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Compared to its competitors, Capital One is a reasonably new player in the world of transferrable rewards, only launching its airline transfer partners in late 2018. Originally a fixed-value rewards program, the expansion of Capital One’s rewards program to include transfer partners made it a lot more valuable for cardholders. It's also become more attractive to points and miles maximizers.
Despite the program’s status as a relative newcomer, Capital One’s airline transfer program features some strong airline partners. You'll also notice plenty of overlap with other transferrable currencies like American Express Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Chase Ultimate Rewards. This overlap provides great opportunities to complement your existing rewards portfolio.
In this post, we will walk you through the pros and cons of Capital One’s airline transfer partners. Plus, we'll run through some real-life examples to demonstrate the value (or lack thereof) of each program.
How to Earn Capital One Miles
Six credit cards earn transferrable Capital One miles:
- Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
- Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
- Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card
- Capital One Spark Miles for Business
- Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business
- Capital One Venture X Business
Depending on the card, you’ll earn between 1.25 and 2 miles per dollar spent. Cards may also offer bonus categories — such as a higher earning rate for purchasing travel through Capital One Travel.
- Earn 75,000 Miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening; worth $750 in travel if redeemed for a fixed-value, or potentially much more when transferred to airline partners
- 2 Miles on every purchase
- Fee credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre✔® (up to $100)
- No foreign transaction fees
- $95 annual fee
- 5X miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- 2X miles per dollar on all other purchases
Capital One Transfer Rates
There are 18 Capital One transfer partners: 15 airlines and three hotels.
The transfer rate for most partners is 1,000 Capital One miles = 1,000 airline or hotel points. But, for a couple of Capital One partners, 1,000 Capital One miles will convert to either 750 or 500 points.
| Loyalty Program | Transfer Ratio | Miles/Points per 1,000 Capital One Miles Transferred |
|---|---|---|
| Aeromexico (Club Premier) | 1:1 | 1,000 |
| Air Canada (Aeroplan) | 1:1 | 1,000 |
| Air France-KLM (Flying Blue) | 1:1 | 1,000 |
| Avianca (LifeMiles) | 1:1 | 1,000 |
| British Airways (Executive Club) | 1:1 | 1,000 |
| Cathay Pacific (Asia Miles) | 1:1 | 1,000 |
| Emirates (Skywards) | 1:1 | 1,000 |
| Etihad (Etihad Guest) | 1:1 | 1,000 |
| EVA Air (Infinity MileageLands) | 2:1.5 | 750 |
| Finnair (Finnair Plus) | 1:1 | 1,000 |
| Qantas (Frequent Flyer) | 1:1 | 1,000 |
| Singapore (KrisFlyer) | 1:1 | 1,000 |
| TAP Portugal (Miles & Go) | 1:1 | 1,000 |
| Turkish Airlines (Miles & Smiles) | 1:1 | 1,000 |
| Virgin Red (includes Virgin Atlantic Flying Club) | 1:1 | 1,000 |
| Accor (Accor Live Limitless) | 2:1 | 500 |
| Choice Hotels (Choice Privileges) | 1:1 | 1,000 |
| Wyndham (Wyndham Rewards) | 1:1 | 1,000 |
Need to know how long it takes for transfers to post? Check out our data on Capital One transfer times.
Capital One Airline Partners
Aeromexico Club Premier
Aeromexico is a member of SkyTeam Alliance — which includes Delta, Air France, KLM, and others. Club Premier can be a confusing program since its awards are priced in kilometers instead of miles. To fairly compare prices with other airline award charts, you have to divide Club Premier award prices by 1.6.
Unlike Amex Membership Rewards, which transfer to AeroMexico at 1:1.6 (1,000 Amex points to 1,600 Club Premier points), Capital One miles transfer at a ratio of 1:1 — providing mediocre value for your Capital One miles.
AeroMexico generally isn’t great for economy tickets but can provide competitive prices on business class fares — provided you have a bounty of Capital One miles. Round-trip business-class flights from the U.S. to Japan and South Korea cost 180,000 Capital One miles but have limited fuel surcharges. You also can fly round-trip business class from the U.S. to Europe or Russia (yes, all of Russia) for just over 160,000 Capital One miles. However, its dynamic pricing make those awards difficult to find, and the economy pricing isn't worth considering.
One of Club Premier's best features is its Round the World Pass. With it, you can fly to up to 15 destinations (maximum five per continent) for 224,000 Capital One miles in economy and just over 350,000 Capital One miles in business class.
