Capital One airline and hotel transfer partners: How to maximize your miles

Capital One's travel rewards ecosystem has become a serious contender for savvy points and miles collectors.

With more than 15 airline and hotel partners, most of which offer 1:1 transfer ratios, Capital One miles can unlock exceptional value when used strategically. Whether you're eyeing premium‑cabin flights or stretching your miles for everyday trips, Capital One's flexibility lets you travel better at a lower out‑of‑pocket cost.

Here's a closer look at how to make the most of Capital One's transfer partners — and why this program should be on your radar.

Related: 15 dream trips you can take with Capital One miles

Capital One airline and hotel transfer partners

Here are the Capital One transfer partners, the ratio at which you can transfer Capital One miles to each partner and the transfer times, based on our testing:

• Aeromexico Rewards: 1:1 transfer ratio, instant
• Air Canada Aeroplan: 1:1 transfer ratio, instant
• Air France-KLM Flying Blue: 1:1 transfer ratio, instant
• Accor Live Limitless: 2:1 transfer ratio, two business days
• Avianca LifeMiles: 1:1 transfer ratio, instant
• British Airways Club: 1:1 transfer ratio, instant
• Cathay Pacific Cathay: 1:1 transfer ratio, 24 hours
• Choice Privileges (only U.S.-based accounts): 1:1 transfer ratio, 24 hours
• Emirates Skywards: 1:1 transfer ratio, instant
• Etihad Guest: 1:1 transfer ratio, instant
• EVA Air Infinity MileageLands: 4:3 transfer ratio, 36 hours
• Finnair Plus: 1:1 transfer ratio, instant
• JetBlue TrueBlue: 5:3 transfer ratio, instant
• Qantas Frequent Flyer: 1:1 transfer ratio, instant
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer: 1:1 transfer ratio, instant
• TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go: 1:1 transfer ratio, instant
• Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles: 1:1 transfer ratio, instant
• Virgin Red: 1:1 transfer ratio, instant
• Wyndham Rewards: 1:1 transfer ratio, instant

How to earn Capital One miles

Here's a summary of some currently available cards that earn transferable Capital One miles:

Once you have a card earning transferable Capital One miles, you can convert cash back from your other Capital One cards into transferable miles.

Related: The best time to apply for these popular Capital One credit cards based on offer history

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Best Capital One transfer partners

TPG's August 2025 valuations peg the value of Capital One miles at 1.85 cents each. Here are some of the best options.

• Air Canada Aeroplan: You can find great sweet spots with Aeroplan program partners that use fixed award pricing, like 60,000 miles in business class from the Northeast to Europe on carriers like Lufthansa, Swiss and Austrian Airlines. Plus, Aeroplan doesn't pass on carrier-imposed surcharges, so you can book Star Alliance award tickets with relatively low taxes and fees, plus you can add a stopover on a one-way award for 5,000 points.
• Avianca LifeMiles: Avianca LifeMiles is known for offering reasonable redemption rates on Star Alliance partner flights and not passing on fuel surcharges on partner awards. Thanks to a generous pricing structure for mixed-cabin awards, you might be able to drop that price even further if a short connecting flight is in a lower class of service. Avianca LifeMiles can also be useful for domestic travel on United Airlines. Economy awards within the U.S. start at 10,000 miles.
• British Airways Club: There are many reasons why you should care about the British Airways Club and its Avios currency. One major reason is the British Airways distance-based award chart. For example, you can book off-peak Iberia-operated business-class flights from select U.S. cities to Madrid or Barcelona for 40,500 Avios plus about $117 in taxes and fees one-way. You can also redeem Avios for American Airlines and Alaska Airlines domestic award flights, starting at just 12,000 British Airways Club Avios.
• Flying Blue: The loyalty program of Air France, KLM and other airlines uses dynamic pricing. If you can find the limited Saver availability, you can book business-class flights to Europe for 60,000 Flying Blue miles. Also, consider the monthly Promo Rewards for further discounts.
• Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles: Turkish Airlines' Miles&Smiles program still uses award charts and provides an appealing sweet spot: United-operated flights between the U.S. and Hawaii for just 10,000 miles one-way in economy. You won't be charged fuel surcharges on United-operated flights, and fuel surcharges are fair on Turkish-operated flights with business-class seats to Turkey, starting at a very reasonable 65,000 miles.
• Virgin Red: Virgin Red is the loyalty program for the Virgin family of brands. Among other things, you can use Virgin points to book flights through the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club program and cruises with Virgin Voyages. Though Virgin Atlantic has switched to dynamic award pricing, you can fly one-way from the U.S. to Europe in economy from only 6,000 points plus about $108, which is a terrific deal. You can also fly from the U.S. West Coast to Japan in All Nippon Airways business class for 52,500 points or first class for 72,500 points one-way (plus taxes and fees), although you'll need to call to book, and availability can be hard to find.

