The 6 Best Capital One Transfer Partners — and Those to Avoid
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Capital One miles are a favorite of many credit card holders. They can be redeemed like cash through the Capital One travel portal or in the form of statement credits toward travel at the value of 1 cent per mile or transferred to several travel partners.
But, what are the best Capital One transfer partners? And are there any you should skip? The short answer is yes. Here’s everything you need to know about the best Capital One transfer partners.
How Capital One Miles work
Capital One Miles can only be earned by those who hold Capital One travel credit cards. Depending on which card you have, you can earn between 1.25 to 2 miles per $1 on every day spending. The points can be redeemed through the travel portal or transferred to Capital One's list of partners.
If you choose to transfer these points to an airline loyalty program, you can possibly extract even more value from them. This would make the most sense if the value of the redemption is higher than the 1 cent per mile value when redeemed from Capital One directly.
It can help to first understand how Capital One rewards operate and the various credit cards that award them.
Credit cards that earn Capital One Miles
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.
$395.
$95.
$0.
$0 intro for the first year, then $95.
• 10 miles per $1 on hotels and rental cars through Capital One Travel.
• 5 miles per $1 on flights through Capital One Travel.
• 2 miles per $1 on everything else.
• 5 miles per $1 on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
• 2 miles per $1 on all other purchases.
• 5 miles per $1 on hotels and car rentals booked through Capital One Travel.
• 1.25 miles per $1 on all purchases.
• 5 miles per $1 on hotels and rental cars through Capital One Travel.
• 2 miles per $1 on everything else.
Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel.
Enjoy a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel.
Earn a bonus of 40,000 miles once you spend $1,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $400 in travel.
Earn a one-time bonus of 50,000 miles – equal to $500 in travel – once you spend $4,500 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.
If you're looking for a business charge card with higher rewards, you can consider the Capital One Venture X Business card (annual fee: $395), which earns 10 miles per $1 on hotels and rental cars and 5 miles per $1 on flights booked through Capital One Travel and 2 miles per $1 on everything else. The card has the following welcome offer: Earn 150,000 bonus miles once you spend $30,000 in the first 3 months from account opening.
All these cards earn between 1.25-2 miles per $1 on non-category spend, but also offer lucrative welcome bonuses that can instantly boost your points stash.
So, let’s say that you find an expensive business class flight to the Maldives or Tahiti, but you realize that you can redeem frequent flyer miles for it instead of paying cash. That’s the perfect time to transfer Capital One miles over to the airline loyalty program; plus, you may get more value from your Capital One miles.
Not all transfers are created equal, though — it is important to know which from the Capital One list are the best transfer partners. Some should be avoided if you want to maximize transfer value.
» Learn more: Best Capital One credit cards
Capital One miles transfer ratios
Capital One miles can be transferred to most partner loyalty programs at a 1:1 ratio with a minimum transfer of 1,000 miles (e.g., 1,000 miles transfer as 1,000 miles or points in the programs below). Here's Capital One's full list of transfer partners and ratios:
Note that when you transfer 1,000 Capital One miles to EVA Air Infinity MileageLands, you will only receive 750 miles or points within this program. ALL Accor Live Limitless is another transfer partner with Capital One, but you only receive 500 ALL points for each 1,000 Capital One miles moved into it.
The best Capital One transfer partners
Here are the top six Capital One transfer partners if you want to optimize the points you transfer over to an airline.
Make sure there is award availability with a partner you are transferring Capital One miles to before completing the transaction. Otherwise, you might get stuck with orphan miles or points in a program where you may not have another use for them.
1. Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
The Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles program is great for domestic redemptions with several sweet spots worth exploring. NerdWallet values Turkish miles at 1.1 cents apiece. The program still uses an award chart, which is a nice departure from the more confusing dynamic pricing model of other programs.
» Learn more: The guide to Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
2. Air France/KLM Flying Blue
NerdWallet estimates that Flying Blue miles are worth 1.2 cents, giving great value for your miles. Flying Blue also has monthly promo awards that discount certain routes by up to 50%. That means you can sometimes find one-way travel from the U.S. to Europe as low as 11,250 Flying Blue miles.
