The Basics of Capital One Rewards

In case you're joining us for the first time, or missed a prior post in this series, please check out the index below:

Credit Card Reward Programs for Travelers: An IntroductionThe Basics of American Express Membership Rewards The Basics of Chase Ultimate RewardsThe Basics of Capital One Rewards (this post)The Basics of Marriott BonvoyThe Basics of Citi ThankYou Points

Today we’ll take a look at an underrated player in the points and miles world: Capital One.

Capital One offers cards desirable to travelers, including those which earn transferable points as well as cards offering cash back.

Credit Card Reward Programs for Travelers: An Introduction

In the coming weeks we’ll be looking at different types of credit cards and their reward programs, with an aim to introduce you to those frequently used by travelers. Such a topic can be divided into three categories: transferable programs, airline and hotel branded cards, and fixed point value cards.

Key Things You Need To Know About Booking An Airbnb

In our previous article we discussed some tools, tips, and tricks to help you navigate booking air travel. In this article we’ll tackle accommodation. Specifically we’ll look at one of the biggest movers and shakers in the industry – Airbnb. Let’s move about the cabin and discuss accommodation on the ground.

Airbnb Basics

Airbnb has left VRBO and HomeAway in the dust while also overtaking some hotel chains based on US sales. There are over 7 million Airbnb listings worldwide and some 2 million people are staying in an Airbnb on a given night according to recent statistics.

Four Invaluable Tools for Booking Flights With Miles & Cash

Below are some tools, tips, and tricks to help you navigate the complexities of planning and booking air travel. Let’s move about the cabin and discuss how we got here.

Award Tickets

Using points and miles can be a fantastic way to leverage the costs of travel. By using credit cards which earn transferable points or airline miles, you'll be well on your way to nearly free travel.

For example, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® earns 3 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar on dining. These Ultimate Rewards can be transferred to 10 different airline programs.

How to Get Global Entry

A note from Sarah Page: You may know Kevin from the MileValue Award Booking Service. Together with his wife, their friends and family refer to them as K2, which you'll notice in the by line. They’re excited to contribute to MileValue and I'm happy to be able to share two new perspectives with all of you!

After months of waiting, we both have our Global Entry cards. It was definitely a marathon rather than a sprint. But as they say, good things come to those who wait.

Podcast Interview With Hack Your Wealth

Andrew Chen and I recently talked ins and outs of the miles and points world on his podcast, Hack Your Wealth. The recording was published today. Listen to it on his site, linked above, or directly from MileValue via Spotify, below.

Top 10 Credit Cards: February 2019

There are a lot of reasons to collect miles and points.

For free First Class flights and luxury hotel stays
To travel to more places than you could otherwise afford (like the arctic circle of Norway, pictured above)
To take your family on vacation
To visit home for the holidays
To earn big rewards for everyday spending

And the amazing thing is you don't need much money to achieve your goal.

Reader Question: Chase Travel Portal or Transfer to Airline Miles?

Last week I wrote about how and why you'd to want transfer Ultimate Rewards between accounts. If you haven't read it yet, stop and read before continuing with this post.

How & Why to Combine Points Between Ultimate Reward Accounts

Chase issues seven credit cards that earn a travel reward currency called Ultimate Rewards. Not all Ultimate Rewards, however, are created equal.

This post will teach you:

the logistics behind moving Ultimate Reward points between accounts (your own, or between two people's living at the same address)

how to turn water to wine, doubling the value of more than half of these Chase cards' Ultimate Rewards via strategic point transfers

Step-by-Step

Step 1) Login to your Chase online account.

Step 2) Choose an account.

The Two Ways to Value Credit Card Sign Up Bonuses

A note from Sarah Page: Scott originally wrote this post years ago, but it is still very much valid and important today. 

Once a month we update a list of what, are in our opinion, the best travel credit cards on the market. We also update a similar list, but for small business credit cards, monthly. How I rank them is largely defined by their sign up bonuses. So the next logical question would be, how do I value those sign up bonuses?

There are two equally valid ways to value a credit card sign up bonus.