Frequent Miler's latest team challenge, Million Mile Madness, is happening now! Follow us as Greg, Nick, and Stephen compete to earn 1 Million SAS miles by flying 15 airlines before November 23rd. Who will complete the challenge with the most Speed, Affordability, and Style?
Capital One Miles have become a premier transferable currency system over the past several years. In addition to being able to use them to cover travel charges with points, Capital One allows 1:1 transfers to a range of valuable airline and hotel partners. Miles can be earned via credit card welcome offers and ongoing spend, and even cash back can be converted to miles if transferred to a miles-earning card.
Capital One Miles have many valuable uses and transferring to partners will usually provide more value than using them to offset travel purchases. In this post, we’ll lay out some of the best ways to use your Capital One stash.
Overview
There are a couple of notable advantages to using Capital One miles for travel rewards:
- You can transfer them in increments of just 100 miles (after a 1,000-mile minimum)
- Capital One Miles post to your Capital One account within 1-3 days from making a purchase. This makes it very easy to use them to top off an account for a valuable award when necessary.
- Rewards from cash back cards can be transferred to miles-earning cards and then transferred to airline partners (1 cent of cash back = 1 Capital One Mile)
Transfer Bonuses
Capital One periodically provides transfer bonuses to many of its transfer partners. This allows you to get an even better deal in terms of the number of Capital One “Miles” necessary for the flights below if you’re able to time your booking with a transfer bonus.
Any current transfer bonuses from Capital One are listed here:
| Transfer Bonus Details | End Date |
|---|---|
| 20% transfer bonus from Capital One Miles to British Airways Avios | 12/01/24 |
Capital One Miles Sweet Spots: Baseball Games
Capital One Entertainment can be an incredible deal for terrific seats to Major League Baseball games. Each stadium offers the same 4 seats for each game in that stadium. The “Cardholder Exclusive” seats are often within a few rows of the field and sometimes include club access – for only 5,000 miles per ticket.
These tickets are a steal when available. See this post for some examples from Nick’s experience at a New York Mets game and some reader input.
Capital One Miles Sweet Spots: Hotels
Capital One offers 1:1 transfers to Wyndham Rewards and Choice Privileges. They also offer 2:1 transfers to Accor Live Limitless.
Wyndham Rewards can be useful for their own hotels as they have a simple program with just three tiers: “Go Free” award nights costing just 7,500 / 15,000 / 30,000 points per night and “Go Fast” awards which mix either 3,000 or 6,000 points plus a cash copay.
However, where Wyndham really shines is through its partnership with Vacasa Vacation rentals. Vacasa manages rentals in many popular rental locations and their homes can be booked for either 15,000 or 30,000 points per bedroom per night. The number of points required for your stay depends upon the average cost per bedroom per night for your stay, inclusive of fees:
- Up to $250 per bedroom per night: Pay 15,000 points per bedroom per night
- $250.01 to $500 per bedroom per night: Pay 30,000 points per bedroom per night
- Over $500 per bedroom per night: You cannot book these with Wyndham points.
- In most cases, there are no other taxes or fees to pay.
Choice Privileges is a program that can have good value in the US and even better value in some European countries. However, for many points and miles folks, the most appealing use for Choice will through its partnership with Preferred Hotels.
Accor Live Limitless points are worth a fixed rate of 1 Euro cent per point toward cash rates at Accor properties. That means you’ll do slightly better booking Accor properties by first transferring points to Accor than you would by booking with your Capital One card and using miles to reimburse the purchase. The 0.8 – 1 transfer ratio limits the value, however.
Capital One Miles Sweet Spots: Domestic US Flights
American or Alaska Airlines
Using Qatar Avios (for American Airlines or Alaska Airlines)
(note that you must first transfer to British Airways and then you can move those Avios to Qatar)
- The short story: Qatar Airways Privilege Club offers distance-based award pricing on American Airlines and Alaska Airlines, which can be a decent value for economy class or a standout value for first class in some instances.
- Miles required: From 9.5K Avios each way in economy class / 20K Avios each way in business class on the shortest nonstop routes in the US (under 651 miles) or 13K Avios in economy class / 27K Avios in business class for routes of 651-1151 miles flown.
- How to find awards: It is easiest to search via Qantas to see a calendar of availability. See more detail in this post: Regional first class starting at 12,500 points (Sweet Spot Spotlight)
- How to book awards: Book online at QatarAirways.com
- Change and cancellation fees: $25 more than 24 hours in advance / $100 Between 3-24 hours in advance / Nonrefundable within 3 hours or after departure
- Key warnings: Awards become expensive or nonrefundable to cancel close to departure, so this is not a good option for booking backup flights.
- Transfer from: Amex, Citi. Also transfer to BA and then to Qatar with: Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Wells Fargo
Using British Airways Avios (for American Airlines or Alaska Airlines)
- The short story: British Airways offers a distance-based award chart, so short direct flights on partners American Airlines or Alaska Airlines can sometimes be a great value. Also note that British Airways allows cancellation up to 24 hours in advance for no fee but forfeiting the taxes ($5.60 each way within the US), though they've been known to refund those with some cancellations.
- Miles required: Varies based on distance. From 9K one-way in economy class / 16.5K in business class.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at britishairways.com. Note that British Airways inexplicably periodically stops displaying AA availability. It's always best to search before transferring.
- How to book awards: Book online at britishaiways.com.
- Change and cancellation fees: Officially $55, but when the taxes and fees are less British Airways gives the option of forfeiting the taxes instead ($5.60 each way in the US), which makes awards almost freely cancellable (some sometimes they refund the taxes anyway).
- Key warnings: British Airways charges for each segment separately, so multi-segment trips can get expensive quickly. Furthermore, the British Airways site sometimes shows phantom award space for AA (see: Phantom menace: an award search time suck). You may want to double-check Qantas.com for availability before transferring to British Aiways Executive Club.
- Transfer from: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Wells Fargo. Also transfer to Qatar and then to BA with: Citi.
Using Qantas Frequent Flyer (for American Airlines)
- The short story: Qantas offers better pricing than traditional American Airlines award prices on itineraries with a distance of 1200 miles or fewer each way and has no close-in booking fee. This could be especially good for those who need to connect on short itineraries as Qantas measures cumulative distance rather than pricing segments separately.
- Miles required: 8,000 miles for itineraries covering a distance up to 600 miles or 12,000 miles for itineraries covering a distance up to 1200 miles. (See: Strengths of Qantas for AA redemptions). No fuel surcharges on American or Alaska.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at Qantas.com (you’ll need to create a free Qantas Frequent Flyer account). Note that for Alaska space you'll need to search AA.com.
- How to book awards: Book online at Qantas.com for American Airlines. Call for Alaska.
- Change and cancellation fees: 5,000 miles per passenger to change / 6,000 miles per passenger to cancel.
- Key warnings: Avios might be a better value if you have direct flights if you have access to points which transfer to Avios. However, for flights with connections, Qantas can be a better deal.