Generally, transfers from Capital One to Club Premier are instant. Check out our in-depth guide to the best Aeromexico Club Premier awards and sweet spots for more info.
Air Canada Aeroplan
Air Canada is a member of Star Alliance, so you can use Aeroplan miles to book flights on partners like United, Lufthansa, and Singapore. Aeroplan uses a combination mileage- and region-based chart. Thankfully, Aeroplan eliminated its once-hefty fuel surcharges.
For example, a one-way flight from Seattle to Tokyo in business class costs 55,000 Aeroplan points.
The best part about Aeroplan is its flexible routing rules: You can add a stopover for just 5,000 more points — and can do it online — helping you plan trips that include additional destinations without paying much more.
Related: The Secret Sweet Spots of Aeroplan Stopovers and Open Jaws
Air France-KLM Flying Blue
Flying Blue is the rewards program for Air France and KLM, as well as Air Calin, Kenya Airways, TAROM, and Transavia. You can use Flying Blue miles to book travel on Delta, Alitalia, Korean Air, and other SkyTeam alliance airlines.
You have two main ways to get great value out of Flying Blue miles. The first is Flying Blue Promo Rewards, which offers discounts of 25% to 50% on award flights to and from specific cities. It’s possible to book economy flights to Europe for as few as 11,250 Flying Blue miles each way.
The second Flying Blue sweet spot is that it offers far better prices than other programs to select destinations. That’s because, like many rewards programs, Flying Blue uses a region-based award chart to determine prices. However, it categorizes some countries differently than most. For example, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, and the Canary Islands are all part of Europe, according to Flying Blue — which can provide some good award opportunities.
You can learn more about places for which Flying Blue offers excellent value in our guide to Air France-KLM Flying Blue award sweet spots.
Avianca LifeMiles
Avianca is one of the best Capital One transfer partners. As a Star Alliance member, you can use LifeMiles on carriers like United, Air Canada, Lufthansa, and Singapore. Unlike most of Capital One's other transfer partners, you won’t pay fuel surcharges with LifeMiles redemptions. This can save you hundreds of dollars compared to booking the same flights with Singapore KrisFlyer miles.
Avianca’s award charts are somewhat convoluted but generally offer solid value across the board. For example, domestic economy flights in the U.S. cost 7,500 to 12,500 LifeMiles each way. Also, flights from the U.S. to Europe cost 20,000 to 30,000 LifeMiles in economy or 60,000 to 63,000 LifeMiles in business class.
If you book a connecting flight, you can save a few miles by choosing economy, business-, and first-class on a flight-by-flight basis. For example, on a flight from San Francisco to Barcelona via Zürich, you can save 2,560 LifeMiles by choosing to fly the short segment from Zürich to Barcelona in economy instead of business class. Most airlines charge you the full business class rate if any segment of your trip is in business class — even if it’s the shortest flight!
The biggest challenge with LifeMiles is Avianca's website. It won’t always show award seats even if another Star Alliance partner can book them. In addition, you’ll sometimes find award space when searching segment-by-segment but not for an entire trip. Using the same example above, it might show you San Francisco–Zürich and Zürich–Barcelona, but not San Francisco–Zürich–Barcelona.
When this happens, it’s possible to request a manual booking by emailing LifeMiles customer service with screenshots of the available flights on its website. But, it can take a couple of days to get a response. In short, you may transfer your miles only to have award space disappear while waiting. Transfers from Capital One to LifeMiles are generally instant.
British Airways Executive Club
British Airways Executive Club is a valuable option for folks with Capital One Miles. That's especially true where prices on shorter flights can be significantly cheaper here than with other programs.
British Airways is a member of the Oneworld alliance. That means you can use Avios to book flights with more than a dozen Oneworld member airlines, such as American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and Qatar Airways. In addition, British Airways has a handful of independent partnerships with airlines outside of the Oneworld alliance. Combined with a massive fleet and a huge list of destinations served by British Airways itself, Avios can get you almost anywhere you want to go.
Related: How Many Miles Do You Need for a Free Flight?
British Airways uses a distance-based award chart, instead of a region-based chart like most other loyalty programs. This means that if a flight falls within a shorter mileage range, it could cost much less than the same award flight with a region-based award chart.
For example, it's often possible to save when booking short-haul flights in the United States by booking with British Airways instead of American Airlines. With British Airways Avios, you can redeem for flights under 650 miles for just 7,500 Avios. If you have access to both types of miles, it's always worthwhile to compare now that American Airlines doesn't publish an award chart. Check out this post to learn more about using Avios to book flights on American Airlines.
