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Since its launch, we have shown substantial enthusiasm for the tie-up between Nectar and Avios. It’s given us a great way to (effectively) collect frequent flyer points on our shopping and, perhaps more importantly, spend them on our in-store or online groceries.

There’s now another opportunity along these lines, with the return of the partnership between Virgin Atlantic and Morrisons.

You will now earn UP TO 8 Virgin points per £1 you spend. It depends…

• The consistent bit is that for spends under £30, everyone earns 0.5 Virgin Points per £1
• For spends of £30 or more, you need to check what’s being offered in your Virgin Flying Club account.

In my case, I’ve been offered 7 Flying Club points per £1 spent. Some have been offered 8 (but no more), others less than 7. I understand that I had a point knocked off for once describing Richard Branson as a “balloon-loving beardy weirdo”.

Not as flexible as Nectar/Avios, but more lucrative…

Ultimately, what we love most about the Avios, Nectar and therefore Sainsburys tie-up, is the ability to not only earn Avios at Sainsburys, but also very easily spend them there (or at ebay, Argos and M&S). The Virgin/Morrisons arrangement doesn’t allow you to spend your points at Morrisons, although it does let you spend them at Greggs via the Virgin Red app…

So there you have it. Shop at Morrisons and then blow your points on a well-earned vegan sausage roll.

However, the earning rate, at present at least, is much better with Virgin. I can currently earn 1 Nectar point per £1 spent at Sainsburys. As 400 Nectar points gets you 250 Avios, that’s the equivalent of 0.625 Avios per £1. That compares very unfavourably to 7 or 8 (or even 2 or 3!) points per £1 with Virgin/Morrisons.

So, if you are shopping to earn points to fly with a British airline (or eat at a chain bakery), you’re definitely better of doing so at Morrisons. Just make sure you’ve registered a card!

How to benefit

To benefit from this in-store offer, you need to log-in to your Virgin Flying Club account and make sure that you’ve added a registered “in-store” card.

Exclusions

Virgin points will apparently not be earned on transactions for Cash Back, Tobacco, Fireworks, Saver Stamps, Postage Stamps, Gift Vouchers, Gift Cards, Infant formula/milk, Lottery Online Game, Instant Tickets, ‘Top-up’ Mobile Phone Cards, E Top-up, Photo Printing, Prescription Medicines or on transactions made within the Café, Dry Cleaning, Petrol Stations, Garden Centres and Pharmacy or outside of the UK.

Nor will points be earned for transactions made through:

– Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay
– Wallet providers including PayPal and YoYo Wallet
– Retailer store cards
– Cards not bearing the Amex, Visa or MasterCard/Maestro symbols

(Cover image courtesy of Morrisons.com)