- Transfer from: Amex, Citi, Capital One, Marriott
Delta
Using Air France / KLM Flying Blue
- The short story: Air France sometimes charges far fewer miles for Delta flights than Delta charges its own members.
- Miles required: Variable, but starting around 10.5K one-way in economy, or 28K one-way in business class.
- How to find awards: Use the Virgin Atlantic 5 week award search to find availability (see this post for details). Next, confirm your findings at AirFrance.us (you’ll need to create a free Flying Blue frequent flyer account to search)
- How to book awards: Book online at AirFrance.com. Can also book via phone or app when the website returns errors.
- Key warnings: Air France's website is buggy and will often return errors when trying to complete a booking. If that happens, try calling. Note also that for very short-distance flights, you may be able to save some miles by booking via Virgin Atlantic.
- Transfer from: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi Thank You Marriott Bonvoy, Wells Fargo.
JetBlue
Using Qatar Avios
(note that you must first transfer to British Airways and then you can move those Avios to Qatar)
- The short story: Qatar Airways Privilege Club offers distance-based award pricing on JetBlue, which can be a decent value for economy class in some instances.
- Miles required: From 8.5K for the shortest domestic flights to 25K in economy class on transcontinental flights.
- How to find awards: You search for space via QatarAirways.com, but to see a calendar of availability, you'll need to find "P" class space for business class awards. You can find this via a paid tool like ExpertFlyer or with advanced routing codes via ITA Matrix.
- How to book awards: Book online at QatarAirways.com.
- Change and cancellation fees: $25 more than 24 hours in advance / $100 Between 3-24 hours in advance / Nonrefundable within 3 hours or after departure
- Key warnings: The Qatar Airways website sometimes can not find major airports. We hope this is a temporary glitch.
- Transfer from: Amex, Citi. Also transfer to BA and then to Qatar with: Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Wells Fargo
United
Using Air Canada Aeroplan
- The short story: Aeroplan offers decent pricing for very short awards within the US and between the US and Canada, though the new distance-based chart means that longer itineraries are less of a deal.
- Miles required: From 6K to 22.5K miles each way in economy class or 15K to 35K miles each way in business class based on distance (see more info here).
- How to find awards: Search for available space at AirCanada.com (you’ll need to create a free Aeroplan frequent flyer account to search)
- How to book awards: Book online at AirCanada.com. Can also book via phone. Lap infants must be added to your reservation over the phone.
- Change and cancellation fees: Changes cost "$100" for "Lowest" fare awards; there's no fee to change Flex or Latitude awards. Cancellations cost $150 for most standard awards or $75 for Flex economy if done online at AirCanada.com (or $175 online for most awards / $125 for Flex economy via a call center). Other flex awards are free to change or cancel.
- Key warnings: Cancellation fees can be high on "standard" awards. Hold times to speak with a phone agent can be very long.
- Transfer from: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Marriott
Using Avianca LifeMiles
- The short story: Avianca LifeMiles offers one-ways on United within a single "zone" at excellent prices. Some flights price even less than the "official" rates.
- Miles required: As per the old award chart, the US is split into 3 zones. Within a single zone, awards typically cost 7.5K one-way in economy class or 10K one-way in business class. Between Zone 1 (most of the East Coast) and Zone 2 (most of the states apart from the far west) is 10K one-way in economy or 15K in business class. Note that some routes price below the chart for no clear reason. Note also that mixed-cabin itineraries can price favorably in some instances. See: Avianca LifeMiles' awesome mixed-cabin award pricing. First class for less.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at LifeMiles.com (you’ll need to create a free Avianca LifeMiles frequent flyer account)
- How to book awards: Book online at LifeMiles.com.
- Change and cancellation fees: Theoretically $50 within a region, though flights between regions can cost $200 to cancel.
- Key warnings: Availability at LifeMiles.com does not always match what you’ll find at United.com. Phone agents generally do not see better availability than what is shown at LifeMiles.com. Always check the LifeMiles site before transferring points.
- Transfer from: Amex, Bilt, Citi, Capital One, Marriott
Using Singapore KrisFlyer
- The short story: Singapore KrisFlyer charges the same 12.5K miles each way in economy class both within the US and between the US and Canada. While not the best deal in all situations, Singapore miles are easy to accumulate since they are partners with all of the major transferable points.
- Miles required: 14K miles each way in economy class (business class is 26K each way)
- How to find awards: Search for available United Airlines space at United.com (Note: Do not log in — logging in may show you expanded availability based on your credit card or elite status that is not available for partner bookings) or SingaporeAir.com (See: Book United flights online with Singapore miles).
- How to book awards: Book online at SingaporeAir.com or over the phone with Singapore KrisFlyer.
- Change and cancellation fees: $50 change fee, $75 redeposit fee for saver awards.
- Key warnings: Singapore allows a maximum connection time of 4 hours on a domestic itinerary and will not allow a stopover on a one-way domestic award. Be aware that United.com will show availability for flights with longer/overnight connections that are not available with Singapore KrisFlyer miles, so be sure to double check availability at SingaporeAir.com or with a phone agent before booking. Also note that transfers to Singapore KrisFlyer are not instant. Transfers typically take 12-24 hours (from all major transferable currencies) and Singapore does not hold award tickets.
- Transfer from: Amex, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Marriott
Using Turkish Miles & Smiles
- The short story: Turkish offers very good value on domestic Star Alliance flights. This makes Turkish the absolute cheapest way to book flights within the US on United -- including to Alaska and Hawaii.
- Miles required: 10K miles each way in economy class or 15K miles each way in business class domestically on United within the US or domestically on Air Canada within Canada (can include connections for the same price). For North American international flights (e.g. US to Canada or Mexico), Turkish is no longer a good value at 30K each way in economy class.
- How to find awards: Search United.com and look for "Saver Awards". You can also try searching via the Turkish Airlines website, but it does not always show full availability.
- How to book awards: Try booking at TurkishAirlines.com using the Star Alliance search tool (click "Award ticket" on the home page, then select the Star Alliance tool after logging in). If all else fails, try booking via email. See our guide for booking United flights with Turkish for more detail.
- Change and cancellation fees: The fee to change or cancel is $70 per passenger, though I've been unsuccessful in finding agents who know how to change a partner award. Thus cancelling for $70 is your best bet.
- Key warnings: Turkish phone agents often can't see availability on United metal. You may just have to try again with a different agent or try emailing many different ticket offixes. Irregular operations can cause a huge headache in getting in touch with Turkish to get your flight fixed. Booking via Turkish is not for the faint of heart (or those who can not drop back 10 yards and punt when things go sideways).
- Transfer from: Bilt, Citi Thank You, Capital One, Marriott Bonvoy
Capital One Miles Sweet Spots: Caribbean / Latin America
American Airlines with British Airways Avios
- The short story: British Airways offers a distance-based award chart, so flights from the southern part of the US to the Caribbean and Latin America can be a solid value.
