Skip It: Capital One Miles Can Now Reach Radisson, at a Steep Loss

A new path opened up, and it is one to be careful with. Your Capital One miles can now reach Radisson Rewards, routed through Finnair Plus. It works and it is live. For almost everyone, it is still a bad idea.

It runs in two hops. Capital One transfers to Finnair Plus at 1:1, minimum 1,000 miles, and Finnair Plus, which runs on Avios, converts to Radisson Rewards at three Avios for every five points, minimum 1,000 Avios. Push 1,000 Capital One miles all the way through and you end up with about 1,666 Radisson points.

That looks like growth, but it is a downgrade. You are trading one of the most flexible currencies in your wallet for points that only book Radisson, and Radisson publishes no award chart. Its prices float with cash rates, so there is no dependable redemption to aim for and no way to know the points will be worth the swap. Those same Capital One miles can reach airline partners for premium cabins that give you far more for the transfer.

There is one case where it holds up. If you have already priced a specific Radisson award night and you are just short, topping off a balance you will spend right away is fine. Converting on spec and hoping to use it later is how good points quietly disappear.

If you go ahead, link your Radisson and Finnair Plus accounts first, with matching names on both. And watch the rate: the official partner page shows three Avios for five points, though some Radisson terms reference a four to five rate, so what you see may differ slightly.