Capital One rewards — also known as Capital One miles — are a rewards program currency that you earn by using a qualifying Capital One credit card. Cardholders earn Capital One miles by making credit card purchases. New cardholders may also be able to earn a welcome bonus if you meet a minimum spending requirement within a few months of opening your account.
You can redeem Capital One miles for a variety of rewards, including travel, cash back, gift cards, entertainment purchases, shopping through Capital One’s shopping portal and Amazon. The value of your miles can vary depending on how you redeem them, and you’ll usually get the best value for travel rewards.
Do miles expire?
No expiration for the life of the account
Capital One miles value
0.5 cents to around 1.8 cents per mile (and potentially more)
What’s your mile-earning potential?
1.25X to 10X miles per dollar spent
What can you redeem miles for?
Travel through Capital One, point transfers, cash back, gift cards and more
Capital One miles can be worth anywhere from 0.5 cents each to around 1.8 cents per mile or more. Using your miles for cash back, gift cards, or purchases made through Amazon.com or PayPal.com will get you the least bang for your buck, usually at a value of less than 1 cent per mile.
Miles are worth 1 cent each when redeemed through the Capital One Travel portal, and they can be worth around 1.8 cents each or more when transferred to airline and hotel partners and used for a premium travel redemption. On the other hand, they’re only worth 0.5 cents each when redeemed for cash back.
| Redemption Options | Value |
|---|---|
| Cash back | 0.5 cents per mile |
| Merchandise | 0.8 cents per mile |
| Gift cards | 0.8 cents per mile |
| PayPal purchases | 0.8 cents per mile |
| Amazon.com purchases | 0.8 cents per mile |
| Capital One experiences | Varies (usually 0.8 cents per mile) |
| Travel statement credits | 1 cent per mile |
| Travel through Capital One portal | 1 cent per mile |
| Miles transfers to airlines and hotels | ~1.8 cents per mile or more |
To earn Capital One miles, you’ll need one of its travel credit cards. You can earn miles through regular card purchases and spending, or by taking advantage of a welcome offer or referral offer.
Welcome offers can be earned if you spend enough within the first few months of opening an account. Capital One referral offers let cardmembers earn bonus miles by referring friends and family.
| Credit Cards | Our Ratings | Annual Fee | Rewards Rate | Welcome Offer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card*
|
$0 | 1.25X - 5X Miles
| 20,000 miles
Earn a bonus of 20,000 miles once you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $200 in travel
| ||
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card*
|
$95 | 2X - 5X Miles
| 75,000 miles
75,000 Miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening
| ||
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card*
|
$395 | 2X - 10X miles
| 75,000 miles
Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel
|
| Credit Cards | Our Ratings | Annual Fee | Rewards Rate | Welcome Offer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Capital One Venture X Business*
Review Coming Soon
|
N/A | $395 | 2X - 10X Miles
| 150,000 miles
Earn 150,000 Miles once you spend $30,000 in the first 3 months from account opening
| Review Coming Soon |
Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business*
|
$0 | 1.5X Miles
1.5 Miles per $1 on every purchase
| 50,000 miles
One-time bonus of 50,000 miles once you spend $4,500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening
| ||
Capital One Spark Miles for Business*
|
$0 intro for first year; $95 after that | 2X - 5X Miles
| 50,000 miles
Earn a one-time bonus of 50,000 miles – equal to $500 in travel – once you spend $4,500 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.
|
One of the best ways to stack up miles for an upcoming trip is to take advantage of a sign-up bonus. A sign-up bonus allows you to earn a lot of miles at once by meeting a minimum spending requirement within a few months of signing up. The best Capital One credit cards can offer sign-up bonuses ranging from 50,000 miles to 100,000 miles or more, depending on where and when you apply.
Another great way to accumulate miles quickly is through Capital One’s Refer a Friend program. Depending on the card, you can earn between 10,000 to 25,000 miles per referral by having people apply through a link you supply them.
The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (see rates & fees) and Capital One Venture X Business (see rates & fees) also offer 10,000 annual bonus miles each year the card is renewed and the annual fee is paid. You’ll also get an annual $300 Capital One Travel credit with each of these cards.
Capital One miles are very flexible when it comes to travel, allowing you to redeem miles for nearly any kind of travel expense up to 90 days after the purchase. You also have many other ways to redeem miles, including gift cards and cash back. This makes Capital One travel credit cards a good option for people who want more flexibility.
