Booking Lufthansa flights using Avianca Lifemiles is one of the most popular ways to use Capital One Miles. With Capital One Miles, you should also consider all of the other ways to use miles for your next flight to Europe.
Capital One has partnerships with 15 airline programs. As mentioned in using Citi ThankYou points to book flights to Europe, you’ll want to focus on loyalty programs that offer the most value. Air Canada Aeroplan, Avianca Lifemiles, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, and Etihad Guest are likely to provide the most upside.
Throughout this article, it’ll become clear why Capital One Miles have serious value. Using Capital One Miles to book expensive business and first-class flights to Europe is why many travelers earn Capital One Miles.
Best Credit Cards To Earn Capital One Miles to Travel to Europe:
There are a number of Capital One credit cards that earn points that can be transferred to airline partners. Similar to American Express, Chase, Citi, or Marriott, the Capital One Miles that you earn can be transferred directly to its airline partners.
The Capital One Venture, Capital One VentureOne Rewards, Capital One Spark Miles for Business, and Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business are the Capital One credit cards to consider. Each has bonus earning categories that will help you to quickly earn the miles you need.
In short, the best way to earn Capital One Miles is to focus your spend on the bonus earning categories of its cards. These cards earn 2-10X per transaction and that alone will ensure you have miles at your disposal.
How to Redeem Capital One Miles to Travel to Europe:
All of the transfer ratios from Citi to the airline programs mentioned in this article are 2:1.5. While the transfer ratios are equal, the transfer times are not. Capital One Miles transfer instantly to Aeroplan and Avianca. Transfers to Cathay Pacific take 3-5 days and to Etihad take 24 hours. With that out of the way, let’s dive into how to book flights to Europe!
Air Canada Aeroplan
The first Star Alliance program to make the list is Air Canada Aeroplan. This program is known primarily for the ability to book business class flights between the US and Europe.
With 110,000 Aeroplan miles (147,000 Capital One Miles), you can book a roundtrip Star Alliance business class flight to Europe 1 (i.e. France, Germany, Italy). Another redemption to consider is using 60,000 Aeroplan miles (80,000 Capital One Miles) to fly roundtrip economy to Europe 1.
Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, LOT Polish, Lufthansa, SAS, Singapore Airlines, Swiss Air Lines, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines, and United Airlines fly between the US and Europe. Aeroplan will pass on fuel surcharges so you’ll want to avoid Austrian and Lufthansa to minimize your taxes and fees.
Search for Star Alliance flights on United, confirm the same availability on Aeroplan, book the flight online, and then pay the taxes and fees.
Avianca LifeMiles
Our second Star Alliance program is Avianca LifeMiles. Like Aeroplan, Avianca is best known for using miles to book premium cabin flights between the US and Europe without fuel surcharges.
With 126,000 Avianca LifeMiles (168,000 Capital One Miles), you can book a roundtrip business Star Alliance flight to Europe. Also consider booking a Star Alliance first class flight to Europe with 174,000 Avianca LifeMiles (232,000 Capital One Miles).
The same airline partners mentioned in the Aeroplan section are the airline partners that you’ll fly. The main difference with this redemption is the fuel surcharges. Avianca doesn’t pass them on to you. So you’ll want to book airlines with high fuel surcharges like Austrian and Lufthansa when using Avianca LifeMiles.
Search for Star Alliance flights on United, confirm the same availability on lifemiles.com, book the flight online, and then pay the taxes and fees. It’s important to note Avianca can’t see the same award availability as United. You may want to confirm award availability on both Aeroplan and United before transferring any points to Avianca.
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
The lone Oneworld program to make the list is Cathay Pacific Asia Miles. Cathay Pacific is known for the ability to book British Airways flights with reduced taxes and fees.
With 100,000+ Asia Miles (134,000+ Capital One Miles), you can book a roundtrip business class British Airways flight. Another option is to use 150,000+ Asia Miles (200,000+ Capital One Miles) to book a roundtrip first class British Airways flight.
Any Oneworld airline partner can be booked with Cathay Pacific Asia Miles. The reason you’ll want to book British Airways flights is that you’ll pay less in taxes and fees. Think ~$600 in taxes and fees instead of $1,000+ roundtrip.
Search for British Airways flights at asiamiles.com, book the flight online, and then pay the taxes and fees.
Etihad Guest
Etihad Airways is not in a major airline alliance. Instead, Etihad has partnerships with individual airlines. This works great as you can fly American Airlines and Brussels Airlines to Europe at competitive award rates.
With 100,000 Etihad Guest miles (134,000 Capital One Miles), you can book a roundtrip American Airlines business class flight. You can also use 88,000 Etihad Guest miles (118,000 Capital One Miles) to fly Brussels Airlines roundtrip business class to Europe.
American Airlines requires more Etihad Guest miles compared to Brussels Airlines. However, the taxes and fees will be substantially higher if you fly Brussels Airlines. Keep this in mind before transferring your Capital One Miles to Etihad.
Search for American Airlines flights on British Airways, call Etihad Guest at 877-690-0767 to book the flight, and then pay the taxes and fees over the phone. Search for Brussels Airlines flights on United, call Etihad Guest to book the flight, and then pay the taxes and fees.
Conclusion on How to Use Capital One Miles to Travel to Europe:
Capital One is the newest transferable point program. What’s great about Capital One is that it has airline partners that will help you book flights to Europe. With Aeroplan, Avianca, Cathay Pacific, and Etihad, you’ll have tons of options to book a flight for your next trip.
What about you? Which Capital One airline partners do you recommend to book flights to Europe? How do you use your Capital One Miles? Please let me know in the comments or by sending me an email on my contact page.
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