If you’re collecting miles & points through credit card spending, I always recommend doing what you can to accrue transferable points currencies. That’s because these points are much more flexible than when you’re earning an individual airline or hotel points currency. You have the ability to transfer these points to all kinds of travel partners, and you’re safeguarded from a devaluation in a specific points currency.
With that in mind, in this post I wanted to address all the basics of transferring Capital One miles to the program’s airline and hotel partners. Thanks to some recent improvements to Capital One’s mileage transfer program, I value these miles a lot more than in the past. Furthermore, I imagine lots more people will be interested in this currency thanks to the introduction of the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, which is Capital One’s amazing new premium credit card.
Let’s go over all of the basics, including how many transfer partners Capital One has, how long it takes to transfer points, who you can transfer points to, etc.
In this post:
How many loyalty partners does Capital One have?
Capital One has 16 transfer partners, including 14 airline programs and two hotel programs. These include the following:
Airline Partners | Hotel Partners |
|---|---|
Aeromexico Club Premier | Accor Live Limitless (ALL) |
Air Canada Aeroplan | Wyndham Rewards |
Air France-KLM Flying Blue | |
Avianca LifeMiles | |
British Airways Executive Club | |
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | |
Emirates Skywards | |
Etihad Guest | |
EVA Air Infinity MileageLands | |
Finnair Plus | |
Qantas Frequent Flyer | |
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | |
TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go | |
Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles |
How long does it take to transfer Capital One miles in December 2021?
Below is a chart with how long it typically takes to transfer Capital One miles to airline and hotel partners:
Capital One Transfer Partner | Transfer Ratio | Transfer Time |
|---|---|---|
Accor Live Limitless (ALL) | 1000 : 500 | ~ 24 to 48 hours |
Aeromexico Club Premier | 1000 : 1000 | Instant |
Air Canada Aeroplan | 1000 : 1000 | Instant |
Air France-KLM Flying Blue | 1000 : 1000 | Instant |
Avianca LifeMiles | 1000 : 1000 | Instant |
British Airways Executive Club | 1000 : 1000 | Instant |
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | 1000 : 1000 | ~ 3 to 5 days |
Emirates Skywards | 1000 : 1000 | Instant |
Etihad Guest | 1000 : 1000 | ~ 12 to 24 hours |
EVA Air Infinity MileageLands | 1000 : 750 | ~ 24 to 48 hours |
Finnair Plus | 1000 : 1000 | Instant |
Qantas Frequent Flyer | 1000 : 1000 | ~ 24 to 48 hours |
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 1000 : 1000 | ~ 24 to 48 hours |
TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go | 1000 : 1000 | Instant |
Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles | 1000 : 1000 | ~ 24 to 48 hours |
Wyndham Rewards | 1000 : 1000 | Instant |
As you can see, transfers to over half of Capital One’s partners are instant, while transfers to the remaining programs typically take anywhere from several hours to a couple of days.
Are there fees associated with transferring Capital One miles?
Nope, there are no fees associated with transferring Capital One miles, regardless of which partner you transfer points to. However, there may be ticketing or other fees with specific programs when it comes time to redeem points.
Can you transfer Capital One miles to someone else’s Capital One account?
If you have a card earning Capital One miles, you can transfer your miles to anyone else’s Spark or Venture account. It doesn’t need to be a family member, there are no limits on how many miles you can transfer to others, and the miles don’t expire any sooner.
In order to take advantage of this you need to phone up Capital One, as this isn’t a feature that’s available online just yet.
Can you transfer Capital One miles to someone else’s loyalty account?
No. While you can transfer your Capital One miles to someone else’s Capital One account and then they can transfer it to their preferred loyalty program, you can’t transfer your Capital One miles directly to someone else’s loyalty program account.
The name of the Capital One account and loyalty program account have to match.
How soon after spending do Capital One miles post to your account?
One of the unique things about Capital One miles is that the miles post to your Capital One account within days of when you spend money on the card. Talk about instant gratification. With most other card issuers, miles post either after the statement closes, or even sometimes two statements later.
That means that within days you could be redeeming the miles associated with your spending today.
What credit cards earn Capital One miles?
There are a few cards that earn Capital One miles that can be transferred to airlines or hotels:
- Earn 2x Venture miles on every purchase
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- 10,000 bonus miles every account anniversary
- $395
- Earn 2x Venture miles on every purchase
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- Global Entry/TSA Pre-Check Credit
- $95
- Earn unlimited 1.25x miles per dollar on every purchase
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- No Annual Fee
- $0
- Unlimited 2x miles per dollar
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- Primary Car Rental Coverage
- $0 intro for first year; $95 after that
However, there are really two best options as of now:
- The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is the best personal credit card; it offers a minimum of 2x Venture miles per dollar spent, and all kinds of great perks, including access to Capital One Lounges, a Priority Pass membership, generous authorized user perks, Hertz President’s Circle status, and more; while the card has a $395 annual fee, it offers a $300 annual travel credit plus 10,000 bonus anniversary miles
- The Capital One Spark Miles for Business is the best business credit card; it offers 2x Spark miles per dollar spent, has a reasonable $95 annual fee that’s waived for the first year, and offers some other great perks that make the card worthwhile
Should you transfer Capital One miles to travel partners?