The Capital One Travel portal is similar to online booking sites like Expedia or Priceline. Essentially, cardholders can use the portal to shop for flights, hotel stays and car rentals, then book the travel they want at a rate of 1 cent per mile.
Capital One Travel also lets you redeem a combination of miles and cash rewards if you are short on miles for the booking you want.
Cardholders with Capital One travel credit cards can also redeem their miles to cover travel purchases charged to their card. This can be a good option whether you want to book a hotel or flight directly with a travel brand, like Wyndham or Air Canada, or if you want to book travel through a discount travel site like Expedia.
This redemption option is worth 1 cent per mile, meaning 75,000 miles are worth $750 in travel statement credits. Also, Capital One is very flexible with its definition of travel, allowing you to redeem miles for most types of travel up to 90 days past the purchase.
Capital One also offers a range of airline and hotel partners, most of which let users transfer their miles at a 1:1 ratio. You can find great deals with some of these programs — including Aeroplan, Avianca, British Airways and Turkish Airlines — that allow you to stretch your miles farther. This can be the best way to redeem Capital One miles if you don’t mind doing a bit of leg work.
| Transfer Partner | Point Transfer Ratio (Capital One miles to points/miles) |
|---|---|
| Aeromexico Club Premier | 1,000:1,000 |
| Air Canada - Aeroplan® | 1,000:1,000 |
| ALL Accor Live Limitless | 1,000:500 |
| Cathay Pacific - Asia Miles | 1,000:1,000 |
| Avianca LifeMiles | 1,000:1,000 |
| British Airways Executive Club | 1,000:1,000 |
| Choice Privileges® | 1,000:1,000 |
| Emirates Skywards | 1,000:1,000 |
| Etihad Guest | 1,000:1,000 |
| EVA Air - Infinity MileageLands | 1,000:750 |
| Finnair Plus | 1,000:1,000 |
| Flying Blue (Air France) | 1,000:1,000 |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | 1,000:1,000 |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 1,000:1,000 |
| TAP Miles&Go | 1,000:1,000 |
| Turkish Airlines | 1,000:1,000 |
| Virgin Red | 1,000:1,000 |
| Wyndham Rewards | 1,000:1,000 |
Unfortunately, most Capital One partners are foreign airlines, which can make it challenging to redeem miles with them. But, many of these airlines belong to an airline alliance. You can redeem your miles for flights on their alliance partners to travel to most places, including within the U.S.
Learn more about Capital One transfer partners
You can also use Capital One miles to shop for merchandise through the card issuer’s shopping portal, or by using PayPal or shopping through Amazon.com. Each option comes with a redemption value of 0.8 cents per mile.
Capital One miles can also be used for various gift card options that may change over time. Most gift card options have a minimum redemption value of 0.8 cents per mile. But occasionally, you can find heavily discounted gift cards that give you a good return on your miles. Examples of gift card options include:
You can also use Capital One miles to book various experiences and events, which can include sporting events, concerts, Broadway-style shows, culinary experiences and more. There are also experiences that are exclusive to Capital One card members, which change throughout the year. Rewards redeemed through Capital One Entertainment are worth 0.8 cents per mile.
You can also redeem Capital One miles as a statement credit to cover any purchases made to your card, but you’ll only get 0.5 cents per mile in value if you go this route.
You can also redeem miles for a check in the mail, but that means getting a redemption value of just 0.5 cents per mile.
You can also transfer miles to friends or family members if they also have a credit card that earns the same type of rewards.
Capital One Shopping is a browser extension that lets individuals earn rewards when they make purchases with retail partners. This program is completely separate from the rewards you earn with Capital One credit cards.
No, Capital One miles do not expire if your account is open and in good standing. When your credit card rewards don’t expire, it’s easier to save up for a big redemption when you’re ready.
You can redeem Capital One miles for gift cards, statement credits, and merchandise, as well as travel through a portal or transfers to airline and hotel partners.
The Capital One Platinum Credit Card doesn’t offer cardholders any rewards points or cash back on purchases.
You can maximize your Capital One miles by looking for high-value transfer opportunities with hotel and airline loyalty programs.
For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the benefits may be provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply
The information related to the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card, Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, Capital One Venture X Business, Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business, Capital One Spark Miles for Business, Capital One Platinum Credit Card, Discover it® Cash Back and Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card has been independently collected by LendingTree and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card prior to publication. Terms apply.
The content above is not provided by any issuer. Any opinions expressed are those of LendingTree alone and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any issuer. The offers and/or promotions mentioned above may have changed, expired, or are no longer available. Check the issuer's website for more details.