Mid-tier Capital One transfer partners

Here are some transfer partners that can offer solid value, but you'll want to compare the cash price to the mileage cost before transferring miles:

• Accor Live Limitless: With fixed-value redemptions, Accor's loyalty program allows you to redeem 2,000 points for 40 euros off your stay — about $46. With a 2:1 transfer ratio, 4,000 Capital One miles would save you $46, slightly better than the fixed-rate travel redemption through Capital One, which yields $40 for the same amount.
• Cathay Pacific's Cathay: This program uses distance-based pricing, which can mean high award costs, especially in premium cabins. However, Cathay may also offer lower fees on British Airways awards and better access to Cathay's first-class space, though it's still hard to find.
• Finnair Plus: Finnair Plus uses Avios as its award currency. Its zone-based chart creates some Finnair Avios sweet spots. Plus, you can sometimes avoid paying as many surcharges when you book through Finnair instead of British Airways.
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer: If you want to book Singapore Suites or first class, you'll want to use Singapore KrisFlyer. You may also find good value when you redeem KrisFlyer miles for Singapore Airlines' Spontaneous Escapes.
• Qantas Frequent Flyer: This program offers dynamically priced Classic Plus Rewards for its flights. However, booking Classic Flight Rewards that use distance-based charts usually offers better value, especially Emirates' business class and first class. Note that most of these rates have recently increased.
• Wyndham Rewards: The most expensive Wyndham Rewards properties cost just 30,000 points per night, which can offer high value compared with cash rates.

Lower-value Capital One transfer partners

Due to expensive award charts, bad transfer ratios, hidden fees and programs that are difficult to navigate, you'll most likely not maximize your Capital One miles with these transfer partners:

• Aeromexico Rewards: Once you consider the taxes and fees and the booking fee (even when booking through the website), the Aeromexico Rewards program holds little value.
• Choice Privileges: Since TPG's August 2025 valuations put the value of Choice points at just 0.6 cents per point, transferring Capital One miles to Choice Privileges at a 1:1 ratio usually won't yield you the best value. Instead, consider buying Choice points during a sale or signing up for a Choice Privileges credit card to earn Choice points.
• Emirates Skywards: With high redemption costs, carrier-imposed surcharges and now a restriction on first-class redemptions to elite members, Emirates Skywards' high redemption costs and surcharges often reduce value. Try Qantas instead.
• Etihad Guest: Miles in the Etihad Guest program expire after 18 months unless you take a flight operated by Etihad or a partner airline. Second, award cancellation charges are extreme, with a 25% mileage penalty if you cancel Comfort and Value bookings more than 21 days before departure, and a harsh 75% penalty on Deluxe bookings and a 100% penalty on Comfort and Value bookings within seven days of departure.
• EVA Air Infinity MileageLands: Capital One already partners with several other Star Alliance programs that are usually better for booking awards. EVA's award chart is usually more expensive, and the program is often difficult to navigate.
• JetBlue TrueBlue: The 5:3 transfer ratio makes JetBlue TrueBlue a poorer option for transferring your Capital One miles than the 1:1 partners.
• TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go: TAP's Miles&Go program does have award charts, but you'll see other (often higher) rates when you search for awards.

Bottom line

Some excellent Capital One transfer partners can almost single-handedly carry the value of Capital One miles.

However, not every transfer partner will provide outsize value, so remember to compare the cash price of your ticket or hotel stay before transferring Capital One miles.

Sometimes, buying a paid ticket (or stay) and then redeeming Capital One miles at a fixed value to cover your recent travel purchase will yield better value.