Guide To Capital One Transfer Partners

Image by Getty Images; Illustration by Bankrate

Capital One offers eligible cardholders the chance to transfer Capital One miles to airline and hotel loyalty programs, which can boost the per-mile value to around 1.7 cents, according to Bankrate’s credit card point valuations.

If you have the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card or Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, you should know which transfer partners you can use and how many points or miles you’ll get in return. Read on for the full list of Capital One airline and hotel transfer partners, transfer ratios and how we rank them.

Capital One transfer partners

Here are all of Capital One’s airline and hotel partners and their transfer rates (from Capital One miles to the new program):

How Capital One transfer partners rank

Here’s a rundown of the Capital One airline and hotel transfer partners and how they rank.

• Accor Live Limitless: OK
  

  With the Accor Live Limitless loyalty program, you can book a stay at thousands of properties in more than 100 countries around the globe. However, most Accor properties are in Europe, so this transfer partner may be of limited value to you if you travel mostly in the United States (or anywhere Accor-branded properties are few and far between).

  On the upside, Accor lets you book stays at properties without having to worry about blackout dates. You can also use cash and points for your booking, and you can knock 20 euros (about $23) off your hotel bill with as few as 1,000 Accor points. Interestingly, you can even transfer Accor points to select airline partners like Air France-KLM and Qatar Airways.

• Aeromexico Rewards: OK
  

  The Aeromexico Rewards program may not be the best around, but it at least offers an award chart that shows how many points you’ll need for a free flight. Some options come with decent value, too.

  For example, you may be able to fly one-way from Mexico to the United States in economy for just 18,000 to 30,000 points (depending on your destination) during the off-peak season. You could also fly within Mexico in economy for just 10,000 points one-way during off-peak season.

• Air Canada Aeroplan: Excellent
  

  As a Star Alliance partner, Air Canada aligns with other Star Alliance partners like United Airlines and TAP Air Portugal. This program also still maintains an award chart, so it’s easy to know how many points you’ll need for the flight you want to book.

  One perk to note is that you’ll only need 17,500 to 25,000 Aeroplan points for a round-trip economy flight (2,751+ miles one-way) within the mainland U.S. and Canada.

• Air France-KLM Flying Blue: Good
  

  The Air France-KLM Flying Blue program is excellent for anyone, but especially for frequent visitors to France and other European countries. You may be able to find round-trip flights to destinations like Paris and Amsterdam for around 50,000 miles. This program also tends to have excellent award availability, meaning it’s easy to find award seats as well as more than one award seat on the same flight.

  Flying Blue is also a transfer partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards and Wells Fargo Rewards, so it’s extremely easy to pool enough points for an award flight.

• Avianca LifeMiles: Very good
  

  The Avianca LifeMiles program still has some sweet spots worth looking forward to, although it all depends on where you want to fly. You may be able to score a great deal on a first-class award from the United States to Asia or a business-class flight to Europe on an Avianca partner airline.

  Many people love this frequent flyer program because it doesn’t pass on fuel surcharges when you book a Star Alliance partner award flight.

• British Airways Executive Club: Good
  

  British Airways is a member of the Oneworld alliance, along with American Airlines, Iberia, Cathay Pacific and others. This means you can fly with British Airways or its partners to more than 900 destinations in 170 territories around the world.

  Many travel enthusiasts rack up British Airways Avios points whether they travel to the U.K. or not. This is because you can usually use Avios to book cheap domestic flights on American Airlines. While many complain about British Airways’ fuel surcharges for flights to the U.K., keep in mind you may be able to book awards with certain partners and avoid exorbitant surcharges.

• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles: Good
  

  Cathay Pacific is another frequent flyer partner that still offers an award chart, which is a good thing. However, its award chart is based on distance, so you’ll find that longer flights can set you back considerably more miles.

  But a few sweet spots to look for include short (under 750 miles) economy flights within Asia for just 7,500 miles one-way, as well as short one-way business class flights for just 16,000 miles.

• Choice Privileges: Good
  

  With Choice Privileges, you can use your points to book a stay at more than 7,400 hotels in more than 40 countries and territories. Plus, award nights with Choice Privileges start at just 8,000 points. You can even use Choice Privileges for an award stay at over 20 casino hotels and resorts or over 300 Preferred Hotels & Resorts.

• Emirates Skywards: Good
  

  When it comes to the Emirates Skywards program, you’ll find these miles can be valuable if you fly to the Middle East and a surprising number of other destinations around the globe.

  One-way awards start at just 5,000 miles, and you can also use your miles for an upgrade or pay for a flight with cash and miles. Value can be plentiful with this program, and that’s especially true since it’s considered one of the most luxurious airlines in the world.

• Etihad Guest: OK
  

  The Etihad Guest program can offer a ton of value depending on your itinerary. This frequent flyer program makes things easy by offering an award calculator that lets you know how many miles you’ll need for a flight.

  Most of its travel destinations from the U.S. are in the Middle East, but you can also use the Etihad Guest program to fly to Europe, Africa and other select destinations.

• EVA Air Infinity MileageLands: Poor
  

  Eva Air’s loyalty program is called Infinity MileageLands, and it claims that award tickets start at 6,750 miles. However, most flights will cost more than that.

  For example, flying round-trip between Asia and the United States might set you back around 100,000 miles in economy, and a one-way flight between Asia and Europe might cost you at least 50,000 miles in economy.

