The Best Capital One Transfer Partners — and Those to Avoid

Capital One miles are a popular transferable rewards currency that you can redeem in a variety of ways. Some of the ways — such as redeeming them through Capital One’s travel portal — net only 1 cent per mile in value. However, if you transfer your miles to Capital One’s transfer partners, it’s possible to get even more value out of them.

Of Capital One’s 19 transfer partners, three are hotel loyalty programs and 16 are airline loyalty programs. Like real-world currencies, some program currencies are worth more than others.

To maximize the value of your Capital One miles, it helps to know which are the best Capital One transfer partners and which you should skip.

» Learn more: The ultimate guide to Capital One miles

Before we consider the best Capital One transfer partners, it’s important to understand how mile transfers work. With most transfer partners, you will exchange miles at a 1:1 ratio, meaning for every 1,000 Capital One miles you transfer, you will get 1,000 miles or points in the partner program.

However, some Capital One partners transfer at a ratio less than 1:1. Those include:

• EVA Air Infinity MileageLands (2:1.5, meaning 1,000 Capital One miles will transfer to 750 Infinity MileageLands miles).

• JetBlue TrueBlue (5:3, meaning 1,000 Capital One miles will transfer to 600 TrueBlue miles).

• Accor Live Limitless (2:1, meaning 1,000 Capital One miles will transfer to 500 ALL points).

Generally, you’ll want to avoid these transfer partners unless you have a specific high-value redemption in mind and you need to top off your account. Otherwise, you’ll likely find the 1:1 transfer partners offer better value.

Air Canada Aeroplan

Air Canada’s Aeroplan points are a great way to book Star Alliance partner awards, thanks to a distance-based award chart. That opens up a lot of opportunities for finding excellent redemptions. While Aeroplan had been a good way to snag domestic flights on United Airlines, the program implemented dynamic award pricing for some of its partners, including United, making some redemption rates less predictable.

NerdWallet values Aeroplan points at 1.1 cents each for economy flights on Air Canada, which is decent — but the program's award chart makes it easy to find much higher-value redemptions. That’s especially true if you’re looking to book premium cabins on Air Canada’s Star Alliance partners, such as Lufthansa first class between the U.S. and Europe.

» Learn more: A guide to Air Canada’s Aeroplan rewards loyalty program

Avianca LifeMiles

Avianca is also a member of the Star Alliance, which means you can use Avianca LifeMiles to book flights on partners like United and Lufthansa among others. Based on our most recent analysis, NerdWallet values Avianca LifeMiles at 1.6 cents each for economy flights on Avianca, and the lack of fuel surcharges and low redemption rates make this an attractive transfer partner.

A big con of the program is the website interface, which can be hard for new users to navigate. You’ll need some patience when trying to book a LifeMiles award. However, there are some quirks to the program that do end up working out to the passenger’s benefit, such as potentially cheaper mixed-cabin award pricing, when you have an economy flight paired with a premium cabin flight on the same itinerary.

British Airways Club and Finnair Plus

British Airways and Finnair’s loyalty programs both use Avios, a points currency shared by a number of airlines, including Aer Lingus and Qatar Airways. It’s also possible to move points between these programs, making it a versatile currency.

Even though the currency is the same, each program has its own rules and sweet spots to explore. According to NerdWallet’s valuations, British Airways Avios are worth about 1.2 cents each.

You don’t have to park your miles there, though. For example, if you want to fly Qatar Qsuites business class, you might transfer Capital One miles to British Airways Club and then move them to Qatar Airways Privilege Club, since Qatar usually offers more award space to its own loyalty members.

Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles are easily attainable through various transfer partnerships, including Capital One, Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards and Citi ThankYou. That’s a good thing if you have multiple transferable points currencies because Singapore awards can be pricey, especially if you’re trying to book the airline’s first class cabin or one of its swanky Singapore Suites, where passengers get not only a seat, but also a separate bed to sleep in.

Other sweet spots include partner awards to Hawaii on Alaska Airlines, with one-way flights from the West Coast costing 13,500 KrisFlyer miles.

Virgin Red

Virgin Red is the loyalty program for the Virgin Group’s portfolio of companies, including Virgin Atlantic. While you can use Virgin points in a variety of ways, one of the best uses is booking flights via Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. NerdWallet values Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points at 1.4 cents each.

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club offers cheap redemptions for its own flights, whether you’re flying economy or business class.

It’s also a great way to book premium cabin awards on partner airlines like All Nippon Airways. However, keep in mind that you may need to pay high taxes and fees for some flights when booking through Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.

Air France-KLM Flying Blue

NerdWallet estimates that Flying Blue miles are worth 0.8 cent each for economy awards, which is relatively low — but the program offers some good deals that make it possible to get much better redemption values. Flying Blue has monthly Promo Rewards that discount certain routes by up to 50%. If you can stack that with a credit card transfer bonus, then it’s an even better deal.

