Since its launch in 2021, the Capital One Travel portal has become one of the top destinations for rewards enthusiasts to book travel. Like the Chase Travel portal, you can book flights, hotel stays, and rent cars for your next trip. You may even find increased value booking through Capital One as opposed to transferring points or miles to a partner airline or hotel. If you want to maximize your rewards, this guide on how to book through Capital One Travel will show you how you can go on trips for less.
What is the Capital One Travel portal?
The Capital One Travel portal is a platform that lets cardholders reserve flights, hotels, and rental cars. Users can use miles to book travel, or you can combine miles with another Capital One account.
All Capital One cards provide access to the portal, including cash-back cards. Some cards award additional miles or cash back for paid travel via the portal. For example, the card_name offers 5x miles per dollar spent on hotels and rental cars.
The following credit cards give access to the Capital One Travel:
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What you can book using the Capital One Travel portal
You can book flights, hotels, and rental cars through the Capital One travel portal. This offering isn’t quite as robust as what you might find through the Chase Travel portal, as Chase also lets users book cruises, tours, and activities. However, Capital One Travel is a worthy contender to add to your travel options.
Capital One does include hotel properties that are more upscale and are listed under the Premier Collection or Lifestyle Collection, but those locations are only available to card_name cardholders.
Additionally, Venture X cardholders receive access to over 100 premium airport lounges in their network.
How to use Capital One Travel portal: Step-by-step guide
Accessing the Capital One Travel portal is easy. You can enter it directly from your Capital One account online.
Once you log into your account, you will see your current balance and available credit on the left side of the screen. Directly beneath that, you will see your rewards miles. Click on the View Rewards button to access the Rewards area of your account.
There, you will see various options, such as the ability to transfer rewards, get gift cards, and more. You want to click the first box, Book a trip to enter the travel portal. Once in the portal, you can begin searching for travel options.
It’s the same process if you book travel via the app, as there’s no separate Capital One Travel login.
How to book flights through the Capital One Travel portal
Booking flights is straightforward through the portal. Once there, type in your arrival and departure information, dates of travel, and fare class then click the Search Flights button on the far right.
For example, I chose my home airport, Eppley Airfield in Omaha, to LAX airport in Los Angeles. Upon clicking the Search Flights button, a popup box appears with price predictions, from low to high. This is helpful information in case your travel is flexible.
While Capital One doesn’t reveal the number of options, it lists the fastest, most affordable ones at the top. Select your preferred flights, and click the Continue button to continue with the purchase process.
After clicking the Continue button, you’ll be taken to a screen that asks if you want to purchase flight disruption assistance. If you don’t want coverage, select the No, thanks option, then click the Continue to checkout button.
On the final screen, you have the option to choose your seats by clicking the Select Your Seats button.
This brings up a picture of the cabin, where you can select your seats. If you don’t want to select seats now, you can opt-out and get assigned at the gate or on the airline website after purchase.
After making your seat selections or opting out, click the Confirm and Book button to purchase with miles or cash.
It is important to remember that not all airlines may be available through the Capital One portal. Southwest Airlines is one example of an airline you won’t see in the travel portal.
How to book hotels through the Capital One Travel portal
Reserving hotels is easy in the Capital One portal. Simply enter the location and your travel dates. Then, enter the number of guests and click the Search Hotels button.
For example, I chose a trip for two to Chicago for two adults for two evenings. Like purchasing a flight, a popup window appears with the lowest to highest-priced days to stay.
It provided 842 results. To avoid wading through a lot of hotels you may not want, Capital One allows you to filter your choices. You can filter by star rating, amenities, desired price per night, properties with free cancelation, limited-time promotions, or specific hotel brands.
Upon applying filters, it provided 72 results.
Click on the hotel you want, and it will take you to a screen that shows you all available room options. Select the room you want by clicking the Continue button under the specific room type.
You will be taken to a screen that offers cancellation coverage to purchase. Make your choice, then click on the Continue to checkout button.
Finally, you’re taken to a screen where you enter your traveler and payment information. Once done, click the Confirm and Book button to complete the purchase.
How to book rental cars through the Capital One travel portal
If a car is required at your travel destination, booking through Capital One might be a way to save money. Provide your pickup date and time, then your drop-off date and time, driver’s age, and click Search Cars.
For example, I chose rental cars at Eppley Airfield in Omaha, Nebraska, for four days. It provided 91 options. You can filter cars by car type, rental company, price per day, companies with free cancellation, specifications, number of passengers, pickup location, and number of bags.
