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How to Redeem Capital One Miles

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Lyle Daly
Author: Lyle Daly
Lyle Daly
Lyle Daly
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Lyle Daly is a personal finance writer who specializes in credit cards, travel rewards programs, and banking. His work with Motley Fool Money and The Motley Fool has appeared syndicated in USA Today and Yahoo! Finance. He was born in California but currently lives as a digital nomad with a home base in Colombia.

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Capital One has some of the best travel cards, as well as one of the top credit card rewards programs. To get the most out of its travel cards, you need to know how to use Capital One miles.

There are several ways to redeem miles, but they're all easy to understand. Whether you already have a Capital One card or you're planning to get one, this guide will cover the basics and finer details of Capital One miles.

How do I redeem Capital One miles?

After logging in to your Capital One account, follow these steps:

  1. Click "View Rewards."
  2. Select the credit card account with the miles you want to use.
  3. Select a redemption method.

From there, the rest of the process will depend on which redemption method you chose. Here are your choices:

  • Book a trip
  • Convert rewards
  • Cover travel purchases
  • Redeem for experiences
  • Get gift cards
  • Redeem for cash
  • Redeem with PayPal
  • Shop with Amazon
  • Move rewards

While this may seem like a lot of options, you're probably going to find one or two you like and use those exclusively. Converting rewards and covering travel purchases offer the most value. Below, you can learn how each option works and the value it gets you per mile.

Book a trip

This takes you to Capital One Travel, where you can book a flight, hotel, or rental car and pay using your miles. You get a value of $0.01 per mile, so a $200 flight would cost you 20,000 miles.

While this isn't a bad option, you're better off paying for your trip in cash using your Capital One card. Then, use your miles to cover the travel purchase you made.

The advantage of paying in cash first is that you can earn miles on the travel booking. You could earn 5x to 10x miles per $1, depending on your Capital One card and what you book.

Convert rewards

With this option, you can transfer miles to one of Capital One's travel partners. You can then use those miles through that partner's loyalty program. For example, if you transfer 30,000 miles to Air Canada, you'll have 30,000 miles you can use to book a flight through its Aeroplan program.

The value you get varies depending on what you book. It's possible to get $0.02 per mile or more, so this can be a great way to use your miles.

With most of Capital One's partners, transfers are at a 1:1 ratio and process either right away or within 48 hours. Here are the partners, the transfer ratios for each, and the number of miles you'd get in each partner's loyalty program by transferring 1,000 Capital One Miles:

Partner Transfer Ratio Miles Received for 1,000 Capital One Miles
Aeromexico - Club Premier 1:1 1,000
Air Canada - Aeroplan 1:1 1,000
Air France-KLM - Flying Blue 1:1 1,000
ALL - Accor Live Limitless 2:1 500
Avianca - LifeMiles 1:1 1,000
British Airways - Executive Club 1:1 1,000
Cathay Pacific - Asia Miles 1:1 1,000
Choice Privileges (U.S.-based accounts) 1:1 1,000
Emirates - Emirates Skywards 1:1 1,000
Etihad Airways - Etihad Guest 1:1 1,000
EVA Air - Infinity MileageLands 2:1.5 750
Finnair - Finnair Plus 1:1 1,000
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer 1:1 1,000
Singapore Airlines - KrisFlyer 1:1 1,000
TAP Air Portugal - TAP Miles&Go 1:1 1,000
Turkish Airlines - Miles&Smiles 1:1 1,000
Virgin Atlantic - Virgin Red 1:1 1,000
Wyndham Hotels - Wyndham Rewards 1:1 1,000
Data source: Capital One.

Cover your travel purchases

You can apply your miles as a credit to travel purchases made within the previous 90 days at a value of $0.01 per mile.

There are a few advantages to using this method instead of booking a trip through Capital One Travel:

  • You can earn miles on the travel purchase, which isn't the case if you book travel with miles from the beginning.
  • You can redeem miles for a much greater variety of travel purchases, including vacation rentals, ride-hailing services, or cruises.
  • You may get a better deal by booking with another travel service.

Redeem for experiences

This opens Capital One Entertainment, where you can get tickets to sports, music, comedy and theater, dining events, and more. You typically get a value of $0.008 per mile on Capital One Entertainment purchases.

