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. Personally I value Capital One miles at 1.7 cents each, thanks to all the great ways there are to redeem them.
This is a currency that has become increasingly popular recently, thanks to the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (Rates & Fees), which is Capital One’s amazing 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 18 transfer partners, including 15 airline programs and three hotel programs. These include the following:
Airline Partners | Hotel Partners |
|---|---|
Aeromexico Club Premier | |
How long does it take to transfer Capital One miles in December 2023?
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 |
|---|---|---|
1000 : 500 | ~ 24 to 48 hours | |
Aeromexico Club Premier | 1000 : 1000 | Instant |
1000 : 1000 | Instant | |
1000 : 1000 | Instant | |
1000 : 1000 | Instant | |
1000 : 1000 | Instant | |
1000 : 1000 | ~ 3 to 5 days | |
1000 : 1000 | Instant | |
1000 : 1000 | Instant | |
1000 : 1000 | ~ 12 to 24 hours | |
1000 : 750 | ~ 24 to 48 hours | |
1000 : 1000 | Instant | |
1000 : 1000 | ~ 24 to 48 hours | |
1000 : 1000 | ~ 24 to 48 hours | |
1000 : 1000 | Instant | |
1000 : 1000 | ~ 24 to 48 hours | |
1000 : 1000 | Instant | |
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 miles on every purchase
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- 10,000 bonus miles every account anniversary
- $395
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day
- 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
- Capital One Travel Portal
- $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 (review) is the best personal credit card; it offers a minimum of 2x miles per dollar spent, and all kinds of great perks, including access to Capital One Lounges, a Priority Pass membership, Plaza Premium Lounge access, generous authorized user perks, Hertz President’s Circle status, and more; while the card has a $395 annual fee (Rates & Fees), it offers a $300 annual travel credit plus 10,000 bonus anniversary miles
- The Capital One Spark Miles for Business (review) (Rates & Fees) 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 toward the cost of a travel purchase (either to erase the cost of a purchase, or through the Capital One Travel portal), 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 toward a purchase
- If you want to redeem your Capital One miles toward 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 toward economy airfare (especially if it’s reasonably priced), your best option might be redeeming them at one cent each toward 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 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 toward 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!
| Want to learn more about points transfer times? See our series about how long points transfers take with Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One, Chase Ultimate Rewards, and Citi ThankYou. |
Upon enrollment, accessible through the Capital One website or mobile app, eligible cardholders will remain at upgraded status level through December 31, 2024. Please note, enrolling through the normal Hertz Gold Plus Rewards enrollment process (e.g. at Hertz.com) will not automatically detect a cardholder as being eligible for the program and cardholders will not be automatically upgraded to the applicable status tier. Additional terms apply.
I transferred 80,000 points to Virgin, Virgin says it takes 6 weeks for the points to appear. Cap one says it's done already. Do not recommend using Virgin. Virgin does not want you using points. Avoid
Transfer at least 2 weeks in advance from Cap 1 to Cathay
I got a confirmation pop up when I transferred from Capital One to Cathay. Kept waiting for points to appear at Cathay for an award I needed to book ASAP. - NADA
Finally checked into my Capital One account and it was locked, ZERO notification - no email, no phone call NOTHING!!!!!!!!!
Called them. No apology, no nothing, except being treated like a...
Transfer at least 2 weeks in advance from Cap 1 to Cathay
I got a confirmation pop up when I transferred from Capital One to Cathay. Kept waiting for points to appear at Cathay for an award I needed to book ASAP. - NADA
Finally checked into my Capital One account and it was locked, ZERO notification - no email, no phone call NOTHING!!!!!!!!!
Called them. No apology, no nothing, except being treated like a criminal. Had to send my drivers license picture.
Will miss the award now and have a bunch of points trapped at Cathay . No time line given for resolving. Should have transferred AMEX.
Check the flyertalk posts on this - VERY COMMON
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/capital-one-rewards-miles/2083200-capital-one-points-transfer-security-delay-issues-4.html
Turkish Airline transfer occurred instantly :)
I just made a transfer from AMEX and Cap 1 to Asiamiles and they were both instant.
The transfer time for EVA is actually instantly. However, the radio isn’t as good as other program.
I would not count Avianca transfers as instant, especially for new accounts. The last 3 times I tried to transfer to Avianca the points did not show up until about 22 hours later... nerve wracking as you watch award seat availability dwindle. Same goes when purchasing
miles. Sometimes instant, sometimes 22 hours. Calling Avianca of course gets you nowhere. Avianca is decent for what it is, but God help you if you have any...
I would not count Avianca transfers as instant, especially for new accounts. The last 3 times I tried to transfer to Avianca the points did not show up until about 22 hours later... nerve wracking as you watch award seat availability dwindle. Same goes when purchasing
miles. Sometimes instant, sometimes 22 hours. Calling Avianca of course gets you nowhere. Avianca is decent for what it is, but God help you if you have any kind of problem. I'm bitter for very good reason, I promise.
Not sure about transfers but WOW with Venture X sign up bonus and process. Last Wednesday (Jan 11) I found out I had to prepay $4000 (my out-of-pocket insurance deductable for the year) in advance for a medical procedure on the 18th. I sure as hell wasn't going to give up the chance to recoup some of that cost with a sign up bonus so on Wednesday night I applied for the card and was...
Not sure about transfers but WOW with Venture X sign up bonus and process. Last Wednesday (Jan 11) I found out I had to prepay $4000 (my out-of-pocket insurance deductable for the year) in advance for a medical procedure on the 18th. I sure as hell wasn't going to give up the chance to recoup some of that cost with a sign up bonus so on Wednesday night I applied for the card and was approved. I was able to use a virtual account number to make the $4000 payment online, which conveniently is also the Venture X minimum spend requirement. The transaction cleared on Friday and by Saturday afternoon - less than 72 hours after I applied for the card - I had the 83,000 miles available to use. I also received the physical card on Friday morning. I could not be more impressed!
Interestingly, when I closed my Venture X, I transferred the majority to AC and it transferred instantly. They offered to send me a check for the value of the remaining points - I wonder if that's always an option. I don't know the rate, will post when it gets here.
The transfer time to Cathay AsiaMiles has dropped dramatically. I recently transferred points from AMEX, Citi, and Capital One for an itinerary to Sydney in J, and all transfers were final within <20 minutes.
Wife just did a couple transfers to Eva and each went through within a couple minutes.
Same question i wrote on the Citi points post:
Are you sure Aeromexico points transfer 1000:1000 ? they used to call their points Kilometers, and transfers from US based cards into it are usually at 1000:1600 rate.
back in the days when USbank issued AM card in US their rate was 1mile-1.6Km per 1USD.
Amex US is still 1000:1600 transfer rate.