How to Use Capital One Frequent Flyer Miles
Capital One--a major credit card issuer--gives card holders the chance to earn frequent flyer airline miles simply by making purchases and paying the credit card statement on time. The miles program does not restrict where you can fly or the dates you plan for your travel rewards. Capital One's "No Hassle Miles" reward credit cards require good to excellent credit in order to be approved.
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Instructions
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Apply for a Capital One credit card that gives you airline miles when you use the card. As of 2010, Capital One offers a few major cards that allow you to earn frequent flyer miles. Choose from and apply for either the "Venture," "No Hassle Miles" credit card or another card that allows you to earn miles.
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Plan your purchases. Make any large purchases within the first few months if your card offers introductory bonus miles. As of 2010, Capital One gives "Venture" card holders 10,000 bonus miles for spending $1,000 in credit card transactions within the first three months. Also, "Venture" card owners receive two miles for every dollar spent on purchases; owners of Capital One's other miles credit cards receive one-and-a-quarter miles for every dollar spent on purchases.
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Track your frequent flyer miles earnings. Enroll your credit card on Capital One's "No Hassle Rewards" servicing website for account holders at servicing.capitalone.com, choosing a username and password to access your online account. Log into your rewards account and check your online statement to see how many miles you've earned. Or, look at the "Rewards Summary" section at the top of your screen when you log into your account.
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Pay your monthly credit card bill on time, even if you pay only the minimum amount due. Late fees added to your account can cause you to lose any miles earned during the billing cycle in which the fee was charged.
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Calculate your reward miles. Check the total number of miles you've earned. Look at the redemption levels currently offered. For example, as of 2010, Capital One requires you to have at least 15,000 miles to redeem flights. Divide the total number of miles you need by the number of points per dollar you earn on purchases to calculate the dollar amount you need to spend to reach the rewards level. For example, a two-miles-per-dollar credit card holder needs to spend $7,500 to earn 15,000 flight miles.
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Redeem your miles. Look at how many reward miles you have and how much an airline ticket or travel arrangement costs. As of 2010, the dollar value of Capital One miles is the resulting number after you drop the last two zeros off your mile total (e.g. 21,700 miles can be redeemed for a $217 flight). Purchase your airline ticket, cruise, hotel or rental car with your Capital One credit card at any travel agency or website. Contact Capital One's Rewards Center at 1-800-228-3001 to get your miles applied to your ticket purchase.
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Tips & Warnings
Follow the instructions in your online rewards account for redeeming your miles entirely online as an alternative to contacting Capital One's Rewards Center.
Earned reward miles can take up to two billing cycles to be credited to your account.
As of 2010, Capital One credit card miles do not expire--they only expire if you close or cancel your Capital One account.
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- Photo Credit airplane image by Clarence Alford from Fotolia.com
