penguintalk

I am considering getting a Virgin America card since the airline covers just about all the places I travel to domestically.

If I get the Premium Visa, it has a $149 fee. I have family in San Francisco and live in DC. Having a checked bag free each way saves me $50 right off the top. That puts me at $99. At Elevate Silver status, I get 25% off one non-refundable Main Cabin ticket per year. I need 20,000 points to be at elevate silver. If I get the Premium card, I am already at 15,000. A few questions:

If it is the purchase of a ticket that puts me over the points limit to get silver elevate, can I then use the credit on that same flight?

ie, A $625 round trip flight to SFO from Reagan would be worth 5,000 and give me 20,000 points total (assuming I get the 15,000 point bonus). 25% of that is $156.25 It seems to have already paid for itself.

Even if it can't be used on the ticket that puts you over the status, it still seems like a card where the difference in fee is worth it for the higher one. Especially if someone is qualifying for the status point bonuses. Is my math way off here? Am I missing something? Has anyone done the math to know the spending cut-off where it makes more sense to use one over the other?

I get that points do not expire. But counting towards my gold or silver status resets each year, right? And there is no lifetime status with Virgin?

Lastly, can companion tickets be saved? Like if I get the card today, but don't use the $150 off in 2015, can I use that benefit twice in 2016?

Thanks for all of your help!

Edit: Extra question. The website also says there is a 100% bonus for Gold status. If I had gold status and booked something with the Virgin card, does that mean I'd earn 16 points per dollar?!?! If so, wow!