5 incredible sweet spots of Capital One’s revamped transferable miles program

American Express and Chase have historically been the perennial front-runners for earning and redeeming points that can be transferred to airline and hotel partners. However, in recent years, Capital One has made significant ground with a solid transfer program.

Recently, the issuer stepped it up even further with a program overhaul under the Venture and Spark portfolio of cards. That includes simplifying its transfer program by shifting a majority of partners to a 1:1 transfer ratio.

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With access to 17 airlines and hotels — 15 of which are at a streamlined 1:1 transfer ratio — there has never been a better time to accumulate Capital One miles. You can earn 75,000 miles with the sign-up bonus on the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card by spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.

Let’s review what the recent Capital One updates indicate for how you can redeem your miles. Here are five sweet spots of the revamped transfer program.

Related: From Peloton to premium eats: What you can expect inside Capital One’s airport lounges

Capital One program updates

In early 2020, Capital One added several transfer partners. Months later, the bank announced the addition of several more partners and a new 1:1 transfer ratio for select partners.

But the best update came just last month. In October, Capital One further expanded its roster of 1:1 transfer partners. The program has come a long way in just a short amount of time.

Currently, Capital One fields 16 active transfer partners (with Choice Rewards coming later this year). However, Capital One did lose an airline partner in JetBlue in October.

With all that in mind, here are some of the best transfer options to take advantage of using Capital One miles and the individual loyalty programs whose sweet spots make this possible.

1. Business class to South America: 50,000 Capital One miles

Mileage program: TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go.

Capital One transfer ratio: 1:1.

What’s new about it? Capital One is TAP’s first major transferable miles partner, so this partnership is significant if you’re a TAP and Star Alliance fan. TAP miles can also pretty consistently be purchased for around 1 cent each when there’s a promotion.

Related: Maximizing points and miles to book a flight to Brazil

Sweet spot details

TAP Air Portugal is a member of the Star Alliance, which unlocks the ability to redeem miles for flights with various carriers, including United Airlines. Below is TAP’s published award chart for Star Alliance flights originating from the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean (one-way, business class).

Here, the sweet spot is flying to anywhere in South America — including Brazil, Argentina and Chile — for 50,000 miles one-way in business class.

For example, you can fly one-way from Newark (EWR) to Sao Paolo, Brazil (GRU), in United Polaris business class for 50,000 miles and $36.60 in taxes and fees. You will need to search for saver business-class availability with United.

2. Economy to Hawaii: 7,500 Capital One miles

Mileage program: Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles.

Capital One transfer ratio: 1:1.

What’s new about it? Earlier this year, Turkish Airlines became a brand-new transfer partner for Capital One. Then, in early October, the transfer ratio improved from 2:1.5 to 1:1. You can also transfer Citi ThankYou Rewards points to Turkish at a 1:1 ratio, but note that it can take up to two days for the transfer to process.

Sweet spot details

Similar to TAP Air Portugal, Turkish Airlines is a member of Star Alliance. Turkish has perhaps the most generous domestic redemption awards of any award chart.

You can fly United flights from the mainland U.S. to Hawaii for only 7,500 miles each way in economy class. With the updated 1:1 transfer ratio, you need just 7,500 Capital One miles to go one-way from the mainland to the Aloha State.

If business class is more your style, United flights (sometimes equipped with Polaris business class) cost just 12,500 Turkish miles each way. Of course, the roadblock here is going to be finding United saver availability to Hawaii.

3. Economy flights up to 651 miles long: 6,000 Capital One miles

Mileage program: British Airways Avios.

Capital One transfer ratio: 1:1.

What’s new about it? British Airways is a 1:1 transfer partner of both Chase Ultimate Rewards and Amex Membership Rewards. Earlier this year, Capital One cardholders got access to Avios for the first time at a 2:1.5 ratio. Now, the ratio has been improved to 1:1, matching that of Chase and Amex.

Sweet spot details

British Airways is part of the Oneworld alliance, unlocking the ability to redeem miles for flights with various carriers.

For non-North American flights on Oneworld partner airlines, it costs just 6,000 Avios each way in economy class for flights up to 651 miles long (or 7,500 Avios for all flights to, from or within North America). At the new 1:1 ratio for flights outside of the U.S., that’s 6,000 Capital One miles.

This redemption is great for hopping around international Oneworld hubs where cash prices are high, such as Hong Kong (Cathay Pacific) or Japan (Japan Airlines), potentially letting you stretch your miles far.

Related: How to book awards using British Airways Avios

4. 44,000-50,000 miles for American and Royal Air Maroc business class

Mileage program: Etihad Guest.

Capital One transfer ratio: 1:1.

What’s new about it? While Etihad has long been a Capital One transfer partner, it now costs fewer miles with a 1:1 transfer ratio (it previously was 2:1.5). That means you’ll use 33% fewer Venture miles than before.

Sweet spot details

Etihad Guest offers quite a few sweet spots, including the ability to fly American Airlines business class for fewer miles than booking directly through American AAdvantage.

If you find saver award availability, you can use just 50,000 Etihad miles each way to fly business class to Europe, or up to 55,000 miles to any of American's destinations in Asia.

Related: Review of Royal Air Maroc business class

Another option is using 44,000 Eithad miles one-way in business class to fly Royal Air Maroc from the U.S. to Casablanca, Morocco (CMN). Any connections from Casablanca require more mileage. Again, the transfer ratio from Capital One to Etihad is now just 1:1, so that’s just 44,000 Capital One miles.

5. 87,000-90,000 miles in Lufthansa and ANA first class

Mileage program: Avianca LifeMiles.

Capital One transfer ratio: 1:1.

What’s new about it? While Avianca has long been a Capital One transfer partner, it now costs fewer miles with a 1:1 transfer ratio (it previously was 2:1.5). That means you’ll use 33% fewer miles than before here, too.

Sweet spot details

Avianca LifeMiles offers quite a few sweet spots. Two of my favorites are ANA and Lufthansa first class. For just 87,000 LifeMiles and $5.60 in taxes, I flew Lufthansa first class from the U.S. to Europe. After suspending service during the pandemic, Lufthansa recently reintroduced first class on select U.S. routes.

Meanwhile, ANA flies its new “Suite” first class on several routes between the U.S. and Tokyo, including from New York-JFK and Los Angeles (LAX). I had the opportunity to fly in this luxurious cabin right before the pandemic. Air Canada Aeroplan and United MileagePlus charge significantly higher award rates, but Avianca will let you book this amazing long-haul ticket for just 90,000 LifeMiles (transferred at a 1:1 ratio from Capital One).

Bottom line

Leveraging transfer partners is often seen as the most lucrative way (on a cents-per-point basis) to use credit card points. This is also a reason why we often typically value credit card points and miles higher than other rewards currencies.

Keep in mind that point transfers can’t be reversed, so you should only move your points over from a credit card currency when you are ready to book. Also, be mindful of how long a transfer takes. The last thing you want is to transfer your hard-earned points only to have award availability disappear.

The value of transferable points allows you to access sweet spots in each partner program and ultimately gives you more opportunities to redeem points efficiently. Capital One does exactly that by unlocking more sweet spots with its latest revamp.