- Miles required: Varies based on distance. From 8,250 one-way in economy class.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at britishairways.com for AA or aa.com for Alaska flights.
- How to book awards: Book American flights online at britishaiways.com or Alaska flights over the phone at 1 800 452 1201.
- Key warnings: British Airways charges for each segment separately, so multi-segment trips can get expensive quickly. Furthermore, the British Airways site sometimes shows phantom award space for AA (see: Phantom menace: an award search time suck). You may want to double-check Qantas.com for availability before transferring to British Aiways Executive Club for American flights.
- Transfer from: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Wells Fargo. Also transfer to Qatar and then to BA with: Citi.
American Airlines with Qantas Frequent Flyer miles
- The short story: Qantas offers better pricing than traditional American Airlines award prices on itineraries with a distance of 1200 miles or fewer each way and has no close-in booking fee.
- Miles required: 8,000 miles each way for itineraries covering a distance up to 600 miles (like Miami to Grand Cayman) or 12,000 miles each way for itineraries covering a distance up to 1200 miles (like Miami to most of Central America and the Caribbean). (See: Strengths of Qantas for AA redemptions).
- How to find awards: Search for available space at Qantas.com (you’ll need to create a free Qantas Frequent Flyer account)
- How to book awards: Book online at Qantas.com.
- Key warnings: Alaska Mileage Plan might be a better value if you have direct flights and Finnair will be significantly cheaper on flights over 1,200 miles.
- Transfer from: Amex, Citi, Capital One, Marriott
United, Copa, or Avianca with Avianca LifeMiles
- The short story: Avianca LifeMiles offers one-ways on United to the “rest of North America” (i.e. not the US) for 17,500 miles each way in economy class.
- Miles required: 17,500 miles each way in economy or 30,000 in business for flights to the Caribbean.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at LifeMiles.com (you’ll need to create a free Avianca LifeMiles frequent flyer account)
- How to book awards: Book online at LifeMiles.com. Can also book via email. Phone bookings are known to be a hassle but also possible.
- Key warnings: Availability at LifeMiles.com does not always match what you’ll find at United.com. Phone agents generally do not see better availability than what is shown at LifeMiles.com. Always check the LifeMiles site before transferring points.
- Transfer from: Amex, Citi, Capital One, Marriott
United, Copa, or Avianca with Turkish Miles & Smiles miles
- The short story: Turkish Miles & Smiles offers very good award pricing for Star Alliance flights to Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
- Miles required: From 10,000 each way in economy class or 15,000 miles each way in business class which includes the continental US to/from Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
- How to find awards: Search United.com and look for "Saver Awards". You can also try searching via the Turkish Airlines website, but it does not always show full availability.
- How to book awards: Some awards can be booked online at TurkishAirlines.com (click "Award Ticket" on the home page, then log in and choose the "Star Alliance" tab on the award search tool). If you see an award on AirCanada.com that is not available at the Turkish website, you can try an email booking. Once an email agent sets up the reservation, you can call to pay the taxes and ticket rather than emailing back with the requested screen shots of your credit card and ID.
- Key warnings: Turkish appears to have a max connect time of 4 hours on a domestic itinerary, so itineraries with a longer connection would require 2 awards. Also, for an unknown reason, Turkish phone agents often can't see award space that other partner airlines can see. Booking over the phone can be very challenging. We highly recommend calling to put an award on hold before you transfer points to Turkish miles.
- Transfer from: Bilt, Citi Thank You, Capital One, Marriott Bonvoy
Capital One Miles Sweet Spots: Hawaii
Alaska Airlines or United using Singapore KrisFlyer miles
- The short story: Singapore KrisFlyer charges fewer miles for domestic flights to Hawaii than United does for the same flights. Additionally, they have a great chart for Alaska Airlines for those originating in parts of the US other than the East Coast.
- Miles required: For United flights: 19,500 miles each way in economy or 39,000 in business (as compared to 22.5K / 40K through United). For Alaska Airlines flights: award prices range from 13.5K to 14K one-way in economy class.
- How to find awards: Search for available United Airlines space at United.com (Note: Do not log in — logging in may show you expanded availability based on your credit card or elite status that is not available for partner bookings) or SingaporeAir.com (See: Book United flights online with Singapore miles– but note that business class prices have increased since that post was written). For Alaska Airlines award space, search at AA.com
- How to book awards: Book online at SingaporeAir.com or over the phone with Singapore KrisFlyer. Alaska awards must be booked over the phone.
- Key warnings: Singapore allows a maximum connection time of 4 hours on a domestic itinerary and will not allow a stopover on a one-way domestic award. Be aware that United.com and AA.com will show availability for flights with longer/overnight connections that are not available with Singapore KrisFlyer miles, so be sure to double check availability at SingaporeAir.com or with a phone agent before booking. Also note that transfers to Singapore KrisFlyer are not instant. Transfers typically take 12-24 hours (from all major transferable currencies) and Singapore does not hold award tickets.
- Transfer from: Amex, Chase, Capital One, Citi
AA or Alaska Airlines using Qatar Avios
(note that you must first transfer to British Airways and then you can move those Avios to Qatar)
- The short story: Qatar Airways Privilege Club offers a distance-based chart that offers tone of the best deals for economy class flights between the west coast of the US and Hawaii.
- Miles required: 16K Avios + $5.60 each way in economy class on Alaska or American Airlines for flights covering a distance of 2,000-3,000 miles.
- How to find awards: Search and book at QatarAirways.com or use Qantas.com to see an availability calendar.
- How to book awards: Book online at QatarAirways.com
- Change and cancellation fees: $25 more than 24 hours in advance / $100 Between 3-24 hours in advance / Nonrefundable within 3 hours or after departure
- Key warnings: Awards become expensive or nonrefundable to cancel close to departure, so this is not a good option for booking backup flights.
- Transfer from: Amex, Citi. Also transfer to BA and then to Qatar with: Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Wells Fargo
AA or Alaska Airlines using Finnair Avios
- The short story: Finnair offers a zone-based award chart, so flights from the East Coast of the USA on Alaska Airlines or American Airlines can be a great value.
- Miles required: 13,500 Avios each way on Alaska or 15K on AA plus $5.60 for economy-class between North America (including east coast cities) and Hawaii. 38K Avios each way in business class on American Airlines or 50.5K each way in first class on Alaska.
- How to find awards: Search for available Alaska space at britishairways.com.
- How to book awards: Book via chat at finnair.com or over the phone at 929-474-6049 or 323-694-7646 (Mon–Fri 8 a.m.–8 p.m., Sat–Sun 8 a.m.–6 p.m. Eastern Time)
- Key warnings: The British Airways site sometimes shows phantom award space for AA (see: Phantom menace: an award search time suck). You may want to double-check Qantas.com for availability before transferring points.
- Transfer from: Capital One. Also transfer to BA and then to Finnair with Amex, Bilt, Chase, Wells Fargo or to Qatar and then to Finnair with Citi.
