Westpac's deal with Virgin Money (Australia) to form a credit card partnership in 2003 should have been a licence to print money. Over the past five years Virgin has signed up 800,000 cardholders. The Virgin credit card was a marketing triumph, at least at the start, but a fizzer financially.On Friday Westpac announced that it would end its partnership with Virgin Money to issue Virgin credit cards. The five year agreement ends next May.Westpac said in a statement that it would enter negotiations with Virgin Money "relating to the purchase of the Virgin credit card book from Westpac."Virgin's statement said it was looking to bring on a new partner and that the Virgin card would continue to operate as normal. Virgin said it was planning the introduction of new cards, including a small business card, a rewards card and a prepaid card.According to sources, Westpac joined the partnership on weak terms. In 2003 the bank was adjusting to the Reserve Bank's credit card interchange reforms and looking for a way to get into the low rate end of the market.Its credit card share at the time was below system and it was keen to do a deal.Westpac is understood to have to have offered Virgin a high up-front commission on each new card, said to be $200. To make any money on that kind of deal Virgin cardholders would have needed to be big spenders. Virgin targeted a young market but because it had no annual fee on the card it also picked up a large number of people who used their Virgin card as their emergency card, for use only when they had blown up their primary card.As a result the average spend on the card was low.The latest financial statement issued by Virgin Money (Australia) Ltd indicated that the card portfolio was in decline. "Bounty revenue" from the credit card joint venture with Westpac fell 14 per cent to $27.7 million over the year to March 2007. Notes to the accounts show that Virgin recognised revenue on an accrual basis and "as a fixed fee for each card issued and utilised over the period." Virgin wrote down the value of its management rights to the credit card business to $1.1 million at March 2007 from $2.5 million at March 2006.Westpac's involvement with Virgin may have been disappointing but that will not stop others looking to do a deal. A source said Virgin's big card base would attract a number of players.Macquarie Bank has the inside running by virtue of its 10 per cent stake in Virgin. Macquarie is Virgin's superannuation partner.