The Capital One miles earned on select Capital One credit cards can be redeemed in many ways, like covering travel purchases, getting cash back or gift cards, or booking a trip through Capital One’s travel portal. But one of the most valuable redemption options is to transfer miles to one of Capital One’s 22 travel partners.
This guide will walk you through the list of Capital One’s travel partners, explain how to transfer miles and offer tips on how to maximize the value of those transfers.
[Read: Best Credit Cards.]
Capital One Rewards Miles Transfer Partners: The Full List
Capital One has quite a large list of transfer partners, featuring 18 airlines and four hotel chains. Capital One has one domestic airline partnership, with JetBlue, and its roster includes some of the best international airlines on the market, some of which have alliances with top domestic airlines like United Airlines and American Airlines.
You can transfer miles to most partners at a 1-to-1 ratio. Below is a list of Capital One’s airline and hotel partners, along with their transfer ratios:
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How to Earn Capital One Rewards Miles
There are multiple ways to earn Capital One miles, including shopping through Capital One offers, earning the sign-up bonus on a new Capital One card or making everyday purchases with your Capital One card.
The four Capital One consumer credit cards that earn miles offer competitive flat rates on all purchases — 2 miles per dollar in many cases — in addition to elevated rewards on travel expenses. This type of rewards earning structure can make it a breeze to earn miles with any of the following Capital One cards, without having to worry too much about picking the right card for every purchase.
Capital One Consumer Credit Cards That Earn Miles And Allow Transfers
| Capital One Credit Card | Annual Fee | How to Earn Miles | Redemption Value on Capital One Travel |
| Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card | $95 |
— Unlimited 2 miles per dollar on every purchase — Unlimited 5 miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel |
1 mile per cent |
| Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card | $395 |
— Unlimited 2 miles per dollar on every purchase — Unlimited 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Travel — Unlimited 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel |
1 mile per cent |
| Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card | $0 |
— Unlimited 1.25 miles per dollar on every purchase — Unlimited 5 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel |
1 mile per cent |
| Capital One VentureOne for Good Credit | $0 |
— Unlimited 1.25 miles per dollar on every purchase — Unlimited 5 miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel |
1 mile per cent |
How to Transfer Capital One Miles
You can transfer your Capital One miles to a travel partner online via your Capital One account.
Log into your Capital One account, go to the View Rewards tab on your main dashboard and click on Transfer Rewards.
Select the travel partner you want to transfer miles to and click Transfer Miles. In the pop-up window, enter and confirm your membership number.
Then click Next. If you’re not a member of the loyalty program you’d like to transfer miles to, you’ll need to create an account first.
Enter the number of miles you want to transfer. The minimum transfer amount is 1,000 miles. However, unlike other rewards programs where you have to transfer points in 1,000-point increments, Capital One allows you to transfer miles in 100-mile increments. For example, if you need 10,585 miles to complete an award flight booking on Air France-KLM, you don’t need to transfer 11,000 miles — only 10,600 miles.
If everything looks good, click Complete Transfer. Your miles are on their way and should appear on your loyalty program’s account shortly. According to Capital One, miles transfers usually take less than 24 hours to complete, but may take longer in some cases. In other cases, some transfers can be instant.
[Read: Airline Credit Cards]
How to Maximize Capital One Miles Transfers
These tips can help you stretch the value of your Capital One miles on partner transfer redemptions:
Confirm availability before transferring miles. Once you transfer miles from Capital One to a partner, you can’t transfer them back. “I don’t recommend transferring miles until you have a specific redemption in mind,” says Dan Miller, founder of the travel rewards blog Points With a Crew.
Aim for redemptions higher than 1 cent per mile. When shopping for award trips on transfer partners, aim for redemption options that offer a higher value than 1 mile per cent — which is what Capital One miles are worth when redeemed through the travel portal. To calculate an award booking’s redemption value, divide the cost of the trip in cash by the number of miles required, says Ryan Smith, news managing editor at Upgraded Points.
For example, a trans-Atlantic flight that costs $1,261 in cash — or 126,100 miles — on Capital One Travel can also be booked on Air France-KLM for 40,000 miles plus $274.61 in taxes and fees. In this case, redeeming miles through the airline partner would yield a redemption value of nearly 2.5 cents per mile.
Leverage airline alliances and hotel partnerships. While Capital One only features one domestic airline partner — JetBlue, at a 5-to-3 transfer ratio — you can also take advantage of airline alliances to book domestic flights. “It’s often possible to transfer Capital One miles to Turkish Airlines or Avianca as a method to book United Airlines flights within the U.S. at a cheaper price than you’ll find on United’s website,” says Smith. “And short flights with American Airlines and Alaska Airlines in the U.S. can often be cheaper when sending your miles to British Airways as the way to make a reservation.”
The same applies for hotel partnerships. “Transferring Capital One miles to Wyndham Rewards to book Vacasa vacation rentals is one strategy that has worked out great for me,” says Miller.
Compare multiple redemption options. “Don’t assume that the best way to book a flight on any given airline is booking directly with that airline,” says Smith. Check award prices for the same trip across multiple transfer partners to find the cheapest option. “The way you book your flight is often more important than the airline you’re flying on,” he says.
Smith also recommends “comparing the price offered in your different options to see which provides the cheapest price combined with the best route, such as a nonstop itinerary or shorter time during a layover.”
Consider transfer fees and taxes. When you redeem miles on Capital One Travel, your miles usually cover the full cost of your trip, taxes and fees included. When you book award flights on any of its airline partners, you have to pay fees and taxes in cash. But when it comes to award hotel stays, the taxes and fees are usually included.
Depending on the flight and airline you’re booking, taxes and fees can be expensive and erode the value of your miles. Make sure to do the math before completing a transfer.
[Read: Hotel Credit Cards]
Transferring Capital One Miles to Travel Partners vs. Redeeming Through Capital One Travel
The value of your miles will greatly depend on how you redeem them. When it comes to booking flights, transferring miles to one of Capital One’s travel partners could yield impressive redemption value. On the other hand, if you’re looking to book hotel stays, redeeming miles through Capital One Travel might offer you a better deal.
Here’s an example of a round-trip flight from Los Angeles to Paris in late March:
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Here’s an example of a two-night hotel stay in Downtown New Orleans in early March:
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The key to identifying the best award bookings using Capital One miles is to explore multiple choices and run your numbers before committing to a specific redemption option.
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Capital One Rewards: Transfer Partners Guide originally appeared on usnews.com
