Right now, if you sign up for Airbnb through this link, you’ll get $50 off your first qualifying booking.

Many moons ago, Airbnb started as a home sharing platform and turned into a full-fledged hospitality behemoth. Sure, you can still get a room in someone’s house, or even a bed in a shared room, but most travelers are now using Airbnb as an alternative to a hotel stay.

You get more space, a kitchen, a separate living space and whatever amenities your pocketbook can afford.

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.

There are four major transferrable point currencies: American Express Membership Rewards, Citi ThankYou Points, Capital One miles, and Chase Ultimate Rewards. The first three types of points periodically run transfer bonuses to airline mileage partners. Chase Ultimate Rewards recently offered their first transfer bonus ever in May to British Airways Avios.

Why You Should Care

If you have the flexibility to wait to book your award, and you have an idea of when the next transfer bonus is, you could wait to save points.

This offer has expired. Instead, the Capital One® Spark® Miles for Business card now comes with 50,000 bonus Spark miles for spending $4,500 on purchases within first 3 months.

The Capital One® Spark® Miles for Business card comes with a gigantic 200,000 Spark Mile sign up bonus that is marketed as ending today, January 28, 2019.