Redeeming Capital One miles

I have used Capital one Venture card to cover expenses for a couple of trips. I use the app on my phone. Once your purchase has been made scroll to the bottom, 'Redeem Rewards'. Your eligible purchases should show up there. Once you're there, it's pretty self explanatory.

We gave up on Capital One miles and have used both United and American Airlines credit cards for years. Last year my wife and I flew round trip from Tulsa to Auckland New Zealand for $176. Last month I flew round trip first class Tulsa to Anchorage, Alaska for only $11. Both of those cards have really worked for us.

I use Capital One but have never used it to actually purchase a flight. I look for good deals any way I can, and then I just use the points I have accumulated to pay for travel expenses after I have already purchased them. Once they show up on a statement, you can select "redeem rewards" in your online account, and they will show the eligible purchases that you can "erase" with the points. I like the card, because the rewards are so flexible, and the points/miles accumulate a little faster than some other cards I've used in the past, since you get 2 points per dollar spent. (I will be using my current rewards to cover about a week's worth of lodging on a Europe trip next spring.)

For good flight prices, I set up price alerts for days and destinations I am interested in on both skyscanner and google flights. I also recently signed up for Next Vacay, just to see if I can find a really great deal some time. That service costs $25 a year, but they do e-mail me info about some really great deals. They are usually limited to certain times, so I have not actually bought one yet, but I love seeing the possibilities, and I figure if, even once, I get a fantastic bargain, that would be worth several years of membership. (A recent one I wished I could have used was Chicago-Amsterdam roundtrip for $425, but it was during a time frame when I can't be away from work.)

The good news is you don't have to use the Capital One travel site to buy your travel items -- you can buy from anyone and then use your points to "erase" the purchase from your statement (i.e. not have to pay cash for it). This means if you see that dream flight for your vacation for $200 you can book it through whatever site is offering and then when it appears on your statement use points. And, unlike airline specific cards, the erased travel is for the complete cost that appears on your credit card statement, including any fees and taxes the airlines make you pay even after using their points. Also, you get the airline (hotel, rental car, etc.) points for the purchase on top of it so you double dip on rewards.

You can also apply partial erasure if you have some points but not enough to cover the complete cost. So you could book that 1st class round trip and then apply whatever points you have to reduce what you owe.

Overall, a nicely flexible plan.

I've had great luck with Capital One - you might want to give them another chance. Just as was mentioned above, you can go ahead and purchase your tickets using your Capital One card, and then wait for the bill to show up in the Redeem Rewards tab.

This from the website: Just multiply your transaction amount by 100 to see the number of miles needed to redeem. ex. $180 ticket x 100 = 18,000 miles needed

I've used my Capital One miles rewards for several trips - it's nice to go for "free!"

Hmmm, I’ve recently decided to start flipping a few credit cards to accumulate more miles/points. I have not had the Capital One card yet ( my mother had it, and she was not happy with it). But, I did not understand the best way to use it, now I do thanks to awesome forum members! I may have to get this card!

The Capitol One card is effectively a cash back card with limited areas where you can claim the cash back benefit. You can't play arbitrage with miles instead of high cash plane ticket prices like you can with traditional airline cards.

It can be a great value though if you prefer to use hotels.com for lodging since the 10% rebate from there is quite generous.

I use it all the time to "erase" travel purchases I have made. It can be airline tickets, rental cars or hotels. I find that easier than navigating more complicated "pay with miles" offers.

The trick here is to charge your expenses (airline tickets, hotel stays, etc.) on your card before you travel. You are accumulating points for every transaction. Then when the bill comes in, pay for the expenses with the points you’ve accumulated. I was taught this trick by a Capital One associate.

IMHO Capital One cards are deceptive and useless. Their so-called "miles" are not "miles" at all, just a way to pay for flights - as you have found, at suckers' prices. It's a very dishonest company, one that I want nothing to do with.

What would you expect of any company that has made its reputation by paying celebrities to demand you tell them what you have in your pants?

It is the easiest redemption ever. You buy your flights for whatever the cost. Wait a few days for charges to appear on your credit card online statement.. Then Capital One deposits that amount of money to your credit card account and cancels out the cost to you.

I don't know if it is still true, but I discovered that I could apply the reward points to the same travel purchase more than once. For example, say you have points equal to $200 in credit but your only recent travel expense is a $100 hotel bill. I was able to apply half of my reward credit to the hotel bill and then later go back and apply the remaining balance to the same hotel bill.

Capital One is just a cash back card, not really a miles card. The travel hook is that you get double the benefit when the rewards are applied to travel expenses. For us, it has been a good deal. It has paid for big blocks of travel expense.

I agree. If you pay attention to how best to accumulate points and you use the card consistently it pays. We’ve flown many times and used our points to offset the cost. We were habitual users of our United Mileage Plus card for years. But we found our United flight options limited and, when we could book, flying United left a lot to be desired.

We have had the Capital One Venture card for about three years, following several airline loyalty Visas over the last decade or so. We put all expenses possible on the card and have used the points to pay for several flights....takes about one minute to redeem them to pay for flights paid for with the card. You are free to book any flight on any airline. Easy peasy. The most user-friendly card we have ever had and Capital One sends alerts if anything seems “off” to them. We’ve added the Capital One 360 checking (with debit card) to use for international ATMs.

I'd like to point out that in comparing the value of a true mileage card (such as United Mileage Plus) and a points card like CapitalOne, your origin airport matters, as does your interest in flying to costlier destinations (e.g., places other than Dublin, London, Amsterdam, etc.).

For people living near NYC or other generally lower-cost gateways, flights can be comparatively cheap. Those folks may do better with a points card that allows them to accrue at least 2 points per dollar spent. For people living near non-competitive airports (Atlanta) or in small markets (Boise, Oklahoma City, etc.), flights are typically a lot more expensive. They may do better with a mileage card, especially if (a very big "if") they find they can get saver-fare seats that require only the minimum number of miles.

An additional benefit of mileage cards for people who can be very flexible (e.g., retirees) is that--at least with some mileage programs--you can get your outbound ticket as soon as you know your departure plans, at half the cost of a round-trip ticket. Then you can book your return flight midway through the trip. As I say, you have to be flexible to take this risk. It has worked for me twice, flying back to Washington-Dulles from Zagreb in Mid-September and from Barcelona in mid-August. This technique could also work in conjunction with a one-way ticket on a budget transatlantic carrier.

Thanks everyone. And thanks David for my laugh of the day.

David always has some sound financial advice to offer.

I have not seen the Capital One celebrity ads he mentions (we do not watch commercial TV, apart from tennis, and they haven’t appeared there). But I do question the business sense of a company that sends out as many unsolicited credit card offers as Capital One does. We get 3-4 a week in the mail. Such a waste of paper.