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The recent conflict in the Middle East and the unprecedented airspace closures have canceled thousands of flights and disrupted the travel plans of an estimated 1 million passengers, myself included.
I was booked on a Middle Eastern airline to the United Arab Emirates on the day the disruption began, and my essential travel home looked impossible.
Here’s how my beloved Capital One miles saved me during a time of crisis.
Related: What to do if your flight from — or through — the Middle East is affected this week
A canceled flight on Emirates
Upon hearing news last month that my father-in-law was reaching his final stages in a health battle, I looked at options to travel from my current residence in London to my home country of Australia to pay my final respects.
Keen to redeem my points and miles, I found an excellent deal: just 35,000 Emirates Skywards miles in economy class for the 22-hour journey Down Under. While I normally do this marathon journey in business class, this trip was not a holiday, and I booked just one week in advance. I needed to get from point A to point B as cheaply, quickly and easily as possible, so economy class made sense.
I chose my seats, checked in online and timed my routine journey to London Gatwick Airport (LGW) perfectly. I arrived 80 minutes before departure, with just enough time to check my bag, head through security and walk onto the plane.
While I normally like to read about world news on the way to the airport to pass the time, on this day, I didn’t, perhaps distracted by the somber reason for this journey.
As I rounded the corner to the Emirates check-in desk, expecting to see a dozen stragglers finalizing check-in, I was instead greeted with hundreds of people milling around, looking concerned; there were no check-in staff at any desks. I noticed everyone still had their large suitcases, which set off alarm bells in my head, and I asked one of the passengers if there was an issue with the flight, fearing an engineering problem or a weather delay.
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It was much worse than that.
The passenger gloomily told me the flight was canceled because Dubai International Airport (DXB) was closed “due to war.” I checked the news on my phone to learn that the U.S. had just launched military strikes against Iran, and all Emirates flights that day were cancelled.
I asked an airport ground staff member what I should do, and they advised me to return to London and await further information from Emirates.
Dejected, I went back to my apartment, rang my husband to explain I wouldn’t be arriving in Australia the following day and tried to figure out what to do.
Eventually exhausted and with no solutions, I decided to sleep on it, hoping to wake up the next morning and find that the order had miraculously been restored to global aviation.
Related: A step up from your average economy: Flying Emirates’ A380 from Dubai to Johannesburg
Capital One miles to the rescue via Asia
Of course, the next morning, when I woke up and got up to speed on developments, nothing had improved. Middle Eastern airspace was still closed, I had no way to get to Australia and was wasting valuable time to say goodbye to a loved one.
At 8:30 a.m., still in my pajamas, I started looking for any flight options using any points and miles from the U.K. to Australia, leaving as soon as possible. This is where tools like Seats.aero are enormously valuable for being able to search across multiple routes, programs, dates and classes at once.
It took a while to weed out all of the options that went via the Middle East, as I was fairly certain none would operate that day. There were some undesirable options to travel the long way via the U.S., but these required plenty of miles and would be an epic 30 hours in the air, not enjoyable in economy class.
Seats.aero miraculously found me one seat remaining on Thai Airways leaving from Heathrow Airport (LHR) in London at 11:50 a.m. that morning to Sydney Airport (SYD) with a short connection in Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) for 65,000 Air Canada Aeroplan points.
Imagining other disrupted travelers in London trying desperately to secure the same seat, I quickly checked my Aeroplan balance, which had only 20,000 points — not nearly enough to book this flight.
Thankfully, I have a healthy balance of Capital One miles that transfer at a 1:1 rate to Aeroplan, and I quickly initiated a transfer of 45,000 miles, which would become the 65,000 Aeroplan points needed to complete this booking. With the time nearing 9 a.m. and bag drop closing 60 minutes before departure (I had to check a bag), I had less than one hour to book this flight, shower and head out the door. Fortunately, I had not unpacked from the day before.
My Capital One miles transferred instantly to Aeroplan, and I hurriedly proceeded to book the Thai Airways redemption. There were several stressful moments when the payment wouldn’t go through. (I feared someone else had reserved the seat while I was transferring the miles, and I would be back to square one.) But eventually it loaded, and I received that all-important ticket number.
I was out the door less than 20 minutes later in an Uber to Heathrow. Explaining at check-in why I had only booked the flight 80 minutes earlier and that it hadn’t been possible to select a seat online this close to departure, she took pity on me, gave me an exit row seat and blocked the seat next to me so I had some extra space.
I was quickly on my way to Australia via Thailand. I arrived just 24 hours after my original Emirates flight, feeling extremely grateful for my Capital One miles.
Why Capital One miles can be good in a crisis
Earning transferable rewards like Capital One miles lets you keep them in your Capital One account and transfer them only when you know you will need them, such as for an emergency. I’ve found this flexibility hugely valuable.
However, in an emergency, time is precious. You may not have the mental bandwidth to check availability, research transfer times and rates, or consider flying to nearby airports to find a reasonable award rate.
Or there just might not be any award availability through any transfer partners. Instead, the only option might be a high cash fare that you may not really be able to afford.
Luckily, you still have a few options with your Capital One miles. You can redeem your miles for flights, hotels or rental cars booked through the Capital One Travel portal at a rate of 1 cent per mile. Additionally, if you made an eligible travel purchase within the last 90 days, you can redeem your miles for a statement credit at 1 cent per mile to offset the cost.
Related: How long do Capital One miles transfers take?
How to earn Capital One miles
If you’re looking to earn more transferable miles, the following Capital One cards offer great welcome offers:
For more details, read our guides to Capital One transfer partners and how to transfer Capital One miles.
Bottom line
My disrupted travel plans due to the closure of Middle Eastern airspace are exactly why I collect transferable rewards. Had I only earned, say, Emirates Skywards miles, I might still be in London trying to work out how to get home.
Instead, I struck gold by finding the only decently priced and timed economy award seat from the U.K. to Australia the day after the disruptions began, which I could book with Capital One miles that transferred instantly to Aeroplan.
If you want to earn rewards that you can have ready for emergencies like this, Capital One miles are a great choice to collect.
Related: Points and miles aren’t just for the good times. They can be a godsend in an emergency, too
