In the world of credit cards, travel rewards cards often steal the spotlight. With their flashy perks and promises of luxurious vacations, it’s easy to get caught up in the glamour and forget about the benefits of a good old cash-back card. Cash-back cards offer a simple earning and redeeming structure, with the added bonus of flexibility when it comes to cash rewards. And if you happen to have a Capital One miles-earning card, there’s even more reason to have a Capital One cash-back card in your wallet. With the right card pairing, you can turn your cash-back rewards into transferable miles, making them even more valuable. Here’s everything you need to know to maximize your Capital One earnings.
First and foremost, it’s important to note that not all Capital One cash-back cards can be converted into miles. To be eligible for this conversion, you’ll need to have one of the following cards: Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card, or Capital One SavorOne Credit Card. If you have any of these cards, you can convert your cash-back rewards into miles.
The conversion rate for cash-back to miles is one cent of cash-back equals one Capital One mile. Capital One miles are valued at 1.85 cents, thanks to their ability to be transferred to the full range of Capital One’s 18 hotel and airline partners. This means that your cash-back rewards can become even more valuable when converted into miles.
It’s worth noting that while you can convert your cash-back rewards into miles, Capital One does not offer the option to transfer your miles back into cash-back at the same rate. So once you convert your cash-back into miles, you won’t be able to convert them back into cash at the same value.
To maximize your Capital One earnings, it’s important to have a strategic card pairing. Ideally, you’ll want to pair a fixed-rate earning card with a card that offers bonus rewards in specific categories. Since all eligible Capital One miles-earning cards earn at a flat rate, the best option is to pair one of them with a card from the Savor family. The Savor cards offer bonus rewards on dining, entertainment, popular streaming services, and grocery store purchases.
For example, if you have the Capital One Venture Rewards Card, you earn 2 miles per dollar on all purchases. If you also have the Capital One Savor card, you can earn 4% back on dining, entertainment, streaming services, and grocery store purchases. By pairing these two cards, you effectively earn 4 miles per dollar on these bonus purchases, which is double what you would earn with the Venture Rewards card alone.
One of the best aspects of the ability to convert cash-back into miles is that you can do it without paying any annual fees. The Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card and the Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card both have no annual fees and offer great earning potential. The VentureOne card earns 1.25 miles per dollar on every purchase, while the SavorOne card offers 3% cash back on dining, entertainment, streaming services, and grocery store purchases. By combining these two cards, you can effectively earn 3 miles per dollar on these bonus categories without paying any annual fees.
In conclusion, while travel rewards cards often steal the spotlight, it’s important not to overlook the benefits of a good cash-back card. With the ability to convert cash-back rewards into transferable miles, Capital One cash-back cards become even more valuable. By strategically pairing your cash-back card with a miles-earning card, you can maximize your earnings and unlock the ability to transfer your rewards to Capital One’s full range of hotel and airline partners. So don’t forget to keep a cash-back card in your wallet alongside your travel rewards cards, and make the most of your Capital One earnings.