Citi ThankYou Rewards Adds Virgin Red as New Transfer Partner

Citi ThankYou Rewards, 1 of the 5 major transferable-point programs, has added a new transfer partner.

Starting today, Virgin Red will be joining Citi as the program’s 18th transfer partner. As a result, Citi ThankYou Points can now be transferred to Virgin Red at a 1:1 ratio for cardholders of the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card and Citi Prestige^® Card (not available to new applicants).

Virgin Red is a rewards program that allows users to earn and redeem points on various types of travel, such as flights, cruises, and hotels, as well as activities and retail purchases.

Here’s what you need to know about the latest transfer partner of the Citi ThankYou Rewards program.

Virgin Red Is Citi’s Newest Transfer Partner

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

The Virgin Group launched a loyalty program known as Virgin Red in February of 2021. It offers members the opportunity to earn and redeem points across various Virgin brands, including Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Voyages cruises, and Virgin Hotels. In addition, it has established partnerships with various U.S. retailers, allowing you to accumulate bonus points when making purchases.

Effective immediately, the Citi ThankYou Rewards program is expanding its transfer partner list to include Virgin Red. With the addition of Virgin Red, Citi now has 18 airline and hotel transfer partners to which Citi cardholders may transfer their points for maximum value, with many of them converting points at a 1:1 rate.

It’s important to note that Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club loyalty program, which is well-regarded among point enthusiasts, already partners with Citi ThankYou Points. Thus, this new transfer addition of Virgin Red with Citi seems redundant, as points can already be effortlessly transferred between Virgin Red and Virgin Atlantic Flying at a 1:1 ratio, even though they are technically separate programs.

Although Capital One has a partnership with Virgin Red, it does not include Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club as a transfer partner. Citi now boasts the status of being the only major transferable points program partnering with both of the Virgin Group’s loyalty programs: Virgin Red and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.

Is It Worth It To Transfer Points to Virgin Red?

It’s always great to hear about a new transfer partner, but the real question is whether the partnership adds value. It is already possible to transfer Citi ThankYou Points to Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club at a 1:1 ratio.

It’s a bit puzzling as to why Virgin Red was added as a transfer partner to the Citi ThankYou Rewards program, considering that Flying Club points can already be simply transferred to Virgin Red, and vice-versa, once your accounts are linked.

Having said that, if you have Citi ThankYou Points and want to redeem them for a Virgin Voyages cruise, you can now transfer them directly to Virgin Red instead of first moving them to Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club and then over to Virgin Red.

This would provide a simpler way to use points for cruises, hotels, or other entertainment and activity options.

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Final Thoughts

Today, Citi added Virgin Red as a 1:1 transfer partner. This makes Citi the only major transferable points program that partners with both Virgin Red and Virgin Atlantic’s Flying Club. Whether Citi cardholders will benefit from this new transfer partner is still up in the air. On the other hand, having more ways to earn and redeem points may one day open up exciting new opportunities.