Related: The Best Ways to Redeem Avios in the Americas
Outside of the United States, flights under 650 miles cost even fewer Avios. For example, flights from Madrid to Barcelona run just 4,500 Avios one-way during off-peak periods.
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
Cathay Pacific is a member of the Oneworld alliance, so Asia Miles are great for booking flights on other Oneworld airlines like American, Japan Airlines (JAL), Qantas, and. Asia Miles passes on fuel surcharges for airlines that have them, like British Airways and Qatar. Even $351 in fees for an economy flight from San Francisco to Tokyo can feel expensive when added to the 40,000 miles you're paying.
Beware that using Asia Miles can be complicated. It has three separate award charts — and its single-airline partner award chart isn’t published online. Only some of its partners can be booked through the Asia Miles website (meaning you have to call to book American Airlines flights), and search results are cluttered with flights that don’t have seats available. But, if you’re patient, there's solid value to be found. Award prices are competitive with other programs and sometimes offer significantly better value — especially in business and first classes.
One of the best things about Asia Miles is its flexible routing rules: If you’re flying all Oneworld airlines, you can have up to five stopovers on a round-trip, multi-carrier itinerary. Award ticket prices are distance-based, calculated from your total trip distance (rather than individual segments). This can be a particularly good option if you plan to visit several different cities in the same region.
If you’re planning ahead and want to travel in business class or first class on Cathay Pacific, Asia Miles will also get you access to award seats several weeks earlier than miles from most partner programs. Unfortunately, transfers from Capital One take up to five days to process.
Emirates Skywards
Emirates is one of the Capital One transfer partners that isn't in an airline alliance. It has still has over a dozen partner airlines, though, and there are niche cases where Skywards makes sense for Emirates award flights.
For example, Emirates flights from New York (JFK) to Milan (MXP) and Newark (EWR) to Athens (ATH) are generally a decent value. Economy tickets on these routes cost 45,000 Skywards miles roundtrip (less than most programs), 108,000 Skywards miles roundtrip in business, and 204,000 Skywards miles roundtrip in first.
It's also worth noting that Emirates charges a premium for one-way award tickets. While a business class round trip can be booked for 108,000 Skywards, you'll find one-way tickets on the same route cost 87,000 miles.
Check out our full list of good value redemptions using Emirates Skywards.
Etihad Guest
Prior to March 2023, Etihad Guest was one of the most valuable Capital One transfer partners. This non-alliance partner had strategic partnerships that offered incredible sweet spots. Unfortunately, changes to the award charts eliminated the highest-value redemptions.
Etihad has an interesting collection of 20+ partners — including some significant airlines like American, Air Canada, ANA, and Brussels. It also partners with several smaller carriers like Air Serbia, Philippine Airlines, and Royal Air Maroc that are hard to book otherwise.
The best value in this program will be short flights, as these start at 7,000 miles each in economy for Etihad's own flights and 6,000 miles per passenger with partner airlines.
EVA Air Infinity MileageLands
When it comes to award tickets, EVA Air Infinity MileageLands doesn’t have a lot to offer beyond an unusual program name. Virtually all routes that EVA offers can be booked for fewer miles with Avianca LifeMiles, Air Canada Aeroplan, or Singapore KrisFlyer.
EVA Air also passes on fuel surcharges from partner airlines. Unlike Singapore Airlines (which reserves many of its seats for its own program), any EVA Air flight you can book with Infinity MileageLands miles should also be bookable with miles from other partners. In short, we can't find a good reason to transfer miles to EVA. Let us know if we missed something.
Finnair Plus
Finnair is a member of the Oneworld alliance. You can use these miles to book flights with Oneworld airlines like American, British Airways, Japan Airlines, Qantas, and Alaska Airlines. At first glance, Finnair’s prices for partner awards are terrible. For example, a domestic coach flight on American costs 27,000 Finnair miles each way.
Still, there are a couple of spots on Finnair’s award chart worth considering. The first is flights within Northern Europe — which stretches from Reykjavik, Iceland to Moscow, Russia. Note that Finnair is not currently operating flights to Russia.
Flying with Finnair anywhere in this region can provide solid value. Awards cost just 15,000 miles round-trip in economy or 25,000 miles round-trip in business class. Remember, though, that an intra-Europe ‘business class’ seat just means there will be no one in the middle seat next to you. So, unless you need a large baggage allowance — or really want to visit the sauna at the Finnair lounge in Helsinki — it’s probably not worth the extra miles.
