Capital One is kicking off March with a bang with three announcements. While the generous welcome bonus on the new Capital One® Venture X Rewards Credit Card will officially end this 14th of March, the bank will also create two big moves in the coming weeks:
The bank will offer a 20% transfer bonus to three airline partners to get even more out of Capital One card.
Here's everything you need to know about the Capital One program's upcoming changes.
When Virgin Red officially becomes Capital One's 16th transfer partner, you'll be able to transfer Capital One miles to Virgin Red at a 1-to-1 ratio, which means that one Capital One mile equals one point or mile in the respective partner program. With a few exceptions, most of Capital One's other airline and hotel partners will transfer on a 1-to-1 basis as well.
This also means that you can leverage them to get great partner redemptions, like ANA’s first and business class to Japan and Delta One to Europe and at reasonable prices.
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points can be used to buy First and Business Class flights to Japan on the renowned airline ANA (All Nippon Airways).
Let's take a look at this award table:
As you can see, a round trip in Business Class only requires just 90,000 – 95,000 miles, while a round trip in First Class will need 110,000 – 120,000 miles.
That equates to as little as 55,000 miles one way to Japan in world-class First Class and as few as 45,000 miles one way in world-class Business Class. In addition, they are offering two new hard products: The Suite (First Class) and The Room (Business Class). This unique cabin is now available on select flights from New York to Tokyo, but it will be expanded in the future.
To make reservations with Virgin, you can contact and request that the ticket be held for a day while you transfer points from any US transferable credit card point program, including Capital One.
One-way redemptions are now possible too.
For 50,000 Virgin points, you can book any Delta Business Class ticket (Delta One) that Delta makes accessible to partners.
This no longer applies to flights to the United Kingdom, although it does for Delta flights from the United States to the European continent.
Therefore, a flight from DTW to AMS or JFK to AMS would only cost 50,000 Virgin points, a figure that you will never see on Delta's SkyMiles program, even at the lowest level.
Unfortunately, all other Delta flights booked via Virgin now make use of a distance-based award chart.
Capital One will also provide a 20% transfer bonuses to the following partners, which will expire on March 31, 2022:
This means that for every 1,000 miles transferred, you'll receive 1,200 points in your loyalty account.
Wyndham Rewards is one of the better ones. The typical 1:1 transfer ratio can be handy at times, especially when renting Vacasa properties, which only cost 15,000 points per bedroom. With this transfer bonus, you'd only need to transfer 12,500 Capital One miles per bedroom per night. However, you'd have to do so in 1,000-mile increments. If you have a personal or company Wyndham Rewards Earner card, you can additionally enjoy a 10% discount on award rates. This decreases 15,000 point payouts to 13,500 points, needing just 11,250 Capital One miles per bedroom/night.
Avianca's LifeMiles is the other great transfer bonus here since they have a couple of sweet spots that get even better when you just need to transfer 1,000 miles for every 1,200 LifeMiles.
While the 1:1 ratio is the norm for most transferable currency travel partners, Aeromexico is an exception to some extent. Brex and Citi also transfer to Aeromexico on a 1:1 basis. However, the normal transfer ratio from American Express Membership Rewards is 1:1.6.
Based on statistics from the miles and points community, here's how long Capital One miles normally take to transfer.
Capital One demands a minimum of 1,000 miles for the transfer. Keep in mind that transfer ratios differ from one loyalty program to the next. See the chart below:
UPDATE: Effective October 7, 2021, Capital One raised the transfer ratio for all airline partners, excluding EVA Airways, to 1:1.
If you have an American Express® card and are currently a member of an airline elite status program, keep an eye out for a targeted offer for Delta status match.
Targeted American Express cardholders will be given an exclusive opportunity to upgrade to Delta Air Lines’ Medallion Status. The special offer was emailed to eligible members with at least The Platinum Card® from American Express and the American Express EveryDay Preferred Card.
The offer allows you to have your status matched for three months and then have it extended depending on your qualifying activity during that trial period. But what makes Delta and Amex status match offer unique is:
As a Medallion Member, you’ll also enjoy the following perks:
See more status benefits here: https://www.delta.com/us/en/skymiles/medallion-program/medallion-benefits
NOTE: Diamond and Platinum Choice Benefits are only provided when the member has met the criteria to prolong their Delta elite membership.