• Finnair Plus: Poor
  

  Finnair isn’t very valuable as a Capital One transfer partner either. With Finnair Plus points, you can fly economy one-way within Europe starting at just 6,500 miles, but a one-way flight in economy between Europe and North America will cost you 30,000 miles. And business awards are exorbitant, so you won’t want to use this program for anything other than economy flights.

• JetBlue TrueBlue: OK
  

  The JetBlue TrueBlue program has award rates that are tied to the cash price of the ticket: The higher the cash cost, the more points you’ll need for an award flight.

  That said, there are some deals when the carrier has a fare sale. However, it’s not a good fit for most because of the airline’s limited network that’s mostly focused on the Northeast.

  Plus, you’ll get less that 1:1 ratio when you transfer, meaning you’ll need to spend even more Capital One miles for an award flight.

• Qantas Frequent Flyer: Good
  

  Qantas points are useful whether you want to fly for less or redeem them for hotel stays. Keep in mind, however, you’ll get more value when you redeem your points for flights.

  You can use your points to fly to more than 1,200 destinations around the globe, and Qantas has a calculator that tells you how many points you’ll need for an award flight. You’ll also have the option to cash in your points for flight upgrades or use a combination of cash and points.

• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer: Good
  

  Singapore Airlines’ frequent flyer program, KrisFlyer, offers a ton of value when you use miles for its premium cabins. For example, you may be able to fly from the eastern part of the United States or Houston to Europe in first class for around 143,500 miles one-way. That may sound like a lot, but Singapore Airlines is known for offering a premium experience.

• TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go: OK
  

  TAP Air Portugal is the premier airline of Portugal, so it can be a good option if you dream of flying into Lisbon or stopping in Portugal on the way to other parts of Europe. This Capital One transfer partner also offers an attractive 1:1 transfer ratio, which can help you get a lot more value for your miles.

  There’s an award calculator on its website, which makes it easy to know approximately how many miles you’ll need for a trip. One-way economy flights from North America start at 29,000 miles, but you can also pay with a combination of miles and cash. All business-class flights from North America start at 100,000 miles one-way, so TAP Air Portugal is a poor option if you prefer to fly in luxury.

• Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles: Poor
  

  Some may struggle to get a lot of value out of the Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles program, but others may find better luck. According to its award chart, round-trip economy flights from North America to North Africa start at 120,000 miles. And if you want to use miles to fly to the Middle East, you won’t be much better off since round-trip economy flights from North America to Turkey start at 80,000 miles.

• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club: Good
  

  Virgin Atlantic’s Virgin Red loyalty program allows you to earn Virgin Points with all of Virgin’s partners, including many popular retailers. It’s a separate program from the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, but you can link both of your accounts and pool your Virgin Points together. And it’s possible you may be able to find a very good points value on flights with Virgin Atlantic — according to our points and miles valuations, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points can be worth around 2.6 cents each.

• Wyndham Rewards: Good
  

  Wyndham Rewards can help you book stays at about 9,200 hotels in 95 countries. Free nights start at 7,500 points, or you can book discounted stays starting at 1,500 points plus cash.

  In addition to getting free or discounted hotel stays, you can also use your Wyndham Rewards to purchase gift cards or merchandise, book tours, attend events and more. You can even transfer your points to one of Wyndham’s own transfer partners.

How to transfer Capital One miles

Once you begin earning Capital One miles with one of the program’s top rewards credit cards, you can take steps to transfer miles from your Capital One account to the Capital One hotel or airline partner of your choice.

Here are the steps:

1. Log in to your Capital One account online or via the mobile app.
2. Once in your account, click on the option to view your rewards.
3. Choose the option to convert or transfer your rewards.
4. Choose the Capital One transfer partner you want to transfer miles to.
5. From there, you can facilitate the transfer by entering the number of miles you want to move, keeping in mind that transfers start at 1,000 miles.
6. Complete the transfer.

Once you’ve initiated the transfer, you’ll see your miles leave your Capital One account before they’re moved to your new transfer partner account. Note that you can’t undo a miles transfer once it’s made. With that in mind, you should only transfer your Capital One miles to a loyalty program if you’re sure you want to and if you have a redemption in mind.

Once your miles are transferred to the new program, they’ll fall under the new program’s terms and conditions. This means your rewards could then expire if your loyalty account becomes inactive for a certain period of time, depending on the program.

Best credit cards for earning Capital One miles

If you want to earn Capital One miles you can use for transfers to airline and hotel partners, you’ll need to sign up for a Capital One credit card that earns Capital One miles.

Compare these travel credit cards based on their welcome bonuses, annual fees, ongoing rewards structures and perks offered.

The bottom line

While the transfer partners for Capital One miles may not be as attractive as other programs, there are many interesting options. And with many partners offering a 1:1 transfer ratio, it’s safe to say Capital One miles can be a powerful tool in your award arsenal.

However, before you transfer your miles, figure out which Capital One airline or hotel transfer partner might work best and run through a few scenarios to see how many miles you’ll need.

You should get at least 1 cent in value for each Capital One mile you transfer to a partner. If you’re not getting at least 1 cent per mile in value, you should just charge the travel to your Capital One credit card and use statement credits to cover eligible travel expenses.

For more travel tips and tricks, check out Bankrate’s travel toolkit.