Virgin Atlantic’s “big” announcement

by Jeremy Kressmann on

As Grant mentioned last week, Virgin Atlantic has been up to something. When they started sending all kinds of cryptic emails to their frequent fliers last week, our minds started to run wild. What could it be? In flight jacuzzis for upper class fliers?! New solid gold airplanes?! Personal in-seat LASERS?!

Last night, Gadling headed over to the Frank Gehry-designed IAC Building in Manhattan to find out. After all the suspense, it turns it was for the launch of a new Virgin credit card. Meh. If you’re looking to throw down enough money to wrack up one million miles you can redeem them for a trip on Virgin’s new space flights, Virgin Galactic. Think you can spend enough? Yeah, me neither.

While the announcement wasn’t as momentous as we had hoped, Virgin did manage to throw down a pretty swanky launch party, complete with free massages courtesy of Virgin’s spa partner Cowshed. You wouldn’t have to twist my arm to fly Virgin, the service is awesome. But only if somebody else was paying for my ticket – they are downright expensive. Hey Virgin, how about a ticket giveaway so we can let Gadling readers try for themselves?

Hidden Credit Card Charges When Charging Abroad

by Justin Glow on

Do you use a credit card when traveling abroad? I do.

While having a stash of cash is always necessary, it’s also convenient to be able to reserve rooms and pay for the occasional item using your Mastercard or Visa. Be careful though; some (if not most) credit card companies will charge you a premium for using their card in a foreign country. Mastercard and Visa, for instance, charges a 1% “currency conversion” fee for each foreign purchase. And often times the issuer will tack on additional charges — usually 2% — for the convenience of using their card while traveling. This brings the total charge up to 3% for each purchase. It can add up.

Bankrate.com has a handy chart that shows what sort of additional charges you can expect from major banks. Most end up hitting you with 3% on top of your total purchase price. There are a few banks, however, that go as far as waving all fees, making a foreign purchase the same as a local one. If you’re traveling long term, it might be a good idea to go with one of those banks.

I’m lucky. My bank (USAA) doesn’t charge any additional fees, so I only get hit with the1% conversion fee from Mastercard. [via]