Capital One—like American Express, Chase and Citi—issues credit cards that offer either cash back or flexible currency rewards.

Capital One’s flexible currency, referred to as miles, can be used in different ways, such as buying gift cards, reimbursing previous travel purchases, purchasing travel through Capital One's travel booking site or transferring miles to partners.

Let’s look at Capital One’s flexible currency and ways to use it.

Capital One Miles

For many people in the points and miles community, Capital One Miles have become more relevant and valuable in recent years as Capital One improved its rewards program.

At first glance, the $325 annual fee (see rates and fees) charged by the American Express® Gold Card may seem relatively expensive, especially considering that there are many credit cards that don’t charge any annual fee whatsoever. However, this card comes with a suite of statement credits that can offset this annual fee year after year.

For those fresh to the points and miles hobby, it’s natural to wonder when you’ll be able to fund your first trip using points. Traveling is an adventure, and doing it for (almost) free makes it even more exciting.

However, the answer to the question depends entirely on what your travel plans are. For instance, the number of points and miles required for a domestic award trip is going to be lower than that required for an international award trip, all things remaining equal.

All information about the American Express® Green Card and the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card has been collected independently by MileValue.

Given generous welcome bonuses and valuable benefits associated with premium credit cards, these cards have become increasingly popular with points and miles enthusiasts. 

It’s not unusual in our community for an individual or household to have credit cards with annual fees totaling over $1,000 (and sometimes significantly more). That’s not bad if you have the disposable income and realize more benefits from your credit cards than the annual fees.

Citi ThankYou Rewards is an excellent (and often underrated) credit card rewards program. While it’s not as popular as other programs, such as Chase Ultimate Rewards or American Express Membership Rewards, the Citi ThankYou Rewards program has some hidden gems.

Among many points and miles enthusiasts, the Citi ThankYou Rewards program is known as the home of the Citi trifecta, a low-cost credit card strategy that involves the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card, the Citi Custom Cash® Card and the Citi Double Cash® Card.

All information about Chase Sapphire Reserve®, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Freedom Unlimited® has been collected independently by Milevalue.com. Chase Sapphire Reserve®, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Freedom Unlimited® has been collected independently by Milevalue.com are no longer available through Milevalue.com.

In recent years, Chase has been the largest credit card issuer in the United States by market share, meaning more U.S. residents are using the Chase Ultimate Rewards program than any other credit card rewards program. Likewise, Delta Air Lines is a popular U.S. airline that operates more than 5,000 flights daily.

Australia is high on every traveler’s bucket list. And it’s hardly a wonder why—world-class beaches, tropical rainforests, the Great Barrier Reef, the Outback and more make Australia a dream come true for all travelers alike.

Yet, while Australia has much to offer, the one thing it doesn’t is proximity to other continents. A trip to Australia from the United States is a long journey whatever way you cut it, and cash prices for flights typically run high.

All information about the American Express Green Card has been collected independently by MileValue.

We get it—not everyone is interested in flashy international trips in first class.

While most of us don’t like paying taxes, the silver lining is that paying taxes through credit cards that earn rewards—in the form of cash back, points or miles—can be profitable compared to paying taxes from bank accounts using checks or electronic payments. Despite the processing fees associated with paying taxes with credit cards, the value of the rewards earned often exceeds the fees.

Tax Payment Basics

Before getting into the details of earning points and miles by paying taxes with credit cards, let’s review some basics about paying taxes, specifically individual (personal), federal income taxes.

American Airlines currently isn’t a transfer partner with any of the major flexible currency programs, so unless you collect AAdvantage miles or transfer Marriott Bonvoy points to the AAdvantage program at a 3:1 ratio, you need to use other loyalty programs to book American Airlines flights using points.

If you have Ultimate Rewards points—the flexible currency earned through Chase’s Ultimate Rewards program—or other flexible currency, it’s possible to use these points to book American Airlines flights.

There are two basic ways you can book American Airlines flights using Ultimate Rewards points:

Through Chase Travel℠, which functions like a