September 25, 2020 By Jake Pearring
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Flexibility has been key to any travel planning strategy in 2020. The state of flights, international vacations and travel restrictions means that the more adaptable you can be, the better.
For folks in search of more flexible miles and rewards, look no further than the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card. This top travel credit card has a recently increased welcome bonus of 100,000 miles and offers the flexibility we love, and that we especially need right now, when it comes to redeeming miles for travel.
Capital One Venture 100,000 mile bonus
Capital One has just increased the welcome bonus on its signature Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card to a whopping 100,000 miles — the biggest ever bonus for this card. New cardholders will receive 100,000 bonus miles after spending $20,000 on purchases in the first 12 months after account opening. However, you can still earn 50,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 within the first three months after you open the card.
If you can handle the large spending requirement, the reward of 140,000 miles (including the miles earned from your $20,000 in spending) will have you well-positioned for some exciting travel bookings.
[ Read: The best travel credit cards ]
Capital One has a number of airline and hotel partners where you can transfer your miles. Although this can be a bit confusing, as most transfer rates are 2:1.5. So keep that in mind when deciding whether to transfer miles and double-check your math to make sure you’re transferring the right amount!
Transferring to travel partners is a solid option in addition to redeeming your miles for a travel statement credit to “erase” travel purchases. You can simply charge a travel expense to your Venture credit card and then apply miles at a rate of 1 cent per mile to reimburse yourself for the charge later (1000 miles = $10). I love how flexible Capital One is with their definition of travel —it extends far beyond flights, hotels, and rental cars and includes cruises, train tickets. Ubers and more.
The best ways to use 100,000 Capital One Miles
Once your Capital One miles balance is well stocked, consider the following options when redeeming your newly minted 100,000 mile bonus:
$1,000 in travel reimbursed as a statement credit
Redeeming your 100,000 miles for a $1,000 travel expense remains the simplest use of your Capital One miles — and nobody should fault you for it. Travel needs to be flexible right now, and the convenience of booking travel now and reimbursing it later is tough to beat.
This method allows to you book whatever travel you want, however you want. If you want to book a $1,000 hotel stay, you can book directly with the hotel and earn hotel points and loyalty credits in the process. If you want to ensure a socially distant trip, you can book a rural Airbnb stay and wipe the purchase off your statement with Capital One miles.
Lufthansa First Class to Europe with Avianca Lifemiles
$1,000 is great, but you can also redeem your Venture miles for insane value if you’re willing to transfer to travel partners. For example, you could fly from the US to Europe on Lufthansa by transferring 116,000 miles to Avianca Lifemiles (which would turn into 87,000 Lifemiles). These flights won’t require you to pay fuel surcharges and award availability is decent if you can be flexible with your routing. This flight can easily go for more than $5,000, meaning you’re getting an amazing value out of your miles.
My wife and I flew Lufthansa first class home from an anniversary trip to Europe and it was one of our best flight experiences to date!
Domestic U.S. flights with Air Canada Aeroplan miles
Flying domestically for a great price might be less sexy, but certainly more practical. You can transfer 17,000 Venture miles to Aeroplan to become 12,750 miles. That’s enough for a one-way flight in coach within the U.S. on United — a great option for quick flights that can sometimes be pricey. 100,000 Capital One miles is nearly enough for 6 one-way flights within the U.S. when booking through Aeroplan.
Award flights to Europe or Israel with Flying Blue
Europe on points is always a good idea! And you can stretch your adventure a bit farther (if you want) because Flying Blue defines Israel as part of its “Europe” region. This means you can transfer 71,000 Venture miles to become 53,000 Flying Blue miles for a one-way business class flight to Israel or continental Europe. One-way in coach would cost just 29,000 Venture miles (transferred to become 21,500 Flying Blue miles) if you can find saver level award flights.
Transfer to Etihad for flights on American Airlines
Etihad is a fun, unique partner airline with some sweet spots on their award chart. You can use 17,000 Venture miles (12,750 Etihad miles once transferred) to fly domestically in coach with American Airlines — or use 34,000 Venture miles (25,000 miles post-transfer) to fly across the country in American’s lie-flat business class. Or you can go all out and use 74,000 Venture miles (55,500 miles after the transfer) to fly AA’s flagship business class to Asia.
Fly Delta to Hawaii with Flying Blue miles
24,000 Venture miles can also be transferred to become 17,500 Flying Blue miles–enough for a one-way coach flight from the mainland U.S. to Hawaii on Delta. If this interests you (it certainly interests me!), I recommend you look for award availability first because availability to Hawaii is always competitive!
Round-trip to Dubai from the Eastern U.S. on Emirates
Last but not least, you can transfer your Venture miles to Qantas and redeem them for a nonstop flight from the East Coast of the U.S. to Dubai. For example, a round-trip flight in coach from New York to Dubai would require just 80,000 Venture miles (which would become 60,000 Qantas points). That’s a great deal for a very long flight on an airline with one of the best economy products in the sky!
Bottom line
The new welcome bonus on the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card is quite compelling — 100,000 miles can go a long way. If you can meet the minimum spending requirements, this is a great offer to pad your flexible points balance and to help you book that dream trip.
Keep in mind that Capital One miles offer fantastic flexibility (despite their unique transfer ratios) and the ability to reimburse yourself for any travel expense. With some careful planning, you can enjoy one of these amazing options with your Venture miles. Happy planning!
Jake Pearring is a contributor to Million Mile Secrets, he covers topics on points and miles, credit cards, airlines, hotels, and general travel.
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