Virgin Atlantic Puts the World in Travelers' Hands With New Virgin Atlantic World Elite MasterCard®

Virgin Atlantic Puts the World in Travelers' Hands With New Virgin Atlantic World Elite MasterCard® Credit Card

Virgin Atlantic and Bank of America Renew Long-Term Partnership

SOUTH NORWALK, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Virgin Atlantic and Bank of America today announced the long-term renewal of their co-brand partnership and the launch of the new Virgin Atlantic World Elite MasterCard® credit card.

The new Virgin Atlantic World Elite MasterCard credit card rewards cardholders with three miles for every $1 spent on Virgin Atlantic purchases and 1.5 miles for all other purchases - one of the best ways to earn Flying Club miles.

"The new credit card program allows us to give our customers an extraordinary experience, both on the ground and in the air," said Chris Rossi, Senior Vice President, Virgin Atlantic North America. "Joining forces with Bank of America and MasterCard ensures our international travelers can use their credit cards easily - whether they're in London, our other worldwide destinations or their own neighborhoods."

Cardholders can earn miles every day that can be redeemed for rewards such as upgrades, Virgin Atlantic flights and partner flights with, for example, Delta Air Lines and Virgin America. Specific Flying Club miles earned through the card include:

• Three miles per $1 spent directly on Virgin Atlantic purchases
• 1.5 miles per $1 spent on all other purchases
• Up to 40,000 bonus miles in the first year:
  • 20,000 bonus miles after first purchase
  • Up to 15,000 annual bonus miles after every anniversary
  • Up to 5,000 bonus miles for adding additional cardholders to existing accounts
• Tier points to help ascend or maintain Flying Club Silver or Gold status

"Bank of America is proud to continue its long partnership with Virgin Atlantic. We recognize Virgin Atlantic's need to deliver an outstanding value proposition to Flying Club members, and this new World Elite MasterCard program will allow travelers to journey farther and enjoy more of what the world has to offer along the way," said Jeff Norwine, Affinity Banking Executive at Bank of America.

MasterCard is the exclusive U.S. network for the Virgin Atlantic co-brand portfolio.

"Travelers have told us that acceptance matters. This understanding of core traveler needs - combined with MasterCard's global acceptance footprint - serves as the foundation for a strong value proposition for Virgin Atlantic flyers," said Craig Vosburg, group executive, U.S. Market Development, MasterCard. "Through this program, consumers can build on this core benefit to take advantage of the access, perks and experiences that they look for every day."

In this new offering, Virgin Atlantic's Flying Club members - who earn miles to spend on rewards such as flights and upgrades - will also have access to MasterCard Priceless Cities. Priceless Cities is a program that brings consumers closer to their passion points by offering access to handpicked experiences and offers in their home cities and around the world, including exclusive access to concerts, restaurants, museums and sporting events.

For information on the Virgin Atlantic World Elite MasterCard credit card, including rates and fees, click this link or visit www.virginatlantic.com/plastic.

About Virgin Atlantic Airways

Virgin Atlantic Airways, one of the world's leading long-haul airlines, was founded in 1984, and currently has 38 aircraft in its fleet. Virgin Atlantic offers service from ten US cities as well as Vancouver to London, and onto a range of long-haul destinations worldwide. From its main base at London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports, Virgin Atlantic services destinations as far apart as Las Vegas, Tokyo, Mumbai, Boston and Shanghai. Even with Virgin Atlantic's continued growth, service remains customer driven with an emphasis on value for money, quality, fun and innovation, ensuring flying Virgin Atlantic is anything but ordinary. Pioneering many air travel innovations, Virgin Atlantic recently received a number of travel trade awards including, for the fourth consecutive year, Travel Weekly's "Best International Airline," Global Traveler's "Best Airline for Premium Economy Class," Business Traveler's "Best Premium Economy Class in the World," "Airline with the Best Business Class Service in the World" for 2012 by Premier Traveler and, for the first time, CNN's "Best Airport Clubs/Lounges" for the Clubhouse at New York's JFK. For additional information, visit www.virgin-atlantic.com

About Bank of America

Bank of America is one of the world's largest financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small- and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. We serve approximately 51 million consumer and small business relationships with approximately 5,300 retail banking offices and approximately 16,350 ATMs and award-winning online banking with 30 million active users and more than 13 million mobile users. Bank of America is among the world's leading wealth management companies and is a global leader in corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 3 million small business owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations in more than 40 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYS: BAC) is a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

About MasterCard

MasterCard (NYS: MA) , www.mastercard.com,is a technology company in the global payments industry. We operate the world's fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. MasterCard's products and solutions make everyday commerce activities - such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances - easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone. Follow us on Twitter @MasterCardNews, join the discussion on the Cashless Conversations Blog and subscribe for the latest news.

Reporters May Contact:
Virgin Atlantic
Nadia Basil, 1-203-750-2570
Nadia.Basil@fly.virgin.com
or
Bank of America
Betty Riess, 1-415-913-4416
betty.riess@bankofamerica.com
or
MasterCard
Beth Kitchener, 1-914-249-2058
beth_kitchener@mastercard.com

KEYWORDS:   United States  North America  Connecticut

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