How to Use Capital One Miles on United Airlines

Using Capital One miles for United flights is straightforward, even though United MileagePlus doesn’t partner directly with Capital One. However, there are several workarounds that allow you to use Capital One miles to book United flights, either through the Capital One Travel portal or by leveraging airline partners in the Star Alliance network. 

Wondering how exactly to do this and which option is best? We’ve got you covered with this comprehensive guide.

Booking United flights using Capital One Travel 

Capital One’s travel portal is powered by Hopper. The great thing about booking United flights using Capital One Travel is that you get a chance to redeem points towards your booking and also earn frequent flyer miles by providing your United MileagePlus number. This is a great way to “double dip,” enabling you to earn and redeem points at the same time. 

The main downside is that you’ll generally spend more points booking through the portal than you would be transferring points to an airline directly. Capital One miles are worth one cent each towards Capital One Travel bookings. For example, a $100 United flight will require 10,000 Capital One miles. If you booked directly with the airline, that flight might be as little as 6,500 points, depending on several factors. 

However, booking through the Capital One Travel portal allows you to earn elevated rewards with certain cards. The Capital One Venture Card earns 5 miles per dollar spent on these bookings, while the Capital One Venture X earns 10X miles.

Additionally, Venture X cardholders can apply their $300 annual travel credit towards United flight bookings on the Capital One Travel portal. 

The other downside to booking United flights through Capital One Travel is that if you run into issues or want to make changes, you’ll have to do so through Capital One. Most airlines won’t handle issues arising from third-party bookings. 

That being said, booking flights on Capital One Travel is straightforward and can be done in a few simple steps:

1. Head to the Capital One Travel website and select the “book travel” button.

2. Log in with your Capital One account credentials.

3. Navigate to the “flights tab” on the travel homepage.

1. Enter your flight information (departure, date, destination, cabin class, and number of travelers).

2. On the search results page, select the “Airline” filter and check off the “United” box.

1. Choose the United flight you want to book and select your seats (if given the option)

2. You’ll need to create a traveler profile on the next page, including the frequent flyer number you want your flight credited to. If you’ve already done this for a previous booking, you’ll simply select the listed travel profile.

3. Enter your Capital One card as the payment method, or apply your Capital One rewards. 

4. Hit the “confirm and book” button.

Booking United flights using Capital One points on partners 

While Capital One miles don’t transfer directly to United, there is a workaround: Capital One has transfer partnerships with several Star Alliance carriers. You can transfer Capital One miles to Air Canada Aeroplan, Avianca Lifemiles, Emirates Skywards, EVA Air Infinity MileageLands, Singapore Krisflyer, TAP Portugal, Turkish Airlines Miles&SMiles, then redeem them for United flights. 

Capital One miles transfer 1:1 to all three programs. Sometimes, Capital One offers bonus miles on select partners, so your miles can go even further. 

The best United flights to book using Capital One points

While Capital One miles don’t transfer directly to United Airlines’ MileagePlus program, you can still book United flights through several Star Alliance programs that also happen to be Capital One transfer partners. Occasionally, Capital One offers transfer bonuses to select partners, giving your miles even greater value. 

Usually, your best bet for booking United flights with Capital One miles is through Avianca Lifemiles, Air Canada Aeroplan, and Turkish Miles&Smiles. These programs offer several “sweet spots” – awards that are much cheaper than if you booked them directly with United MileagePlus. Here’s a look at a few examples:

• 6,500 Avianca Lifemiles each way for short-haul economy class flights (under 650 miles in distance)

• 10,000 Turkish miles each way for economy-class flights from the Mainland U.S. to Hawaii. 

• 15,000 Turkish miles each way for economy-class flights from the Mainland U.S. to Hawaii. 

• 60,000 Aeroplan points each way for business-class flights to Europe.

Capital One transfers to these programs are 1:1 and instant in most cases. Whenever possible, put an award ticket on hold by calling the airline before you transfer points. That way, you won’t be in the unfortunate position of having a bunch of airline miles you can no longer redeem.

How point.me helps you book United flights with Capital One miles

Since Capital One has seven programs you can use for United flight redemptions, researching every program individually can be a hassle. point.me does all the work for you by searching award space across multiple programs and showing you the available options. The platform helps identify the cheapest available flights and which partner programs provide the best value for your points. If Capital One is offering any transfer bonuses, that gets factored into the redemption rate.

point.me not only breaks down your options in a user-friendly format, it also guides you through the booking process. This greatly simplifies what could otherwise be a complex and stressful process, especially for those who are unfamiliar with award bookings.