Capital One will offer a bonus on transfers to British Airways (for a limited time)

Some links to products and travel providers on this website will earn Traveling For Miles a commission that helps contribute to the running of the site. Traveling For Miles has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Traveling For Miles and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Terms apply to all credit card welcome offers, earning rates and benefits and some credit card benefits will require enrollment. For more details please see the disclosures found at the bottom of every page.

A little surprisingly, Capital One has given us early notice that it will be offering holders of four of its credit cards a bonus when they transfer points across to the British Airways Executive Club. Anyone considering converting their Venture Miles into British Airways Avios should hold tight for a few weeks as the transfer ratio being offered is about to get noticeably better.

The British Airways transfer bonus

Capital One has confirmed that it will offer a 33% bonus on all Venture Miles transfers to the British Airways Executive Club made in August 2021. What this effectively means is that between 1 and 31 August 2021, Venture Miles will convert to British Airways Avios in a ratio of 1:1.

As of 1 September 2021, the transfer ratio will revert to 4:3.

Update: Capital One surprised a lot of people on October 7th, 2021 when it improved the transfer ratios for a significant number of its transfer partners (including British Airways) – link to more details.

Which Capital One cards earn transferable miles

Capital One miles earned by the following cards can be transferred to the card issuer’s 19 loyalty program partners and miles earned by each of these four cards will convert to British Airways Avios in a ratio of 1:1 in August 2021.

• card_name (10 miles/dollar for all hotel and car rental bookings made through Capital One, 5 miles/dollar for all flight bookings made through Capital One & 2 miles/dollar for spending in all other categories)
• card_name (2 miles/dollar on all purchases)
• card_name (1.25 miles/dollar on all purchases)
• card_name (2 miles/dollar on all purchases)
• Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business (1.5 miles/dollar on all purchases)

What are Capital One’s transfer partners?

Capital One has 19 transfer partners in total and the ratios for transfers between Capital One and its partners are 2:1, 4:3, or 1:1 (outside of any promotions).

1. Aeromexico Club Premier – 1:1
2. Air Canada Aeroplan – 4:3
3. Air France/KLM Flying Blue – 4:3
4. Alitalia MilleMiglia Program – 4:3
5. ALL – Accor Live Limitless – 2:1
6. Avianca LifeMiles – 1:1
7. British Airways Executive Club – 4:3
8. Cathay Pacific Asia Miles – 1:1
9. Choice Privileges – 1:1
10. Emirates Airlines Skywards – 2:1
11. Etihad Airways Etihad Guest – 1:1
12. EVA Air Infinity MileageLands – 4:3
13. Finnair Plus – 1:1
14. JetBlue TrueBlue – 4:3
15. Qantas Frequent Flyer – 1:1
16. Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer – 2:1
17. TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go – 1:1
18. Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles – 4:3
19. Wyndham Rewards – 4:3

Thoughts

With Amex and Chase both offering a 1:1 ratio for transfers to British Airways (outside of any promotions), a transfer of miles from Capital One to the British Airways Executive Club isn’t usually a good value proposition for those of us holding multiple transferable currencies. This limited-time bonus changes that.

Ordinarily, while I prefer to use Chase Ultimate Rewards Points for transfers to Hyatt and while I prefer to use Amex Membership Rewards Points for transfers to Emirates, and Singapore Airlines, I will still choose to use these currencies instead of Venture Miles when I need to boost my Avios balance because the ratio offered by Capital One for transfers to British Airways is sub-optimal.

For the month of August, however, this will no longer be the case and I intend to make the most of the limited-time bonus that Capital One has said that it will offer.

As a rule, I find Venture Miles to be less useful for partner transfers than the other three major transfer currencies that I collect with zest (Amex, Chase, and Citi’s currencies) and if I do ever transfer Venture Miles to another program, it’s usually to Etihad Guest on those rare occasions when long-haul AAdvantage Business Class awards are available to book.

Now, not only will this Capital One transfer bonus allow me to get good value out of my Venture Miles (I’ll use the Avios that I generate for short-haul domestic and intra-Europe flights), but it will also free me up to use my Amex and Chase balances for premium cabin long-haul awards and excellent Hyatt bookings – considering the fact that I’m currently breaking a key miles and points “rule” and stockpiling Chase Ultimate Rewards Points like there’s no tomorrow, this bonus makes me very happy J

Bottom line

Capital One has announced that it will be offering a 33% bonus on Venture Miles transfers to the British Airways Executive Club between 1 and 31 August 2021. With British Airways Avios offering a great way to save money on select short-haul journeys all over the world and with the new bonus improving the Capital One to British Airways transfer ratio to 1:1, August could be a good time for anyone with Venture Miles to top up their Avios balance.