The card offered an interest rate of 11.9% (4.9% for the first six months), no annual fee, 55 days interest free and a choice of colours. But it will be most remembered for breaking the mould: literally (couldn't resist that pun, sorry). The card featured a unique cut-out corner and was the first non-rectangular card released in Australia.

At the time, Virgin predicted the card would be immensely popular. Virgin Money Australia Managing Director, Rohan Gamble said "In research, 84% of Australian consumers said they would consider swapping to a card with no annual fees, good rewards and a significantly lower interest rate. That’s precisely the deal we’re offering, so we expect this to be incredibly popular,”

But the popularity never eventuated. Virgin Money sold the Virgin credit card portfolio to Westpac in April 2008 after reporting a loss of $19.445 million for the third consecutive year. All 600,000 Virgin credit card holders were informed via letter that they would be issued with a Westpac Ignite MasterCard as a replacement.

Last week, Virgin announced they would be re-releasing the card in conjunction with Citibank Australia some time in 2010. The partnership will also produce other savings and retail banking products.

Matt Baxby, Managing Director of Virgin Money Australia, stated: “We are excited about the prospect of working with Citibank to launch a range of banking products that offer great value and the excellent customer service that people expect from Virgin.  We believe we can offer Australian consumers a genuine banking alternative.

No details are available on the card features or fees.

What next?

• Compare all credit cards
• Read other articles
• Read credit card reviews