News 2001
Here's a cashback bonus on us!
30/04/2001
- Virgin Mobile introduces a Big Bonus for all customers
- World's first cashback tariff for mobile customers
Now we're talking! Virgin Mobile announced today that from 1st May it will be offering the first ever 'cashback tariff'.
Customers using £30-worth of calls or more each month will receive 10% of whatever they spend as an airtime credit the following month. The Big Bonus is available for all Virgin Mobile customers. The more calls made, the more free airtime customers get, whenever they use £30 or more.
There is no limit to the amount a customer can save - apart from the fact that there are only so many hours in a day. So in theory it would be possible to achieve a Big Bonus of £3,456 if a continuous Rest of World international callı was made for a month!
The bonus is cumulative - it counts as part of the customer's monthly usage. If they qualified for a bonus last month, they still qualify for another 10% bonus the following month if the amount they use (including their bonus) is equivalent to £30. And there's no expiry date.
A typical UK contract customer on a rival network pays approximately £42 per month. If that customer were to switch to Virgin Mobile, where there are no contracts to sign, and spent the same amount, it would cost them only £37.80 - a saving of over £50 a year. And with Virgin Mobile they probably get more calls for their money anyway!
Said Tom Alexander, managing director of Virgin Mobile: "Customers are rewarded for their loyalty everywhere else - why not for mobile phones? Yet again Virgin Mobile leads the way in innovation, challenging conventional mobile thinking and putting customers first. As an virtual network operator we have low administration costs, so we can pass these savings back to our customers. Whether you're an individual, a family, a small business, or a big organisation, this Big Bonus represents a huge saving. We believe we are leading the way in the future of the telecoms industry."
The Big Bonus will be promoted with a multi-million pound advertising campaign titled, 'See Red then see Virgin Mobile'. The campaign features two well known TV celebrities, and breaks later this week.
ıRest of World international calls cost 80p per minute
For more information please contact:
Steven Day, Virgin Mobile, 07931 777777
Georgina Annett, Consolidated Communications, 0794 1251100
Notes to Editors:
The Big Bonus is applicable when £30 a month is spent on calls and text messages from and within the UK.
The Big Bonus is available to everyone paying by direct debit, or by pay as you go topping up with either a credit or debit card (both of which are free of charge to set up, with no line rental or contract).
Virgin Mobile is now established as the most successful virtual network operator in the world. Since its launch in November 1999 it has attracted over 900,000 customers making it one of the fastest growing mobile phone companies ever.
Virgin Mobile is a 50:50 joint venture company between Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Deutsche Telekom's One 2 One, and is the UK's first mobile virtual operator.
It has scored a number of firsts, including being the first operator to scrap peak rate calls, introduce a daily discounting tariff and was the first company in the world to introduce an integrated MP3 mobile phone.
In the UK, Virgin Mobile phones are available direct on 0845 6000 600; on the web at www.virgin.com/mobile; or on the High Street at over 3,500 outlets including Virgin Megastores, Our Price, V Shops and in supermarkets such as Asda and Sainsbury.
Virgin has already taken the brand overseas with Virgin Mobile (Australia), a partnership with Optus, which opened for business at the end of October 2000. A similar joint-venture between Virgin and Singapore Telecom will see the launch of Virgin Mobile (Asia) later in 2001. The global Virgin Mobile brand is also expected to launch in the USA and Europe within two years.