For a European airline, Finnair has an unusually broad definition of Europe, including Tel Aviv and even Dubai. Round-trip flights on Finnair from the U.S. to Europe cost 90,000 Finnair miles in economy or 160,000 miles in business. These prices aren't competitive for destinations that are actually in Europe. However, it might be worth considering for flights from North America to the Middle East.
If you decide to transfer miles to Finnair, you’ll want to book a roundtrip flight. This is because one-way flights are a much worse deal. Try to book online if possible since Finnair will charge you an extra $35 for phone bookings. Thankfully, transfers from Capital One to Finnair are usually instant.
Qantas Frequent Flyer
Qantas is another Oneworld alliance member. It also partners with several other airlines, including Airnorth, Air Niugini, Air Vanuatu, China Eastern, El Al, Emirates, and Westjet.
Like Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Qantas has a distance-based award chart that calculates the price of your ticket based on the total distance flown. The best value tends to be for short trips. For example, you’ll pay 8,000 points each way for flights under 600 miles and 12,000 points each way for journeys between 600-1,200 miles in length.
Qantas doesn’t charge fees for booking close to departure. Also, the Qantas website is much better at searching for and booking complex itineraries — such as connecting itineraries departing from small U.S. airports — than most partner airlines.
Note that transfers to Qantas take approximately 24 hours.
Singapore KrisFlyer
Singapore Airlines is often an excellent option for booking flights on Star Alliance airlines like United, Air Canada, Lufthansa, and Thai Airways. The program offers reasonable prices and no close-in fees. Also, you can transfer points from just about every transferrable points program. These include American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Points, Marriott Bonvoy, and Capital One miles.
Using Capital One miles for KrisFlyer bookings is especially great if you need to combine with points from another credit card company. You could transfer to Singapore to book deals like United Airlines economy flights from the U.S. to Hawaii for 19,500 KrisFlyer miles. Or you could transfer 30,500 KrisFlyer miles for an economy flight from the U.S. to Europe on any Star Alliance partner.
Transferring to KrisFlyer is also the only way to book Singapore’s luxury Suites Class on the Airbus A380. This is because Singapore reserves this award space for its own members. You can redeem 97,000 KrisFlyer miles to fly from New York to Frankfurt in Suites Class.
Note that KrisFlyer passes on fuel surcharges from airlines that charge them. Thus, your out-of-pocket cost can vary dramatically — from $5.60 to $500 or more depending on the operating airline and itinerary. If the flight you’re looking at has significant fees attached, Avianca LifeMiles or United MileagePlus may be better options. This is true even if you'll end up paying more miles to save cash.
Transfers from Capital One to Singapore KrisFlyer take a few hours to process. Learn more about the KrisFlyer program in our post on Singapore KrisFlyer sweet spots.
TAP Air Portugal (Miles & Go)
TAP Air Portugal is another Star Alliance member. As exciting as that sounds, TAP's partner award chart is less than favorable. You're probably better off using other miles like Avianca Lifemiles to book the same flights.
Another nail in the coffin when it comes to TAP Portugal's loyalty program is that it tacks on carrier-imposed fees. You can expect to pay some hefty costs, depending on which partner you book with.
But even when taxes and fees are reasonable, they're still higher than other booking options. Compare the same flight when booking through United: higher mileage costs in economy but lower mileage for business class. And both have lower taxes and fees.
Due to the high out-of-pocket costs and relatively uncompetitive prices, transferring your Capital One miles to TAP Portugal is not recommended.
Read More: Do TAP Portugal Miles & Go Miles Expire?
Turkish Airlines (Miles & Smiles)
Miles & Smiles offers some outsized value for flights with its Star Alliance partners — especially on flights within the U.S. that are operated by United Airlines.
A one-way economy ticket from LAX to Honolulu (HNL) costs just 7,500 Turkish miles. For business class, the price is just 12,500 miles. United's own program charges much more — double that in economy and multiples more in business class.
Turkish Airlines' website has some quirks, but it's better than it used to be. Head to the Turkish Airlines book Star Alliance tickets page and log in. On the search page, click on “Award Ticket–Buy a Ticket with Miles.”
Check out more Turkish Miles & Smiles sweet spots here.
Virgin Red (including Virgin Atlantic)
Virgin Red became a transfer partner in 2022 and is the loyalty program of all Virgin brands, which includes Virgin Atlantic. That means we can take advantage of some great sweet spots with Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.