» Learn more: The ultimate guide to Flying Blue

Cathay Pacific Asia Miles

Cathay Pacific uses a distance-based award chart that can vary in value depending on where you are going and whether you’re flying only Cathay Pacific or including additional Oneworld partners. That means shorter flights will often get you better value.

Asia Miles can also be a good way to book Cathay Pacific premium cabin flights, such as business class and first class, since airlines often release more award availability for their own loyalty program members. North American travelers can even snag an award in Cathay Pacific’s newest business class product, the Aria Suite, on flights between Vancouver and Hong Kong.

Etihad Guest

The Abu Dhabi-based airline uses a distance-based award chart that can offer great value, providing you can find award availability at the cheapest prices. While it isn’t a part of an alliance, it has partnerships with multiple airlines, including American Airlines, ANA and Air Canada, allowing you to book more than just Etihad flights. However, if you’re looking to travel in one of the airline’s luxurious premium cabins, booking with Etihad Guest miles is one of the easiest ways to find availability.

Qantas Frequent Flyer

Qantas offers a distance-based award chart, but award redemption rates will change starting in August 2025 — mostly for the worse. For now, Qantas points can offer good value, especially if you’re looking to travel in a premium cabin on Emirates. In fact, Qantas Frequent Flyer is one of the only ways to book Emirates first class on points, now that Emirates is restricting first class awards for its own elites when booking through its loyalty program.

Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles

Turkish Airlines’ Miles&Smiles loyalty program used to offer some of the best award redemption rates, but a 2024 devaluation largely wiped out many sweet spots. It also implemented per-segment pricing, meaning that each flight on a connecting itinerary would be priced individually and added together for the total cost. However, if you’re able to snag a promotional award, you can still get an excellent deal on Turkish Airlines flights. It’s also possible to book one-way domestic economy flights on United for just 10,000 miles, assuming you can find availability.

Wyndham Rewards

This hotel loyalty program is often overlooked, but it can offer excellent value, especially in cities like New York City where cash rates are high. That’s because Wyndham only has three redemption tiers: 7,500, 15,000 or 30,000 points a night. NerdWallet values Wyndham Rewards points at 1.2 cents per point, making this a solid choice for travelers.

Aeromexico Rewards

Aeromexico’s award booking interface can be complicated and difficult to use, without offering much additional upside. With so many other great Capital One transfer partners, we recommend avoiding this one unless you have a specific use case for the miles. Plus, American Express Membership Rewards points transfer at a more favorable 1:1.6 ratio to Aeromexico Rewards, so consider using AmEx points before Capital One points if needed.

Choice Privileges

While Choice Privileges can offer good value, we don’t rank it as a top Capital One transfer partner. That’s because Citi ThankYou points transfer to Choice Privileges at a better 1:2 ratio, meaning for every 1,000 Citi points you transfer, you’ll get 2,000 Choice points. If you’d like to take advantage of Choice Privileges sweet spots, consider opening a card that earns Citi ThankYou points.

Emirates Skywards

If you’re looking to fly Emirates business class, using Emirates miles can be a good way to book that experience. However, these awards can be expensive, both in terms of the amount of miles needed as well as the taxes and fees you’ll have to pay on top.

If you plan on using Emirates miles, avoid booking in Emirates economy; NerdWallet values Emirates miles at just 0.6 cent apiece for economy bookings.

TAP Miles&Go

This loyalty program doesn’t offer particularly attractive redemption rates, making it an easy skip. Since TAP Air Portugal is a Star Alliance carrier, you can find better value looking at one of its partners instead.

Finally, we don’t recommend using miles for Capital One partners with less favorable transfer ratios, since that means you’re immediately starting at a disadvantage. If it’s the only travel option you have, then go for it. Just know that you could get more value elsewhere. Those transfer partners are Accor Live Limitless, EVA Air Infinity MileageLands and JetBlue TrueBlue.

If you’re looking to replenish your stash of JetBlue points, you can transfer points from Chase Ultimate Rewards® to TrueBlue at a 1:1 ratio instead.

» Learn more: The best travel credit cards right now

To earn Capital One miles, you must have an eligible Capital One travel credit card. Depending on which card you have, you can earn between 1.25 to 2 miles per $1 on every day spending. There are four personal credit cards and two business credit cards that earn Capital One miles.

Here's a selection of popular Capital One travel cards, along with their perks.

If you already have a Capital One travel card, you can boost your miles balance by signing up for a Capital One cashback card that offers higher rewards on spending categories that you frequently use.

When you pair a travel card with a cashback card, you’re able to convert your cashback rewards into Capital One miles. This can be a powerful tool to help you rack up more miles.

For example, the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card earns 3% cash back at grocery stores and on dining, entertainment and popular streaming services. If you convert your earnings to Capital One miles, you would be getting 3 miles per dollar spent on those spending categories — 50% more than you would if you used your Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card.