Getting More From Your Miles and Points with Transfer Partners

One credit card I recommend often to newbies in this miles and points hobby is the Capital One Venture Rewards card. It currently has a welcome bonus of 75,000 points worth at least $750 in travel rewards. One of the reasons I recommend it is that it’s so easy to use. Your miles can erase anything coded as travel from your credit card statement. Charge $500 for airline tickets and use 50,000 Capital One miles to erase the purchase. Easy peasy.

However, sometimes you can get even more value from these same miles if you transfer them to Capital One travel partners. While it’s not as easy as simply erasing charges from your credit card, the value is worth the extra steps.

Example 1

You could book one night at the Hyatt Regency MCO Airport for around 35,900 Capital One miles with a cash value of $359. You could book this in the Capital One travel portal or book through Hyatt and use miles to erase the charge later. Value = 1 cent/mile.

OR you could use a similar amount of Capital One miles for a completely different redemption to get an even better value. You could transfer 33,000 miles to Air France Flying Blue program and fly to Europe in Premium Economy (with available award space). The cash cost of this flight is $1755! Value = 5.3 cents per mile.

Example 2

A flight from DFW to Madrid on Iberia Airline in Economy costs $899, or 89,900 Capital One miles if you book through the travel portal or erase the purchase using your Capital One miles. Value = 1 cent/mile.

OR, you could transfer just 21,250 Capital One miles to British Airways Executive Club (an Iberia partner) and book the same exact flight as an award flight for fewer miles! Value = 4.2 cents/mile.

Example 3

You could rent a cabin in Pigeon Forge, TN through VRBO with 1 bedroom and a loft with extra beds for around 31,800 miles a night. Value= 1 cent/mile.

OR you could book a very similar cabin by transferring Capital One miles to Wyndham Rewards and booking a cabin through Vacasa for only 15,000 points per night. Value = 2.1 cents/mile. (Leana has stayed in several Vacasa rentals using Wyndham Rewards points–see this post for one example).

Bottom Line

There is no right or wrong way to use your miles and points. But, you can usually get more value from your Capital One miles when you transfer them to travel partners. The same is true for most other flexible points, like Citi ThankYou points, Amex Membership Rewards points and Chase Ultimate Rewards points. In all cases, I recommend not transferring points until you see award availability for the flight/hotel you need.