AA or Alaska Airlines using British Airways Avios
- The short story: British Airways offers a distance-based award chart, so flights from the West Coast of the USA on Alaska Airlines or American Airlines can be a great value with Avios.
- Miles required: 16K miles each way plus $5.60 for economy-class segments between west coast cities and Hawaii.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at britishairways.com for AA or aa.com for Alaska flights.
- How to book awards: Book American flights online at britishaiways.com or Alaska flights over the phone at 800-452-1201.
- Key warnings: British Airways charges for each segment separately, so multi-segment trips can get expensive quickly. Furthermore, the British Airways site sometimes shows phantom award space for AA (see: Phantom menace: an award search time suck). You may want to double-check Qantas.com for availability before transferring to British Aiways Executive Club for American flights.
- Transfer from: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Wells Fargo. Also transfer to Qatar and then to BA with: Citi.
Delta using Air France miles
- The short story: Air France charges far fewer miles than Delta for Delta flights to Hawaii, but finding award availability can be a huge challenge.
- Miles required: 17.5K one-way in economy, or 30K one-way in business class for Delta flights from the US mainland to Hawaii.
- How to find awards: Use the Virgin Atlantic 5 week award search to find availability (see this post for details). Next, confirm your findings at AirFrance.us (you’ll need to create a free Flying Blue frequent flyer account to search)
- How to book awards: Book online at AirFrance.com. Can also book via phone when the website returns errors.
- Key warnings: Air France's website is buggy and will often return errors when trying to complete a booking. If that happens, try calling or using the app.
- Transfer from: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi Thank You Marriott Bonvoy, Wells Fargo.
United using Turkish Miles & Smiles
- The short story: Turkish offers the same pricing on flights to Hawaii as for other domestic US awards, making them an unbelievable value for flights to Hawaii.
- Miles required: 10,000 miles each way in economy class or 15,000 miles each way in business class (can include connections for the same price)
- How to find awards: Search and book awards at TurkishAirlines.com. Note that you can also try searching AirCanada.com for additional space that should be bookable via email.
- How to book awards: Some awards can be booked online at TurkishAirlines.com (click "Award Ticket" on the home page, then log in and choose the "Star Alliance" tab on the award search tool). If you see an award on AirCanada.com that is not available at the Turkish website, you can try an email booking. Once an email agent sets up the reservation, you can call to pay the taxes and ticket rather than emailing back with the requested screen shots of your credit card and ID.
- Key warnings: Turkish appears to have a max connect time of 4 hours on a domestic itinerary, so itineraries with a longer connection would require 2 awards. Also, for an unknown reason, Turkish phone agents often can't see award space that other partner airlines can see. Booking over the phone can be very challenging. We highly recommend calling to put an award on hold before you transfer points to Turkish miles.
- Transfer from: Bilt, Citi Thank You, Capital One, Marriott Bonvoy
Capital One Miles Sweet Spots: Europe
Economy class
Air France / KLM Flying Blue (for Air France / KLM or other SkyTeam airlines)
- The short story: Monthly Flying Blue Promo Awards can sometimes offer excellent value between the US and Europe.
- Miles required: Varies. Economy class awards are often available from as low as 10K-15K one way during Promo Rewards sales from select airports.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at AirFrance.us (you’ll need to create a free Flying Blue frequent flyer account to search)
- How to book awards: Book online at AirFrance.com. Can also book via phone or app.
- Key warnings: Flying Blue does add fuel surcharges, though they are often reasonable.
- Transfer from: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi Thank You Marriott Bonvoy, Wells Fargo.
Avianca LifeMiles (for Star Alliance)
- The short story: Avianca LifeMiles increased award costs in 2024, but sometimes still offers the best deal for Star Alliance awards, particularly from the west coast.
- Miles required: 22.5K one-way from the Northeastern US to the British Isles, Scandinavia, and Russia or 35K one-way on all other routes between the US and Europe. However, in the past we have seen inexplicable variance (See: The secret LifeMiles award chart), with some routes pricing well under the expected price. Also see: Trying to crack the LifeMiles secret code to Europe.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at LifeMiles.com (you’ll need to create a free Avianca LifeMiles frequent flyer account)
- How to book awards: Book online at LifeMiles.com. Can also book via email. Phone bookings are known to be a hassle but also possible.
- Key warnings: Availability at LifeMiles.com does not always match what you’ll find at United.com. Phone agents generally do not see better availability than what is shown at LifeMiles.com and it seems that manual bookings via email have ended. Always check the LifeMiles site before transferring points. Keep in mind that the mandatory $25 booking fee (added to all bookings) is the same whether one-way or round trip, so book round trip to save.
- Transfer from: Amex Membership Rewards, Brex Cash, Citi Thank You, Capital One, Marriott Bonvoy
Avios (for British Airways, Aer Lingus, or Iberia)
- The short story: You can use British Airways, Iberia or Aer Lingus Avios to fly on those airlines for low mileage prices on nonstop routes.
- How to find awards: Search for British Airways available space at britishairways.com for Aer Lingus at United.com, Avios.com or using the award search tool. For Iberia, use the Advanced Avios tool. It's always best to search before transferring.
- How to book awards: Book British Airways flights online at britishairways.com or over the phone at 800-452-1201. You can book Aer Lingus over the phone with British Airways, use Avios.com or use this award search tool.
- Key warnings: Note that it may be worth checking all 3 booking options (Avios.com, BritishAirways.com, and Iberia.com) to determine your best deal, though keep in mind that things like cancellation policies differ (note that Iberia offers no changes or refunds at all on most partner flights whereas British Airways offers cheap cancellation). Aer Lingus and British Airways charge for each segment separately, so multi-segment trips can get expensive quickly (Iberia charges based on cumulative distance each way, which can be cheaper on connecting itineraries).
- Transfer from: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Wells Fargo. Also transfer to Qatar and then to BA with: Citi.
Avios (Qatar Avios for JetBlue)
- The short story: Qatar Airways Privilege Club offers reasonable award pricing on JetBlue with no surcharges.
- Miles required: 25K each way. Taxes & fees departing the US are just $10.10.
- How to find awards: Search for space via QatarAirways.com. Theoretically, you should be able to start by finding "P" class space for economy class awards using advanced routing codes via ITA Matrix, though I've found awards available even when ITA Matrix shows no "P" class space, so your best bet may be to hunt around at QatarAirways.com.
- How to book awards: Book on QatarAirways.com
- Change and cancellation fees: $25 to change or cancel more than 24 hours in advance, $100 between 3-24hrs in advance, nonrefundable within 3 hours of departure. See more in this post.
- Key warnings: Note that Qatar only charges mandatory taxes ($10.10 departing the US and between ~$40-$100 departing Europe) with no additional carrier-imposed surcharges on JetBlue awards.
- Transfer from: Amex, Citi. Also transfer to BA and then to Qatar with: Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Wells Fargo
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles (for flying a single Oneworld partner airline)
- The short story: Cathay Pacific has reasonable pricing for single-partner oneworld redemptions, particularly those requiring connections since they charge based on cumulative distance.
