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Transferring flexible currency—including Capital One Miles—to partner loyalty programs can provide greater value compared to other uses of these miles.

Capital One has more than 15 transfer partners. We have several related articles about Capital One airline transfer partners and other details about transferring Capital One Miles:

  • A guide about how to transfer Capital One Miles
  • An introduction and general information to help you decide which programs are good transfer options
  • A post about Oneworld partners, which include British Airways Club, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Finnair Plus, Japan Airlines (JAL) Mileage Bank, Qantas Frequent Flyer and Qatar Airways Privilege Club
  • A post about Star Alliance partners, which include Air Canada Aeroplan, Avianca LifeMiles, EVA Air Infinity MileageLands, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go and Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles

This article addresses Capital One’s:

  • Three SkyTeam alliance partners: Aeroméxico Rewards, Air France-KLM Flying Blue and Virgin Red / Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
  • Three non-alliance partners: Emirates Skywards, Etihad Guest and JetBlue TrueBlue
Aeroméxico plane

Aeroméxico Rewards

Aeroméxico Rewards is a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy.

Aeroméxico, Mexico’s flagship airline, is a SkyTeam member that also has several non-alliance partners, including Avianca, Copa Airlines, Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes and LATAM Airlines.

The program offers two types of awards:

  • Aeroméxico Rewards Ticket: Region-based fixed award rates are published in a table. Rates vary for low season and high season.
  • Aeroméxico Rewards ticket with dynamic fare: Points required “depend on the destination, class/cabin, flight availability and flight demand.”

Aeroméxico’s fixed rate rewards generally are considered better options than the dynamic rewards. The program’s website notes that fixed redemption rates are available for a limited number of tickets for flights on “Aeroméxico and SkyTeam and other affiliated airlines.”

For comparison purposes, the website notes that dynamic award rates apply to Aeroméxico, Delta, KLM, Air France and LATAM. Attempts to clarify which airlines and routes were available for region-based fixed award rates weren’t successful.

The redemption table dropdown—which should allow travelers to view rates between multiple starting and ending regions—only allowed selection of Mexico (see below), making it unclear what rates would apply to partner flights between two regions that exclude Mexico.

Aeromexico Rewards award chart showing Mexico and North America redemption rates for tourist and premier cabins

Travelers based in the United States are most likely to consider Aeroméxico Rewards for travel between the U.S. and Mexico with potential connections to other destinations in Central America or South America.

Let’s look at an example for flights from Los Angeles (LAX) to Mexico City (MEX). Aeroméxico, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines fly nonstop between these cities.

Here’s an example of Aeroméxico award rates on May 6 for a flight that has award availability for 18,000 miles in economy (shown as Classic Ticket) and 36,000 miles in business (shown as Premier Ticket). These rates are consistent with the redemption table.

Aeromexico award booking results showing LAX to Mexico City nonstop flight with Classic, AM Plus, and Premier ticket point prices

The taxes and fees shown above aren’t complete. After selecting either fare, the next page shows total taxes and fees of 1,791 Mexican Pesos ($98).

For travelers choosing whether to fly on Aeroméxico, American or Delta on this nonstop route, it’s important to consider that award rates for American and Delta flights are dynamic through the AAdvantage and SkyMiles programs respectively and may be available at fixed rates through partners.

For the same date, the lowest rate on either carrier is booking the American flight through the AAdvantage program for 8,000 miles + $52.08. If you consider only the programs that are Capital One transfer partners, the least expensive award option is through British Airways Club for 20,000 Avios + $58.93.

Aeroméxico generally is considered one of the less useful Capital One transfer options, given the program’s award pricing and poor on-line functionality.

KLM plane

Air France-KLM Flying Blue

Flying Blue allows transfers from American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy, so it’s easy to accumulate Flying Blue miles.

Air France and KLM are in the SkyTeam alliance, and Flying Blue has more than 30 total airline partners.