While there was a big devaluation for ANA first-class redemptions, using Virgin to book ANA flights can still present good value.
| Route | Economy Class Mileage Requirement | Business Class Mileage Requirement | First Class Mileage Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic Japan | 15,000 | - | - |
| Japan–South Korea | 18,000 | 35,000 | 50,000 |
| Japan–China/Guam/Hong Kong/Philippines/Taiwan | 23,000 | 45,000 | 60,000 |
| Japan–Malaysia/Myanmar/Singapore/Thailand/Vietnam | 40,000 | 65,000 | 105,000 |
| Japan–Hawaii/India/Indonesia | 45,000 | 70,000 | 115,000 |
| Japan–Australia/Canada/Western USA | 60,000 | 90,000 | 145,000 |
| Japan–Europe/Central and Eastern USA | 65,000 | 95,000 | 170,000 |
Other great options include short-haul flights with Delta and Aeromexico or flights within Hawaii on Hawaiian Airlines.
Related: Overlooking Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Can Be Costly
Capital One Hotel Partners
Capital One offers a trio of hotel transfer partners: Accor Live Limitless, Choice Privileges, and Wyndham Rewards.
Accor Live Limitless
Accor Hotels may not be the most well-known hotel group in the U.S. However, it's a major player in Europe and can come in handy when you can't find a good deal with one of the other hotel chains. Accor boasts 5,000 hotels across 39 brands in 110 countries. This includes high-end brands like Fairmont and Raffles, as well as more affordable options like Novotel and Ibis.
Like most loyalty programs, Accor Live Limitless (ALL) members can earn and redeem points in a variety of ways. This includes hotel stays, dining programs, and retail purchases, as well as partnerships with airlines, Eurocar, and Eurostar, and even a French football club.
Using ALL points for hotel stays is straightforward. Members must redeem in increments of 2,000 points for a discount of 40 euros. There are no blackout dates, but not all Accor Hotels participate in the loyalty program.
ALL also offers plenty of ways to redeem points for what it calls “Limitless Experiences.” These special redemptions provide ALL members with some unique options to find value in their points.
Capital One cardholders can now transfer miles to the Accor Live Limitless program at a 2:1 ratio (1,000 Capital One miles to 500 ALL Rewards points). In many cases, you may be better off paying for your stay with your Capital One credit card and redeeming miles for an offsetting statement credit.
As a rule of thumb, redeeming Capital One miles for a statement credit is usually the better deal when the value of the Euro is close to that of the dollar. When the exchange rate is over $1 per euro, transfers to ALL become more attractive.
Choice Hotels (Choice Privileges)
Capital One cardholders can transfer miles to Choice Privileges — the loyalty program of Choice Hotels — at a 1:1 rate.
While Choice isn't generally known for its luxurious accommodations, its large footprint makes it a convenient option. One of the best uses for Choice hotels is for locations outside of the U.S. where Choice options include historic and unique boutique properties via the Ascend Hotel Collection. Choice doesn't publish an award chart, but you can find current and upcoming rates on an individual hotel's webpage.
It's possible to find redemptions as low as 6,000 points per night, but 8,000–12,000 is more common.
Unfortunately, the transfer rate for Capital One miles to Choice hotels, even at 1:1, often results in far less value than transferring your Capital One miles to an airline.
Wyndham Rewards
With more than 9,000 hotels across 22 brands in over 80 countries, Wyndham Hotels and Resorts offer many options for travelers to explore.
The Wyndham Rewards program isn't the most lucrative. However, it offers some nice earning and redemption options that make it worth a closer look. Through partnerships, Wyndham Rewards members can book free and discounted stays at over 30,000 hotels, vacation club resorts, and vacation rentals worldwide.
Wyndham has a simpler program than many other hotel chains, with only three free night tiers for participating properties: 7,500, 15,000, or 30,000 points per night.
As always, you'll need to do some searching to find the redemptions that make sense, but there are good deals to be had. It's possible to book a beachfront studio at the Wyndham Reef Resort in Grand Cayman for 30,000 points a night.
A week-long stay would run 210,000 points. Compared to a cash price of $3,086.09 for the same stay (including taxes and fees), redeeming points offers a solid value of nearly 1.5 cents per point. It's not a record-breaking redemption, but it provides reasonable value for Wyndham Rewards points.
Tips for Maximizing Capital One Transfer Partners
- Always check to make sure that flights or hotel nights are available for booking before transferring miles to a partner. Points transfers can't be reversed if you change your mind or can't find the award space you want.