Applying filters narrowed it to 64 options. Identify the car you want, then click on the Select button.
This takes you to a screen with the terms and conditions. Assuming you’re fine with them, click the Continue button.
Next, a popup screen will appear asking you to provide your personal contact and age information. Input those, then click the Save Traveler button.
Finally, you’re taken to a screen where you enter your payment information. Once done, click the Confirm and Book button to complete the purchase.
Capital One Travel benefits
It’s not uncommon for hotels or airlines to have loyalty programs that allow you to earn points and miles. These perks can be a fantastic way to stretch your travel budget, but they’re not the only choice to save on travel. Using Capital One Travel can be another great way to reduce costs.
Here are some of the top benefits of purchasing travel through Capital One.
Price recommendation tool: It can be difficult to know the best time to travel. If your dates are flexible, you may be able to save significant money. Capital One has a price recommendation tool that claims to have 95% accuracy to get the best deal.
You can earn more miles: If you’re paying cash for travel, you can amplify your rewards by using the Venture or Venture X Cards. For example, the card_name offers 5x miles per dollar spent on hotels and rental cars. The card_name offers 10x miles on hotels and rental cars, with 5x miles on flight purchases.
Price-match guarantee: Do you commonly use multiple travel portals? If you book through Capital One and find a better deal elsewhere, you can receive a refund for the difference if submitted within 24 hours of purchase.
Cancel for any reason coverage: Plans change all the time. You can cancel after purchase for any reason and receive a refund. There is a minor charge for this, so keep that in mind.
It’s flexible: You can book hotels, flights, and rental cars through Capital One travel. The portal lets users book with cash or miles, and you can find most major hotels and airlines on Capital One.
Price freezing is available: Nothing is worse than finding a good price only to see it go away if you can’t purchase at that time. Capital One often extends a price freeze option on flights. There is a small charge for this and it keeps the price frozen for two days. For example, my search yielded a cost of $22 or 2,200 miles to freeze the price. If the price increases after the freeze, Capital One covers the difference up to $500. However, if it’s lower, then you pay the lower price. A full refund is given if the flight sells out.
Redemptions are easy: Redeeming miles with Capital One is uncomplicated. The common redemption value is one cent per mile. This means if you have 100,000 Capital One miles you receive $1,000 in travel when redeeming.
How to maximize rewards from Capital One Travel
A major benefit of Capital One miles is that they’re flexible. It’s possible to transfer miles to a partner, and you can earn more when you book through the portal.
These are some ways to maximize your Capital One rewards.
Multiply your spending: If you’re going to spend money, it makes sense to earn as many rewards as possible. For example, the Venture Card offers 5x miles on hotels and rental cars. The card_name card offers 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked via Capital One.
You can earn miles: Numerous airlines are available when booking through Capital One travel. Provide your frequent flyer number, and you can earn miles with the carrier. Unfortunately, the same is not true when booking hotel rooms.
Take advantage of shopping offers: Capital One partners with various retailers that give you a percentage back when making a purchase. Offers vary, but they can range from 4% to 30%. This can be an easy way to boost your rewards.
Frequently asked questions about the Capital One Travel portal
You can always book travel directly with a property, airline, or rental car provider. Capital One is an added resource to consider to save money or maximize rewards. Here are some common questions people have when asking how does Capital One Travel work.
Can I book international travel through the Capital One Travel portal?
Yes, it’s possible to book international travel through Capital One. You can book both domestic and international travel plus purchase international hotel stays.
How to get access to Capital One Travel?
It is easy to gain entry to the Capital One Travel portal. You can access it after logging into your online account. If you prefer the app, you can book travel there too.
Do Capital One miles expire?
Capital One miles don’t expire unless you cancel your credit card. If your eligible card is open, your miles stay active.
What airlines does Capital One Travel work with?
Capital One partners with various airlines. Current Capital One airline transfer partners include Aeromexico Club Premier, Air Canada – Aeroplan, Cathay Pacific – Asia Miles, Avianca LifeMiles, British Airways Executive Club, Emirates Skywards, Etihad Guest, EVA Air Infinity MileageLands, Finnair Plus, Flying Blue, Quantas Frequent Flyer, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, TAP Miles&Go, Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles, and Virgin Red
The bottom line
It is possible to save money and earn rewards when booking travel. The Capital One travel portal is a helpful tool that is easy to use and helps you purchase flights, hotels, or rental cars with cash, miles, or a combination of the two. You may not always find the best deal on the portal, but it’s worth adding to your arsenal to reduce costs and earn rewards.