1. Find out if you are eligible to participate in the Status Match Offer if you fulfill all of the following requirements:
Alternatively, you can also go to this link to check if you are targeted.
You currently hold elite status with a qualifying airline, which you obtained by meeting the airline's specified requirements (complimentary status or status earned through a promotion does not qualify).
The qualifying airlines are:
You are able to present both 1) a valid, non-expired elite physical or digital membership card or credential with your name and expiration date on it and 2) a statement showing your earned elite status with an airline and the corresponding activity with that airline that enabled the status tier, with your name on it.
NOTE: For both materials, you may upload an image, screenshot of your app or computer screen, or other file formats as long as it clearly shows the required information, valid expiration date, your elite status level, and your name.
2. Submit your request by filling out the form and including a screenshot of your current status.
3. Once your request is approved, you will be automatically enrolled in the offer and matched to Diamond, Platinum, or Gold Medallion Status based on your current elite status with another airline. Your complimentary Status Match will last until August 31, 2022. If your request is not approved, you’ll receive an email notifying you of Delta’s decision. Reviewing and approval of your status typically take 14 days after submission.
Starting on Aug 27, 2017, all of the Sapphire cards, the Chase Sapphire, Chase Sapphire Preferred, and the Chase Sapphire Reserve, are considered "one card." Obviously not literally one card, but if you look at the signup bonus and how it works, it's effective to one card similar to Citi's 24 month rule.
h/t to Doctor of Credit for posting a screenshot of the memo.
"Going forward, a customer may no longer have more than one Sapphire-branded credit card. For example, if a customer has Sapphire Preferred card, they are no longer eligible for a Sapphire Reserve card."
Moving forward, you can only have one Sapphire branded credit card at a time.
"While this change impacts all new and existing customers (including CPC clients), there is no impact to existing customers that have more than one Sapphire product. These customers may continue to retain their Sapphire products as usual."
Existing customers don't have to worry about changes to current Sapphire accounts; if you currently have more than one Sapphire, they won't get closed.
"If existing Sapphire customers wish to upgrade or downgrade their product, they may do so if eligible. However, no bonus points will be available with this upgrade or downgrade. The customer may call the number on the back of their card OR you may contact Banker Support with customers who are in the branch or already on the phone."
If you are an existing customer that has the Chase Sapphire Preferred and not the Reserve, you can upgrade to get the Preferred. Bonus points will not be given for product changes.
The final part of the memo states, "if an account is closed, a customer will not be eligible for any Sapphire-branded credit card if they have earned a card member bonus on a Sapphire-branded product within the last 24 months."
My interpretation is that if you have a Chase Sapphire Reserve (signup Nov 2016)) and cancel it (Aug 2017), you'll have to wait 24 months before applying to another Sapphire card to receive a signup bonus (Nov 2018).
On the other hand, some people are interpreting the final part of the memo in a completely different way. If you get the bonus for a Sapphire card and close it in less than 24 months, you'll never receive another Sapphire bonus again. This interpretation seems extreme to me and would make sense to implement from a customer loyalty standpoint.
If you currently have the Preferred or the Reserve and you previously received a signup bonus within the past 24 months, you'll have to wait.
However, if the card is older than 24 months, you can product change the Sapphire to a Chase Freedom and apply for another Sapphire with a signup bonus. The main reason for this is:
1. You won't have a Sapphire card
2. You don't have a Sapphire signup bonus within 24 months
If you don't have any Sapphire cards or you're in the position to get one, you have a decision to make on which card to get next. Watch the video below to see a Preferred vs. Reserve overview:
Consider getting the Preferred if you can't break even from the Reserve's $550 annual fee. Both the Preferred and the Reserve are eligible to use transfer partners.
If you're looking for a premium keeper card, the Reserve is a good option because you receive a $300 travel credit, Priority Pass, and $100 Global Entry credit. Redeem points for travel at 1.5x using the Chase Travel Portal, or up to 2x with transfer partners.
There are a ton of factors to consider because everyone's spending habit is different. For me, I would get the Preferred because:
