Capital One shocked the mileage world when they announced that their points would be transferable into real airline miles. But best of all, they remain focused on improving their program and adding new partners while other programs remain stagnant.
For a limited time only, you can earn up to 100,000 bonus miles on the Capital One Venture Card! If you spend $20,000 in 12 months, you’ll have at least 140,000 miles as you earn 2 miles per dollar spent everywhere. You can read more about the offer here.
You can also earn transferrable Capital One miles on the Capital One Spark Miles card, which earns 50,000 bonus miles for spending $4,500 in 3 months and 2 miles per dollar spent.
Both of those cards also offer free Global Entry/Pre-Check.
Starting tomorrow, Capital One is adding mileage transfer partners and improving transfer ratios.
Currently, you can transfer to these partners at a 2:1.5 ratio. Tomorrow they will be at a 1:1 ratio:
- Avianca LifeMiles
- Etihad Guest
- Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- AeroMexico Club Premier
- Finnair Plus
- Qantas
- Wyndham Rewards
Capital One is also adding these new transfer partners, with the airline partners going live tomorrow and Choice going live later this year:
- British Airways Avios (2:1.5 transfer ratio)
- Choice Hotels (1:1 transfer ratio)
- TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go (1:1 transfer ratio)
- Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles (2:1.5 transfer ratio)
Here is the full lineup of Capital One’s 19 transfer partners with their transfer ratios:
- Accor Hotels (2:1)
- Aeromexico (1:1, SkyTeam)
- Air Canada Aeroplan (2:1.5, Star Alliance)
- Air France/KLM Flying Blue (2:1.5, SkyTeam)
- Avianca LifeMiles (1:1, Star Alliance)
- British Airways Avios (2:1.5, OneWorld)
- Cathay Pacific Asia Miles (1:1, OneWorld)
- Choice Hotels (1:1)
- EVA (2:1.5, Star Alliance)
- Etihad (1:1, No alliance)
- Emirates (2:1, No alliance)
- Finnair (1:1, OneWorld)
- Qantas (1:1, OneWorld)
- Singapore (2:1, Star Alliance)
- TAP Air Portugal (1:1 transfer ratio, Star Alliance)
- Turkish Airlines (2:1.5, Star Alliance)
- Wyndham Hotels (1:1)
The 1:1 transfer partners are great news as you earn 2 miles per dollar spent. Avianca Lifemiles is a great option to have a 1:1 ratio for their cheap United flights. Qantas is also a great 1:1 option as they can book El Al award tickets.
Turkish Airlines is a fantastic new transfer option as they can book dirt cheap Star Alliance and United tickets. Currently only Citi transfers to Turkish. Domestic awards, including Hawaii, cost just 7.5K miles in coach or 12.5K miles in business class! Tickets to Israel cost just 32K miles in coach or 47K miles in business class!
Here is the Turkish Airlines award chart for one-way Star Alliance travel from North America:
| Between the US and: | Economy | Business | First |
|---|---|---|---|
| US, including Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and USVI | 7.5K | 12.5K | N/A |
| North America | 10K | 15K | N/A |
| Europe | 30K | 45K | 67.5K |
| Middle East | 32K | 47K | 68.5K |
| Central and North Africa | 30K | 49K | 73K |
| Central Asia | 34K | 52.5K | 77K |
| Southern Africa and Far East | 45K | 67.5K | 100K |
| South America and Oceania | 52.5K | 75K | 115K |
Capital One airport lounges will also launch later this year with its first lounge in Dallas/DFW this summer and another lounge in Washington/IAD to open next year. It’s unclear what lounge entry requirements will entail.
Lounges will feature local beers, craft cocktails, exercise rooms, nursing rooms, kids rooms, soundproof relaxation rooms, secure lockers, prayer rooms, and shower suites!
Will you open a Capital One Venture Card to take advantage of these offers?
Do they offer a business card?
Capital One Spark Miles
Will this card qualify for all the transfer benefits listed in this article? I notice some comments below stating the busines cards dont qualify
Yes.
Spark Miles and Venture are the cards that can transfer to miles.
Doesn’t Capital One business report on your credit report the same way as a personal card does?
New Spark Cash cards do not, but I believe Spark Miles still does.
I’ll follow up with Capital One and check on that.
Confirmed.
does the spark cash card have mileage transfer options
No
So this deal with the miles would not help if we want to avoid having balances report on personal credit?
Correct.
And I worked my *#s off getting approved with Citi arcane approval rules to get access to TK awards…
Citi Double Cash+Citi Premier combo is still excellent for Turkish awards.
does citi premier downgrade to citi double cash? or only the roundup to the nearest point no annual fee card does? tia
It does.
thank you
How does the Citi combo compare to the Venture card? Is there an updated post on that? Or can it be said in short here?
Can’t imagine that lucrative chart will remain for very long
Hasn’t changed in years, despite being a Citi partner.
Is capital one approving for business CC without a tax ID like chase or are they stingy like BOA?
Should work with your SSN.
Thanks Dan, I just applied and was approved
Congrats!