Generally speaking your Capital One miles can either be redeemed for one cent each towards the cost of a travel purchase, or can be transferred to one of the airline and hotel partners. Transfers to a vast majority of partners are at a 1:1 ratio, which is excellent.
Which redemption option makes more sense depends on your spending patterns. Personally I value Capital One miles at 1.7 cents each, and that’s based on the ability to transfer them at a 1:1 ratio to an airline partner. I consider that to be a much better deal, at least for those seeking out aspirational travel.
However, I recognize not everyone wants to redeem their rewards that way, so let me simplify this a bit further:
- If you want to redeem your Capital One miles for anything other than flights, your best option is probably redeeming them at one cent each towards a purchase
- If you want to redeem your Capital One miles towards airfare, you’ll get more value for international first and business class tickets when transferring miles to an airline partner
- If you want to redeem your Venture or Spark miles towards economy airfare (especially if it’s reasonably priced), your best option might be redeeming them at one cent each towards a purchase
Those are very general guidelines, and the best solution very much depends on the specific circumstances. Personally I exclusively redeem my Capital One miles by transferring them to airline partners, and then I book international first & business class tickets, but I recognize not everyone is looking for those kinds of redemptions.
Read our guide on the best ways to redeem Capital One miles.
Bottom line
Capital One has created a great points program. The transfer function was first introduced in late 2018, and has been considerably improved since then. Not only has Capital One assembled a nice collection of partners, but we’ve seen transfer ratios improve, and we’ve also seen some transfer bonuses. Add in the new Capital One Venture X Card, and the program gets even more exciting.
The good thing about Capital One miles is that redeeming them as cash towards travel and transferring them to airline and hotel partners can both be a great deal, so you get a lot of flexibility with these points.
If you have any data points on how long Capital One mileage transfers have taken you, please share them below, so that I can keep the chart as accurate as possible!
I had a Capital One credit card a few years back. Their customer service was terrible. Merchant disputes for duplicate charges were never awarded in my favor. I vowed to never use them again and I’ll continue to adhere to that commitment.
Currently, I have CSR, Citi Premier as my travel cards, with co-branded cards like Hilton Aspire. The new C1 Venture X is definitely getting my attention. I am considering applying for it, then downgrade my CSR to CSP. I like the CSR's primary car rental insurance, with C1 having that coverage also, that allows me to "switch." CSR also has bonus category on transportation like Uber, Lyft, and any public transport that probably can't be...
Currently, I have CSR, Citi Premier as my travel cards, with co-branded cards like Hilton Aspire. The new C1 Venture X is definitely getting my attention. I am considering applying for it, then downgrade my CSR to CSP. I like the CSR's primary car rental insurance, with C1 having that coverage also, that allows me to "switch." CSR also has bonus category on transportation like Uber, Lyft, and any public transport that probably can't be replaced, but I don't spend that much in this category. I need to remind myself of the new categories added to the CSP...I remember it has some good ones. This way, I can save some money on the annual fee for sure.
If I'm just looking for a card for my every day spend does the Venture card make more sense than the Venture X? I get the $300 X credit makes up for fee difference between the two but wouldn't I be better off just paying that $300 myself toward a hotel and getting elite benefits/nights? I currently use the Chase Unlimited for non bonus but I think with 33% more points (2x vs 1.5x) I...
If I'm just looking for a card for my every day spend does the Venture card make more sense than the Venture X? I get the $300 X credit makes up for fee difference between the two but wouldn't I be better off just paying that $300 myself toward a hotel and getting elite benefits/nights? I currently use the Chase Unlimited for non bonus but I think with 33% more points (2x vs 1.5x) I can make up the $95 fee in spend. I guess only other variable is the sign up bonus... may be worth getting X then downgrading
@ Alec -- Keep in mind the Venture X not only offers a $300 credit through Capital One Travel, but also offers 10K anniversary miles. Between those two things, I think there's simply no way to justify the Venture over the Venture X.
That's not even accounting for other incremental perks, like lounge access.
@ Ben: I have a $59 Venture and Amex Gold and Platinum. I gorged on the Venture 10x Hotels.com bonus.
Along comes Amex, which I am very happy with, as it suits my travel needs. The Venture is getting a little more usage now with the improved transfer partner ratios. Am I justified in not upgrading?