This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. For an explanation of our Advertising Disclosure, visit this page.
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.
Are you wanting to transfer Capital One miles to your account to book your next flight? There are currently 15+ leading loyalty programs accepting Capital One miles. In many cases, mile transfers happen instantly. However, that is not always the case. So how long does it take to transfer Capital One miles?
Mile transfers are available for the four Capital One credit cards that earn travel rewards miles (some of which are part of the best airline miles credit cards lineup). Here are the four credit cards:
- Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
- Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
- Plus the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card
- Capital One Spark Miles for Business
- Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business
Whether or not you pay an annual fee, mile transfers are a travel redemption option. So, how long does it take to transfer Capital One miles?
How Long Do Capital One Transfers Take?
While most airline transfers take place instantly to your linked frequent flyer account, that is not always the case. It can take up to 3 days to transfer Capital One miles. Also, in rare cases, it can take 5 days to complete your transfer.
While the Capital One cards that earn rewards vary, note that the transfer time is the same for all four Capital One credit cards with this redemption option.
Capital One Transfer Partners
There are airline partners and hotel partners. Hopefully, that list will continue to grow. Below are the current partners and the usual amount of time it takes to transfer Capital One miles.
- Aeromexico. Instant
- Air France KLM. Instant
- Air Canada. Instant
- Asia Miles. Up to 3 days.
- Avianca. Instant.
- Emirates. Instant.
- Etihad. Up to 3 days.
- EVA Air. Up to 3 days.
- Finnair. Instant.
- Hainan Airlines. Up to 3 days.
- Qantas. Up to 3 days.
- Qatar Airways. Up to 3 days.
- Singapore Airlines. Up to 3 days.
It only takes a couple of minutes to initiate a transfer. To do so, you will need to link your frequent flyer account to your Capital One account. Furthermore, all mile transfers are final and cannot be reversed.
Unlike the American Express Membership Rewards or Chase Ultimate Rewards loyalty programs that require a minimum of 1,000-mile transfer increments, Capital One usually lets you transfer in 250-mile increments.
Pooling Capital One Miles
Capital One makes it easy to transfer more miles. You can pool the miles with other Capital One members. Furthermore, they can even be a friend or distant relative to pool miles.
Pooling makes it easy to book multiple tickets under the same itinerary. However, even though you can pool miles between multiple Capital One users, the name on the frequent flyer account must match the Capital One account information.
Also, you can combine your Venture and Spark miles online. To share miles with another Capital One member, you will most likely need to call customer service. Note that Capital One anticipates offering this sharing feature online in the future.
How Much Are Capital One Miles Worth?
You now have three options to redeem Capital One miles for award travel:
- Transfer miles to travel partners
- Redeem for travel statement credits
- Book upcoming travel on the Capital One travel portal
Your miles are worth 1 cent each for travel statement credits and the travel portal. If you have 50,000 miles, you have $500 in award travel with these two options. These options are the reason why some of the Capital One credit cards are considered some of the best rewards credit cards.
The redemption value for mile transfers is more open-ended as each airline values miles differently. What you can expect is that most airline partners have a 2 Capital One miles to 1.5 air miles transfer ratio. Transferring 50,000 miles means you will most likely have 37,500 air miles. Because of this, Capital One shows the actual conversion amount before you start the transfer.
It can make sense to transfer miles when you can get more than 1 cent of value per mile. It can also make sense when you don’t want to pay cash for a ticket.
Redeeming Capital One Miles
These are a few of the mile transfer options you might try first. Most partners are international carriers which makes transferring miles a better idea for flying abroad. However, it’s also another way to save on domestic flights. Some of these airline partners also accept mileage transfers from other credit cards.
Being able to transfer Capital One miles is another effortless way to top-off your frequent flyer balance to book a flight.
Award Flights to Hawaii
Unfortunately, Capital One transfer partners don’t fly direct to Hawaii. However, you have several ways to book partner flights to Hawaii using Capital One miles. Here are a couple of ideas.
Singapore Airlines
Transferring your miles to Singapore Airlines first can be your best option if you can fly from the United States Pacific coast. It’s possible to book a roundtrip flight on Alaska Airlines for 24,000 miles in economy or 40,000 miles in first class. You will need to fly from one of Alaska’s California, Oregon, or Washington hubs to get this deal.
Another option is flying on United Airlines, a Star Alliance partner. Roundtrip fares cost 35,000 miles in economy and 60,000 miles for a premium cabin.
These partner flights save you several thousand miles instead of booking directly through Alaska or United. However, remember that mile transfers to Singapore usually take around 3 days to complete. This transfer option may not be ideal if you’re trying to make a last-minute booking or have found a limited-time offer.
Air France Flying Blue
A second transfer option is to use your Air France Flying Blue account for Delta or Alaska Airlines flights. However, these partner flights will cost more than booking through Singapore Airlines. Expect to pay 35,000 miles roundtrip for a main cabin ticket and 86,000 for a business class ticket.
We should mention that if you are looking to get to Hawaii but these options don’t work for you, consider checking out the Hawaiian Airlines credit cards or even the Southwest credit cards (Southwest now flies to Hawaii).
Avianca LifeMiles to Avoid Fuel Surcharges
Booking international flights with non-U.S. partners also help you avoid fuel surcharges like flying Lufthansa to Europe. You may only need 30,000 LifeMiles to book a one-way economy class ticket to Europe. You will still have the standard government and airport fees, but not the airline-imposed fuel surcharge.
Also, it’s possible to book United Airlines flights through Avianca. Short-haul domestic flights on United start at 10,000 miles. This is an indirect way to book United award flights with a Chase credit card.
Additionally, an option worth mentioning is if you fly Avianca often, consider one of the Avianca LifeMiles Credit Cards that have limited-time offers available to new cardholders.
Qantas First Class
One of the ultimate first-class experiences is aboard a Qantas-operated A380. Expect to pay 144,000 Qantas miles for a one-way ticket from Los Angeles to Australia for a Qantas Suite. Because you are flying on one of the longest airline routes in the world, this splurge can be worth the extra comfort and royal treatment.
Therefore, a helpful tip is to plan your Qantas award flight almost 11 months in advance. Also, Qantas members can begin booking award flights 353 days in advance. Because there are few of these seats per flight, you will need to act quickly.
Summary On Capital One Transfers
In summary, you can see that most of the Capital One airline partners complete the transfers within a few minutes. However, a few partners, notably Singapore Airlines, take up to 3 days. As long as plenty of award space is available, being able to transfer Capital One miles is another convenient way to book award flights.
