Best Use for Capital One Points

Capital One is relatively new to transferable currencies when compared to Chase, Amex, and Citi. Despite being a newer kid on the block, and having fewer transfer partners, Capital One miles still pack a big punch that can deliver tons of great value through redemptions. As seasoned award travelers know, the best use for transferable currencies is by transferring to airline and hotel partners. In this post, we cover some of the best uses for Capital One points so that you can get the most value out your points. Especially with that newly increased offer for the Venture card.

RELATED: To learn how to transfer Capital One miles to partners, check out these step-by-step instructions.

Earning Capital One Miles

Capital One offers a good number of credit cards that earn Venture miles. These cards include:

• Venture X Business
• Venture X
• Venture Rewards (New Increased Offer)
• Spark Miles for Business

You can turn cash back card earning into points if you have one of the miles earning cards listed above. That makes the offer you see on the Spark Cash Plus extra interesting.

Best Use for Capital One Points: Same Transfer Partners as Chase and Amex

One of my favorite uses of Capital One miles is actually for many of the same redemptions I like to use Chase Ultimate Rewards or Amex Membership Rewards. Capital One shares many transfer partners in common with Chase and Amex (and Citi, for that matter). For example, Capital One points can transfer to Aeroplan, British Airways, and Flying Blue, just like Chase and Amex.

This begs the question: why earn Capital One miles if I'm just going to transfer to the same partners as Chase or another bank? There are two main reasons why you would want to do this.

First, there is a finite amount of cards you can open with each bank over any given time. So if you need more miles with, say, Flying Blue or Aeroplan, but it's too soon for you to open another Chase or Amex card, opening a Capital One card will earn you those miles.

Second, redeeming Capital One miles instead of Chase Ultimate Rewards lets you preserve your Ultimate Rewards for a partner that is unique to Chase, such as Hyatt or IHG. So, while opening a Capital One card won't actually earn you any World of Hyatt points, redeeming Capital One miles in lieu of Chase Ultimate Rewards preserves your URs so you can use them for Hyatt if you wish. The same applies to partners unique to Amex or Citi.

Vacasa Vacation Homes & Rentals through Wyndham Rewards

Wyndham (one of Capital One's transfer partners) has a partnership with Vacasa Vacation Homes & Rentals. Wyndham Rewards members can redeem points for Vacasa Vacation Homes & Rentals. Like Airbnb and Vrbo, Vacasa operates vacation rentals throughout North America, Costa Rica, and Belize.

It's tough to redeem credit card points for vacation rentals at good value, but redeeming Wyndham points for Vacasa rentals can offer you some options. It was a lot better before the recent devaluations over the last year. Here is the current pricing set up for Vacasa Vacation Homes rentals

• Rentals with an average cost of $250/night will be 15,000 pts/bedroom/night.
• Rentals with an average cost of $500/night will be 30,000 pts/bedroom/night.

Vacasa can be a great option when you can't find a hotel room in popular destinations like Hawaii. Or when you just need the space etc. that only a home / condo rental can offer.

Lufthansa First Class to Europe without Fuel Surcharges

Lufthansa first class is one of the best experiences in the sky (and on the ground). By transferring Capital One miles to avianca lifemiles, you can book Lufthansa first class flights between the US and Europe for just 87,000 miles one-way. lifemiles doesn't tack on fuel surcharges, which can otherwise get quite high with Lufthansa awards.

lifemiles treats the entire US as one zone in its award chart, so the cost is the same no matter where in the US you're flying to or from. (This is great news for West Coasters!)

Star Alliance Business Class to Europe for 63,000 Points

Can't find first class availability? lifemiles still has you covered with one of the cheapest options for business class options between the US and Europe. lifemiles charges only 63,000 miles for a one-way business class flight between anywhere in the continental US and Europe (again, great news for West Coasters).

With Star Alliance being the largest alliance by carrier, you have no shortage of airlines to choose from. You can redeem lifemiles to fly Lufthansa, United, Brussels Airlines, Turkish, LOT Polish Airlines, TAP Portugal, Swiss, Austrian, etc.

Domestic Flights on United Airlines for 10,000 Miles

Turkish Airlines still offers one of the cheapest options for booking domestic flights with United Airlines, even with recent changes. Which easily makes it one of the best uses for Capital One points. Turkish charges just 10,000 miles one-way in economy (20,000 in business) for any United flight within the US (including Hawaii and Alaska!).

With Turkish's fixed award chart, the cost of the award remains the same no matter how many connections your itinerary has. This means you can fly from the East Coast to Hawaii for just 10,000 miles each way in economy, including any connections.

Just keep in mind that Turkish's call center reps leave a lot to be desired. If you run into issues with your booking or need to make changes or cancellations, be prepared.

Best Use for Capital One Points: ToP Thoughts

Like other transferable currencies, Capital One Venture miles offer fantastic value when transferring to airline and hotel partners. These are only some of the great uses of Capital One points out of the many possibilities.

What are your favorite uses of Capital One Venture miles? Come share your thoughts in our Facebook Group!