Update: The newest information regarding the Capital One Rewards catalog for 2017 is here.
I promised a look at the value of the Capital One No Hassle Miles Travel Rewards after looking at the value of the the Capital One Miles Rewards Catalog for gift cards in a previous post.
One of the nice features of the Capital One Miles program is that you can both purchase travel with your miles, or you can get a “statement credit” for travel that you have already taken. The great thing about this feature is that if you don’t have time to sift through the usual rewards catalog website and redeeming rewards process, you can just book your travel like you normally would, pay with your Capital One No Hassle Miles Reward card, and then use your points after the fact to pay for your trip.
Do it before your payment is due, and it is just like you went through the usual booking process to use your miles or points costing you no interest payments.
Capital One Miles Redeem For Travel Rewards Chart
| Number of Miles | Ticket Value |
| 15,000 Miles | Up to $150 Ticket |
| 35,000 Miles | $150.01 to $350 |
| 60,000 Miles | $350.01 to $600 |
| Ticket Price X 100 | Above $600 |
The basic Capital One No Hassle Rewards card earns 1.25 miles per dollar except at bookstores, card stores, novelty stores, souvenir shops, arts & craft stores, florists, and video rental stores (not Netflix) where it earns 2 miles per dollar. Unless you do some heavy spending at those places chances are your flight awards will be made up mostly of 1.25 miles per dollar purchases.
At that rate, the max ticket value for each category works about to $12,000 of spending or the equivalent of 1.25% cash back, which is better than your basic 1.0% cash back card. However, be very aware of the sweet spot near the top of the range, and the dead zone at the bottom. A $170 ticket or a $375 ticket will be a terrible deal.
Capital One Miles Rewards Good for Students
The Capital One travel rewards can be a great deal for college students. Since students buy hundreds of dollars worth of books each year, they can really benefit from the 2 miles per dollar rate provided the campus bookstore is properly categorized. To find out, make a small test purchase at the. campus bookstore and then go online to view the transaction. If it is listed as a bookstore (or even card shop or novelty shop) then you are in business. If not, check out the off-campus bookstore alternative that many college towns have. If it is listed in one of the good categories then you can buy your books there.
Even better, most major university bookstores carry far more than just books, sometimes at bargain prices because of student pricing. This is especially true for student edition software. Online deal sites go nuts over the prices students can get on things like Microsoft Office or even Windows Vista or Windows XP. Each of those purchases can get 2 miles per dollar.
A student spending $2,500 a semester in various bookstore purchases would qualify for a free ticket home for Thanksgiving every other year. And if they let you charge your tuition or fees, then this baby is going to pay off in free plane tickets.
As always, responsible use of all credit, especially credit cards is vital to a solid financial future, so don’t spend just get miles.
Capital One Rewards Catalog – No Hassle Miles – Travel Rewards originally published at Personal Financial Advice Blog FinanceGourmet.com