- Miles required: 27K miles one-way for a cumulative distance of 2,751 to 5,000 miles, which covers much of the US to Europe. The next distance band, which covers up to 7,500 miles, would be 40K miles.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at AsiaMiles.com (you’ll need to create a free Asia Miles frequent flyer account to search)
- How to book awards: Book online at AsiaMiles.com. Can also book via phone.
- Key warnings: Fuel surcharges are moderate depending on route and origin.
- Transfer from: Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Miles, Citi ThankYou Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy
Premium Cabins (Business / First Class)
Air Canada Aeroplan (For complex Star Alliance itineraries with no fuel surcharges)
- The short story: Aeroplan uses the same "Atlantic" region for Africa, The Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent. They also offer a stopovers on on a one-way award for 5,000 miles, which can present particular value. Lap infants are just $25 CAD or 2,500 miles per direction (far cheaper than what most programs charge).
- Miles required: 60K-110K each way in business class or 90K-140K each way in first class based on distance (See our complete guide to Aeroplan for more detail). Partner awards no longer incur fuel surcharges.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at AirCanada.com
- How to book awards: Book online at AirCanada.com. Can also book via phone. Complicated stopover itineraries must be booked via phone. Lap infants must be added to your reservation over the phone.
- Key warnings: You'll pay more miles based on distance, but keep in mind that you can add a stopover on a one-way for 5,000 miles, which makes Aeroplan a better deal if you're looking to visit two countries in one trip (like Spain & India or Germany & South Africa or Portugal & Morocco as examples).
- Transfer from: Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One, Marriott
Air France / KLM Flying Blue (for Air France and KLM)
- The short story: Monthly Flying Blue Promo Awards and even regular standard awards can sometimes offer excellent value between the US and Europe.
- Miles required: Varies. Air France no longer has an award chart, but business class awards between North America and Europe start at 50K one way. Promo awards often offer better value, with business class awards often available in the 40K’s. On rare occasion, we have seen some destinations price in the 20K's one-way in business class.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at AirFrance.us (you’ll need to create a free Flying Blue frequent flyer account to search)
- How to book awards: Book online at AirFrance.com. Can also book via phone.
- Key warnings: Air France / KLM do add fuel surcharges, though they are often reasonable (about $150-$250 in taxes and fees each way)
- Transfer from: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi Thank You Marriott Bonvoy, Wells Fargo.
Avianca LifeMiles (for Star Alliance with no fuel surcharges and cheaper mixed-cabin awards)
- The short story: Avianca LifeMiles offers competitive business class pricing for Star Alliance awards to Europe, with no fuel surcharges.
- Miles required: 70K each way in business class with no fuel surcharges. Note that there is some variance, with some routes pricing well below the official award chart, such as the US Northeast to Ireland and the UK for 45K miles in business class (See: The secret LifeMiles award chart). Also see: Avianca LifeMiles’ awesome mixed-cabin award pricing for ways to fly for even fewer miles).
- How to find awards: Search for available space at LifeMiles.com (you’ll need to create a free Avianca LifeMiles frequent flyer account) or with any of several tools that support LifeMiles (see: Which award search tool is best?)
- How to book awards: Book online at LifeMiles.com. Can also book via email. Phone bookings are known to be a hassle but also possible.
- Key warnings: Availability at LifeMiles.com does not always match what you’ll find at United.com. Phone agents generally do not see better availability than what is shown at LifeMiles.com. Always check the LifeMiles site before transferring points. Keep in mind that the mandatory $25 booking fee (added to all bookings) is the same whether one-way or round trip, so book round trip to save.
- Transfer from: Amex Membership Rewards, Capital One, Citi Thank You, Bilt, Wells Fargo, Marriott Bonvoy
Avios (for Iberia)
- The short story: Iberia charges as few as 34K miles one-way in business class on its own flights from New York, Boston, Chicago, or DC to Madrid during off-peak season. Sometimes they run a winter travel promotion for even less.
- Miles required: Varies by distance. Best deal are the cities above to Madrid: 34K during off-peak dates or 50K during peak dates on Iberia metal. Fuel surcharges are very mild (Around $175 in total taxes & fees round trip. If booking one-way, surcharges are higher leaving Europe than flying to Europe.)
- How to find awards: Search Iberia.com using the Advanced Avios Search Tool
- How to book awards: Book at Iberia.com after using the Advanced Avios Search Tool.
- Key warnings: Iberia's website can be challenging to navigate and availability can be challenging to find. There are some surcharges, but at under a hundred bucks from the US to Europe, they are much milder than when using British Airways Avios. Note that Iberia's award chart is distance-based, so itineraries with connections will require more miles. Note also that sometimes connecting itineraries will have availability even when the nonstop legs between the US and Spain are not available on their own.
- Transfer from: Amex, Bilt, Chase, Wells Fargo. Also transfer to BA and then to Iberia with: Capital One, Citi
Avios (Qatar Avios for JetBlue)
- The short story: Qatar Airways Privilege Club offers reasonable award pricing on JetBlue, which can be a great way to book Mint (business) class to Europe.
- Miles required: 78K each way. Taxes & fees departing the US are $10.10.
- How to find awards: You can search for space via QatarAirways.com, but it is easier to start by finding "I" class space for business class awards. You can find this via a paid tool like ExpertFlyer or with advanced routing codes via ITA Matrix. See the video instructions in this post for detailed instructions about how to find and book space.
- How to book awards: Book on QatarAirways.com
- Change and cancellation fees: $25 to change or cancel more than 24 hours in advance, $100 between 3-24hrs in advance, nonrefundable within 3 hours of departure. See more in this post.
- Key warnings: Note that Qatar only charges mandatory taxes ($10.10 departing the US and between ~$40-$100 departing Europe) with no additional carrier-imposed surcharges on JetBlue awards.
- Transfer from: Amex, Citi. Also transfer to BA and then to Qatar with: Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Wells Fargo
Emirates Skywards (for Emirates)
- The short story: Emirates charges a very reasonable number of miles for business or first class between New York (JFK) and Milan or Newark (EWR) and Athens, with round-trip business pricing being particularly attractive.
- Miles required: 87K one-way or 108K round-trip in business class. First Class is 102K one-way and 204K round-trip.
- How to find awards: Search for availability at Emirates.com
- How to book awards: Book online at Emirates.com
- Key warnings: Emirates can have high fuel surcharges and sometimes roundtrip saver awards can be difficult to find.
- Transfer from: Amex, Bilt, Citi, Chase, Capital One, Marriott
Turkish Miles & Smiles (for Star Alliance)
- The short story: Turkish increased rates to and from Europe in February 2024, but still offers what could be a reasonable value on its own flights, particularly when they offer expanded award availability to their own members.
