4 Things to Do When You Start Collecting Capital One Miles

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card - Miles Boost are two of the most popular travel rewards cards out there because of how simple they make it to earn and redeem rewards.

That said, you should still make sure you’re taking full advantage of the benefits these cards offer, and there’s a lot more to that than just swiping your card and earning the sign-up bonus. These are the four things you have to know when you start collecting Capital One miles.

1. Learn how to transfer points to airline partners

As is true of most rewards programs, one of the greatest uses for Capital One points is to transfer them to an airline partner. Capital One miles have a fixed value of 1 cent per mile if you redeem them through their travel portal, but that value can increase to 1.2 cents (according to our most recent NerdWallet analysis) if you transfer them to airline partners and convert them to frequent flyer miles.

Capital One recently added an extensive list of airline transfer partners, including Aeromexico, Air Canada, Air France and Qantas, among others.

» Learn more:

2. Use your points for travel, not cash

While some rewards cards are flexible about letting you take your points as cash, Capital One imposes a severe penalty if you try to redeem your miles for money.

The face value of a Capital One mile is 1 cent when redeemed for travel, but Capital One imposes a 50% penalty if you redeem your points for cash back. That means that if you withdraw $100 worth of points as cash, you’ll only receive $50.

If you want to retain the flexibility to use your rewards for travel or cash back, then a better card to consider is the Chase Freedom Unlimited®, which will allow you to redeem your points through Chase Ultimate Rewards® however you want to.

» Learn more: The 4 Best Capital One Transfer Partners — and 7 to Avoid

3. Redeem miles for statement credit against travel purchases

One of the biggest limitations of almost all rewards cards is that you can only use points on the hotels and airlines available through their travel portal, and it can usually only be used to book upcoming travel.

Capital One, however, will let you redeem your miles for statement credit against any qualified travel expenses that you’ve incurred in the last 90 days. All you have to do is log in to your account, pick the expense and then use your points for either a full or partial credit against the charge. This feature is not limited to any one particular hotel brand or airline.

The added bonus that makes this feature so useful is that it covers expenses beyond the standard hotels and plane tickets. You can use this feature to pay for bus tickets, train tickets, cruises, Airbnb bookings and a whole host of other travel costs.

» Learn more: How to redeem Capital One miles for travel

4. Take advantage of the benefits

A major mistake that many travel rewards collectors make is thinking that their benefits are limited to just the points or miles that they earn. However, most cards will offer a collection of ancillary benefits, and if taken advantage of, these perks can be just as valuable as the miles you collect.

For example, the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card - Miles Boost offers a $120 credit for either TSA PreCheck or Global Entry when you charge it to the card. Other benefits include rental car collision insurance, no foreign transaction fees and extended warranties for major appliances that you buy with the card.

Capital One miles can be a great program to be a part of, but there’s a big difference between just having a travel rewards card and using it properly to get the maximum value you can out of it. Following these tips will make sure that you’re getting the most out of your Capital One miles.