Capital One has done it again. Just over seven months ago, you had only one option with Capital One Venture miles… redeem them for 2% credits to erase your travel purchases. Over the last seven months, Capital One has added 15 transfer partners and offered three points transfer promos. A fourth transfer offer bonus has now been released — 25% Capital One transfer bonus to Avianca LifeMiles. Continue reading to find out all of the details and why you should be excited.
In This Post
How do you earn Capital One miles?
You can earn Capital One miles in three different ways:
- Sign up bonuses on a new Capital One Venture or Spark credit card
- Purchases on your Venture or Spark cards
- Booking at Hotels.com/venture to earn 10x miles per $1 (through January 2020)
When do Capital One miles post to your account?
Unlike most travel rewards programs, Capital One miles post to your account shortly after you make a purchase. When your rewards post to your account within 1-3 business days, you can immediately take advantage of awesome transfer bonuses like this. For other programs, cardholders usually need to wait for the statement to close, thus missing out on promos for last minute purchases.
Which Capital One credit cards earn transferrable miles?
There are currently four Capital One credit cards that earn transferrable miles:
- Venture – 2x miles on all purchases; $95 annual fee
- VentureOne – 1.25x miles on all purchases; no fee
- Spark Miles – 2x miles on all purchases; $95 annual fee
- Spark Miles Select – 1.5x miles on all purchases; no fee
When you transfer Capital One miles to their airline partners, you’re earning up to 1.5x miles on every dollar you spend. For many airlines, that’s a higher earning rate than their co-branded airline credit card!
Who are the Capital One transfer partners?
With the addition of JetBlue in May 2019, Capital One now offers 15 transfer partners to cardholders.
| Transfer Partner | Venture Miles | Target Rewards Program |
|---|---|---|
| Aeromexico Club Premier | 1000 | 750 |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | 1000 | 750 |
| Alitalia MilleMiglia | 1000 | 750 |
| Avianca LifeMiles | 1000 | 750 |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | 1000 | 750 |
| Emirates | 1000 | 500 |
| Etihad Guest | 1000 | 750 |
| EVA Infinity MileageLands | 1000 | 750 |
| Finnair Plus | 1000 | 750 |
| FlyingBlue (Air France & KLM) | 1000 | 750 |
| Hainan Airlines Fortune Wings Club | 1000 | 750 |
| JetBlue True Blue | 1000 | 500 |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | 1000 | 750 |
| Qatar Privilege Club | 1000 | 750 |
| Singapore Airlines | 1000 | 500 |
25% Capital One transfer bonus to Avianca LifeMiles
For a limited time, Capital One cardholders that transfer miles to Avianca LifeMiles will receive 25% extra miles. From July 1, 2010, through July 31, 2019, at 11:59 PM EST, your miles offer significantly more value.
With this bonus, the miles transfer at a ratio of 2:1.876. After the promotion ends, the transfer rate will return to 2:1.5. All transfers must be in 1,000 Capital One mile increments.
Best uses for Aviance LifeMiles miles
If you’re not familiar with Avianca LifeMiles miles, you need to study up on them. People in the know in the travel world find tremendous value in them because of two reasons: 1) awesome airline partners and 2) Avianca LifeMiles doesn’t pass on carrier-imposed fuel surcharges from those partners.
My friend Gil wrote a great article showcasing the best uses for Avianca miles. Here’s a quick summary if you don’t have time to click over to read his article (all miles are one way unless specified):
- ANA First Class to North Asia for 90,000 miles
- Lufthansa First Class to Europe for 87,000 miles
- Domestic short-haul flights on United for as few as 7,500 miles
- ANA First Class between Hawaii and Japan for 66,000 miles
- United transcontinental in Business Class for 25,000 miles
- Thai First Class between Japan and Australia for 50,000 miles
- SAS Business Class to Europe for 63,000 miles (and many other airlines)
- United Business Class to Brazil for 50,000 miles
- Turkish Business Class to the Middle East for 78,000 miles (and many other airlines)
There are so many options, I highly recommend reading Gil’s story for even more motivation to earn Capital One miles so you can transfer and fly one of these aspirational flights.
The Bald Thoughts
Capital One miles have become increasingly more valuable over the last seven months. Cardholders can still purchase flights, book hotel rooms, and make other travel purchases without fear of blackout dates. And with the addition of 15 airline transfer partners, you have many valuable options to choose from to book flights.
What’s your favorite use of Capital One miles? Have you booked one of these flights with Aeroplan miles? Let us know in the comment section below.
