How does the Capital One Purchase Eraser work?

The Capital One Purchase Eraser is a rewards-redemption option on some Capital One credit cards that lets cardholders choose recent travel-related purchases to “erase” with their earned miles. You can “erase” airfare, hotel, and transportation charges made in the last 90 days on the Venture, VentureOne, Spark Miles Business Select, and Spark Miles Business credit cards.

To use the Capital One Purchase Eraser, log in to your Capital One account online or through the mobile app. Click on your rewards miles, and then select the “Cover a Purchase” option. Your eligible travel purchases will show up, along with the number of miles required to pay for each in full. You can also erase a portion of a purchase, if you don’t have enough miles to cover the entire amount. Once you’ve selected the purchase(s) you want to erase, the miles will be immediately subtracted from your rewards balance. Your account will then be credited with the redemption within 7 days.

When redeemed with Purchase Eraser, 1 Capital One mile is worth 1 cent. However, if you redeem your miles for a non-travel statement credit (not using the Purchase Eraser), they’re only worth half a cent each. So it’s worth using Capital One miles rewards credit cards for travel expenses – you’ll have more eligible purchases to erase, and you’ll be able to get more value out of each redeemed mile.

Most travel rewards credit cards are much more restrictive when it comes to redeeming miles. But Bank of America is one credit card company that allows cardholders to erase travel purchases like Capital One.

Capital One Purchase Eraser is pretty neat. So you make a travel related purchase, such as a flight, hotel stay etc. using your Capital One rewards credit card. Then you have 90 days to "erase" the purchase cost with your miles. The miles balance will update automatically and the credit will be reflected in your account balance within 5-7 business days.

They even have a cool commercial you should check out.