The Flying Blue program has variable award pricing. Award prices vary significantly and can be either lower than many programs or ridiculously high. Starting award rates between the U.S. and Europe on Air France and KLM flights are:

  • 25,000 miles for economy
  • 40,000 miles for premium economy
  • 60,000 miles for business

If you’re flexible about travel dates, you can find dates with lowest award rates by leaving the departure date blank when beginning your search.

This is the search criteria for a one-way business-class award from New York (JFK) to Paris (CDG).

Air France Flying Blue award search screen showing one-way Business Class flight search from New York to Paris Charles de Gaulle

Initial results are displayed for the current month, and you can navigate through months to see the lowest award rates for each month. After choosing a different month, you can see rates on specific dates.

During February, there are multiple dates with lowest business-class award rates, but Feb. 13, 2026, rates are over six times the lowest rate. It’s definitely worth being flexible about travel dates when considering Flying Blue awards.

Flying Blue award calendar showing Business Class mileage pricing from New York to Paris with dates starting at 60,000 miles

Some things to keep in mind about Flying Blue awards on Air France and KLM are:

  • Flights between the U.S. and Europe connect in Paris on Air France or in Amsterdam on KLM. Award rates sometimes are lower when booking a connecting itinerary beyond each airline’s hub.
  • Rates displayed on the monthly or weekly views sometimes aren’t accurate when delving into details for a specific date.
  • Flying Blue began offering increased award availability at the lowest rates to Platinum and Ultimate elite members in 2025. The program notes this as an elite benefit and states, “Compared to other tiers, you’ll more often see these lowest fare levels when booking from your account.”

Flying Blue business-class award space at the lowest rates isn’t widely available far in advance—at least to base (Explorer) members— but the same pattern doesn’t apply for economy awards.

For the search above conducted in late October 2025, 60,000-mile awards in business class weren’t available beyond March 2026, and the lowest rates displayed for April to the end of the booking window were more than 140,000 miles.

One of the best ways to use Flying Blue miles is to book their discounted Promo Rewards. Destinations eligible for promotional rates are released on the first day of each month and allow travel over a six-month period. Historically, lowest award rates have been discounted by either 25% or 50%, but as of late 2025, the website notes, “Get up to 25% off” for these promotional rates.

Flying Blue Promo Rewards page showing discounted award flights to New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington with reduced mileage prices

Recent Promo Rewards between North America and Europe have included one-way awards for 18,750 miles in economy, 30,000 miles in premium economy awards and 45,000 miles in business. Promo Rewards sometimes are available for business-class flights even when business-class rates aren’t noted in the Promo Rewards discounts. Subscriptions to Flying Blue Extra include access to additional Promo Rewards.

Flying Blue is in a small group of programs that offer stopovers longer than 24 hours on one-way awards at no extra cost. Keep in mind that there are a few caveats with the stopover awards. They must be booked by phone. They also require that the origin to destination is a valid routing and all segments have the lowest priced award availability.

Another Flying Blue program benefit is an award discount for children ages 2 to 11. This discount applies only to flights operated by Air France and KLM. Discounts are 25% for long-haul flights and 33% for short-haul flights. So, if a long-haul route, such as between the U.S. and Europe, requires 60,000 miles for an adult, it would require 45,000 miles for a child.

Since Air France award rates sometimes are lower than award rates through the operating carrier or other partner programs, you may want to consider redeeming Flying Blue miles for partner-operated flights.

For example, booking Delta flights within North America through the SkyMiles program often has higher award rates than booking through Flying Blue. However, opportunities to book partner flights through Flying Blue are limited to flights where the operating carrier makes awards available to partner airlines.

One negative aspect of Flying Blue awards is that the program imposes fuel surcharges with many carriers. This can be up to several hundred dollars per one-way award, so that’s something to consider when comparing Flying Blue award rates to other programs that might require more miles but have lower fees. Air Europa is a Flying Blue partner that operates flights between the U.S. and Madrid and has much lower surcharges than Air France or KLM.