Get gift cards

You can buy gift cards using Capital One miles from many different retailers. The minimum gift card amount and the value you get per mile varies by retailer. You typically get a value of $0.008 per mile.

Redeem for cash

You can request cash back as either a statement credit on your credit card or as a check. With this type of redemption, you only get a value of $0.005 per mile. If you're interested in cash back, you're much better off looking at cash back credit cards.

Redeem with PayPal

Link your Capital One card to your PayPal account, and you'll be able to pay with your miles at online stores when you check out with PayPal. You get a value of $0.008 per mile.

Shop with Amazon

Link your Capital One card to your Amazon account, and you'll be able to pay with miles for Amazon purchases. You get a value of $0.008 per mile.

Move rewards

If you have multiple eligible Capital One accounts, you can transfer your miles from one account to another. You get a 1:1 ratio when you move rewards this way.

What are Capital One miles?

Capital One miles are travel rewards offered by multiple Capital One credit cards. You can redeem these miles for travel, cash back, gift cards, experiences, and more. But travel redemptions get you the most value, so it's best to stick with them.

Despite their name, Capital One miles aren't part of a frequent flyer program. The word "miles" is just the branding that Capital One uses.

What are Capital One miles worth?

Capital One miles are worth $0.01 per mile when you redeem them directly toward travel purchases. You can do so by booking travel through Capital One Travel, or by applying your miles toward previous travel purchases you've made.

Like many of the best credit cards, Capital One Venture cards also allow you to transfer miles to travel partners. When you transfer miles, the value you get depends on how you use them after the transfer. You could get $0.02 per mile or more with high-value redemptions.

You can also redeem miles in other ways, including cash back, gift cards, or purchases with Amazon. With these options, your rewards are generally worth between $0.005 and $0.008 per mile, so it's better to stick to travel redemptions.

How do I maximize my miles?

The best way to maximize the value of Capital One miles is by transferring them to travel partners. You can do so using the "Convert rewards" option.

This is a little more complicated than just redeeming your miles for travel purchases, but you can get significantly more value. If you redeem 100,000 miles for travel purchases at $0.01 per mile, you can save $1,000. If you transfer them and get $0.02 per mile, you can save $2,000.

Here's a quick rundown of how to do this:

  • Figure out what type of travel you want to book -- airfare is a great choice, because Capital One has lots of airline partners.
  • See which of Capital One's transfer partners you can use for that travel booking.
  • Check how many miles you need.
  • Transfer your miles to the partner's loyalty program, and then make your booking.

How to find high-value transfer opportunities

The value you get from transferring your Capital One miles depends on where you transfer them and the airfare you book. Here are some of the best Capital One partners:

  • Air Canada Aeroplan
  • Air France-KLM Flying Blue
  • Avianca LifeMiles
  • Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
  • Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles

You can generally expect to get more from your miles if you use them for expensive airfare. If you transfer your miles and redeem for business class, you'll probably get more value per mile than if you used them for economy.

Remember to check prices in both cash and miles when you look for travel, and compare the value you'll get from each one. Only transfer your miles if you'll get a better deal that way.

Versatile and easy-to-use travel rewards

With the option to either transfer your rewards or redeem them for cash travel purchases, you can book just about any type of travel you want with Capital One miles. It doesn't take long to get used to the rewards page in your online account, and once you do, you'll be able to cash in your miles and get plenty of value in the process.

Still have questions?

Here are some other questions we've answered:

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FAQs

  • Capital One miles are the type of rewards that you earn when you have a credit card in the Capital One Venture Rewards program. This rewards program offers several different ways to use your miles for travel purchases.

  • You can earn Capital One miles by using a Capital One credit card in this rewards program. Depending on the card, you could earn miles every time you make a purchase and you could also potentially qualify for a sign-up bonus.

  • The value of Capital One miles varies depending on how you use them, but you can always get $0.01 per mile if you redeem them to book travel or as a statement credit toward travel purchases made within the previous 90 days.

  • When you're ready to redeem Capital One miles, go to your online credit card account and click on the link to go to your rewards page. From here, you can choose one of the options and proceed with the redemption process.

  • The most important way to maximize Capital One miles is to only use them for travel redemptions. Other redemption options typically offer less value. Make sure you also check how much you'd spend if you booked it in cash using your miles, or if you transferred miles to a travel partner and booked that way.