- Check cash prices for your flight or hotel. Since you can redeem Capital One miles for travel at a rate of one cent per point, you might save by redeeming miles for a cash booking instead of transferring to a partner.
- Remember that each of Capital One’s airline partners has its own list of partner airlines. You don’t have to be flying one of the airlines listed here to use your Capital One miles. If you aren't familiar with this, check out our beginner's guide to airline alliances and partnerships.
- Compare the total cost: Several airlines can be booked with multiple transfer partners. Be sure to compare the total number of Capital One miles required plus how much you’ll have to pay in taxes and fees before deciding where to transfer your miles.
Improvements to Capital One Partners
It can be tricky to keep up with all the program-related news. So, here's a quick summary of the recent changes made by Capital One.
March 2022
Capital One added Virgin Red as its 18th transfer partner. For most travelers, Virgin Red will be a useful transfer partner as an intermediary to get Virgin points to book through Flying Club.
October 2021
Capital One improved the transfer ratios to 1:1 for six existing airline partners:
- Air Canada Aeroplan: From 4:3 to 1:1
- Air France-KLM Flying Blue: From 4:3 to 1:1
- British Airways Executive Club: From 4:3 to 1:1
- Emirates Skywards: From 2:1 to 1:1
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer: From 2:1 to 1:1
- Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles: From 4:3 to 1:1
However, Capital One lost JetBlue as a transfer partner as of October 24, 2021. Plus, the Alitalia MilleMiglia loyalty program ceased to exist.
April 2021
Capital One added four new transfer partners and improved the transfer ratio for seven existing partners. New partners were:
- TAP Air Portugal Miles & Go: Transfers at 1:1
- British Airways Executive Club: Transfers at 2:1.5
- Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles: Transfers at 2:1.5
- Choice Privileges: Transfers at 1:1
The following partners, which previously received transfers from Capital One at a 2:1.5 ratio, moved to a 1:1 ratio:
- AeroMexico Club Premier
- Avianca LifeMiles
- Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Etihad Guest
- Finnair Plus
- Qantas Frequent Flyer
- Wyndham Rewards
May 2020
Capital One removed two airline transfer partners:
- Hainan Fortune Wings
- Qatar Privilege Club
February 2020
Capital One added two hotel transfer partners:
- Accor Live Limitless (ALL): Transfers at 2:1
- Wyndham Rewards: Transfers at 2:1.5
Final Thoughts
Capital One has a solid lineup of transfer partners, each of which can provide unique opportunities. When more than one transfer partner can book the same flight, you'll have the benefit of comparing the number of miles required and the total out-of-pocket cost. Then, you can decide where to move your miles. Also, you can share your Capital One miles with others in order to build your balance for a redemption.
For U.S.-based flyers, the biggest drawback to Capital One's program is the lack of a U.S. transfer partner. Still, you can utilize airlines alliances and partnerships to book award flights within North America for as few as 6,000 Capital One miles.
What are your favorite Capital One redemptions? Let us know in the comments!
- 2 miles per dollar on all eligible purchases
- 5 miles per dollar on flights when booking via Capital One Travel
- 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars when booking via Capital One Travel
Capital One Partners FAQ
Can I transfer Capital One miles to United MileagePlus?
No, you can’t transfer Capital One miles to United, but you can transfer your miles to Air Canada, Avianca, Turkish, or Singapore to book United flights. These four airlines are Star Alliance members and can book flights on United.
Can I transfer Capital One miles to Alaska Mileage Plan?
No, you can’t transfer Capital One miles to Alaska, but you can transfer your miles to British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Finnair, Qantas, or Singapore and use those miles to book Alaska Airlines flights.
Can I transfer Capital One miles to American Airlines AAdvantage?
No, you can’t transfer Capital One miles to American Airlines, but you can transfer your miles to British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Etihad, Finnair, or Qantas and use those miles to book American Airlines flights.
Can I transfer Capital One miles to Delta SkyMiles?
No, you can’t transfer Capital One miles to Delta, but you can transfer your miles to Air France/KLM or Aeromexico and use those miles to book flights on Delta since they are all members of the SkyTeam alliance.
Can I use Capital One miles to book travel for others?
Airline transfer partners will generally let you use your points to book travel for others (Some have restrictions though. For example, Singapore limits the number of other people for whom you can book tickets). However, it's almost always against their rules to make an award booking in exchange for money or other compensation. As long as you’re just booking flights for friends and family, you shouldn't have any issues. When redeeming Capital One miles for a fixed-value against travel costs you have charged to your Capital One card, you can book travel for anyone.
