#4 Among Transferable Points
Point Value
1.30 ¢
Hobby Score
7.7
Capital One is a flexible point system we use for travel items that other systems don't cover
There are several ways to earn Capital One miles. The easiest is through select credit cards offered by the bank. Capital One has many different cards, but only a few earn transferable miles, which are the ones you want to open first. Points earned from one of these cards can be used to book travel with any of Capital One’s partners.
They also have a variety of cash back cards, both business and personal. If you have a cash back card, you can convert those rewards into miles only by transferring them to one of Capital One’s miles-earning cards, which is why it's important to have one of those first.
Capital One Venture X Business
Capital One Spark Cash Plus (year one bonus)
Capital One Spark Cash Plus (ongoing bonus)
Special Offers Related to Capital One Miles. Click the Arrow to see more.
- JetBlue Plus Card - Limited time offer - Barclay Bank - earn 60,000 points after spending $1000 in 3 months, $99/annual fee.
- Venture One Card - Limited time offer - Capital One Bank - earn 40,000 miles after spending $1000 in 3 months, $0/annual fee.
- Alaska Airlines Business Card - Limited time offer - Bank of America - earn 70,000 miles after spending $4000 in 3 months, $70/annual fee.
- Marriott Bonvoy Business Card - Limited time offer - American Express - earn 125,000 points after spending $5000 in 3 months, $125/annual fee.
- Chase Freedom / Chase Freedom Flex cardholders Q2 2023 - Activation is now open - Amazon & Lowes.
- Discover It - cash back Categories are Live - April - June Restaurants & Wholesale Clubs.
Capital One Venture Card now offering 75,000 sign up bonus after spending $4000 in 3 months + 2x unlimited miles on ever dollar earned. This card does have a $95 annual fee.
- Capital One has added Virgin Atlantic as a new transfer partner, points are a 1:1 ratio.
Capital One launches a new card, the Venture X, 100,000 Miles sign up bonus, $300 Annual Travel Credit & $200 Limited -Time Vacation Rental Credit.
You’ll get the highest value for your Capital One miles by redeeming through their travel partners. There are also several other ways to redeem, most of which are simple and require little effort. These redemptions typically earn 1 cent per point (sometimes less). That is the bare minimum we recommend and should only be used in limited situations.
You can book travel through the Capital One Travel Portal at 1 cent per mile. When used strategically, you can often get better value by transferring miles to partners. However, there are a few situations where booking through the portal makes sense:
You can still earn airline loyalty points when booking through the portal by entering your loyalty number. However, hotel loyalty points are not earned, and nights stayed won’t count toward elite status.
You can use your miles to cover any travel purchase made in the last 90 days. “Travel purchase” is broad and includes more than airfare and hotels. While this redemption is 1 cent per point, it can be valuable for vacation rentals, car rentals, and cruises that lack transfer options.
The following are ways to redeem your Capital One miles, but they offer poor value and should be avoided:
Look at the chart below to find the best sweet spots for this airline. Use the filters to find the optimal Sweet Spot for your trip and points.
Max. Point Value 1.30 ¢
Do Points Expire? No
Transfer To Spouse/Partner Yes
Transfer To Friends Yes
You load your points. We’ll show you valuation and transfer options.
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Capital One Miles Outside Point System
1:1 77% value retained
5:3 60% value retained
1:1 85% value retained
1:1 100% value retained
1:1 92% value retained
1:1 92% value retained
1:1 92% value retained
1:1 77% value retained
1:1 100% value retained
1:1 100% value retained
1:1 92% value retained
1:1 108% value retained
1:1 77% value retained
2:1.5 58% value retained
2:1.5 69% value retained
2:1.5 0% value retained
1:1 62% value retained
1:1 0% value retained
Capital One is a flexible point system we use for travel items that other systems don't cover
Capital One Miles fall more into the niche category. The points are extremely flexible, able to be used to reimburse you for any travel charges (Purchase Eraser). This makes their points most valuable for items like rental cars and cruises, which are not typically bookable with points.
Capital One also recently added partner airlines. The most valuable partner is Avianca, where you can book relatively cheap business class flights (30-55K each way) on Star Alliance partner flights like Lufthansa, Swiss Air, United and ANA to name just a few. Etihad Guest, Air Canada and Air France transfers may also be worth checking out -- in that order in terms of value.
The challenge is that it’s difficult to make the $50,000 spend to qualify for their bonus of 200,000 points with the Spark Miles for Business offer. Plus it’s tough to earn enough points for a full trip for two people with Capital One because of the limited number of cards and their approval restrictions. But if you have a business with a very high annual spend, grab this special offer when you see it for an easy 6x return on $50,000.
We call these points niche, not because they don’t have flexibility. It’s just more difficult to earn a high number of points, and Capital One lacks mainstream partners. If you’re under 5/24 and have already gotten all of our highest recommended cards, it might be worth a look at a Capital One card.
You’ll get the highest value for your Capital One miles by redeeming through their travel partners. There are also several other ways to redeem, most of which are simple and require little effort. These redemptions typically earn 1 cent per point (sometimes less). That is the bare minimum we recommend and should only be used in limited situations.
You can book travel through the Capital One Travel Portal at 1 cent per mile. When used strategically, you can often get better value by transferring miles to partners. However, there are a few situations where booking through the portal makes sense:
You can still earn airline loyalty points when booking through the portal by entering your loyalty number. However, hotel loyalty points are not earned, and nights stayed won’t count toward elite status.
You can use your miles to cover any travel purchase made in the last 90 days. “Travel purchase” is broad and includes more than airfare and hotels. While this redemption is 1 cent per point, it can be valuable for vacation rentals, car rentals, and cruises that lack transfer options.
The following are ways to redeem your Capital One miles, but they offer poor value and should be avoided:
You will lose your miles if you close your account. Since some Capital One credit cards have no annual fee, consider keeping the card or downgrading instead of canceling.
If you do decide to cancel your account, do one of the following first:
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