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Our site may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened with our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear. While we don't cover all available credit cards, our editorial team creates and maintains all of the analysis of these cards, and our content is not influenced nor subject to review by any credit card company, bank or partner prior to (or after) publication. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.
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Maximize your Capital One miles with these 5 British Airways sweet spots
Katie Genter is a digital nomad who has traveled full time since June 2017. She writes and edits stories about points and miles, and loyalty programs, often letting her personal experiences color these stories.
October 14, 2021 • 8 min read
The cards we feature here are from partners who compensate us when you are approved through our site, and this may impact how or where these products appear. We don't cover all available credit cards, but our analysis, reviews, and opinions are entirely from our editorial team. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
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Quick summary
Capital One now allows 1:1 transfers to British Airways Avios, expanding options for maximizing travel rewards.
British Airways' distance-based award chart enables valuable redemptions, especially for short, nonstop flights within the U.S., to Hawaii, and to the Caribbean.
Transferring points to Iberia Plus can offer lower surcharges and better rates for business-class flights between the East Coast and Europe.
TPG's valuations peg Avios at 1.5 cents each and Capital One miles at 1.85 cents each as of June 2024, but strategic redemptions can yield even higher value.
What to consider
Some offers discussed in the article are no longer available.
Taxes and fees vary by route, with certain awards incurring minimal charges while others, especially to or from the U.K., may have higher surcharges.
Award pricing depends on distance, partner airline, and whether travel falls on peak or off-peak dates.
What you'll miss from the article
Detailed examples of high-value Avios redemptions and step-by-step strategies for leveraging partner transfers to minimize fees and maximize value.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
That's exciting news because, although British Airways is well known for imposing high fuel surcharges on some awards, there's still plenty of value to be found in the program.
After all, not all awards carry high taxes and fees. And it's possible to leverage British Airways' distance-based award chart to get significant value on select award flights.
Beach in Hawaii. (Photo by Clint Henderson/The Points Guy)
There are plenty of ways to get to Hawaii using points and miles. However, one of the best award options for travelers on the West Coast is British Airways Avios. After all, thanks to British Airways' distance-based award chart, you'll pay 13,000 Avios each way to fly in economy class on flights between 2,001 and 3,000 miles in length.
So, you can get a great deal when you fly from select West Coast cities to Hawaii nonstop on Alaska Airlines or American Airlines. Plus, taxes and fees on these award flights are just $5.60 each way. Compare that to the 15,000-plus miles Alaska would charge you each way for its own flights, or 20,000-plus AAdvantage miles American Airlines would charge for its flights, and you're looking at some significant savings.
American Airlines 737-800. (Photo by Benji Stawski/The Points Guy)
If you want to fly short, nonstop flights within the U.S., redeeming British Airways Avios can provide excellent value. After all, according to the unpublished British Airways Avios single-partner award chart, nonstop economy award flights of 650 miles or less cost 7,500 Avios. Meanwhile, economy award flights of 651 to 1,151 miles cost just 9,000 Avios.
So, you can fly nonstop from American Airlines and Alaska Airlines hubs to dozens of cities for 9,000 Avios or less. For example, you could fly nonstop from New York-JFK to Miami (MIA) or Chicago (ORD) to Dallas (DFW) for 9,000 Avios each way, saving money on routes that can be potentially very expensive otherwise.
Beach in Cancun, Mexico. (Photo by SVongpra/Shutterstock.com)
You might have noticed a theme: British Airways Avios often provide significant value on short nonstop flights. This is also true if you want to fly to the Caribbean. After all, paid fares to some Caribbean destinations can be very costly, but you'd only need a modest number of Avios for award flights given the small distances.
For example, you could fly nonstop on American Airlines from Miami (MIA) to Nassau (NAS) in the Bahamas for a mere 7,500 Avios plus $6.60 in taxes and fees, or you could fly from Dallas to Cancun for 9,000 Avios plus $35 in taxes and fees. Compare that to the 12,500-15,000 miles American Airlines would charge you to fly from the contiguous 48 states to either Mexico or the Caribbean, and you could be looking at a discount of up to 50% of the miles you'd need by using Avios instead.
One favorite trick of avid points collectors is to transfer Capital One miles to British Airways Executive Club, and then from there, transfer your Avios over to its sister program, Iberia Plus, once you link your two accounts.
There are two reasons you might want to pull off this maneuver. First, you might need fewer Iberia Avios than British Airways ones to book a business-class award to Europe, and second, you can avoid British Airways' onerous surcharges and taxes on tickets to and from the U.K.
Unlike British Airways, Iberia continues to publish an award "redemption table." There, you'll note that there are prices for both peak and off-peak dates, which you can find a list of here. Flights between 3,001 and 4,000 miles, such as routes between Boston (BOS) and Madrid (MAD) or New York-JFK and Barcelona (BCN), fall into this band. So if you can fly on off-peak dates, you might find awards in Iberia business class costing as few as 34,000 Avios each way, which is far below the number of miles some other frequent flyer programs would charge on premium transatlantic routes.
Finally, you can also get a lot of value on short but expensive intra-Europe flights. Sure, you could fly a European budget carrier. But you can also redeem Avios to fly on British Airways, Iberia or Aer Lingus. However, be sure to choose your combination of cash and Avios carefully when booking.
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card: Earn a bonus of 20,000 bonus miles once you spend $500 within the first three months from account opening
Capital One Spark Miles for Business: Earn a one-time bonus of 50,000 miles once you spend $4,500 on purchases within the first three months of account opening.
Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business: Earn a one-time bonus of 20,000 miles once you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening.
The information for the Capital One Spark Miles Select card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
However, remember that you won't get the bonus until up to two billing cycles after satisfying the minimum spending requirements. So, you'll want to apply for a new card at least a few months before you plan to use the sign-up bonus to book a trip.
It's exciting that you can now transfer Capital One miles to British Airways at a 1:1 ratio. TPG's valuations peg the value of Avios at 1.5 cents each and Capital One miles at 1.85 cents each, so you're only losing 0.35 cents per transferred mile, if you want to look at it that way. However, if you redeem your Avios for a high-value redemption, transferring Capital One miles to British Airways can make sense with the newly improved transfer ratio since you can get a much higher value than even 1.85 cents per Avios.
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
