA are becoming increasingly popular when people are searching for the best credit card for them. The Virgin Atlantic American Express card is one of several cards on the market that can provide you with air miles which can be used not only for flights but also for things like special excursions and spa days.

In terms of general comparison, you do sacrifice a little for your air miles with the Virgin Atlantic card. The variable APR on this card is 17.9% (at the time of writing), compared to the 16.9% of many others such as the Egg card or the Mint card. There is also no introductory interest rate like those that are provided by many other credit card companies. However, this credit card is marketed as a card that you will keep for many years, whereas cards with introductory offers on interest are often simply used to transfer large balances over and then discard after the offer has expired.

As this card is an American Express card, you may find that it is accepted in far less places in the UK than either Visa or Mastercard. Unfortunately, of all the credit cards on the market which are tailored toward collecting air miles, only one, the Lloyds TSB Airmiles Duo Mastercard, is not American Express. Although this is definitely a point in the cards favour, the number of air miles collected per 1 is the lowest of any of this type of credit card currently on the market (at 1 air mile for every 50 spent).

In terms of air miles collected, The Virgin Atlantic credit card is fairly typical of other similar credit cards on the market. Both it and the British Airways American Express card offer 1 air mile per every 1 spent. The BMI credit card fares slightly better, with 1.5 air miles for every 1 spent. If the number of air miles is your main consideration, then it mostly depends on which airline you prefer to fly with. All the aforementioned cards provide miles that can only be used on flights by that operator or airlines approved by them, so if you dislike British Airways, getting a British Airways credit card would be unproductive as you are far less likely to reap the rewards of your spending.

In terms of introductory air miles, the Virgin Atlantic card offers a much more attractive package than any of

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