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Through 29 September, Capital One is offering a 20% bonus on transfers into the Flying Blue program and with Flying Blue currently offering a good Business Class deal between North America and Europe, this may be the time to consider moving some miles across.
Capital One 20% bonus on transfers to Flying Blue
Here’s what you need to know:
The transfer bonus is available on transfers made by 23:59 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time on 29 September 2024.
The current offer is for a 20% bonus when you transfer Capital One miles to Air France/KLM Flying Blue.
Capital One miles usually transfer to Flying Blue in a ratio of 1,000 : 1,000, so this promotion sees that boosted to 1,000 : 1,200.
With the promotion, receive 1,200 Flying Blue miles for every 1,000 Capital One miles you transfer.
A minimum transfer of 1,000 miles applies, but increments of 100 miles can be used when at least 1,000 miles are transferred.
Key to know: Transfers from Capital One to Flying Blue are usually instantaneous.
The Flying Blue Business Class deal
As we wrote about on Monday, the latest Flying Blue Promo Awards include a Business Class deal for travel between Ottawa and Europe with the cost of a one-way award set at 37,500 miles + ~$269 in surcharges.
At the time of writing, there are still a good number of these awards available for travel to/from cities like Barcelona, London, Rome, Berlin, Warsaw, and even Istanbul.
You have to book by 30 September 2024 and travel by 28 February 2025 if you want to lock this deal in, but beware that some bookings may require a long layover or even an overnight stay in Paris.
Cut the cost with the transfer bonus
With a 20% transfer bonus in play, the 37,500 Flying Blue miles needed for this Business Class deal can be generated from just 31,300 Capital One miles.
As we value Capital One miles at 1.5 cents each (based on the value we know we can get out of them with relative ease), this transfer would see us moving $469.50 of miles across to Flying Blue and that (combined with the surcharges) would mean that we would effectively pay ~$737 for a one-way Business Class fare between Ottawa and Europe.
If we wanted to book a round trip award to Berlin, for example …
… we would have to move across 62,500 Capital One miles (which we value at $937.50) and pay $593.20 in surcharges* for a total effective cost of ~$1,531.
That’s a great deal for a Business Class fare originating in North America.
Be aware that to get a true picture of how much the trip will cost, you’ll have to factor in the cost of any positioning flights (I doubt many people reading this will be in Ottawa) and any hotels you’re forced to book due to lengthy layovers, but as Flying Blue will let you enjoy a free stopover in either direction (contact customer service to book), you may be able to use this fare for a two destination European trip (stop over and visit Paris for a few nights and then move on to your final destination) which could make the cost of hotels less painful.
*The surcharges for a return fare will vary depending on your destination as they are, in part, based on local taxes and fees.
Favorite cards that earn Capital One miles
Up until a few years ago, capital One lagged behind the likes of Amex, Citi and Chase when it came to its transferable currency, but the introduction of a couple of good cards and the addition of more partners has seen Capital One close the gap significantly.
Right now, these are our favorite Capital One cards which earn the bank’s miles:
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (earns between 2 and 10 miles per dollar on eligible purchases)
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card (earns between 2 and 5 miles per dollar on eligible purchases)
Capital One Venture X Business (earns between 2 and 10 miles per dollar on eligible purchases)
Capital One Spark Miles for Business (earns between 2 and 5 miles per dollar on eligible purchases)
Based on our valuation of Capital One miles (1.5 cents each) these cards offer us an effective rebate of between 3% and 15%.
Bottom line
With Capital One currently offering a 20% bonus on transfers to Flying Blue and with Flying Blue currently offering a Promo Award for travel between Ottawa and Europe, there is currently scope to book a good value Business Class award to Europe.
It’s not an award that’s going to appeal to a wide audience (it’s a bit niche), but it could still be useful if you’re looking to travel in comfort between North America and Europe.
