100 days to Christmas: Ways to save with Virgin Red

Ready to start thinking about Christmas? Every year it seems like the festive season arrives faster than before, and in 2023 nearly half of shoppers are not only aiming to plan their Christmas shop early, they’re also going to put their loyalty points to good use.  

With 100 days to Christmas marked on 16 September and the average Brit spending £453 during the holidays, 80% of people say planning early saves time, money, and effort, not to mention the last-minute panic when you realise you’ve forgotten to order a gift for that certain someone. So Virgin Red are encouraging savvy spenders to make the most of the countdown to Christmas with some must-know hacks to boost your points and make Crimbo a breeze.  

Do you commute every week and prefer trains over driving for weekend trips? Then you need to get booking with Virgin Trains Ticketing. With zero booking fees and split ticketing available, you’ll earn three points for every £1 spent on journeys you’re going to make anyway. And if you save them over the coming months you can use as little as 200 points to unlock discounts to pay for your journey home for Christmas! 

With a whopping 79% of shoppers now using loyalty programmes such as Virgin Red when it comes to their daily shop, there’s always a chance to boost your balance with timely offers on several beloved brands. Case in point, until 15 October 2023 members can earn triple points when shopping with Marks & Spencer via Virgin Red, meaning this is the perfect time to start shopping early for Christmas gifts whilst earning extra points at the same time.  

Evelyn is one of those people and after joining Virgin Red in 2020, she has built up her Virgin Points in the run up to Christmas to spend on memorable gifts for her loved ones. “I love boosting my points balance in the lead up to Christmas as it’s my favourite time to spend my well-earned points! Last Christmas I used my Virgin Points to purchase a Virgin Experience Days reward so I could treat my parents to a hotel stay on the south coast,” she says. “I also redeemed points on a Virgin Experience Days gift and gave it to a friend as a Christmas present so they could choose their own activity.”  

Speaking of gifting, Virgin Red members can buy, gift and transfer their points to other members for them to unlock amazing rewards or save for a big treat. And if you buy or gift points before 18 September 2023, you’ll earn a whopping 50% bonus points!* 

Sign up for Virgin Red to have a more rewarding 2024.  

*Terms and conditions

• All Buy and Gift Virgin Points purchases made between 12 September 2023 and 23:58 BST 18 September 2023 will earn 50% bonus Virgin Points, subject to the annual 100,000 points purchase limit per member.

• If you buy, gift or transfer Virgin Points the Virgin Red Programme terms and conditions apply in addition to the terms and conditions set out below.

• The buy, gift and transfer Virgin Points service is operated on behalf of Virgin Red by Points.com Inc and so their terms and conditions will also apply.

• Points cost £15 for every 1,000 points plus every transaction comes with a one-off £15 transaction fee. So, if you buy 1,000 points you will pay £30, if you buy 5,000 points you will pay £90 and if you buy 10,000 points you will pay £165.

• You can buy points in increments of 1,000, subject to an overall limit of 100,000 points in each calendar year.

• You won’t be able to buy, gift (or transfer) points if your points balance is zero.

• Points should be credited to accounts within 24 hours, though this may be longer in some cases.

• You have the right to cancel any buy points transaction for up to 14 days after the date of the transaction, provided that none of the points have been redeemed.  Please see the Virgin Red Programme terms and conditions for details on how to do this. If any of the points have been redeemed you will not be entitled to a refund for any of those points including those that have not been redeemed. Once the 14 day cooling off period has expired, any points bought and received are non-refundable and non-transferable, except as expressly permitted by under the Virgin Red Programme terms and conditions.

• If points are to be used for a specific reward it is recommended that current availability of that reward is checked first.