#5 Among Transferable Points
Point Value
1.3 ¢
Program Score
7.9
Capital One is a flexible point system we use for travel items that other systems don't cover
The primary ways to earn Capital One miles are through credit card welcome offers and spending on eligible personal and business cards. Capital One offers several miles-earning cards, along with several cards that only earn cash back.
Holding at least one miles-earning card makes the Capital One ecosystem more valuable. Eligible cash back rewards can be converted into transferable miles, giving rewards earned across multiple cards access to Capital One's airline and hotel transfer partners.
Combine rewards from multiple Capital One cards
You can move rewards between your eligible Capital One accounts, including converting cash back into miles when you hold a miles-earning card. Once converted, those rewards can be transferred to Capital One’s airline and hotel partners.
Share miles with anyone
Capital One lets you share miles with any other Capital One member who has a miles-earning account. There are no fees, transfer limits, or annual caps, and you can choose exactly how many miles to transfer. This flexibility makes Capital One our favorite rewards program for sharing and pooling miles. The only drawback is that transfers currently must be completed by phone.
Capital One Venture X Business
Capital One Spark Cash Plus (year one bonus)
Capital One Spark Cash Plus (ongoing bonus)
Special Offers Related to Capital One Miles. Click the arrow to see more.
For a limited time, the Capital One Spark Cash Business card includes a $250 travel credit in addition to its standard welcome bonus of $1,000 after spending $10,000 in 3 months. The Capital One Spark Cash Plus Business card includes a $500 travel credit in addition to the standard welcome offer of $2,000 after spending $30,000 within the first 3 months.
Certain Capital One business cardholders are being targeted with unusually lucrative referral offers of up to 100,000 miles per approved referral, capped at 500,000 miles for the year, or as much as $2,000 cash back. Offers vary by account, so business cardholders should log in and check their referral options. I was only targeted for $250 cash back per referral, up to $1,250 for the year. The biggest restriction is that your referral must not already have a Capital One business card. Existing personal Capital One cardholders are still eligible.
We don't generally cover shopping portal offers, but Capital One Shopping is targeting some members with unusually lucrative offers. You can earn $100 back after spending $100 or more on either a hotel or vacation rental booking or event tickets. To qualify, you must book through Capital One Shopping’s dedicated hotel comparison or event ticket portal rather than clicking through to another site. The offer appears on the Capital One Shopping website but may not show in the app. Keep in mind that Capital One rewards cannot be withdrawn as cash and must be redeemed for eligible gift cards, but this is still an excellent return, especially if you can find a qualifying purchase near the $100 minimum.
Capital One Offers is targeting some cardholders with an extra 2x miles on paid Hyatt stays booked directly with Hyatt. Since you'll still be booking directly with Hyatt, you'll continue to earn World of Hyatt points, elite night credits, and receive eligible elite benefits during your stay. This could be worth activating if you already have a paid Hyatt stay planned, particularly if you don't have a Hyatt credit card that earns a higher return. The offer excludes stays in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific.
You’ll get the highest value for your Capital One miles by redeeming through their travel partners. There are also several other ways to redeem, most of which are simple and require little effort. These redemptions typically earn 1 cent per point (sometimes less). That is the bare minimum we recommend and should only be used in limited situations.
You can book travel through the Capital One Travel Portal at 1 cent per mile. When used strategically, you can often get better value by transferring miles to partners. However, there are a few situations where booking through the portal makes sense:
You can still earn airline loyalty points when booking through the portal by entering your loyalty number. However, hotel loyalty points are not earned, and nights stayed won’t count toward elite status.
You can use your miles to cover any travel purchase made in the last 90 days. “Travel purchase” is broad and includes more than airfare and hotels. While this redemption is 1 cent per point, it can be valuable for vacation rentals, car rentals, and cruises that lack transfer options.
The following are ways to redeem your Capital One miles, but they offer poor value and should be avoided:
Discover your points' highest-value redemption options. Use the filters to find the optimal sweet spot for your next trip.
Capital One lets you cover eligible travel purchases with miles for 90 days after the charge posts. This can be especially useful for travel that is harder to book with transferable points, such as vacation rentals, cruises, tours, car rentals, and independent hotels.
Capital One miles can transfer to more than 15 airline and hotel partners. Check partner award pricing before using miles through the portal or covering a travel purchase, as this is where outsized value comes from.
Capital One Travel can be useful, especially when using card-specific travel credits, but portal bookings can complicate changes, cancellations, and loyalty benefits. Compare against booking direct before committing.
You can add your airline loyalty number when booking flights through Capital One Travel, which may let you earn airline miles on paid airfare. This does not apply to hotel bookings, which generally will not earn hotel points or elite night credit.
We rank Capital One Miles behind Chase, American Express, Bilt, and Citi when it comes to transferable miles. That being said, Capital One offers one of the simplest and most beginner-friendly systems in the hobby.
Unlike many competing programs, Capital One has avoided the “coupon book” style of benefits. The card lineup is straightforward, application rules are less restrictive, and redemption options are easy to understand. The main downside is that approvals can become more difficult once you’ve opened many other credit cards, which is why we generally recommend getting high-value Capital One cards like the Venture X earlier in your points and miles journey.
That simplicity also means you won’t always find the same outsized redemption opportunities available through Chase, Amex, Citi, or Bilt. Even so, Capital One strikes a strong balance between beginners and experienced travelers. Newcomers benefit from the simplicity and flexible travel redemptions, while more advanced users can still unlock strong value through Capital One’s airline and hotel transfer partners.
Capital One offers a 39-day grace period to cancel a card after the annual fee posts. Downgrading is less clear. Most data points suggest you must downgrade before the annual fee posts to avoid being charged again. Not everyone is eligible to product switch, and those who are will be limited to certain cards based on which card they are downgrading from.
Capital One miles are tied to individual cards, but you can easily combine them with other Capital One cards you own. Only a few cards earn transferable miles, though you can move rewards from cash back cards to miles-earning cards. Capital One also has one of the most generous sharing programs, allowing rewards to be shared between any Capital One miles-earning accounts with no fees or limits.
Capital One miles are valued at about 1.3¢ per point, making 150,000 miles worth roughly $2,250. The exact value depends on how you redeem them. Transfers to travel partners can make miles worth more, while cash back redemptions reduce their value.
Miles are far more valuable than cash back in this hobby. Using travel partners and sweet spot redemptions can raise each mile’s value to 2–3¢ or even higher, while cash back is fixed at about 1¢ per point with no opportunity for outsized redemptions.
The Venture X and Venture Rewards cards are best for earning miles. The Venture X offers the most perks and a higher annual fee, while the Venture Rewards has a lower annual fee but the same signup bonus. Both allow you to transfer rewards across Capital One cards and to transfer partners.
Each bank has its own rules on card limits and bonus eligibility. Capital One’s 1/6 rule states you can’t get two Capital One cards within six months. Other limits also apply, but many are unwritten and inconsistently enforced. Capital One does limit approvals once you start opening lots of cards, so it's best to get high value Capital One cards early in the hobby.
Both travel portals are similar, but card benefits set them apart. The Venture X includes a $300 annual portal credit, while the Chase Sapphire Reserve and Preferred offer “points boosts” on select bookings, making points worth up to 1.5-2x more.
Tracking Points & Transfer Options