Emirates plane

Emirates Skywards

Emirates Skywards is a transfer partner with American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy. Transfer ratios from American Express and Citi are 5:4; Capital One Miles transfer at a 4:3 ratio; Marriott points transfer 3:1.

Dubai, United Arab Emirates-based Emirates isn’t a member of an alliance, but the carrier has partnerships with several other airlines, including Air Canada, Japan Airlines, Qantas and United Airlines.

Emirates partner award rates aren’t published, so you have to use the booking tool to see rates. With the previously published partner distance-based award chart, relatively better value typically was available for shorter distance flights.

Emirates doesn’t publish an award chart for Emirates flights either, but the Skywards program has fixed redemption rates, and the website’s miles calculator can be used to determine award rates. To check rates, select either Emirates or flydubai and enter the type of ticket (one-way or return), origin, destination and class of service. You have to search for specific flights to see the taxes and fees.

While Emirates is known for its luxurious first- and business-class cabins, redeeming Emirates Skywards miles for premium-cabin awards has become increasingly expensive and difficult following a series of award price increases and other program changes. In 2025, Emirates restricted base (Blue tier) members from redeeming Skywards miles for first class and increased fuel surcharges on nonstop fifth-freedom flights between the U.S. and Europe or Bogota, Colombia.

Some drawbacks of booking Emirates flights through Skywards include:

  • The less expensive Saver awards are available only for round-trip itineraries in economy or business cabins and have limited availability.
  • Flex awards, which can be used for one-way tickets, cost significantly more.
  • First-class redemptions always price at the Flex level and can only be booked through the Skywards program by members with Platinum, Gold or Silver elite status. It’s possible for Blue members to book business-class awards with Skywards miles and subject to availability, upgrade to first class.
  • Emirates has high fuel surcharges on its own flights.

Skywards mileage expiration policy for most members is based on when specific miles are earned. According to program rules (see “9. Validity of Skywards Miles” section), miles expire at the end of the member’s birthday month following the end of the three-year validity period.

Emirates redemptions are relatively expensive in terms of both award rates and fees. For example, a one-way business-class award from New York (JFK) to Dubai (DXB) is 138,000 Skywards miles + $835.

Emirates award flight calendar showing New York JFK to Dubai pricing at 138,000 miles plus $835 for October dates

A niche redemption through Emirates that might be useful for some travelers is the Emirates fifth-freedom flights between the U.S. and Europe or Colombia. These flights are limited to the following city pairs: New York (JFK) to Milan (MXP); Newark, New Jersey (EWR), to Athens, Greece (ATH); and Miami (MIA) to Bogota, Colombia (BOG).

  • Europe: One-way business-class Flex awards are 87,000 miles each way between the U.S. and Europe. Our searches revealed that the taxes and fees are slightly higher on flights originating in Europe ($482) than on flights originating in the U.S. ($434).
  • Colombia: One-way business-class Flex awards are 52,500 miles each way. Taxes and fees also vary by direction. Observed rates in our searches were $268 from Miami and $314 from Bogota.

We didn’t see any business-class Saver award availability in our searches, but Emirates miles calculator showed the following round-trip Saver award rates:

  • Between the U.S. and Dubai: 60,000 to 65,000 miles in economy or 174,000 to 198,000 miles in business (Note: Rates to or from the eastern U.S. are less expensive compared to the western U.S.)
  • Between the U.S. and Europe: 35,000 miles in economy or 108,000 miles in business
  • Between Miami and Bogota: 20,000 miles in economy or 65,000 miles in business
Etihad plane

Etihad Guest

Etihad Guest is a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy. Participation in three of the four major bank transferable currency programs makes it fairly easy to accrue Etihad Guest miles.

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates-based Etihad isn’t a member of an alliance, but it has partnerships with many other airlines across different alliances, including Air Canada, American and JetBlue as well as multiple airlines based in other regions.

