How 56,000 Capital One Points Saved Our Trip Home (and Our Sanity)
September 2024 was supposed to be the smooth wrap-up to an incredible trip to the Faroe Islands—a couples getaway with another pair of friends while grandparents held down the fort with our kids back home.
Instead… our flight home was cancelled 😬.
The airline rebooked us for the next day, but that simply wasn’t going to work. We had:
People watching our kids who could not stay longer
A separately booked flight from Denver to Salt Lake City that we would now miss
Work and school obligations we had to get back for
So we had to get creative—and fast.
The Reroute That Made It All Work
Instead of waiting a day, we were able to change our international flight and reroute from the Faroe Islands to Seattle on the same day.
That solved part of the problem… but we still needed to get from Seattle to Salt Lake City that same night.
Cash prices were brutal.
That’s when points came to the rescue (again).
Turning Capital One Points into an Emergency Flight
We transferred 56,000 Capital One miles to Qantas, then used those points to book Alaska Airlines flights from Seattle (SEA) to Salt Lake City (SLC) for the same day.
Yes—Qantas points booking Alaska Airlines flights.
This is one of those lesser-known partner sweet spots that is gold in emergency situations.
The Numbers (Because This Is the Fun Part)
Points used: 56,000 Capital One miles
Cash price at booking: $1,916
Taxes paid: $22
Out-of-pocket: $22
Value per point: 3.38 cents per point
👉 That’s $1,894 in real value when we needed it most.
Why This Redemption Mattered So Much
This wasn’t about luxury.
This wasn’t about flying business class.
This was about:
Getting home on time
Avoiding extra hotel nights
Not burning relationships with the people caring for our kids
Not losing money on flights we’d already booked
Points gave us flexibility when the airline schedule completely fell apart.
That’s the part of points and miles that doesn’t show up in spreadsheets.
Takeaway for Families Using Points
If you travel with kids—or rely on people back home while you travel—flexibility is everything.
A few key lessons:
Always know your transfer partners (Qantas + Alaska is a powerful combo)
Keep a stash of flexible points like Capital One miles
Points aren’t just about aspirational trips—they’re about problem solving
This single redemption turned a travel nightmare into a same-day solution—and got us home exactly when we needed to be.
And honestly? That peace of mind was worth way more than 3.38 cents per point ✈️