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Is it possible to use these transfer partners when flying in/out of small regional airports? For example, United flies from IDA and I can book award flights from IDA to anywhere with Star Alliance partners. However, is it possible that I could book flights with another Star Alliance airline, such as Avianca, to fly out of IDA even though they don’t service that airport?
Absolutely! And one of our writers (Toni) has been using LifeMiles for just that purpose: flying in/out of a regional airport in Colorado. That’s a great use for LifeMiles.
This is super useful! I needed to get some points into Avianca to fly in south America.
that’s a log guide and i find it harder to earn capital one points
Best capital one card to apply for currently?
Thank you for the article. I am not sure about Capital One. Very complicated for me, but I will probably give It a try.
This is really overly complicated but it is nice to have options.
From all the lists, I would prefer Asia Miles from the lot.
This card is an excellent top-up source for many overseas loyalty programs.
Capital One’s gone from completely off my radar to one of the ones to be on top of, thanks for the summary.
This is very helpful. Bookmarking this
So glad they changed some of the transfer ratios from 2:1 to 1:1. I can definitely find more value in Capital One points now.
Sounds like a lot to keep up with.
This is helpful, we have a Capital One card and we haven’t been impressed with the redemption options on their platform. We’ll definitely consider transferring.
Now if we could just get come great domestic partners!
I have thought about getting a venture card for a while. This is helping me finally decide. Thanks!
Been a CapOne customer for many years. Great online and app. Never owned a venture card, just airline partner credit cards. May be time to re-evaluate.
I’ve never had a Capital One card but will certainly check it out – those are useful airline programs for me.
Definitely like the direction where Capital One is headed, especially when Amex is cutting its membership benefits gradually.
Good summary.
Does anyone know if existing dollars in a Capital One Quicksilver card account can be transferred to a Capital One Venture card?
Capital One are upping their credit card game, looks like they may be about to introduce a new card as well soon, the card will most likely have a fee and offer lounge access. These are only rumors, but I think they may have some truth about them.
Thank you soooo much for this post. I’m new to Capital One, and this helped me understand the new offerings. Being used to Chase Ultimate Rewards, I often am so confused as to what are the best redemption rates and how to get them and/or transfer them out. So many different travel hacks to use that I’m often overwhelmed. So, thank you!!
American Airlines and United Airlines should be partners in the fidelity millage accounts . So would be Capital
I want to transfer Capital ONe Rewards to Etihad. Can I then use the miles from Ethiad for a flight on AA that also has one segment on Japan Air?
Unfortunately not. Etihad doesn’t partner with Japan Airlines. So, you’d only be able to redeem Etihad miles for the AA-operated flights.
People should take a look at this card if they have maxed out their “5/24” quota.
The transfer ratios aren’t competitive with Capital One’s competitors for many of the same transfer partners.
I don’t know. It seems like those transfer ratios still seem too low to be competitive.
I like how Capital One has Accor as a unique hotel transfer partner compared to others, but the transfer rate is not so good…I wish they’d improve the transfer rate from 1000:500 to 1000:1000.
Accor is not an attractive program at all, especially with its top tier benefits.
… especially for North American-based members.
This is a very good write up. Capital one came out of no where with their points transfer options and quickly established themselves as big players in the transfer market. Right now they have a really competitive roster of transfer partners. It would be really nice if they added ana.
I think US airlines are totally married to their credit card partners.
Thanks for the great and detailed article!
wow! capital one just keeps on getting better and better! Definitely something to consider!
Capital One is getting better with their product offering. May consider this in the future.
A bit disappointing.
Hopefully they will add hotels and domestic airlines soon
I agree with some others that I think UR and MR are better for me at this point. I do see lots of cross overs of transfer partners but I want to focus on a couple to get the points built up. I don’t think it’d be a good idea to have Chase, Amex and Capital One unless you got a major boost with them rather than Chase or Amex.
I love that I can transfer to a US carrier with UR and MR. Now someone needs to convince American!
Great summary of the options. Hope they add a useful domestic partner or two (with bonuses of course).
Thanks for the guide! Very comprehensive
This is a nice summary of Capital One transfer partners, which has been covered less than other transferable points currencies.
Thanks for the great and detailed article. Some very useful information on here.
lots of good information here
Excellent and detailed article. For AA bookings or others that matter, the way is to book through Qantas, Avianca and so on … Thanks.
