Wells Fargo Rewards has added a seventh switch choice to its rising record of airline and lodge companions. Shoppers can now switch their reward factors to Virgin Atlantic Flying Membership or Virgin Crimson at a 1:1 ratio.
There isn’t any minimal switch quantity, so you may switch as little as 1 Wells Fargo Rewards level to develop into 1 Virgin level. Nevertheless, transfers are usually not reversible, so make certain you discover flight availability or have a use for the factors earlier than transferring.
In our September 2024 valuations, TPG values Virgin factors at 1.4 cents every and Wells Fargo Rewards factors at 1.6 cents every.
The Virgin packages are carefully intertwined, with a single Virgin factors stability shared between them. So whether or not you switch to Virgin Atlantic Flying Membership or Virgin Crimson, when you hyperlink your two Virgin accounts, the one Virgin factors stability will present in each, and you may simply redeem the factors by way of both program (with lots of the identical rewards obtainable by way of each).
Virgin factors will be redeemed for a variety of rewards, together with upgrades on Virgin Atlantic, flights with Virgin or its SkyTeam companions (together with Air France-KLM and Delta Air Traces), Virgin Atlantic Holidays (trip packages), live performance tickets, meals excursions and duty-free merchandise.
Associated: Virgin Atlantic’s new redemption sale is providing 25% off all routes, however is it price it?
Do you have to switch your Wells Fargo Rewards factors to Virgin?
Whereas redeeming factors for flights operated by Virgin Atlantic comes with steep carrier-imposed surcharges, Flying Membership makes use of a peak and off-peak award chart, in contrast to different airline packages, which value flights dynamically. So, whilst you could also be charged greater than $2,000 for a round-trip business-class flight from the U.S. to the U.Okay., it’s at all times finest to double-check the money fare towards the award ticket value to see if it’s price redeeming your factors.
Plus, Flying Membership affords networkwide redemption reductions a number of instances yearly, which may also help your factors go even additional.
You may also use Virgin factors to guide SkyTeam associate awards, akin to worldwide flights from the U.S. to Europe on Delta. Reserving a one-way Essential Cabin Delta flight from John F. Kennedy Worldwide Airport (JFK) to London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) by way of Virgin Atlantic Flying Membership ought to price you 15,000 factors plus round $200 in taxes and charges. Although the unavoidable charges generally is a bit steep, Delta might cost triple the quantity of SkyMiles for that very same flight.
Plus, if you happen to fly Delta from the U.S. to different European locations exterior of the U.Okay., the taxes and charges are considerably decrease, although it should price you extra Virgin factors.
Once more, it’s at all times finest to match a number of packages to see which affords the very best worth. For instance, if Virgin Atlantic Flying Membership costs 30,000 factors to fly from JFK to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) on a Delta-operated flight in Essential Cabin, and Delta SkyMiles costs 110,000 miles for that very same flight, it’s a greater deal to guide by way of Flying Membership than by way of SkyMiles.
We advocate checking and discovering availability earlier than transferring your factors or miles.
Associated: Wells Fargo Rewards program: Easy methods to earn, redeem and switch factors
Easy methods to earn Wells Fargo Rewards factors
Although Wells Fargo affords a number of forms of bank cards, together with money rewards playing cards, you may presently solely earn Wells Fargo Rewards factors with the next playing cards:
- Wells Fargo Autograph Journey℠ Card (see charges and charges)
- Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card (see charges and charges)
With the brand new switch possibility, Wells Fargo Autograph and Journey cardholders can now switch their factors to the next packages at a 1:1 ratio:
- Aer Lingus AerClub
- Air France-KLM Flying Blue
- Avianca LifeMiles
- British Airways Govt Membership
- Iberia Plus
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Membership / Virgin Crimson
- Alternative Privileges (transfers at a 1:2 ratio)
Associated: Why I acquired the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card — and the way I plan to make use of the welcome bonus
Backside line
It’s nice to see the Wells Fargo Rewards switch associate record slowly however certainly rising with the addition of Virgin Atlantic Flying Membership and Virgin Crimson.
Hopefully, an enormous participant like Air Canada Aeroplan or Singapore Airways KrisFlyer might be subsequent to be added to the switch record. A Wells Fargo card might not have been on the high of the record so as to add to your pockets, however the Wells Fargo Autograph Journey Card is a strong new contender within the transferable factors house with a beneficiant welcome bonus, spectacular class bonuses and an more and more priceless record of switch companions.