Capital One Transfer Partners: Which Ones are the Best?

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Capital One has added new travel partners and perks, plus new airport lounges for 2021. You can read more in our post, New Capital One Travel Rewards, and our other related post, Everything You Need to Know About the Capital One Travel Partners.

Not too many travel credit cards let you transfer your rewards points directly to airlines. Select Capital One travel credit cards let you transfer your points to leading travel loyalty programs. You will learn who the Capital One transfer partners are and some of the best ways to redeem your Capital One miles.

Four Capital One credit cards currently let you transfer points to the transfer partners. Two of the ones you might own might be:

• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
• Capital One Spark Miles for Business

Both the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card and Capital One® Spark® Miles Select for Business cards that don’t have an annual fee let you transfer miles too.

Who Are the Capital One Transfer Partners?

There are airline partners and hotel brands you can transfer your Capital One miles to. As you will see, most of these partners are international airlines. While you may transfer to book a flight that the airline partner operates, you might find more value booking a partner flight.

• Aeromexico
• Air France KLM (Flying Blue)
• Air Canada (Aeroplan)
• Asia Miles
• Avianca
• Emirates
• Etihad
• EVA Air
• Finnair
• Qantas
• Singapore Airlines
• ALL (Accor Live Limitless)
• Wyndham Rewards

The Capital One transfer partners are a diverse group. You have plenty of ways to book award flights to domestic and international destinations. Plus, ALL encompasses 34 hotel brands.

Transfer Ratio

One thing to keep in mind is that Capital One doesn’t offer 1:1 point transfers like the Chase Ultimate Rewards or American Express Membership Rewards programs. If you also have a card for one of these rewards programs, you may want to transfer with them first and then use your Capital One miles to cover the remaining balance.

Related article: For a better example of the pros and cons between Capital One and Chase Ultimate Reward transfers, read this Chase Sapphire Preferred vs Capital One Venture Rewards card comparison.

Instead, most airlines have a 2:1.5 transfer ratio. That means 2 Capital One miles are worth 1.5 airline miles.

But when your points are worth more than 1 cent each (how much each point is worth for travel statement credit), point transfers are a better option.

Transfer Speed

Most Capital One point transfers are instant. But, some programs can take up to 3 days so do plan accordingly. Some of the airlines that can take up to 3 days to complete a transfer are Asia Miles, Etihad, Qantas, and Singapore Airlines.  The Capital One transfer speeds are similar to other credit card rewards programs.

Some of the Best Ways to Transfer Capital One Miles

Not every transfer partner is worth it unless you already have a frequent flyer account and you only need to transfer a few miles to book a flight. Here are some of the routes you should pay attention to first to get the most value from your points.

Avianca

If you can find partner flight availability, Avianca waives the fuel surcharges on long-haul international flights. One example is flying Lufthansa to Europe. You can transfer 116,000 Capital One miles to book a one-way ticket in first class. Although you still pay taxes and fees, you avoid the hefty fuel surcharge.

You can also use Avianca to book partner flights on United Airlines.

Related article: If you’re primarily interested in Avianca, you may want to check out the Avianca LifeMiles credit cards.

Flying Blue

The Air France KLM Flying Blue partnership is another way to book domestic flights at a discount. You will need to use Flying Blue’s point calculator to get an estimate for how many Flying Blue miles you need to book a flight.

For example, you can book a round-trip main cab flight between Los Angeles and Honolulu for 35,000 Flying Blue miles on Delta or Alaska Airlines. Even award flights from Atlanta start at 17,500 miles one-way in the main cabin. You will need to transfer 50,000 Capital One miles to book a round-trip main cabin ticket.

If the cash value of the fare is at least $500, transferring your miles is the more valuable point redemption option.

Qantas

You can use Qantas to book first-class flights on Qantas or partner airlines like Emirates. Qantas has a 2:1.5 transfer ratio while Emirates is currently 2:1. So you can get 50% more miles by transferring to Qantas instead of Emirates. For example, a round-trip for the U.S. East Coast to Dubai costs 168,000 Qantas points (225,000 Capital One miles).

You can also book flights on Qantas. First class availability opens 353 days in advance. If you want to fly to Australia, Qantas first class is worth it if you can find a seat. How much you pay depends on where you fly from the United States. The best award prices are from the West Coast.

For example, you can fly one-way from Los Angeles to Sydney for 144,000 Qantas points. Flying from Dallas to Sydney can cost 168,000 Qantas points each way.

Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines is one of the best transfer partners if you want to book some of the best first class flights. For example, the Singapore Suites to Europe or Asia is currently one of the most luxurious ways to fly. They are also a good way to book partner flights on domestic airlines.

Two Singapore Airlines partners are United and Alaska Airlines. You can transfer your miles to your KrisFlyer account on a 2:1 ratio. Then you can book an Alaska Airlines award flight to Hawaii. A one-way economy award flight costs 12,000 KrisFlyer miles (24,000 Capital One miles) from the U.S. West Coast.

This can still be one of the cheaper ways to fly to Hawaii, depending on the ticket cost. On a side note, if Hawaii is on your mind, know that Southwest Airlines has begun offering flights to Hawaii that may also be of interest to you.

Transfer Capital One Miles vs. Travel Statement Credits

Transferring your Capital One miles can be the better option when your transferred points are worth at least one cent each. A second reason is when you only need a few more points to book a flight as your current loyalty account balance isn’t high enough.

Otherwise, you can either redeem your points directly through Capital One for award travel as a travel statement credit or booking the upcoming flight or hotel on the Orbitz-powered travel portal. Your points are worth one cent each with both options.

Summary

Even though most of the Capital One transfer partners are international airlines, you can scoop up many domestic partner flights. Plus, hotel options can be useful. Before transferring, make sure redeeming your points through the airline is worth more than 1 cent. If not, your best option is usually paying cash for your flight and redeeming your points as a travel statement credit.