In March 2023, Etihad changed its program to have one award chart for flights on Etihad and one for flights on partner airlines. These changes eliminated previous sweet spot redemptions and implemented higher award prices for most distance zones. You can see partner distance-based award rates by navigating to “Redeem” on the partner page and clicking “Find out more” for any partner.

Etihad Guest partner airlines page showing Air New Zealand, Air Canada, Air Serbia, Air Europa, Air France, and ANA for redeeming miles

Etihad Guest provides a miles calculator to show how much a specific award could cost, subject to Saver award availability on partner airlines and GuestSeats availability on Etihad. There are three types of GuestSeat award fares: Value, Comfort and Deluxe, and each type has different attributes. The calculator can be used only for airlines that can be booked online, which at the time of writing includes Etihad and American.

Using the calculator shows another disappointing aspect of the current award chart, namely that awards are priced per segment. For example, in each class of service, the one-way award rate on Etihad flights from New York to Bangkok is the sum of the award prices for the two segments.

The following award rates apply to Comfort award fares in economy, business and first class, respectively:

  • New York (JFK) to Abu Dhabi (AUH) for 64,000 / 120,000 / 160,000 miles
  • Abu Dhabi (AUH) to Bangkok (BKK) for 32,000 / 70,000 / 120,000 miles
  • New York (JFK) to Bangkok for 96,000 / 190,000 / 280,000 miles

Furthermore, actual award rates could be significantly more than the calculator or award chart indicates. GuestSeats are limited based on demand, and Etihad notes that OpenSeats “let you book with Etihad and partner airlines at standard market rates.” In other words, OpenSeat awards have dynamic and often expensive rates.

We’ve checked both close-in travel dates and dates toward the end of the booking window and couldn’t find any award availability at (or close to) GuestSeat rates noted above for a flight from New York to Abu Dhabi.

For example, the following award rates for dates almost a year in advance were nearly 2.5 times the GuestSeat rate for economy and over six times the GuestSeat rate for business-class awards.

Etihad Guest award search results showing nonstop New York JFK to Abu Dhabi flights with economy and business miles pricing

Given current Etihad Guest award rates and limited availability of GuestSeat awards, it’s hard to find good value for Etihad flights.

If you’re considering short-distance partner flights, Etihad Guest award rates can provide good value. For example, nonstop flights shorter than 500 miles require 6,000 Etihad Guest miles in economy based on the partner award chart. These are competitive rates for U.S. domestic awards on American or JetBlue flights.

Booking certain partner awards can be challenging. Award searches on Etihad’s website fail for some smaller U.S. airports, but in some cases, you can manipulate the search by searching to a destination that works and then modifying the search to change the origin. Flights not showing up online also might be bookable by calling Etihad. Another frequent issue is that the number of Etihad Guest miles required is slightly higher than the number shown on the chart.

Another caution with booking awards through Etihad Guest is the program’s customer-unfriendly policies for award flight cancellations or changes.

Saver award cancellation and change fees for flights booked or re-issued beginning Nov. 13, 2025, are based on the fare type and when changes occur relative to travel dates. Within 72 hours of departure, flights cancellations or changes aren’t allowed with any fare type. This is worse than the previous policy under which cancellations or changes weren’t allowed within 24 hours of departure.

Whether the most recent policy for cancelling or changing awards more than 72 hours before flight departure is better or worse than the previous policy depends on the fare type. Details are:

  • Value fares don’t offer any refund for cancellations, and change fees are 600 United Arab Emirates dirham ($162). We checked some American Airlines flights, and the website indicated that both business and economy awards followed this policy. Presumably, other partner-operated flights would also be considered value fares.
  • Comfort fares cancellation fees are 25% of the fare, and change fees are 200 United Arab Emirates dirham ($54). AwardWallet and One Mile at a Time provide more details about how Etihad determines refund amounts for award tickets.
  • Deluxe fares allow free cancellations and changes.
JetBlue plane

JetBlue TrueBlue

JetBlue points are fairly easy to obtain since the program is a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards and Citi ThankYou Rewards.

