How To Transfer Your Capital One Miles for Maximum Value

Capital One rewards cards earn Capital One miles, which previously could only be used as statement credits for travel purchases.

But Capital One has since expanded its program to offer far more value by adding the ability to book travel through the Capital One Travel portal, to redeem miles for gift cards, and even the ability to pay with points at checkout at places like Amazon and PayPal. 

But the most value is found when transferring miles to a Capital One airline or hotel partner.

Getting the most from transfer partners can be complicated, so we’ll break down how each transfer partner works, which ones provide the most value, which cards work with transfer partners, and how to actually transfer miles in your rewards portal.

Capital One Transfer Partners

Capital One has one of the best credit card rewards programs available — and a big part of that value is due to some stellar transfer partners, including major airlines and hotels.  

Here’s a breakdown of each and the points transfer ratio when transferring from Capital One to the partner loyalty program:

Partner loyalty program	Transfer ratio
Aeromexico Club Premier	1:1
Air Canada Aeroplan®	1:1
Air France/KLM Flying Blue	1:1
ALL Accor Live Limitless	2:1
Avianca LifeMiles	1:1
British Airways Executive Club	1:1
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles	1:1
Choice Privileges	1:1
Emirates Skywards	1:1
Etihad Guest	1:1
EVA Air Infinity MileageLands	2:1.5
Finnair Plus	1:1
Japan Airlines	2:1.5
JetBlue TrueBlue	5:3
Preferred Hotels and Resorts	1:2
Qantas Frequent Flyer	1:1
Qatar Airways	1:1
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer	1:1
TAP Portugal Miles&Go	1:1
Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles	1:1
Virgin Red	1:1
Wyndham Rewards	1:1

All programs currently have a 1,000-mile minimum to transfer. But with some transfers, you’ll receive less than 1,000 miles when you transfer to a partner program. 

For example, JetBlue has a 5:3 transfer ratio — which means if you transfer 1,000 Capital One miles, you’ll receive 600 JetBlue TrueBlue miles in your JetBlue account.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that the transfer is less valuable. Different programs have different values for their points, and there are often deals where you can get a higher-value redemption than the usual 1 cent per point.

While most transfers are instant, it may take a day or two for the points or miles to appear in your partner loyalty program account.

Best Capital One Transfer Partner Values

While most Capital One transfer partners will allow you to exchange one Capital One mile for one loyalty program mile (or point), not all partner programs are created equal. 

As mentioned, there are a few transfer partners that offer more value than others, depending on the type of travel you are looking to do.

Here are a few of the best airline Capital One transfer partners:

Virgin Red

Virgin Red points can be used for flights on Virgin Airlines (and other travel). And some of the best redemptions are using Virgin Red points on partner airlines for international travel. 

For example, as of writing, you can fly from Tampa (TPA) to London (LHR) for just 13,500 Virgin Red points + $76 in fees. The exact same flight on Delta Airlines is $556 — meaning you can get nearly 4 cents per point (cpp) with this redemption!

Air France/KLM Flying Blue

Flying Blue is the loyalty program for Air France/KLM and offers some great redemptions for flights from the U.S. to Europe. 

You can book New York (JFK) to Paris (CDG) for just 18,750 points + $101 in fees. This same flight is around $429 on Delta — making this trip worth around 2.3 cpp.

Air Canada Aeroplan

Air Canada Aeroplan offers some great redemptions for short-haul flights between Canada and the U.S. (as low as 5,500 miles each way). 

But Air Canada also offers some great international redemptions, such as from the U.S. to Europe. 

For example, a direct flight from Newark (EWR) to Iceland (KEF) is normally around $635 on Icelandair. But using Aeroplan, I found it for only 41,000 miles + $83 for a direct flight! This is a value of about 1.5 cpp.

What about Capital One hotel partners?

While there are only three hotel partners to choose from, they aren’t a great use of points due to poor points redemption through their loyalty programs. 

All three programs require too many points for free nights (usually 30,000+), and you will probably get a better value just paying with your card and using the Capital One “Purchase Eraser” to get statement credits at a value of 1 cent per point.

You’ll need to do your own award search for your upcoming travel to see if it’s smarter to book directly through a partner program, use the Capital One Travel portal, or use the Purchase Eraser to get a statement credit.

