--- title: "American Express vs Virgin Money: Which is searched more in the United Kingdom?" description: "Is American Express or Virgin Money more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Credit cards set in the United Kingdom. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time." canonical: "https://gobrandwave.com/demand/uk/compare/american-express-vs-virgin-money-credit-cards" publisher: "Brandwave" --- # American Express vs Virgin Money: Which is searched more in the United Kingdom? Is American Express or Virgin Money more popular in search? Compare estimated monthly branded-search demand and Share of Search inside the Credit cards set in the United Kingdom. Branded searches tell you how often people look for a brand by name or related terms. Comparing these searches across competitors helps you see how popular each brand is over time. ## Key facts - **Compared**: American Express and Virgin Money - **Competitive set**: Credit cards - **Market**: United Kingdom - **Month measured**: Sep 2026 - **American Express Share of Search**: 23.5% - **Virgin Money Share of Search**: 1.2% ## Is American Express or Virgin Money more popular in search? - In September 2026, American Express had more branded searches than Virgin Money among credit cards in the United Kingdom. American Express had about 201,000 branded searches, while Virgin Money had 9,900. American Express made up 23.5% of all credit card searches we track, and Virgin Money accounted for 1.2%. - American Express was ahead of Virgin Money in every measured month of the 12 months ending September 2026. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, American Express’ share of searches among credit cards in the United Kingdom moved from 23.6% to 23.5%, and its estimated monthly branded searches moved from 246K to 201K. - Across the 12 months ending September 2026, Virgin Money’s share of searches among credit cards in the United Kingdom moved from 0.95% to 1.2%, and its estimated monthly branded searches held steady at 9.9K. ## Top credit cards in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, American Express was mentioned in one out of five: in one of the three ChatGPT answers, but not in either of the two Google AI Overviews. Virgin Money was mentioned in one out of five: not in any of the three ChatGPT answers, but in one of the two Google AI Overviews. Too few answers listed options to rank the brands, so only mentions are counted. | Brand | ChatGPT answers that named it | Google AI Overviews that named it | All answers that named it | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | American Express | 1 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Barclaycard | 3 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 3 of 5 | | Capital One | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | MBNA | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Tesco Bank | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Aqua | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Vanquis | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | | Virgin Money | 0 of 3 | 1 of 2 | 1 of 5 | | Zopa | 0 of 3 | 0 of 2 | 0 of 5 | ## Every AI answer about credit cards - Asked ChatGPT "Which credit card should I use in the UK?": 1. American Express, 2. Barclaycard - Asked ChatGPT "What are the best credit cards in the UK?": 1. Barclaycard - Asked ChatGPT "What's the best credit card in the UK for everyday spending?": 1. Barclaycard - Searched Google, AI Overview "credit cards uk": named none of the brands we track - Searched Google, AI Overview "business credit cards": 1. Virgin Money Not named in any answer: Capital One, MBNA, Tesco Bank, Aqua, Vanquis and Zopa. Brands are listed in the order each answer named them. The answers were collected in United Kingdom on October 19, 2026. ## How did search popularity change for United Kingdom credit cards in September 2026? - In September 2026, American Express overtook Barclaycard to become the leader among credit cards in the United Kingdom, with 23.5% of the searches. ## Month by month | Month | American Express estimated searches | American Express Share of Search | American Express rank | Virgin Money estimated searches | Virgin Money Share of Search | Virgin Money rank | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Oct 2025 | 246K | 23.6% | 1 | 9.9K | 0.95% | 8 | | Nov 2025 | 201K | 20.3% | 3 | 9.9K | 1% | 8 | | Dec 2025 | 201K | 22.4% | 2 | 9.9K | 1.1% | 8 | | Jan 2026 | 246K | 23.5% | 1 | 12.1K | 1.2% | 8 | | Feb 2026 | 201K | 22.2% | 2 | 9.9K | 1.1% | 8 | | Mar 2026 | 201K | 20.2% | 3 | 9.9K | 0.99% | 8 | | Apr 2026 | 201K | 21% | 3 | 8.1K | 0.85% | 9 | | May 2026 | 201K | 21% | 3 | 8.1K | 0.85% | 8 | | Jun 2026 | 201K | 22.3% | 2 | 8.1K | 0.9% | 8 | | Jul 2026 | 201K | 22.3% | 2 | 8.1K | 0.9% | 8 | | Aug 2026 | 201K | 22.2% | 2 | 9.9K | 1.1% | 8 | | Sep 2026 | 201K | 23.5% | 1 | 9.9K | 1.2% | 8 | ## How each brand is measured Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using American Express’ and Virgin Money’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading. - **American Express**: Measured on the search term “american express”. - **Virgin Money**: Measured on the search term “virgin money credit card”. - [American Express profile](/demand/uk/brands/american-express) - [Virgin Money profile](/demand/uk/brands/virgin-money-credit-cards) - [All credit cards in the United Kingdom](/demand/uk/categories/uk-credit-cards): The set both shares are measured inside, 9 brands. ## Methodology - [How is the Brand Demand Index measured?](/demand/methodology): Where the figures come from, what they compare, and how they may be reused. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is American Express or Virgin Money more popular in search? In September 2026, American Express had more branded searches than Virgin Money among credit cards in the United Kingdom. American Express had about 201,000 branded searches, while Virgin Money had 9,900. American Express made up 23.5% of all credit card searches we track, and Virgin Money accounted for 1.2%. ## Cite this page Brandwave. "American Express vs Virgin Money: Which is searched more in the United Kingdom?". https://gobrandwave.com/demand/uk/compare/american-express-vs-virgin-money-credit-cards This page is also available as HTML at https://gobrandwave.com/demand/uk/compare/american-express-vs-virgin-money-credit-cards. Brandwave publishes an index of its Markdown pages at https://gobrandwave.com/llms.txt.