How to figure out cost of flight with miles before transferring them from a credit card

Which credit card transfers to ITA? I know you can book ITA flights through Virgin with points. You could check there?

I have the capital one venture X. I’ve transferred points to Virgin in the past, but I was able to determine how many my tickets would cost before making a decision. I know a 1:1 transfer is a good estimate, but I’d like to see it before making a transfer.

Thanks for the response!

Create an account with Virgin and just search for a mileage flight. I just did it from Rome to LAX for next May and I see economy tickets available for 37k points one way on ITA nonstop.

Are you saying I can look at the cost of ITA tickets in points at the Virgin site? I have an account with them from a previous flight.

KRS,

It doesn't look like you can transfer Capital One points directly to ITA.

Transfer Partners

Jeanm is correct. Is there some reason, KRS, that you don't want to book directly through the Capital One travel portal?

I recently booked a flight from MSP to Bucharest using my Capital One points, and was very pleasantly surprised by how easy it was and what a good deal I got.

Jeanm, I believe that although miles can’t be transferred directly, they can be indirectly transferred through a partner. Still, if I can’t even confirm how many points I’ll need, I’m kind of stuck.

Thanks!

Mardee, I’ve read in multiple groups that you should transfer points and book directly with the airline for similar reasons that you should book directly rather than through booking.com for example.

You will need to transfer your points to a partner that has ITA as an option for mileage redemption. Virgin works, and probably check all the SkyTeam members like Flying Blue. You would then book through them.

It is not usually a good deal to book award flights through your credit card portal, as you will only get the cash value that card is offering.

Edited to add - Also good to consider if you will be able to use those points for other flights before you transfer them. Luckily you can redeem for Delta if you transfer to Flying Blue or Virgin. In case you have to cancel your original award flight, you won't be able to transfer those points back to your card.

If you’re going to be transferring them to the partner and using the partner to book the flight, you need to go on that airline website and try to book a flight and see how many points it takes. What if is charging on ITA is not at all relevant unless you can book directly on their website

You cannot transfer the miles to something like virgin and then transfer them to ITA. That doesn’t work.

And just a note ITA just left the sky team alliance, which is where virgin was so I’m not sure who their partner is now

Good points made above. I'll just add a few additional cautions...

1. ITA is in the process of switching sides in the never-ending battle between airline alliances. Because of this, many things around ITA's rewards program are in flux.

2. When you do searches for info on how to jump through the various required hoops, anything you find that is more than a few months old should be regarded as highly dubious. AI-generated answers to questions produce unreliable nonsense. A perfect example: Google's AI tells us you can transfer points from Amex and a half-dozen other programs straight to ITA points. Nope, lies, lies, lies. If you have an ITALIAN Amex card, you might be in luck, though, but no joy for us Murkins.

3. If attempting to book ITA award seats with Virgin Atlantic points (which seems to be about the only way to book ITA flights without having their own points, which are hard to come by), be aware that there are reports of "phantom" availability reported (that is, seats show up on the Virgin website and appear bookable, but when you click through to actually book them, there's some technical issue and people report being ultimately unable to get the booking completed, because the availability of those seats was just a mirage).

Given all those challenges and uncertainties, proceed with caution, and consider your Plan B.

I think it depends, KRS. After I booked my ticket through CapitalOne, I was able to set up the trips via KLM (which is the main airline) and Delta (which is operating the flight) and with TAROM, which has the 2nd leg of my first flight. So with any of those, I can change anything, get my seats, etc.

This thread on Reddit gives a good overview of the advantages and disadvantages. https://www.reddit.com/r/travel/comments/1gmlxcn/book_through_capital_one_or_the_airlines/

I truly appreciate all the helpful input. It sounds like I might be better off just paying cash this time and saving my miles for future trips.

Mardee, how about making one of your great tutorial posts on the ins and outs of using Capital One points?

And while you're at, I would love one on using Chase Rewards. Lol

I also play the points game.

I started with the points guy
https://thepointsguy.com/loyalty-programs/beginners/

https://thepointsguy.com/loyalty-programs/credit-card-transfer-partners/

I also use Travelonpoints.com
https://travel-on-points.com/what-is-saver-availability/

and I subscribe to: The Daily Drop
https://www.dailydrop.com/pages/the-go-to-guide-for-credit-card-transfer-partners

Other good sites:

https://thriftytraveler.com/guides/points/credit-card-transfer-partners/

derek, I'm not smart enough or motivated enough to try to play the points game, although I admire those that can, but I do want to be able to use the points I've earned. I always see things about how points can get you a nice upgrade for less money. Now that's something I'd definitely like to understand and take advantage of since I have yet to experience the joy of good sleep while on an overnight flight.

Oh well, if not this trip, maybe the next I suppose.

KRS - I can't resist asking.. Why not just take 2 minutes and create an ITA account? Perhaps the website would then show you the info you are looking for?

Bob, I did do that. When I try to see prices with miles, it leads me to my account (which I just created this morning), which of course says I have no points since I just opened it. It won't even give me the option (at least not that I can find) of seeing what it would cost in points.

My technology skills are admittedly subpar, which is why I asked here, just in case I accidentally overlooked something that would be obvious to others, but I guess this time it is them, not me. :)

Hi. Maybe try and call the airline and tell them you want to book a flight with points/miles, but you don't have enough points to book a flight, so you will need to transfer points. I did this recently with AirFrance and they were able to tell me. They did need to know what flights I was interested in.

Perhaps this is not always true, but using credit card points and booking through the credit card portal is an apple. Transferring credit card points to an airline's mileage program and booking with miles through the airline is an orange. The first way you are essentially paying retail with points and often some sort of discount on that. The second way you are paying for the flight with miles, which can be much much cheaper than retail, particularly in the front of the plane.

For this reason, I never book with points through a credit card portal. It's essentially just buying a flight, and if I do that I will do it with cash. My credit card points are worth significantly more when they are converted into frequent flyer miles with an airline, or when they are converted into Hyatt hotel points.