[Reminder] Capital One: 33% transfer bonuses to British Airways

Capital One announced some new transfer bonuses today: a 20% transfer bonus to Aeromexico starting today and running through 8/8/21 and a transfer bonus of 33% to British Airways Avios that will run from 8/1/21 to 8/31/21. While the Aeromexico bonus is of limited use, the British Airways Avios bonus could certainly be attractive under the right circumstances.

The Deal

• Capital One announced two transfer bonuses today:
  • From 7/12/21 to 8/8/21: Get a 20% transfer bonus to Aeromexico (for a final transfer ratio of 1:1.2 from Capital One to Aeromexico) Expired
  • From 8/1/21 to 8/31/21: Get a 33% transfer bonus to British Airways Avios (for a final transfer ratio of 1:1)

Key Terms

• Aeromexico bonus is live now through 3:59am EDT on 8/9/21 Expired
• British Airways bonus runs 8/1/21 to 8/31/21

Quick Thoughts

The usual transfer ratio to SkyTeam airline Aeromexico is 1:1, so with the 20% transfer bonus the Capital One Venture card and Spark Miles card will earn an effective 2.4 miles per dollar spent. I’ve not found many interesting uses of Aeromexico miles, so I imagine this one will only appeal to someone looking to top off an account for the right redemption. This bonus runs through August 8, 2021.

From 8/1/21 to 8/31/21, Capital One will offer a 33% transfer bonus to British Airways Avios. Since the usual transfer ratio to British Airways is 2:1.5, this bonus will make for a full 1:1 transfer ratio. That means the Venture and Spark Miles cards will earn an effective 2 Avios per dollar spent.

One of the nice things about Capital One cards is that Capital One “miles” post to your account within 2-3 days after a purchase posts. This means that if you need to top off for a valuable redemption, you don’t need to wait for your statement to cut but rather you could put purchases on the card right away and take advantage of a transfer just a few days later.

Of course one of the not so nice things about Capital One cards is that you never know when they are going to close your account and redeem all of your earned Capital One “miles” for half a cent each without any ability to turn them into airline miles. That makes it hard to have much confidence in the program. I know I’ve been a lot less enthusiastic about collecting miles that might evaporate without warning or explanation ever since that happened to Greg.

But perhaps one of these transfer bonuses could be a good opportunity to transfer out Capital One miles if you’re looking to use up some points and get a decent value out of them. There are plenty of Avios sweet spots where these could make for a good return on your spend. Those who live in Chicago or Los Angeles could consider transferring their British Airways Avios to Iberia Avios to once again pick up great deals in business class to and from Madrid.

H/T: Dan’s Deals

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