Capital One Adds Yet Another Transfer Partner: Virgin Red [1:1 Ratio]

Capital One has been on a roll lately, making frequent changes to its rewards program — known as Capital One Miles — to better compete against the industry heavyweights like Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards.

In 2021 alone, the program added 4 transfer partners to its roster, and it improved the transfer ratios to a competitive 1:1 with all of its airline and hotel partners, save for 2.

Now, the program is adding yet another program to its list of transfer partners: Virgin Red.

Let’s take a look at the details of this very welcome development.

Virgin Red Is Capital One’s Newest Transfer Partner

Many are already familiar with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, but what, exactly, is Virgin Red?

Virgin Red is the Virgin Group’s relatively new loyalty program, and it allows members to earn and burn points with Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Hotels. It also has partnerships with several U.S. retailers through which you can earn bonus points for spending.

In the coming weeks, Capital One Miles will add Virgin Red as a transfer partner with a 1:1 ratio, bringing the total number of the issuer’s 1:1 transfer partners to 16.

Remember, too, that certain Capital One cards, including the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card and the Capital One Spark Miles for Business, earn 2x Capital One miles per dollar spent on all purchases, which means you can effectively earn 2 Virgin Red points per dollar spent on every transaction — a great deal considering the strong redemptions the program offers.

Technically, Virgin Red and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club are separate programs — at least for now — but you can easily move points between the 2 programs at a 1:1 ratio.

How To Redeem Virgin Points

Our favorite way to use Virgin Points is to redeem them for Virgin Atlantic flights. The airline’s frequent flyer program provides great redemption options, particularly from the East Coast of the U.S. to destinations in Europe.

Redeeming Virgin Points also allows for some pretty spectacular redemptions on partner airlines. For example, you can book round-trip first class flights with ANA (which, by the way, has one of the world’s best first class products) between the Eastern and Central U.S. to Japan for 120,000 miles round-trip — one of the best redemption “sweet spots” in the entire industry.

Hot Tip: For even more ideas on how to use your Virgin Points, check out our complete guide on the best ways to use your Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Points for maximum value.

Final Thoughts

Capital One’s addition of Virgin Red as a 1:1 transfer partner means every major transferable points currency will transfer to Virgin. This is great news for those who have Capital One cards, as it opens up an entirely new avenue of redeeming miles for an amazing value.