The Capital One transfer ratio is 5:3, so transferring 1,000 Capital One Miles yields 600 TrueBlue points. If you have other flexible currency, it makes sense to transfer from programs other than Capital One that have better transfer ratios—American Express at 5:4, Chase at 1:1 or Citi at 1:1 or 1:0.7 (depending on the credit cards you hold). 

JetBlue isn’t a member of an airline alliance, and the carrier has a diverse group of airline partners. JetBlue’s evolving BlueSky collaboration with United implemented reciprocal redemption opportunities between the two programs in October 2025 with additional integration expected in 2026.

TrueBlue is a revenue-based program, and award rates on JetBlue flights are tied to cash rates. This approach makes outsized redemption value less likely. Although TrueBlue point values vary among fare types and routes, points and miles experts generally value them at 1.2 to 1.5 cents each.

Given the Capital One transfer ratio to JetBlue, obtaining a value of at least 1 cent per Capital One Mile is challenging. You’d need to book JetBlue awards that provide a redemption value of almost 1.7 cents per TrueBlue point to realize 1 cent per Capital One Mile.

Furthermore, it’s sometimes possible to secure lower award rates when booking JetBlue flights through other JetBlue partners. For example, you can transfer Capital One Miles to Etihad or Japan Airlines (the JAL and JetBlue partnership ends March 31, 2026) and use these carriers’ programs to book awards on JetBlue flights.

Booking certain flights through TrueBlue on JetBlue partners may offer better opportunities for higher redemption values and/or avoid surcharges imposed when booking through other programs.

Award availability for popular partner flights, particularly in business class, often is limited because operating airlines don’t provide much availability to partner programs. It’s still worth checking TrueBlue availability and rates for flights on partners, including Condor, Etihad, Icelandair and Qatar Airways.

It’s difficult to find Qatar business-class availability through TrueBlue between the U.S. and Doha, Qatar, but economy awards frequently are available. When selecting dates for flights, a calendar is displayed. Dates showing “44.9K” from Miami (MIA) to Doha (DOH) likely have Qatar nonstop flights available to book through TrueBlue.

Qatar Airways Privilege Club award calendar showing Miami to Doha one-way flights starting at 44,900 Avios plus taxes

 As expected, awards available are on Qatar flights.

Qatar Airways award search showing nonstop Miami to Doha flight available from 44,900 Avios plus $7.65 in taxes

Lowest rates for one-way economy flights through Qatar are 47,500 Avios + $102.05. Without considering the difference in Capital One transfer ratios (5:3 to JetBlue vs. 1:1 to Qatar), redeeming 44,900 TrueBlue points + $7.65 is a better option. But with the poor transfer ratio to TrueBlue, almost 75,000 Capital One Miles are needed to book these flights through JetBlue.

Virgin Atlantic plane

Virgin Red

Virgin Red is the parent company of Virgin Atlantic. Most flexible currencies transfer directly to Virgin Atlantic’s loyalty program, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. Capital One Miles transfer to Virgin Red. However, Virgin Red points can be used to book flights through Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and Virgin Red allow transfers from American Express Membership Rewards, Bilt Rewards, Capital One Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards and Marriott Bonvoy. Going forward, we’ll just refer to the airline and its loyalty program, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.

Virgin Atlantic is a member of the SkyTeam alliance and has airline partners within and outside the alliance. Award structure and pricing vary depending on which airline operates the flight. To see each partner’s award details, click on the airline’s logo on the linked partner page and review content under “Spend Virgin Points.”

