Capital One Adds Virgin Red As Mileage Transfer Partner

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The Capital One mileage program has just announced its newest transfer partner, as the program continues to get even more compelling.

Transfer Capital One miles to Virgin at a 1:1 ratio

In the coming weeks, the Capital One mileage program will add Virgin Red as its newest transfer partner. Yes, Capital One will partner with Virgin Red, the overall loyalty program for the Virgin brand, rather than Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. This makes Capital One the first US credit card company to partner directly with Virgin Red.

Mileage transfers will be at a 1:1 ratio, and this will mean Capital One will have a total of 16 transfer partners at a 1:1 ratio. Capital One has really upped its game with mileage transfer partners in the past year. In April 2021, Capital One announced huge improvements to its mileage transfer program, with the most significant improvement being that a vast majority of partner transfers are at a 1:1 ratio.

Keep in mind that many Capital One cards, like the the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (review) and Capital One Spark Miles for Business (review), earn 2x Venture miles per dollar spent, so you could be earning more than one Virgin point per dollar spent.

Is transferring Capital One miles to Virgin worth it?

Virgin Red is the new rewards currency for the overall Virgin brand. While rewards can be redeemed for all kinds of experiences, in our space the best use of these points is probably the ability to use them as Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points, and redeem them for premium travel experiences.

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is already transfer partners with all other major transferable points currencies, so really this is Capital One catching up. I wouldn’t read too much into the distinction between Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and Virgin Red, since points can be transfered between the programs.

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points are useful for redemptions on Virgin Atlantic, though the catch is that fuel surcharges are steep. Virgin also has some fantastic niche partner redemptions. My favorite of these is being able to redeem for travel on All Nippon Airways in first class & business class at a very reasonable cost.

Of course that’s of limited use at the moment, given that Japan’s borders are overwhelmingly closed to foreigners, and there’s no timeline for that changing.

Bottom line

In the coming weeks, Capital One’s mileage program will be adding Virgin Red is its newest transfer partner, which is a great option for redeeming points. While Virgin Red is separate from Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, it is possible to transfer points between the programs at a 1:1 ratio.

All other major transferable points currencies partner with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, so it’s nice to see a similar option with Capital One miles.

Could you see yourself transferring Capital One miles to Virgin Red? Any great uses of points that I’m missing?