Capital One has heavily promoted its Venture Rewards credit cards for many years, but it was only recently that they started letting you transfer the points you earn to a different loyalty program. Before that, they were pretty much converted to cash and used to book a flight.
Now you can choose to transfer Venture Rewards points directly to the loyalty programs run by major airlines like Cathay Pacific, JetBlue, and Air Canada. The benefit of doing this is that sometimes it’s much cheaper to book an award ticket with miles in one of these programs instead of converting them to cash under the old rules. If you’re familiar with American Express Membership Rewards or Chase Ultimate Rewards, the new Capital One Venture Rewards is pretty similar.
Earning Venture Rewards Points
You can earn points with two different personal cards and two different business cards. Be sure to compare the points you earn with these cards, and the available transfer partners, to competing cards. You might find that the same transfer partner is also available with a different program and perhaps that competing program also earns more points faster or has a better transfer rate.
The Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card earns 10 points per dollar at many hotels, but you must book an eligible hotel through a special landing page operated by Hotels.com. You can find it at hotels.com/venture. Other purchases earn 1.25 points per dollar, and there is no annual fee.
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is very similar and also earns 10 points per dollar booked through the Hotels.com landing page. However, other purchases earn a higher rate of 2 points per dollar, and there is a $95 annual fee.
If you own a business, the Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business card earns 1.5 points per dollar on all purchases and has no annual fee. However, you can get a higher rate of 2 points per dollar if you get the Capital One Spark Miles for Business card. This second card has an annual fee of $95.
Capital One Venture Rewards Transfer Partners
There are over a dozen airline partners of Capital One, letting you transfer your Venture Rewards points almost instantly in most cases. The minimum transfer amount is 1,000 points.
Be aware the transfer rate isn’t 1-to-1, so you may find some other credit card programs offer a better alternative. (Think of it this way: You earn points more quickly and with a lower annual fee with most Capital One cards, but the transfer ratio is worse than most competing cards.) You can find a list comparing most transfer partners by visiting my Points Transfer Calculator.
| Partner | Transfer Rate | Delay |
|---|---|---|
| Aeromexico Club Premier | 1,000 : 750 | Instant |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | 1,000 : 750 | Instant |
| Air France/KLM Flying Blue | 1,000 : 750 | Instant |
| Alitalia MilleMiglia | 1,000 : 750 | Instant |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | 1,000 : 750 | 3 days |
| Emirates Skywards | 1,000 : 500 | Instant |
| Etihad Guest | 1,000 : 750 | 3 days |
| EVA Infinity MileageLands | 1,000 : 750 | 3 days |
| Finnair Plus | 1,000 : 750 | Instant |
| Hainan Fortune Wings Club | 1,000 : 750 | 3 days |
| JetBlue TrueBlue | 1,000 : 500 | Instant |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | 1,000 : 750 | 3 days |
| Qatar Airways Privilege Club | 1,000 : 750 | 3 days |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 1,000 : 500 | 3 days |
How to Transfer Capital One Venture Rewards
You can transfer points easily after logging into your Capital One account by following these steps:
- Find your desired loyalty program from the list of options under “Transfer Rewards.”
- Click on “Transfer Miles” on the right side of the screen and then type in the name of the account owner and the frequent flyer account number. Be aware that you can only transfer points to a frequent flyer account owned by the same person listed as the Capital One cardholder.
- Enter the number of points you want to transfer and confirm that you want to complete the transfer.
- You’ll receive a confirmation code for your records.
Although I’ve provided some typical transfer times in the table above, be aware that transfers can take up to five business days. Transferring points is one-way and cannot be reversed.
I usually recommend waiting until you find award space before transferring points so you don’t get stuck with miles in a program that you can’t use. On the other hand, there is a risk that the award space will disappear before the transfer is completed.
