Now live: You can transfer Capital One miles to Choice Privileges

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.

Capital One has been making major changes to its rewards program for the past few years.

First, we saw Capital One add airline transfer partners back in 2018. Since then, Capital One has incrementally added more partners, including some hotel loyalty programs, and improved the transfer ratios for most of them. The issuer also launched the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card and opened its first Capital One airport lounge.

Although Capital One announced that Choice Privileges would join its roster of transfer partners back in April 2021, the ability to transfer Capital One miles to the hotel program finally went live on Jan. 2, 2022, as noted by Frequent Miler.

That's exciting news for Capital One cardholders, but you might not want to transfer your miles over to Choice just yet. Choice Privileges does present some potentially valuable opportunities to redeem points toward travel, however, there are some ways that Choice can improve its loyalty program. That's why I'm unlikely, personally, to transfer my Capital One miles to Choice.

That said, here are the details on the new transfer partnership, some instances where Choice Privileges points can provide value and when you might want to look elsewhere for accruing Choice points.

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Capital One's hotel transfer partners

Capital One currently has 17 transfer partners: 14 airlines and three hotels. So, Choice Privileges isn't the only transfer partner to consider if you're looking to redeem your Capital One miles for hotels. The three current options include:

• Accor Live Limitless: 1,000 Capital One Miles = 500 ALL Rewards points
• Choice Privileges: 1,000 Capital One Miles = 1,000 Choice points
• Wyndham Rewards: 1,000 Capital One Miles = 1,000 Wyndham points

But also remember, you can redeem your miles to book hotels through Capital One Travel. Or, you can put travel expenses on your card and then redeem your miles to reimburse these expenses. In either case, you get a redemption rate of 1 cent per mile and you don't have to hassle with transfers or award availability.

When to transfer Capital One miles to Choice

My favorite aspect of the Choice Privileges program is the value you can get from Choice points in select destinations and situations. Of course, one major downside is that you can only make reservations within the next 100 days when booking with Choice points. Choice varies award pricing every few months and often charges different award rates for weekends, which can make it hard to plan ahead. That said, it can still be worthwhile to strategize your travel around Choice Privileges.

For example, you can stay centrally in Tokyo, Japan, for just 8,000 to 12,000 points per night on most dates. And yes, these rates are similar to what I'd seen pre-pandemic when travel to Japan was easily possible.

Or, you can stay in an excellent location in Venice, Italy, for just 16,000 points per night from Feb. 1, 2022, to April 15, 2022. Then, rates will jump to 25,000 points per night until midsummer -- which frankly is still a steal for its location.

And you can stay in the middle of New York City at several hotels for 30,000 points or less per night on many dates. For example, you can stay at the Cambria Hotel New York Chelsea on most dates for between 25,000 and 30,000 points a night.

You won't pay more than 30,000 points per night for most Choice hotels, especially now that Hyatt Hotels acquired Apple Leisure Group (which removed the ability to book AMResorts properties with Choice points). So, when cash prices are high in a particular destination, consider transferring Capital One miles to Choice for your stay. Just be sure to check award availability on Choice's website before transferring your miles.

Related: Register for Choice Hotels Your Extras to earn gift cards and other perks on weekday stays

How to transfer Capital One miles to Choice

Transferring Capital One miles to Choice Privileges is relatively straightforward. Start by logging into your Capital One account and clicking on "Redeem" in the left-hand panel showing your rewards balance. Then scroll down and click on "Convert Rewards."

Scroll down and find Choice Privileges. Click on "Transfer Miles."

Doing so will bring up a box. Enter your Choice Privileges number twice and then click "Next." Note that you can only transfer miles if your Choice Privileges account is based in the U.S.

On this final page, you should enter the number of miles you want to transfer and then click "Complete Transfer."

I didn't transfer any miles. After all, my Capital One balance is a bit depleted right now. And, as I noted above, transferring miles from Capital One won't be my preferred way to earn Choice points. However, if you do transfer miles, Capital One's website notes that "rewards will be transferred to your loyalty program within 24 hours."

Related: When should I transfer points to airline and hotel partners?

How to earn Capital One miles

If you want to earn Capital One miles to transfer to partners, you'll need a Capital One card. Here are five cards that earn transferable Capital One miles:

• Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card: Earn 10 miles per dollar spent on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, 5 miles per dollar spent on flights booked through Capital One Travel and 2 miles per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases ($395 annual fee).
• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: Earn 5 miles per dollar spent on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 2 miles per dollar spent on all other purchases ($95 annual fee).
• Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card: Earn 5 miles per dollar spent on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 1.25 miles per dollar spent on all other purchases (no annual fee).
• Capital One Spark Miles for Business: Earn 2 miles per dollar spent on every purchase and 5 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel ($0 annual fee for the first year, then $95 after).
• Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business: Earn 1.5 miles per dollar spent on every purchase (no annual fee).

The information for the Capital One Spark Miles Select has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Two of these cards, the VentureOne and Spark Miles Select, are no-annual-fee cards. Meanwhile, the Venture X marks Capital One's entry into the world of premium travel. So, check out each card to decide which is best for you.

Related: Credit card showdown: Capital One Venture vs. Capital One Venture X

Other ways to earn Choice points

Given Capital One's other transfer partners, including Air Canada Aeroplan, Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles and Wyndham Rewards, you might not want to transfer your miles to Choice Privileges.

Luckily, there are a lot of other ways to earn Choice Privileges points:

• Earn points through one of Choice's frequent stay-based promotions.
• Transfer from American Express Membership Rewards at a 1:1 ratio.
• Transfer from Citi ThankYou Rewards at a 1:2 ratio (with premium cards).
• Buy points during a buy points sale.
• Earn points by spending on the Choice Privileges® Visa Signature® Card.

The information for the Choice Visa has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

If you're going to transfer transferable points to Choice, you'll get the most value by transferring Citi ThankYou points. After all, you get 2 Choice points for 1 Citi point. To look at it another way, based on TPG's valuations, you'll lose 0.5 cents of value per Citi point transferred, 1.25 cents per Capital One mile transferred and 1.4 cents per Amex point transferred.

Related: Why are transferable points worth more than other rewards?

Bottom line

It's great that Capital One finally has Choice Privileges as an active 1:1 transfer partner. Although I don't plan to use this redemption option with my Capital One miles, it will provide value to some cardholders looking to redeem their miles for hotels. In particular, transferring Capital One miles to Choice Privileges is likely to provide the most value if you're traveling during peak times or visiting expensive destinations.