Good morning everyone, happy Friday.  By the time you read this post, I will be on my way to Chicago for the Chicago Seminars travel conference.  I’m a little late to the party here, but Doctor of Credit was the first I saw to cover this story.  Virgin America is shutting down their credit card program and sent out the following letter to cardholders.  Long story short, if you do nothing, your Comenity Virgin America Premium Visa Credit Card or Comenity Virgin America Visa Credit Card will be closed on January 4, 2018 and all benefits of using the credit card will end on December 31, 2017.  Based on when you paid your annual fee, you will receive a prorated refund on the annual fee, based on the January 4, 2018, closing date.  Please check out page 2 and 3 of the letter for more information.

If you close your credit card before January 4, 2018, you will receive a larger prorated annual fee refund.  When I heard that news, I immediately called Comenity to confirm the details.  The rep said that if I closed my credit card now (way before the January 4, 2018, deadline), I would receive a larger prorated annual fee refund.  Unfortunately, the refund would not be processed until 1-2 months after the end of the program, so I would not receive my refund check until sometime in February or March.  That is a bummer, but I will gladly take a larger refund check than a smaller refund check, so I told the Comenity rep to close my credit card.

The last piece of news worth sharing is that you can continue to use your Virgin America $150 off companion discount code.  You must use the code before December 31, 2017, for travel before March 31, 2018.

My Virgin America $150 off companion ticket discount code arrived via email on August 15 and I have yet to redeem the code.

The main reason that I have not redeemed the code is that there are so many blackout dates.  As you can see from the terms and conditions section, I cannot travel over Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, MLK Jr. Weekend, President’s Day Weekend and the last half of March (those are all my favorite times to travel).  This Virgin American discount code is a joke and is more of a headache than it is worth.

The Virgin America Visa Credit Card must be used to purchase travel in order to receive the discount. Virgin America is solely responsible for the electronic delivery of this Discount Code. Discount Codes will be sent via email only. To ensure receipt, keep your email address updated in your Elevate account. 14-day advance purchase is required. Promotion code expires September 16, 2018.

* The maximum discount per booking is $150 off the base fare of a round trip flight. This is a one-time use promo code and blackout dates and restrictions apply. Promo codes that are applied to ineligible flights based on the stated terms and conditions will not be honored. If a code is used on an ineligible flight the code will no longer be valid, however a new code can be issued by calling 1.877.FLY.VIRGIN. If base fare is lower than $150 value, remaining discount value will not be available for future use. Base fares do not include Passenger Facility Charges of up to $9 each way, September 11th Security Fees of $5.60 per one-way trip or stopover, and a Federal Segment Tax of $4.00 per domestic segment. A segment is a takeoff and landing. A stopover is a break in travel of more than 4 hours between 2 flights. For service to/from Mexico, base fares do not include the U.S. Immigration User Fee of $7, the U.S. APHIS fee of $5, the U.S. Customs processing fee of $5.50, a U.S. International Arrival/Departure Tax of $17.50 each way and additional taxes/fees of up to $70, including: Mexico International Departure Tax and Mexico Tourism Tax. One time use promo code is valid for non-refundable Main Cabin tickets only in fare classes N, S, L, I, M, U, E, H, B, or V. Promo code must be used by September 16, 2018. Travel must occur before September 30, 2018. Blackout dates are: 9/1/2017, 9/4/2017, 10/6/2017, 10/9/2017, 11/10/2017, 11/13/2017, 11/16/2017 through 11/28/2017, 12/15/2017 through 01/02/2018, 01/12/2018, 01/15/2018, 02/16/2018, 02/19/2018, 03/15/2018 through 04/08/2018, 04/14/2018, 05/25/2018, 05/28/2018, 6/29/18, 6/30/18 and 7/1/18 through 7/4/18, 8/31/18, and 9/3/18. Promo code may be used only towards newly booked travel and may not be applied to prior bookings. Promo code discount will be deducted off of base fare. Promo code may not be redeemed for cash. Promo code may only be used for bookings made on virginamerica.com and is only valid on round trip itineraries of exactly 2 guests and requires 14-day advance purchase. Offer is not transferable and cannot be combined with any other offers. Seats are limited, subject to availability, and may not be available on all flights.

If you have any questions about the Comenity Virgin America credit cards or using the $150 off discount companion ticket code, please leave a comment below.  Have a great weekend everyone!