- Miles required: 65K miles each way in business class. Note that connecting itineraries on Turkish price as the sum of both segments, making them much more expensive. Partner awards are much less competitive at 85-90K each way between the US and Europe.
- How to find awards: Go to turkishairlines.com and click the button to book an award ticket, then log in to your account and search. Note that there may be bookable options on Star Alliance partners that do not appear on the site but which may be bookable via email.
- How to book awards: Book online at turkishairlines.com or over the phone at 1-800-874-8875 or via email
- Key warnings: Turkish is sometimes unable to see Star Alliance availability for no explicable reason. No fuel surcharges on Air Canada, United, Avianca, or SAS. Low fuel surcharges on LOT Polish and Turkish.
- Transfer from: Bilt Rewards, Capital One, Citi Thank You, Marriott Bonvoy
Capital One Miles Sweet Spots: Africa
Air Canada Aeroplan (for Star Alliance, particularly with stopovers)
- The short story: Air Canada Aeroplan includes Africa in its "Atlantic" zone, meaning that the award pricing range matches that to Europe and you could even add a stopover in Europe en route to Africa for 5K additional miles one-way. Lap infants are just 2,500 miles.
- Miles required: Ranges from 60K to 110K in business class based on distance (add 5K miles for a stopover). First class ranges from 90K-140K one way. Add 5,000 miles for a stopover on a one-way. See more chart information here.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at AirCanada.com (you’ll need to create a free Aeroplan frequent flyer account to search)
- How to book awards: Book online at AirCanada.com. Can also book via phone. Lap infants must be added to your reservation over the phone.
- Fuel surcharges: Aeroplan no longer adds fuel surcharges to awards.
- Transfer from: Amex, Chase, Bilt Rewards, Capital One, Marriott
Avianca LifeMiles(for Star Alliance, especially mixed-cabin awards)
- The short story: Avianca LifeMiles offers competitive pricing for Star Alliance awards with no fuel surcharges.
- Miles required: Officially, 78K each way in business or 105K each way in first class with no fuel surcharges. Note that there is some variance (See: The secret LifeMiles award chart). Also see: Avianca LifeMiles’ awesome mixed-cabin award pricing: First class for less for ways to fly first class for even fewer miles). In short, it is possible to pair the long-haul flights in business with connecting segments in economy class to pay fewer total miles.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at LifeMiles.com (you’ll need to create a free Avianca LifeMiles frequent flyer account)
- How to book awards: Book online at LifeMiles.com. Can also book via email. Phone bookings are known to be a hassle but also possible. Finally, it may be possible to email for a manual booking if individual segments are available but don't show up together.
- Key warnings: Availability at LifeMiles.com does not always match what you’ll find at United.com. Phone agents generally do not see better availability than what is shown at LifeMiles.com. Always check the LifeMiles site before transferring points. Keep in mind that the mandatory $25 booking fee (added to all bookings) is the same whether one-way or round trip, so book round trip to save.
- Transfer from: Amex Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou points, Capital One miles, Marriott Bonvoy
Capital One Miles Sweet Spots: Asia
Air Canada Aeroplan (for Star Alliance, especially complex itineraries)
- The short story: Aeroplan charges a relatively high price for many awards to/from Asia, but they offer the most partner airlines of any program, thereby increasing the chances that you'll be able to put together an award that works for your trip. The real value in the program is the ability to add a stopover for only 5,000 additional miles, making it possible to combine two destinations on a one-way award. The Pacific Zone includes most of Eastern Asia and also Australia and New Zealand. By contrast, India and Central Asia are in the Atlantic Zone. Lap infants are only 2,500 miles.
- Miles required: The Pacific Zone ranges from 55K-115K one-way in business class (plus 5K miles for a stopover), which can be a particularly good value for awards combining Asia and the South Pacific in one itinerary. The Atlantic Zone ranges from 60K-110K (though getting to destinations classified as Asia likely requires 85K or 110K miles each way before stopover whether your Asian destination is classified in the Atlantic or Pacific zone).
- How to find awards: Search for available space at Aeroplan.com (you’ll need to create a free Aeroplan frequent flyer account to search)
- How to book awards: Book online at Aeroplan.com. Can also book via phone. Lap infants must be added to your reservation over the phone. A stopover can be booked online provided your itinerary has no more than 4 segments. More complex awards must be booked via phone (see Nick's 6-country 5-airline 5-day Aeroplan award and Aeroplan plans for future dream trips for more).
- No fuel surcharges on: Aeroplan no longer charges fuel surcharges.
- Transfer from: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Marriott
Avianca LifeMiles (for Star Alliance, especially mixed-cabin itineraries)
- The short story: Avianca LifeMiles has reasonable-ish business class rates to Asia and may still be a good deal since they are semi-hackable by finding the right partners and/or adding a long economy class leg.
- Miles required: From 85K each way in business or 120K each way in first class, no fuel surcharges. Those prices are not very good, but note two things: first, there is sometimes variance by partner or city pair (See: The secret LifeMiles award chart). Second, it is possible to pay less by combining a long-haul premium cabin flight with a long-haul economy class flight. See: Avianca LifeMiles’ awesome mixed-cabin award pricing: First class for less).
- How to find awards: Search for available space at LifeMiles.com (you’ll need to create a free Avianca LifeMiles frequent flyer account). Note that you may need to toggle between "Smart Search", "Star Alliance", and a specific airline in the drop-down menu above city pair to find availability.
- How to book awards: Book online at LifeMiles.com. Can also book via email. Phone bookings are known to be a hassle but also possible. In a pinch, you can try a manual booking, though that process is quite slow and is best used when you aren't concerned about award availability changing.
- Key warnings: Availability at LifeMiles.com does not always match what you’ll find at United.com. Phone agents generally do not see better availability than what is shown at LifeMiles.com. Always check the LifeMiles site before transferring points (and keep in mind the need to toggle between Smart Search, Star Alliance, and an individual airline when searching to see all availability). The mandatory $25 booking fee (added to all bookings) is the same whether one-way or round trip, so book round trip to save.
- Transfer from: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Citi, Wells Fargo, Marriott.
British Airways Avios (for Qatar)
- The short story: British Airways normally offers a distance-based award chart, in what is an exception they charge 70K Avios each way for business class between the US and Doha on Qatar Airways (these flights do not follow the distance band).
- Miles required: 70K miles each way in business class between the US and Doha. Taxes and fees add around $250 round trip.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at britishairways.com. It's always best to search before transferring.
- How to book awards: Book American flights online at britishaiways.com or over the phone at 1 800 452 1201.
- Change and cancellation fees: $55
- Key warnings: British Airways charges for each segment separately, so multi-segment trips can get expensive quickly. Taxes & fees also increase substantially with further segments on Qatar.
- Transfer from: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Wells Fargo. Also transfer to Qatar and then to BA with: Citi.
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles (for oneworld)
- The short story: Cathay Pacific has reasonable pricing for business and first class on long itineraries, but it can get quite a bit better if you're able to pair the long-haul flight with a long leg in a lower class. See: Cathay Pacific Asia Miles mixed cabin award pricing. First class for less. Cathay also releases more availability to its own members than to partners.