To bad both American Airline and United are not partners. These are the most people fly in USA. Is any reason Capital One do not partner with AA and UAL.
Do you know how frequently they give bonuses for transferring?
We haven’t seen a lot of bonuses compared to Amex or Citi, but I’d guess we saw 6-10 in 2019.
6-10 isn’t bad. Better than Chase’s 1…
Why the repost? Has something changed that warrants this?
2 new hotel partners, two airline partners dropped, and a change in JetBlue transfer ratio since we originally published.
Both Skymiles and Aeroplan charge “high taxes” on award flights ex Europe, which is a shame.
It’s really ridiculous to charge “fuel surcharges” with gasoline at decades low prices.
I was all set to be happy until I saw the Jetblue transfer ratio. Not good. But a great and very, very thorough post. Thank you.
The Avianca connecting flight mix and match award feature is sure unique.
I’ve been following the evolution of capitalone’s points usage options but in terms of earnings, i’m still not sure why capital one’s 2 miles per dollar would be any better than citi double cash or amex blue business preferred ?
I had a bad experience before with Capital One, so I’m going to avoid them Never the less, thank you for such a complete and balanced analysis.
This article is a good review of the program. I just wish they partnered with the big US airlines. The only US airline they partner with is Jet Blue and based on the article, not a good choice for redemption. Hopefully in the future, they will have more mainstream airline partners.
I find it a bit too bad that its against the rules to make an award booking in exchange for money or other similar compensation. Otherwise, it has a lot of potential.
It is indeed against the rules but if it’s a friend or family member, I will just say I’d be comfortable doing it.
Great thanks!! Learned a lot!
Great comprehensive article! I wish Capital One would consider me for their cards. I think that I already have too many cards to be approved for one of theirs.
Hopefully Capital One will also add a hotel transfer partner at some point.
It would be nice if an US airline partner is on the list as well.
That’s a very good overview of their transfer partners, as advertised, but I would also appreciate more detail on applying for their cards because I have heard that they’re pretty stingy with approvals. Thanks!
Capital one will approve 1 card per 6 month, right?
That seems to be the prevailing wisdom. 1 card per 6 months, with no distinction between business and personal cards. More detail here.
It is very good that Capital One waive the first year annual fee. And it is so easy to convert to other airline partners, I will apply and keep one year. Then I will see is it worthwhile to pay the annual fee.
You would think that they could afford 1st year annual fee waiver.
Very helpful article! Finishing up my $50k spend on the Spark Miles in just a few more weeks!
Congrats on finishing the spend… very soon! Completely understand why you used an exclamation mark! 🙂
I’m relatively new to this, so please excuse if the question seems basic…but do you need to have an account to book with the major airline that you want? For example, do you need to have an account with Cathay Pacific, Etihad, Finnair, Qantas, or Qatar in order to book with American Airlines through your Capital One rewards?
Hey Lauren,
You don’t need an account with the frequent flyer program of the airline operating your flights. For example, you can use Etihad miles to book an award for a flight operated by American Airlines—without having an AA frequent flyer account.
Capital One doesn’t transfer to American, so if you wanted to book an award flight on American, you’d need to open a Qantas, Finnair, Etihad, or Cathay Pacific FF act. Then, you transfer miles to that account and book the American flight.
Lastly, don’t forget that Capital One miles can book any flight as a revenue ticket. You just buy the flight with your Cap One card, and then use points to get a statement credit. These redemptions are fixed at 1.0 cents per point, so make sure to compare prices with the different transfer partners. If you book a paid ticket, you don’t need any frequent flyer memberships.
Thanks for clearing that up for me! Appreciate the insight!
I have bookmarked this article, as the partner airlines are explained in a comprehensive fashion. A great resource.
It is a good idea for the website to have an index that contains a list of companies and articles mentioning these companies.
Award Wallet is great about putting out comprehensive, useful articles rather than some sites that write articles purely based off of what credit card they want to push (I won’t name names).
Incredibly comprehensive and informative post! Sure would be nice if they would coordinate more and do transfer options for main carriers like American, Delta, Alaska, and United.
Thanks!!
I feel like having one major US carrier is a must. I know you can use BA miles to book AA but Chase has United and Amex has Delta. Citi and Capital One each need something.
I’m not invested in Capital One because there is better value in MR and UR, but this is a great write up.
You have to admit though. They’re stepping their game up and are showing they want to be a contender. I’d put them on par with Citi right now.