The obvious reasons to get the Virgin Atlantic Credit Card are the points, the earning and either the upgrade voucher or companion voucher, which allows you to move up to a higher cabin, or bring a friend for just the taxes and fees.
The less obvious reason, which I admittedly had totally overlooked the value of until recently, is that it covers in-flight wi-fi, for sure on Virgin Atlantic flights, but likely on many others too.
Looking back at all the cash I’d spent to stay connected throughout the year on Virgin Atlantic flights, I could’ve actually justified my annual fee just with the wifi alone.
Virgin Atlantic Mastercard Boingo Pass
Boingo is a wireless hotspot group with over 1,000,000 wifi hotspots worldwide. That includes cafes, shops and places in cities all over the world, but most notably to me, it also includes many planes too.
The Virgin Atlantic UK Mastercard never hid its Boingo partnership and so I knew it existed in theory, but i’d forgotten the fact that Boingo does actually have air partners still. US customers can check their card for eligibility.
I last thought that Boingo lost most of its internet access aboard flights back in the twenty teens, but seeing the benefit listed, I decided to register my card recently via the Boingo x Mastercard portal and give it a whirl on my next flight.
Sure enough, on an 11 hour journey from London to Los Angeles, I had unlimited, “wi-fi max” access on the Virgin Atlantic flight, and was even able to stream Netflix, which I did not think I’d be able to with any plan. Love Is Blind, here we come.
I haven’t been able to figure out exactly how many other airlines offer this access, but it definitely works. I’ve seen reports of WestJet and some of American Airlines too.
When accessing the Virgin Atlantic wifi website on board the flight, I went to “voucher” and then logged into my free Boingo account in partnership with Mastercard. Seconds later, connection! Woo!
I May Be Dumb, But This Is Great
My family has carried the Virgin Atlantic + Mastercard in the UK for years now and only just realized the value this benefit brings. I’ve probably paid two annual fees worth in wifi access over this time, which I can now cut out of my life. Sigh.
I was thrilled at how well the connectivity worked and how seamless the login process was aboard the A350 I was flying. In a time when many people are unsure of their card strategies, amid changing travel plans, this is making it even easier for me to justify the card, in addition to the other benefits which save easily thousands each year.
If you’re someone who values wifi, either for work or connecting with friends while on board, it’s great to get it for free through your card, and in case you’re as aloof as I am — whoops, this is my job! — then at least you now know.
You can register your Virgin Atlantic Mastercard for free Boingo access here.
I think you need to update this as my US issued Virgin Mastercard does not qualify.
I echo Michael K’s comment as neither my MasterCard for Virgin Atlantic nor my MC for another airline works. I called the number on the back of each card as suggested by the Boingo for MasterCard site and got no help at all. I then called Boingo and got nowhere either! What’s the work around, Gil? Thanks for the speedy reply to this issue.
The article says “My family has carried the Virgin Atlantic + Mastercard in the UK for years now “
Works fine for my UK based VMC