Virgin Money launches monthly draws for prizes worth one million points

Virgin Money has launched a new monthly prize draw giving current account customers the chance to win 1 million Virgin Red points.

Every month until September, new and existing customers will have the chance to win the first prize.

Meanwhile, 25 customers will win a 12-bottle box of Virgin Wines worth £150.

The points are for the Virgin Red Reward Club which converts your daily spend into points.

Once a member, customers can spend them on a variety of rewards ranging from a trip back to the Caribbean to Greggs sausage rolls.

In addition to entering the prize draw, new customers will also benefit from an additional 20,000 Virgin Points via the latest current account swap incentive.

Anyone who earns 20,000 base points from switching to an M Plus or Club M checking account with Virgin can buy a box of 12 bottles of Virgin wine worth 16,000 points and have 4,000 points left.

However, with 1 million points, customers will have enough for a safari, a stay at a luxury hotel like the Mahali Mzuri in Kenya, or flights around the world.

Those taking advantage of the Current Account Switch deal will also benefit from 2.02 per cent interest on their checking account balances of up to £1,000.

Customers will also have access to a linked savings account that pays 1 per cent on balances of up to £25,000 and 0.5 per cent thereafter.

Andrea Burchett, Virgin Red, said: ‘We are delighted to partner with Virgin Money to offer members the chance to earn an amazing 20,000 points when they switch their checking accounts and also have the chance to become a points millionaire.

With nearly 200 rewards, members won’t be short on options to spend their points – whether it’s the little things that make everyday life better like a hot dog roll, hot drink or movie ticket, or a bigger experience like enjoying a concert from the Virgin Red Room or a trip to Barbados – The possibilities are endless.

How does Virgin Red work?

Virgin Red is a bonus scheme. Similar to Avios, you can collect Virgin Points from spending.

It’s partnered with a number of brands including John Lewis, eBay, Asos and Just Eat, which means you’ll get Virgin Red points when you shop with these brands.

While there are some deals that offer large amounts of points for every £1 spent, other buys offer much smaller amounts.

For example, customers can earn eight Virgin Points for every £1 spent with Booking.com, four points for every £1 spent with John Lewis or just one point for every £1 spent with Boots or eBay.

It should be noted that there is no cash transfer of points with the value varying from one partner to another depending on the reward offered.

This can make it difficult for people to understand how much interest they’re actually getting from the scheme, although if you run the numbers on some of their bonuses, you’ll see that you get roughly 0.5p per Virgin Point.

There are nearly 200 bonuses to choose from with Virgin Red.

With 20,000 Virgin Red points, you can buy 100 Greggs sausage rolls worth 200 points each time. However, with a million points behind you, you could get 5,000 rolls of Greggs sausage.

You can book a return flight from Virgin Atlantic to New York, Barbados or the Bahamas for 20,000 points, though taxes, fees and surcharges are paid separately.

How do you enter?

First, you will need to apply online for an M Plus or Club M checking account with Virgin. Although the M Plus account is free, the Club M account charges £14.50 per month.

To take advantage of the 20,000 reward points on offer, you will need to switch your existing checking account using the Checking Account Switch Service and set up at least two direct debits.

You will also need to put £1,000 into a linked savings account and hold this in your account until Virgin emails you a Virgin Red promo code.

You will then need to join Virgin Red if you are not already a member.

To enter the Million Rewards prize draw, you will need to login to your mobile banking app, click on Discover, then click on the Exclusive Rewards box and be entered into the prize draw.

You will be asked for some basic details and then you will need to login to your mobile app and make at least one transaction every month from May to September to be eligible for each prize draw.

Once you submit your prize draw entry form, you will be eligible for all future points millionaire prize draws.