Get 5,000 Bonus Virgin Points by Switching On Tesco Clubcard Auto-Exchange

Virgin Red has relaunched one of its most generous offers for Tesco Clubcard members. If you sign up to auto-exchange your Clubcard points into Virgin Points for the first time before 10 May 2026, you'll receive a bonus of 5,000 Virgin Points – enough for a £25 Virgin Experience Days gift card or a decent chunk towards a transatlantic flight.

This offer has appeared several times throughout 2025, but if you've never signed up before, now's your chance. The bonus represents genuinely excellent value – you'd normally need to spend £2,500 at Tesco to earn enough Clubcard vouchers to convert into 5,000 Virgin Points. Getting them for simply switching on a setting is a no-brainer.

The offer is straightforward:

Sign up to auto-exchange your Tesco Clubcard points to Virgin Points for the first time between 26 January 2026 and 10 May 2026, remain signed up, and have at least 250 Clubcard points in your account on 10 May 2026. Do all that, and Virgin will credit your account with 5,000 bonus Virgin Points.

250 Clubcard points requires just £250 of spending at Tesco (1 point per £1 in-store, or 1 point per 2 litres of fuel), so if you do any regular shopping there, you should easily qualify.

Beyond the sign-up bonus, the ongoing conversion rate is genuinely solid. Every Clubcard point converts to 2 Virgin Points – so 400 Clubcard points becomes 800 Virgin Points. Once you've set up auto-exchange, this happens automatically with each quarterly Clubcard statement, meaning you can essentially set it and forget it.

Virgin Points never expire, which is a significant advantage over some other loyalty currencies. You can steadily accumulate them over time without worrying about losing your balance.

The 5,000 bonus points alone open up several options. You could grab a £25 Virgin Experience Days gift card, get £25 off Virgin Trains Ticketing, or save them towards something bigger.

For flights, Virgin Atlantic's Economy Reward Seats from London to New York start at just 6,000 Virgin Points one-way (plus taxes). Combined with whatever you earn from regular Tesco shopping, that transatlantic trip becomes surprisingly achievable from your weekly grocery run.

If you're serious about collecting Virgin Points, combining this with a Virgin Atlantic credit card or Virgin Money card can accelerate your earning significantly.

Setting up auto-exchange takes just a few minutes:

Once set up, your Clubcard points will automatically convert to Virgin Points each quarter. The minimum for auto-exchange is 250 Clubcard points, which gives you 500 Virgin Points plus you'll qualify for the 5,000 bonus.

This is the important bit: you must be signing up to auto-exchange for the first time. If you've previously activated auto-exchange to Virgin Points (or received a bonus for doing so in the past), you won't qualify for this bonus.

However, some readers have reported success by using their Virgin Red ID if they previously used their Flying Club number (or vice versa). Your mileage may vary, but it's worth a try if you're unsure about your eligibility.

As someone who holds Virgin Atlantic Gold status (matched from BA Gold), I'm always looking for ways to boost my Virgin Points balance. The Tesco auto-exchange is one of those 'set and forget' strategies that quietly accumulates points in the background.

5,000 points for essentially flipping a switch is excellent value. Even if you only shop at Tesco occasionally, the bonus alone makes it worthwhile. And with Virgin Points never expiring, there's no downside to letting them build up over time.

If you haven't already done this, I'd strongly recommend signing up before 10 May 2026. Just remember to have at least 250 Clubcard points in your account by that date to qualify.

Happy collecting!

Jack

P.S. If you're looking to maximise your Virgin Points earning across your everyday spending, check out our guide to the best Virgin Atlantic credit cards available in the UK.