» Learn more: A points collector’s guide to Air France-KLM Flying Blue
3. Air Canada Aeroplan
Air Canada’s Aeroplan points are a great way to book United flights within the United States — especially last-minute flights — and Star Alliance awards around the world thanks to a distance-based award chart.
Recent changes have brought updates to the program, including the opportunity to share miles with up to eight family members to get to an award faster.
If you’re looking for short-haul flights of less than 500 miles in distance within North America, Aeroplan only charges 6,000 points each way. That can be quite the bargain for last-minute, expensive flights. NerdWallet values Aeroplan points at 1.4 cents each, which means this is a solid transfer partner.
» Learn more: A guide to Air Canada’s Aeroplan rewards loyalty program
4. Avianca LifeMiles
Avianca is, like Singapore and Air Canada, a member of the Star Alliance. This 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 1.2 cents each, and the lack of fuel surcharges and low redemption rates make this an attractive transfer partner.
5. Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles are easily attainable through various transfer partners.
In addition to Capital One, you can also use other transferable points currencies like Chase Ultimate Rewards®, American Express, Citi and Marriott points for Singapore awards, which means you can reach a redemption faster than you think.
NerdWallet values Singapore KrisFlyer miles at 1.5 cents each, although the airline recently raised redemption costs on awards — meaning you might need more miles. Great redemptions can still be had with some Singapore Airlines sweet spots.
6. Avios
Avios is the points currency for Aer Lingus, British Airways, Iberia and Vueling, and it is possible to move points between programs. Qatar Airways Privilege Club members also earn Avios and can move points between programs. This makes it easier to boost your balance for an award.
The program uses a distance-based award chart, which has several sweet spots. NerdWallet values Avios at 1 cent each, meaning 10,000 Avios points is worth about $100.
Other solid Capital One transfer options
There are several other smart ways to use Capital One miles for redemptions through partners.
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. Because the Asia Miles award chart is distance-based, your best redemption will be 7,500 miles for intra-Asia flights under 750 flown miles.
Emirates Skywards: Emirates’ own miles are one of the premier ways to fly premium cabins on Emirates. The prices can be quite high, but if you want real bling on your next flight, Emirates is it. Check out some of our other Emirates Skywards sweet spots. Although, note that NerdWallet values Emirates miles at just 0.6 cent apiece.
Etihad Guest: Etihad is another program with a quirky award chart with prices varying by airline that has some amazing redemptions.
Qantas: Qantas also has a distance-based award chart, and flights under 600 miles cost only 8,000 miles to book. This can be a great option for last-minute short hops within the U.S. (flying on American Airlines) or in Australia itself.
The least valuable Capital One transfer options
We don’t recommend using miles for other Capital One transfer partners since the ratios are less favorable. If it’s the only travel option you have, then go for it. Just know that you could get more value elsewhere.
The transfer partners with the least advantageous ratios include:
EVA Infinity MileageLands.
You can also redeem your miles for credit card statement credits, which is hardly the most valuable way to use them. Even so, it could save you cash in the short term. You would earn 0.5 cents in value per mile redeemed toward a gift card or toward credit card charges for travel purchases.
» Learn more: The best travel credit cards right now
Get maximum value from your Capital One points transfer
This is an axiom for the points and miles world. Put your travel rewards credit cards to work for you by finding ways to extract the most value from your miles and points.
Sometimes, it makes more sense to pay for a trip in cash if you can use miles to offset the cost of a more expensive trip later.
Capital One miles and its transfer partners are a great example, and this advice over the best transfer partners could help you rise to the top of the award trip value chain.
How to maximize your rewards
You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are some of the best travel credit cards of 2024:
Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
No annual fee: Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card
Flat-rate travel rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Bonus travel rewards and high-end perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve®
Luxury perks: The Platinum Card® from American Express
Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
on Chase's website
1x-5x
Points60,000 Points + $300 Travel Credit
on Chase's website
1.5%-5%
CashbackUp to $300
2x-5x
Miles75,000
MilesBoost your travel fund with up to $425/year* in cash rewards and exclusive savings
NerdWallet+ members can earn cash rewards for making smart financial decisions. Join now for just $49/year to start saving.