- Miles required: 110K miles each way in business class or 160K each way in first class on itineraries over 7500 miles (85K/125K for some itineraries from the West Coast and less yet with mixed-cabin pricing as shown above)
- How to find awards: Search for available space at AsiaMiles.com (you’ll need to create a free Asia Miles frequent flyer account to search)
- How to book awards: Book online at AsiaMiles.com. Can also book via phone.
- Key warnings: Fuel surcharges are moderate depending on route and origin.
- Transfer from: Amex Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Miles, Citi ThankYou Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy
EVA Air Infinity MileageLands (for EVA or Star Alliance)
Note that Capital One miles transfer to EVA at a rate of 2:1.5. That means you’ll need to increase the prices below by 33% to determine the number of Capital One miles necessary.
- The short story: EVA's award chart features fairly average pricing at 75K or 80K each way from the US to Asia in business class, but EVA offers what is widely regarded as one of the best business class products in the sky and they make quite a bit of award space available to their own members. The best value is booking round trip since EVA allows a free stopover (stopover not allowed on one-way tickets).
- Miles required: 75K / 80K each way from North America to Asia on EVA (80K from Chicago, New York, Houston, or Toronto).
- How to find awards: Search EVAAir.com
- How to book awards: Book simple awards online at EVAAir.com. Must call and book over the phone for stopovers.
- Key warnings: Star Alliance pricing is higher (87.5K / 97.5K each way). Best use is for EVA flights since they release more award space to their own members.
- Transfer from: Capital One Miles, Citi ThankYou Rewards
Finnair Avios (for Cathay Pacific)
- The short story: Finnair offers a region-based award chart and charges 75K Avios each way for business class between North (or South) America and Asia on Cathay Pacific.
- Miles required: 75K one-way on Cathay Pacific plus ~$150 for business class between the North (or South) America and Asia.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at finnair.com.
- How to book awards: Book via finnair.com.
- Change and cancellation fees: $50 (or taxes and fees if cancelling).
- Transfer from: Capital One. Also transfer to BA and then to Finnair with Amex, Bilt, Chase, Wells Fargo or to Qatar and then to Finnair with Citi.
Qantas Frequent Flyer (for El Al flights to Israel)
- The short story: Qantas offers good partner pricing for El Al flights to Israel.
- Miles required: 90K points in business class on El Al between Tel Aviv and Boston, Newark, and New York JFK. 104.5K points in business between Tel Aviv and Miami. 119.2K points in business between Tel Aviv and Los Angeles. With a transfer bonus, these rates can get better. No fuel surcharges for travel on El Al. See the full award chart here.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at Qantas.com (you’ll need to create a free Qantas Frequent Flyer account)
- How to book awards: Book online at Qantas.com.
- Transfer from: Amex, Capital One, Citi, Marriott
Singapore Krisflyer (for expanded availability on Singapore)
- The short story: While award prices are high, Singapore KrisFlyer has much better availability in premium cabins for their own members. They also offer a stopover on a one-way award.
- Miles required: 107K / 111.5K from the West Coast / East Coast to Singapore in business class or 146.5K / 148.5K in first class (see the full award chart here).
- How to find awards: Search for available space at United.com (Note: Do not log in — logging in may show you expanded availability based on your credit card or elite status that is not available for partner bookings) or SingaporeAir.com
- How to book awards: Book online at SingaporeAir.com or over the phone with Singapore KrisFlyer. Can waitlist as many options as you’d like as long as you have enough miles to book the award being waitlisted.
- Key warnings: Note that transfers to Singapore KrisFlyer are now instant from Amex Membership Rewards and typically take around 7 hours from Capital One and Chase (slightly longer from Citi). Waitlisted itineraries that do not clear by 14 days prior to departure will get canceled.
- Transfer from: Amex, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Marriott
Capital One Miles Sweet Spots: Australia / New Zealand / Oceania
Air Canada Aeroplan (for Star Alliance)
- The short story: Aeroplan's Oceania region includes Australia, New Zealand and Eastern Asia. While award pricing to Oceania is on the high side, members can now book a stopover in eastern Asia en route to Australia or New Zealand for 5K additional miles one-way and lap infants are just $25 CAD or 2,500 miles per direction (far cheaper than what most programs charge).
- Miles required: 55K-115K each way in business class or 90K-140K each way in first class from North America to the Pacific zone, though practically for most North America-based flyers, distance bands start at 75K / 115K each way. See more detail here.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at Aeroplan.com (you’ll need to create a free Aeroplan frequent flyer account to search)
- How to book awards: Book online at Aeroplan.com. Lap infants must be added to your reservation over the phone.
- Fuel Surcharges: Aeroplan no longer charges fuel surcharges on partner award tickets.
- Transfer from: Amex Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One, Marriott
Avianca LifeMiles (for Star Alliance, especially on mixed-cabin awards)
- The short story: Avianca LifeMiles might have somewhat hackable awards if you could find premium cabin space on the long-haul.
- Miles required: 80K miles in business class from the US to Australia / New Zealand / Oceania, but see Avianca LifeMiles' awesome mixed-cabin award pricing for info on how this might be hackable if premium space exists. Note also that Air New Zealand economy class flights price lower than the chart shows for flights to/from Los Angeles. Business class may also price lower if you can find availability.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at LifeMiles.com (you’ll need to create a free Avianca LifeMiles frequent flyer account)
- How to book awards: Book online at LifeMiles.com. Can also book via email. Phone bookings are known to be a hassle but also possible.
- Key warnings: Availability at LifeMiles.com does not always match what you'll find at United.com. Phone agents generally do not see better availability than what is shown at LifeMiles.com. Always check the LifeMiles site before transferring points.
British Airways Avios (for oneworld, especially multi-partner)
- The short story: British Airways offers an award chart for travel on a single partner and a lesser-known chart for travel on two partners. That second chart could save you some Avios if you were to mix AA and Qantas for example. The Avios price of your trip is based on the cumulative distance of your flight segments, as opposed to pricing each segment individually (like a normal BA award).
- Miles required: From around 200K "round trip" in business class from most US cities (can vary based on distance). See the mixed partner chart along with an excellent explanation for how to leverage it here. In short, you could turn this into a multi-stop, multi-carrier journey and the number of miles required will vary some but still be less than booking separately via British Airways.
- How to find awards: Search for available space on each segment separately at britishairways.com.
- How to book awards: Book over the phone. There isn’t always a clear methodology for pricing mixed-cabin awards and some agents may be less well versed in this mixed chart. There is a maximum of eight flight segments and seven stopover and travel must be completed within twelve months. One open-jaw is allowed and you can only use oneworld partners.
- Key warnings: This is a lesser-known chart and some agents may not be well versed in using it. Be prepared to hang up and call again.