A few things to know about Virgin Atlantic awards are:

  • For some SkyTeam partners, Virgin Atlantic has a distance-based award chart, and award rates are determined by adding rates for individual segments. This makes connecting flights more expensive than nonstop flights.
  • Virgin Atlantic has separate award charts for each non-alliance partner.
  • Award flight booking method varies by partner. While you can search for and book awards on many SkyTeam partners online, searching for and booking awards on other partners requires calling Virgin Atlantic. Online search and booking currently isn’t available for partners including Air New Zealand and All Nippon Airways (ANA).
  • Virgin Atlantic Flying Club has variable (with a clear maximum) route-based award rates for Virgin Atlantic flights, and the program has different rates for peak and standard season for its least expensive Saver reward seats. Virgin Atlantic awards are available in economy, premium economy and Upper Class (business).
  • The program has a tool for finding reward availability on Virgin Atlantic flights. The tool identifies award space between an origin and destination for a month.

One compelling aspect of the Virgin Atlantic program is that award rates on many routes are low, especially during standard season.

For example, maximum Saver rewards rates during standard season for one-way Virgin Atlantic flights between the eastern U.S. and the U.K. are 10,000 points in economy, 17,500 points in premium and 47,500 points in Upper Class. Some lower demand flights have even lower rates. We saw some flights between the eastern U.S. and U.K. with award rates of 6,000, 10,500 and 29,000 points in each class of service.

The biggest downside of booking through Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is that taxes and fees often are high, especially for the airline’s own flights and flights to and from the U.K.

The following examples are for nonstop flights between Washington (IAD) and London (LHR).

Virgin Atlantic award flight from Washington Dulles to London Heathrow showing 10,000-mile economy redemption option with taxes displayed
Virgin Atlantic award flight from London Heathrow to Washington Dulles showing 6,000-mile economy redemption option with taxes displayed

You’ll see higher fees on flights in premium cabins than in economy. Virgin Atlantic assesses fuel surcharges on its own flights and passes on other airlines’ fuel surcharges. There’s also a significant United Kingdom Air Passenger Duty (APD) on departures from the U.K. The APD varies based on the distance traveled and class of service.

In the example above:

  • Total taxes and fees for the one-way flight from the U.S. to the U.K. are $109 in economy, $236 in premium or $576 in Upper Class.
  • Total taxes and fees for the U.K. to U.S. flight are shown in pounds sterling (GBP), and approximate amounts converted to U.S. dollars are $293 in economy, $503 in premium or $684 in upper class.

Whether the lower number of points needed for Virgin Atlantic awards compensate for higher taxes and fees depends on individual preferences regarding out-of-pocket spending and points and miles valuation. Some travelers may choose to purchase cash tickets, book through programs that don’t impose large surcharges, choose a lower class of service to limit fees and/or bypass the U.K. on flights to or from the U.S.

There are some strong partner award options through Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, but it’s always important to consider fees for award tickets and recognize that partner awards require that the operating airline make award space available to Virgin Atlantic. Award availability, especially in premium cabins, can be almost nonexistent. We’re sharing a few examples of good award pricing on partner flights.

ANA business- and first-class flights between Japan and North America: Booking ANA flights through Virgin Atlantic Flying Club has been considered among the best award sweet spots for years. Despite award rate increases in the last few years, first- and business-class awards still represent good value.

Award availability is limited, and you can’t search for awards or book online. Instead, you can use a Star Alliance partner, such as United MileagePlus or Air Canada Aeroplan, to search for award availability and then call Virgin Atlantic Flying Club to try to book flights found.

Since mid-2024, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club hasn’t had access to ANA business-class awards between the mainland U.S. and Japan within 14 days of travel, even when partners like United and Air Canada have award space.

The award chart shows rates for all classes of service and regions, and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club passes on ANA fuel surcharges. Unlike many other airlines, ANA fuel surcharges vary depending on the price of fuel and are the same for all classes of service.

Premium cabin one-way award rates through Virgin Atlantic Flying Club follow.