Care to share your credit profile (# of cards open and recently opened, score, etc.)?
Score is around 800, I have around 8-9 cards but none of them are recent. I also have a Capitol one bank account and they’ve been sending me offers recently. Hope that helps.
Thanks, that’s helpful. Maybe I have too many recent cards.
What is the trick to getting approved by them?!
Have you tried this month? It has gotten much easier now.
Just tried right now, excellent credit score with 0 negatives ever…
Call them?
I will, but apparently you need to wait for the letter…
How quickly do transfers post?
Most are instant:
https://www.dansdeals.com/points-travel/milespoints/mileage-expiration-guide-for-38-loyalty-programs-how-to-keep-your-points-from-expiring-and-how-to-bring-them-back-to-life-after-theyve-expired/
I have a chance to spend $10,000 on my child’s tuition (via one time payment without incurring a 2% fee). I already have the Marriott Bonvoy AMEX card as well as a Chase Sapphire reserve card.
Would you recommend placing this cost on either one of those cards or opening up a new one such as the capital one?
Definitely on a new card.
Great, thank you. Recommend Capitol One? or opening a new Chase card (although I am uncertain if I can bc I already have CSR) or Amex Plat? Or anything 🙂
Those all make sense depending on what you have and when you opened them, pick the best for you 🙂
Hi, Dan . I have been unsuccessful in getting either the spark or Venture card the past few years. I am pre-approved for some of their other cards that don’t have bonuses. My FICO is fine – over 740. I get a boiler-plate letter giving the reasons not approved. Don’t know what to make of it
They have made it easier of late if you want to try again.
Just tried again for 2 people and declined again.
Never had success
Call them?
Best phone number off hand?
I was declined. The letter said :
-Based on your credit report from one or more of the agencies on the back of this letter,
number of bank cards tradelines opened in the last 24 months
· Based on your credit report from one or more of the agencies on the back of this letter, there
are too many revolving accounts
Would they approve for a new card if you currently have that card already ?
Try and let us know 🙂
Good to have these new partners and lower rates, but to answer your question Dan, I don’t know if I’ll take this up. Now that US airlines are generally offering free changes / cancel and redeposit miles on awards, this is a killer feature that I dont think these alternate programs offer
Change fees with foreign airlines are typically low, but that’s a fair point. But if you can get an award for half the price, you need to balance the change waivers with the cost.
Does anyone have experience booking the 7.5k award tickets to Hawaii? I’m looking from NYC.
Yes.
so just to clarify capital one reports all personal cards to all 3 bureaus?
but spark cash business cards do not get reported at all?
Correct
It’s good to see they’re listening to feedback. Whenever they send me a Spark “insider” survey I mention transfer partners(including hotels) and transfer ratios as the single most important thing to improve.
Nice!
choice points can be used for preffered hotels did you every try them ?
Does Capital One (other than the SUB for the Venture card) have any benefit over the Citi Double Cash + Premier +Rewards + combo. With the Citi combo we get more than 2 points per $ spent.
When you make a payment to Citibank, they usually make those funds available for use immediately. Capital 1 waits a few days, even if you are making the payment from a linked capital 1 checking account
Depends on your history with them, i have 2 venture cards and a quicksilver and when i make payments the available credit gets updated right away.
Does elal release a lot of awards to partners?
If I have a 1.25 mile capital one card can I combine with this new venture card?
Which of these partners can I book flights to Israel with United?
Star Alliance partners.
Dan, would you expect American Airlines AAdvantage to partner with one of the 4 – Citi/C1/Amex/Chase to be a transfer partner.
Not anytime soon.
Why not with City TYP?
Because Citi didn’t want to pay the rates that AA was asking for that.
Interesting. I guess neither of them see how mutually profitable the DL/Amex and UA/chase agreements are.
Or they both want the other to blink.
Would be a great time for Cap1 to jump in (though I’m not sure how that would work with the Citi and Barclays having the CC).
What is the best option for a direct points flight from TLV to UAE? (Abu Dhabi or Dubai)
Just transferred cap1 points to Turkish. they were available in 2 minutes!!!
WOW!
Question: At the moment, I am looking to add only one new card. What would be a greater value, this Capital One card or the new United Quest?
It’s worth noting that capital one is the only card that offers transfers to airlines with their no AF version. You can downgrade after reaching the SUB and still transfer
AMEX has a couple cards that do that as well.
Thanks for the post! Venture holder for years. I opened a Miles&Smiles account and keep trying to book US Star Alliance tickets. Although int’l tickets showed up, any domestic US searches show “Flight not found on the selected date and route…”. I first tried from CLE (home airport) to different cities, then more common routes like NYC-LAX/ORD/IAH/IAD, etc. over different dates, but again, no availability on anything. Called the airline and well-intended but ill-informed agent was clueless. I’m using the Star Alliance partner search, so that’s not the issue. Am I missing something? Thanks!
Anyone know the CapOne policy on getting a bonus again: if someone earned a bonus from card earlier (but no longer holds it now)