New partnership: Transfer Wells Fargo Rewards points to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and Virgin Red
Wells Fargo Rewards has added a seventh transfer option to its growing list of airline and hotel partners. Consumers can now transfer their reward points to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club or Virgin Red at a 1:1 ratio.
There is no minimum transfer amount, so you could transfer as little as 1 Wells Fargo Rewards point to become 1 Virgin point. However, transfers are not reversible, so be sure you find flight availability or have a use for the points before transferring.
In our September 2024 valuations, TPG values Virgin points at 1.4 cents each and Wells Fargo Rewards points at 1.6 cents each.
The Virgin programs are closely intertwined, with a single Virgin points balance shared between them. So whether you transfer to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club or Virgin Red, once you link your two Virgin accounts, the single Virgin points balance will show in both, and you can easily redeem the points through either program (with many of the same rewards available through both).
Virgin points can be redeemed for a wide range of rewards, including upgrades on Virgin Atlantic, flights with Virgin or its SkyTeam partners (including Air France-KLM and Delta Air Lines), Virgin Atlantic Holidays (vacation packages), concert tickets, food tours and duty-free products.
Related: Virgin Atlantic’s new redemption sale is offering 25% off all routes, but is it worth it?
Should you transfer your Wells Fargo Rewards points to Virgin?
While redeeming points for flights operated by Virgin Atlantic comes with steep carrier-imposed surcharges, Flying Club uses a peak and off-peak award chart, unlike other airline programs, which price flights dynamically. So, while you may be charged more than $2,000 for a round-trip business-class flight from the U.S. to the U.K., it’s always best to double-check the cash fare against the award ticket price to see if it’s worth redeeming your points.
Plus, Flying Club offers networkwide redemption discounts several times yearly, which can help your points go even further.
You can also use Virgin points to book SkyTeam partner awards, such as international flights from the U.S. to Europe on Delta. Booking a one-way Main Cabin Delta flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) through Virgin Atlantic Flying Club should cost you 15,000 points plus around $200 in taxes and fees. Though the unavoidable fees can be a bit steep, Delta may charge triple the amount of SkyMiles for that same flight.
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Plus, if you fly Delta from the U.S. to other European destinations outside of the U.K., the taxes and fees are significantly lower, though it will cost you more Virgin points.
Again, it’s always best to compare multiple programs to see which offers the best value. For example, if Virgin Atlantic Flying Club charges 30,000 points to fly from JFK to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) on a Delta-operated flight in Main Cabin, and Delta SkyMiles charges 110,000 miles for that same flight, it’s a better deal to book through Flying Club than through SkyMiles.
We recommend checking and finding availability before transferring your points or miles.
Related: Wells Fargo Rewards program: How to earn, redeem and transfer points
How to earn Wells Fargo Rewards points
Though Wells Fargo offers several types of credit cards, including cash rewards cards, you can currently only earn Wells Fargo Rewards points with the following cards:
With the new transfer option, Wells Fargo Autograph and Journey cardholders can now transfer their points to the following programs at a 1:1 ratio:
Related: Why I got the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card — and how I plan to use the welcome bonus
Bottom line
It’s great to see the Wells Fargo Rewards transfer partner list slowly but surely growing with the addition of Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and Virgin Red.
Hopefully, a big player like Air Canada Aeroplan or Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer will be next to be added to the transfer list. A Wells Fargo card may not have been at the top of the list to add to your wallet, but the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card is a solid new contender in the transferable points space with a generous welcome bonus, impressive category bonuses and an increasingly valuable list of transfer partners.
