When Capital One launched it Capital One entertainment portal, was a little excited at first. The launch comes with some incredible deals on NCAA Men’s Final Four tickets and concert tickets, and also promises good things to come.
While I was skeptical, I was proven wrong with deals on Major League Baseball tickets for all 30 teams.
Finding a great deal may require a little elbow grease, but we’ll walk you through the process.
Exchange One Mile capital for MLB tickets
Capital One Entertainment is a separate section of the main Capital One website. You can log in to your Capital One account to view your mileage balance when shopping.
I recommend logging in before starting your search, especially if you have a premium card like Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card. Some opportunities are exclusive to certain cards, although current MLB offerings appear to be available only to most Capital One credit cardholders.
The current offer for MLB seats is two tickets, each for 5,000 miles; However, available sections and dates vary widely.
Search for cardholder-exclusive MLB tickets on Capital One Entertainment
Once logged in, you can view all current offers exclusive to cardholders. Clicking on the “MLB Single Game Tickets” option will let you choose from 30 teams, including the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros.
After selecting a specific team, you will see the available games. As of publication date, the games were available from May to September (September 29 was the latest date we saw availability).
For some popular teams, all home matches may be sold out, although we do see away matches available.
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However, finding reserved seats for cardholders can be a challenge. Capital One has partnered with ticket exchange platform Vivid Seats to manage the deal.
The list shows cardholder-specific opportunities and what appears to be the full list of seats available on Vivid Seats for a particular game. In many cases, the 5,000-mile seat may have been requested by another cardholder or may never have been offered.
When selecting a specific game, if there are reserved seats for cardholders, they will be the only option that appears in your search, as shown below:
Another clue to know you’ve booked the right seat is that the seat selection screen will display the message “Tickets reserved for Capital One cardholders.”
Tickets must be purchased in pairs and four appears to be the maximum number of seats available for any match. Once you choose your seat, the payment process is easy and there are no additional fees.
Related: Best Capital One credit cards
It’s worth checking the cash price of these tickets, but there are great deals to be had. For example, a game between the Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox can be booked for 5,000 Capital One miles as a cardholder-only event, and cash tickets purchased separately in the same area cost 125,000. $68 per ticket, giving you a great conversion rate of over 2 cents per mile.
Trade in One Mile for Vivid Seats MLB tickets
If there are no cardholder reserved seats for a particular game, you will be shown the standard Vibrant Seat inventory for the game. It’s important to understand that Redeem the Capital One Mile for MLB tickets through Capital One Entertainment are not always particularly valuable redemption opportunities.
If you are a die-hard Yankees fan, you can choose a home game against the Chicago White Sox with available seating in the Field Dugout.
You will see the text “Tickets powered by Vivid Seats” indicating this is the standard cash price charged by Vivid Seats, which has just been converted to Capital One miles.
You’ll get the same value for your miles on any ticket type in these examples: 0.8 cents per ticket. From TPG Capital Value One Mile At 1.85 cents each, this is a poor redemption option.
We tested Capital One Entertainment and Vivid Seats portal pricing on multiple examples and found similar conversion rates across all tests. In addition to the ticket price, you will still have to pay service fees related to the ticket redemption platform. We found Capital One’s fees were a few dollars higher in many searches.
How to earn Capital One miles
Below is a list of some of the consumer products currently available card earns transferable capital One mile:
- Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card: Earn 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, 5 miles per dollar on flights booked through Capital One Travel and 2 miles per dollar on other purchases. Additionally, you can earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening; $395 annual fee (see exchange rates and fees).
- Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: Earn 5 miles per dollar on hotel and car rental purchases with Capital One Travel and 2 miles per dollar on other purchases. Additionally, you can earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening; $95 annual fee (see exchange rates and fees).
- Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card: Earn 5 miles per dollar on hotel and car rental bookings with Capital One Travel and 1.25 miles per dollar on other purchases. Additionally, you can earn 20,000 bonus miles when you spend $500 on purchases within the first three months of account opening; $0 annual fee (see exchange rates and fees).
If you’re looking for business cards, here are some options to help you earn Capital One miles:
- Capital One Venture X Business: Earn 10 miles per dollar on hotel and car rental bookings through Capital One Travel, 5 miles per dollar on flights booked through Capital One Travel and 2 miles per dollar on other purchases. Additionally, you can earn 150,000 bonus miles after spending $30,000 in the first three months of account opening; $395 annual fee (see exchange rates and fees).
- Capital One Spark Miles for Business: Earn 5 miles per dollar on hotel and car rental purchases with Capital One Travel and 2 miles per dollar on other purchases. Additionally, you can earn a one-time bonus of 50,000 miles when you spend $4,500 on purchases within the first three months of account opening; $0 annual introductory fee for the first year, then $95 after that (see exchange rates and fees).
- Capital One Spark Miles Select for business: Earn 1.5 miles per dollar on purchases. Additionally, you can earn a one-time bonus of 50,000 miles when you spend $4,500 on purchases within the first three months of account opening; $0 annual fee.
Information about Capital One Spark Miles Select has been independently collected by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Bottom line
One Mile Redemption for MLB games can be an exceptional deal if you can find reserved cardholder seating to watch your favorite team.
While some comparable ticket prices on Vivid Seats for seats reserved for Capital One cardholders are inexpensive, not including all the fees charged by ticket redemption platforms helps a family of four save a quite a large amount of money.
Capital exchange One mile for MLB tickets makes the most sense for those with large or small mileage balances. If you have tons of miles that you won’t be able to spend anytime soon, there’s no harm in redeeming a few miles here. And, if you’re far away from a dream trip, you can still get value by redeeming your miles for seats to watch your favorite MLB team.
