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If you like flying on the Virgin brands, you are likely familiar with the credit card transfer partnerships that can make it easy to book award flights on Virgin Atlantic. Earning Virgin Points is easier now that the Virgin Red loyalty program is off the ground.
What is Virgin Red?
Virgin Red is a free loyalty program that opened to membership in 2022 for U.S. residents and in 2021 for U.K. residents. This platform allows you to earn Virgin Points that can be redeemed across the various Virgin travel brands including Virgin Atlantic, Virgin America, and Virgin Australia.
For example, you can link your Virgin Flying Club account to Virgin Red.
Earning Virgin Points
You can earn Virgin Points in these purchase categories:
- Virgin companies
- Travel (flights, hotels, cruises, and experiences)
- Rent
- Online shopping and merchandise
Many of these opportunities are similar to other airline loyalty programs. You can shop through the online shopping portal at Home Depot, Lego, Nike, and more.
Your earning potential differs by the offer but can be at least 1,200 on one-way flights on Delta and other airline partners. Additionally, shopping partners tend to award from 1x to 6x points per dollar.
Transferring Virgin Points
Virgin Red is another tool that you can leverage to earn airline miles effortlessly with a credit card. Depending on the card, you can transfer to Red or directly to your Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.
Two credit card loyalty programs offer 1:1 point transfers to Virgin Red:
After this initial transfer, you can redeem them with your preferred Virgin company.
You can continue transferring these credit card points directly to your Flying Club account:
- American Express Membership Rewards®
- Chase Ultimate Rewards®
- Citi ThankYou
Another option is converting Marriott Bonvoy points at a 3:1 ratio. By converting at least 60,000 miles at a time, you receive 5,000 bonus miles.
Redeeming Virgin Points
Your Virgin Points are most valuable for award flights on a Virgin airline or a SkyTeam partner.
Virgin Atlantic flights to London can be one of the best options as award flights start at 20,000 points plus $482 in taxes, fees, and charges. Additionally, the United Kingdom is back open without travel restrictions, making international travel easy again.
Some of the SkyTeam partner redemption options include Delta, Air France, and KLM for domestic or European travel.
You can also redeem your points for non-flight travel, experiences, and social causes. Use one of the best credit cards for international travel to avoid paying foreign transaction fees while also enjoying the travel benefits that come with your card.
Summary
In conclusion, Virgin Points are a valuable way to make international travel affordable for trips to Europe and Australia. You may also decide to stay local with a Virgin America flight or cruise with Virgin Voyages. Combining the earning potential of Virgin Red and the Virgin Atlantic credit card transfer partners is a difficult combination to ignore if you want to earn travel miles quickly.
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