How to redeem Capital One’s 75,000 bonus miles welcome offer for maximum value

1 month ago 15

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card offers new cardholders a welcome offer of 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 within the first three months of account opening. Additionally, the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card offers 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening, plus a $250 Capital One Travel credit in the first cardholder year.

You can cover recent travel purchases at a rate of 1 cent per mile, making 75,000 miles worth $750 toward travel. However, the real way to maximize Capital One miles is by transferring them to one of 15-plus airline and hotel transfer partners. Capital One allows cardholders to transfer their miles 1:1 to valuable programs like Avianca LifeMiles and Turkish Airlines' Miles&Smiles, to name a few.

If you want to maximize your 75,000 Capital One miles, here are five great redemption options.

Fly round-trip to Europe in one of the world's best premium economy products

By transferring your Capital One miles to Air France-KLM's Flying Blue program at a 1:1 rate, you can take advantage of some of the best redemption rates to fly to Europe.

The program has now standardized saver-level pricing for all one-way flights between the U.S. and Europe as follows, regardless of origin or destination, meaning you can connect at no extra cost:

20,000 miles in economy
35,000 miles in premium economy
50,000 miles in business class

With 75,000 Capital One miles, you would have more than enough miles for a round-trip flight to Europe in premium economy. While Air France has a decent premium economy product, if you can find seats in KLM's Premium Comfort cabin, we rate it one of the world's best premium economy experiences.

Remember that these rates are only for the lowest saver-level seats, which are limited.

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Fly United Airlines' Polaris business class to Europe

While United's MileagePlus program is not a transfer partner of Capital One, several programs that partner with United are, and they offer excellent redemption rates to Europe.

You could transfer your Capital One miles to the Avianca LifeMiles program to book business-class flights to Europe on United, Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines or Swiss for just 63,000 miles one-way.

You could also book shorter journeys up to 4,000 miles in length, such as an itinerary from the East Coast to Western Europe, through the Air Canada Aeroplan program for 60,000 Aeroplan points. Another solid Aeroplan option is to redeem 70,000 points for flights up to 6,000 miles in length, such as those from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to London's Heathrow Airport (LHR) or from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to Athens International Airport (ATH) in Greece.

Yes, your 75,000 bonus miles from Capital One could score you a one-way overnight flight to Europe in a lie-flat bed. You're more likely to arrive rested, refreshed and ready to explore England, France, Spain, Greece and beyond.

Save money on your next hotel stay

Accor Live Limitless is the loyalty program of over 40 hotel brands, including Fairmont, Sofitel, Mondrian, Mercure and Ibis, and is a transfer partner of Capital One miles at a 2:1 rate.

The program uses a fixed-value redemption scheme where you can redeem 2,000 points for a 40-euro (about $44) discount on your hotel stay. Since you'd need to transfer 4,000 Capital One miles to get 2,000 ALL points, each of your Capital One miles would be worth 1.07 cents per point, making that 75,000-mile bonus worth $802.50.

Take the whole family to Hawaii round-trip

By spending the required $4,000 to earn the bonus miles on either Venture card, you will earn at least 8,000 miles, as these cards each earn at least 2 miles per dollar for every purchase. Add that to the 75,000-mile welcome bonus, and you will have at least 83,000 Capital One miles to redeem.

Another one of Capital One's airline partners, Turkish Miles&Smiles, is a solid transfer option for flights. Unfortunately, earlier this year, the program announced a substantial devaluation on its previously well-priced flights to Europe, but there are still some great sweet spots to be had.

For example, you can fly from cities within the mainland U.S. to Hawaii on United for just 10,000 Turkish Airlines miles each way, per person. This means you could book a round-trip flight for a family of four using 80,000 Capital One miles transferred to Miles&Smiles (eight one-way flights booked for 10,000 miles each).

Book 12 domestic flights on American Airlines or Alaska Airlines

This one requires a little more effort, but for the excellent price, it's worth it. Qatar Airways Privilege Club offers domestic flights up to 650 miles in length on partner airlines like American Airlines and Alaska Airlines for as little as 6,000 Avios. This is now the cheapest way to redeem Avios for domestic flights.

While Privilege Club is not a Capital One transfer partner, both British Airways Executive Club and Finnair Plus are. You could transfer your Capital One miles to British AIrways or Finnair and then to Qatar Airways, all at a 1:1 rate.

Then, with the 75,000-mile welcome offer, you could book 12 domestic flights up to 650 miles in length and still have additional miles left over to book another flight.

Bottom line

Capital One's 75,000-mile welcome offer can unlock incredible redemption options, whether you want to fly domestically, go to Hawaii or Europe, or save money on your next hotel stay.

Don't miss out on the generous bonus miles available through the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card and the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card.

Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

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