- Transfer from: Amex, Bilt, Capital One, Chase, Wells Fargo. Also transfer to Qatar and then to BA with: Citi.
Qantas for Jetstar
- The short story: Qantas's low-cost-carrier Jetstar flies between Hawaii and several Australian cities and can be booked with Qantas points.
- Miles required: 61,500 miles one-way in business class from Honolulu to Sydney.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at Qantas.com (you’ll need to create a free Qantas Frequent Flyer account)
- How to book awards: Book online at Qantas.com.
- Key warnings: Jetstar flights can be quite cheap. While their business class is much more expensive than their economy class fares, it's worth comparing to cash fares to be sure you're getting a decent value.
Qantas for Emirates
- The short story: While the award cost here is substantially higher than most others, it may be worth it to those who really want an indulgently long experience in Emirates business class. It is possible to spend upwards of ~30 hours in A380 business class by routing via Dubai (note that some US cities have 777 service, which is likely angled in business class).
- Miles required: 159,000 miles one-way in business class between North American cities and those cities served by Emirates in Australia and New Zealand.
- How to find awards: Search for available space at Qantas.com (you’ll need to create a free Qantas Frequent Flyer account)
- How to book awards: Book online at Qantas.com.
- Key warnings: Choose A380 routes to get a fully-flat aisle access business class seat with a bar at the rear of the plane.
- Transfer from: Amex, Citi, Capital One, Marriott
Bottom line
Capital One has really enhanced the value of its program over the past few years. While many of the awards above cost a significant quantity of Capital One “Miles”, the fact that those “Miles” are earned at a rate of 2 per dollar spent on both the Venture, Venture X and the Spark Miles card means that many of these awards are attainable from a spend standpoint despite the large numbers. Hopefully, we will continue to see good transfer bonuses that further increase the value of the program.
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Your always so awesome Greg
Would you be able to tell me the best way with points to go from Hawaii to the Philippines
Tim – I notice that you’re reporting a $25 cancel fee for Qatar award bookings on domestic flights. Were you able to test if they only take the $10.10 in taxes as the cancel fee (a la British Airways), or do they require you to pay the full $25 to cancel? My apologies if you’ve posted on this elsewhere and I missed it.
I’ll answer from personal experience: they take the full $25 and refund the $10.10.
I am one of those whose ability to transfer Capital One miles ended last September. I got the card, earned the bonus, made 2 transfers and then KABOOM! I can’t transfer and apparently neither can Capital One folks. I have complained and complained and take small comfort in knowing I am not alone. I will NEVER get another Capital One card again. Plenty of other multi-transfer partner cards out there.
We had a similar situation, but it was resolved in a few weeks. We upgraded phones (same number, same carrier) and it broke the security system for the “Convert Miles” button. It was clear this entire system was automated and nobody was empowered to fix it. We missed an Iberia redemption (had to pick up Air Europa tickets to Madrid for the same time — NBD) but our security was stabilized a week or so later. Would agree that the C1 security apparatus is frustrating, to say the least. I still like them, but I think you have to have other points in case something weird happens with them.
Not having miles conversion for 9+ months — I would cancel too. They need a manual way to review and bypass some of these security protocols.
Great list! One other use of Cap One miles I find valuable: Pay for an Air BnB with your Cap One card, and — as a travel expense — you can later go into your statement and “cover” the cost with your miles! This is one of the few remaining ways to use rewards to pay for Air BnB stays. (It also works for anything else that gets coded as a “travel expense”)
Any insights on how to use annual $300 Travel Credit (or $250 on regular Venture card)?
Those credits can be used on any bookings through the Capital One Travel portal – and they are applied at the time of booking. I tend to use mine towards rental cars, as those are often competitively priced, and you get the primary rental car insurance that the Venture X provides.
There is no category-based Travel Credit on the Venture cards. What they offer is a merchant credit for the Capital One Travel Portal (an OTA based on, I think, Hopper). So anything you buy through the C1 Travel Portal will take advantage of the annual credit until all $300 are used up. If the C1 Travel Portal sold hot dogs, those would get the credit as well.
There are anecdotal reports of people having all kinds of trouble with the C1 portal (and this happens with other OTAs as well) when anything irregular happens, such as the airline canceling or rescheduling your flight. We generally use our credits for short flights on random airlines booked a few days in advance where we’re sure that we’ll be taking the flight.
[…] Newbies: Did you get the 100k Capital One Venture X card recently? Here’s What to Do Next. And here are some of the Capital One Miles Sweet Spots. […]
“ Emirates charges 64K miles each way for JetBlue Mint service between New York JFK and London. This can be a great way to book transatlantic Mint service..” When I search on the Emirates website, didn’t see a connection between JFK and London airports.
[…] One Miles Sweet Spots: For all of you who just got a Capital One card, this post on Frequent Miler is a terrific resource. So many tips and tricks on how to use those […]
Wow, thank you for this list and all the directions and ideas.
Well organized and very helpful, thank you!
“They also offer 2:1 transfers to Accor Live Limitless. (cost 2c US)
…………
Accor Live Limitless points are worth a fixed rate of 1 Euro cent per point toward cash rates at Accor properties. That means you’ll do slightly better booking Accor properties by first transferring points to Accor than you would by booking with your Capital One card and using miles to “erase” the purchase.”
I think the opposite is correct. 2c costs more than 1 euro c
You’re right. It should have said that Accor points are worth a fixed rate of 2 Euro cents each.
Wow, I have to say that your research is extensive-great article!
Tremendous content & presentation, Nick, thank you so much
Maybe I’ve missed posts on the following…or maybe my searches are unlucky… but I’ve found great difficulty using partners like British for American domestic or Singapore for United domestic. It seems that unless American and United are pricing the awards at the older “saver” levels, it doesn’t show up. With British, I think even if the award is less than 12,500. Am I missing something? The award prices are so all over the map now it seems. I haven’t done searches for all partners, for example I haven’t tried to use Avianca or Aeroplan for United domestic.
I don’t know if routing is pertinent with BA, or not, but I booked direct domestic flights on AA metal using greatly-reduced Avios last year alone to Charleston; Key West; Santa Fe; Vail & others.
I check BA first before booking & find availability on AA most of the time on domestic flights but cheaper points probably on only half of those. I save tens of thousands of points a year by checking first.
Is there any update on what you mentioned above about Choice being a transfer partner? This would be SO useful to me. I shared a DP about getting approved despite a shutdown (due to tradeline sales- they didn’t like one of my AU’s IDs) and it was pointed out I should try to hit it and quit it before CapOne shuts me down again. So I need to transfer out as soon as I get the bonus it seems. I have a lot of miles. Wyndham could be cool, but I have a small stash there- Choice would be much better for us.
The last time I asked about Choice, I didn’t get any response. I took that to mean it has either been tabled or is not close. I’ll ask again because I think the Citi move makes it pretty relevant.
Awesome appreciate it! I feel like Choice is so underrated. Keenly interested here since my husband said he really wants to go to Svalbard of all places, haha