Which Capital One Cards Can Transfer Points?

Several Capital One cards earn miles that can be transferred to partner loyalty programs. 

All of them typically come with valuable sign-up bonuses and can help you earn rewards on everyday purchases.

Capital One consumer cards that can transfer points

• Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card: This is Capital One’s premium travel card, offering high bonuses for booking hotels and rental cars through Capital One Travel, $300 in annual travel credits, lounge access, and more.

• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: This card has a strong earning rate, credits for TSA Precheck®/Global Entry, and a reasonable annual fee. 

• Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card: This no-fee rewards card earns 1.25x miles on every purchase, but offers additional rewards for purchases through Capital One Travel.

Capital One business cards that can transfer points

• Capital One Venture X Business: Business version of the Venture X, with high earning rate through Capital One Travel.

• Capital One Spark Miles for Business: This business rewards card has a low annual fee, plus employee cards earn you points as well.

• Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business: This entry-level business rewards card earns 1.5x miles on every purchase with no annual fee.

Combining cashback and miles-earning Capital One cards

In addition to using one of these miles-earning cards, you can also combine them with a Capital One cashback credit card and convert your cashback into miles.

Here’s how it works:

1. Sign up for a Capital One miles-earning card (listed above).
2. Sign up for a Capital One cashback earning card (such as the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card).
3. Use your cashback card when spending in categories with bonus rewards (such as grocery stores, dining, and streaming services).
4. Log into the Capital One app and choose to combine your rewards.
5. Transfer your cashback balance to your miles-earning card (this will convert at 1 cent per mile).

This allows you to use a cashback card for extra rewards, and then convert your cashback balance into miles — which can be transferred to partners for even better redemptions!

How To Transfer Capital One Miles

Now that you’ve earned some Capital One miles, you’ll need to walk through the process of actually transferring your miles to a partner program. Here’s how it works:

1. Connect the partner program to Capital One

Before you can transfer miles from your Capital One account, you’ll need to connect your partner loyalty program in the Capital One app (or website). 

You’ll usually just need your rewards program number, which you can enter when you start the transfer process.

In the Capital One app, go to the “Explore Rewards” section and select “Transfer Rewards.” You may be prompted to log in again.

Once you’re in, you’ll see a list of Capital One transfer partners and transfer ratios.

Choose “Transfer Miles” and you’ll be prompted to input your loyalty program number (or ID).

2. Choose how many miles to transfer

Once you connect to your partner loyalty program, you’ll need to choose how many miles to transfer. It’s a good idea to research the booking you’d like to make to understand how many miles you need before transferring.

You can choose an amount over 1,000 miles to transfer, but it must be in increments of 100 miles at a time.

Important: You need a minimum of 1,000 miles to transfer to any partner.

3. Execute your transfer

Once you’ve selected the exact amount of miles you wish to transfer, you’ll need to agree to the terms and confirm your selection to execute the transfer. 

Once you see the “Success” message on-screen, your transfer was executed.

Important: Partner transfers are irreversible. Double- and triple-check your transfer details before executing the transfer so you don’t lose your miles.

4. Check your partner loyalty program for points

Even though the transfer was executed on the Capital One app, it doesn’t mean it instantly arrives at the partner program. 

In most cases, you should see the miles arrive within a few minutes. But some programs can take up to 24 hours (or more), so you’ll want to log into your loyalty partner program and check if the miles have arrived.

I have had to log out and back into programs in the past to see the points arrive, so don’t panic if you don’t see the miles transfer at first. Just keep checking.

5. Redeem your points/miles

Once the miles have landed in your account, you can redeem them through your loyalty program. This means searching and booking award flights or hotel nights through the partner program directly.

You may have to pay some fees for the booking.

FAQs

TL;DR: Transferring Capital One Miles

You can often get the best value from your Capital One miles when you transfer them to airline partners rather than booking through Capital One Travel. 

The best transfer partners, like Virgin, Air France/KLM, and Air Canada, can deliver 1.5 to 4 cents per point value on international flights — way more than the 1 cent you’d get through the Capital One portal.

The key is to research award availability before transferring to ensure you're getting the best value possible.

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Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.