  • Awards between Japan and the western U.S. and Canada: 52,500 points for business class and 72,500 points for first class
  • Awards between Japan and central or eastern U.S. or Mexico: 60,000 points for business class or 85,000 points for first class
  • Awards between Japan and Hawaii: 37,500 points for business class or 57,500 points for first class

Air France and KLM flights: Virgin Atlantic’s Air France and KLM award charts are a combination of distance-based and region-based pricing. More specifically, distances up to 1,749 miles use distance-based pricing, while longer flights use region-based pricing. Peak and off-peak dates impact award price. The easiest way to determine award availability and pricing is to search for your desired origin, destination, class of service and dates.

It’s possible to travel one way between eastern North America and the Caribbean (Zone 6) and Western or Central Europe (Zone 1) starting at 12,000 Virgin points in economy, 24,000 points in premium economy or 48,500 points in business class. Taxes and fees for Air France and KLM flights often are less compared to Virgin Atlantic flights.

The example below is a nonstop flight on Air France from Newark (EWR) to Paris (CDG), but only economy awards are available.

Air France award flight from Newark to Paris Charles de Gaulle showing 12,000-mile economy redemption with taxes displayed

Delta flights: The award charts used for travel on Delta-operated flights vary depending on origin and destination with separate charts for:

  • U.K. to U.S. nonstop flights
  • Europe (excluding the U.K.) to U.S. nonstop flights
  • All other Delta flight routes, which cover Delta-operated flights in other regions including flights within the U.S.

When considering awards for Delta flights, keep the following in mind:

  • The U.K. and Europe charts note that awards are to the U.S., but the same award rates apply to awards originating in the U.S. for travel to the U.K. and Europe.
  • The U.K. and Europe award rates vary based on peak and off-peak dates and for the three regions within the U.S. (East Coast, Central or West Coast).
  • One-way nonstop flights between the U.S. and Europe (except the U.K.) award rates start at 30,000 points for main cabin, 32,500 for Premium Select or 47,500 points for Delta One. These rates are for off-peak dates for eastern and central U.S. airports. Peak dates and western airports premium cabin rates are higher. It’s difficult to find Delta One award availability, and Delta economy awards require significantly more miles compared to booking Air France or KLM flights through Virgin Atlantic.
  • Virgin Atlantic Flying Club award rates for Delta flights that don’t touch Europe are based on distance. The lowest rates are for flights up to 500 miles at 7,500 points for economy class, 12,000 points for Premium Select or 21,000 points for Delta One.

Partner flights with distance-based pricing: In general, if you’re interested in looking at flights on Virgin Atlantic partners, you may want to check Virgin Atlantic Flying Club award rates for Air France, KLM, Delta or other partner-operated flights within different regions. As noted above, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club has distance-based award rates for partner flights for flights within a region, outside Europe and/or for shorter distance flights. Awards through a partner’s program sometimes are lower than redemptions through the operating carrier’s program.

For example, this short Air France flight from Paris to Nice, France, has much lower award rates through Virgin Atlantic Flying Club compared to Air France-KLM Flying Blue rates.

Air France award flight from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Nice showing 4,000-mile economy redemption and short-haul Europe pricing

If booking through Flying Blue, award rates for the same flights are 2.5 times higher for economy (10,000 miles) and over three times higher for business (25,000 miles). Award taxes and fees through Flying Blue are $52.40 for economy and $82 for business, which are slightly higher than Virgin Atlantic Flying Club fees.

Air France direct flight from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Nice showing lowest award price of 10,000 miles in economy class

Final Thoughts

If you have Capital One Miles and want to travel on SkyTeam alliance airlines, including Delta, or other airlines that are non-alliance transfer partners of Capital One, there are some opportunities for good redemption value. In particular, the Flying Blue and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club programs have a wide range of useful award options.

Non-alliance partners Emirates and Etihad provide some redemption opportunities for premium-cabin travel on flights operated by these airlines, but Emirates and Etihad awards often have high award rates.

JetBlue provides some interesting redemption opportunities on its own flights or partner airlines, but the unfavorable transfer ratio from Capital One to the TrueBlue program makes it more difficult to get good value using Capital One Miles.