Capital One points transfer security delay issues.
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2022
Posts: 3
Capital One points transfer security delay issues.
Couldn't find a thread on this issue, so hopefully this helps someone. Or, maybe someone could help me lol.
Tried transferring 350,000 points from Capital One to Aeroplan last night. Then, I get a fraud alert call from Capital One the next morning saying that the points transfer triggered a fraud alert?!
I spend 2 hours on the phone with 2 unhelpful and unsympathetic representatives who have me verify my information 20 times over, and send them pictures of my license multiple times, to no avail. Not only am I still locked out of my Capital One account now (no issues before or last night), the points are now in no man's land. Capital One says they are showing that the points have transferred...yet they are 100% not in my Aeroplan account. They now say they will escalate but that it will take 10-12 days...which is great since I wanted to book a flight ASAP for a flight in a few weeks. We all know how point prices change, too.
Has anyone else had issues of point transfer triggering fraud alerts?! This has been an extremely frustrating experience, and Capital One really is losing favor in my eyes versus Chase and Amex.
Tried transferring 350,000 points from Capital One to Aeroplan last night. Then, I get a fraud alert call from Capital One the next morning saying that the points transfer triggered a fraud alert?!
I spend 2 hours on the phone with 2 unhelpful and unsympathetic representatives who have me verify my information 20 times over, and send them pictures of my license multiple times, to no avail. Not only am I still locked out of my Capital One account now (no issues before or last night), the points are now in no man's land. Capital One says they are showing that the points have transferred...yet they are 100% not in my Aeroplan account. They now say they will escalate but that it will take 10-12 days...which is great since I wanted to book a flight ASAP for a flight in a few weeks. We all know how point prices change, too.
Has anyone else had issues of point transfer triggering fraud alerts?! This has been an extremely frustrating experience, and Capital One really is losing favor in my eyes versus Chase and Amex.
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2022
Posts: 3
Damn...time to dedicate some more hours on the phone with them then. Thanks for the info though.
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2022
Posts: 3
To close the loop in case anyone has this issue in the future, the points ended up transferring successfully (finally). All in all, took about 48 hours, and a total of 3 hours on the phone with Capital One trying to clear the fraud alert. In the grand scheme of things, I'm glad it all worked out. However, in this day and age of dynamic award pricing, I hope people in the future don't run into this issue and get stuck with transferring points...only to find that they are now short because of an increase in redemption prices/points the next day.
#5
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: AUS
Programs: BAEC Gold, AA PPro, Hyatt Globalist, Amex Plat
Posts: 6,983
I guess I'm curious if there is anything actionable here? Is there a way to head this off so it does not happen? For example, can a points transfer be done over the phone, with a rep?
I wondering if perhaps doing a first time points transfer of 350K, out of the gate, might set off an alarm (though the OP doesn't state if this was their first transfer).
I certainly appreciate the heads up from the OP, but I'm left with not really having any solid idea on how to avoid this situation at the point where I'm ready to transfer points from Cap One...
Regards
I wondering if perhaps doing a first time points transfer of 350K, out of the gate, might set off an alarm (though the OP doesn't state if this was their first transfer).
I certainly appreciate the heads up from the OP, but I'm left with not really having any solid idea on how to avoid this situation at the point where I'm ready to transfer points from Cap One...
Regards
#6
Join Date: May 2010
Programs: plt,dia- mr,hlt,hyt
Posts: 7
Update, talked to capital one fraud to be sure and they claim all is clear on their end. Called Aeroplan this morning and they said chase is instant, capital one is 24hrs to 36hrs. Worst case aeroplan said call capital one after 24hrs & have their designated contact person reach out to aeroplan to investigate. Basically dont fall for those bloggers saying it is instant, may be it was back then or for them.
Came out of the wood work to say, transferred 400k points and has been 3 hours, called capital one and still nothing! Should have went with chase.
Came out of the wood work to say, transferred 400k points and has been 3 hours, called capital one and still nothing! Should have went with chase.
Last edited by bigj91; Jun 22, 2022 at 9:05 am
#7
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: WAS
Programs: AA EXP2M, DL 1MM DM ext, UA PP <=> HH G/Marr PE/Hyatt G/IHG P FT RA ( Recovering Addict)
Posts: 4,587
FYI Data point
I tried to do a 500k to Emirates from Capital one in January - my first transfer - then had second thoughts - I tried to cancel the transfer but was told it could not be reversed
Due to fraud the transfer failed - good for me! The miles came back and were used slowly
I found that 100k transfers went through to TK and EK with no issues and I did some to Aeroplan and some to SQ - the last one was 500k - went without issue but was after I had done a few transfers before
ALL my transfers - TK, EK, SQ, AC went through in seconds
I tried to do a 500k to Emirates from Capital one in January - my first transfer - then had second thoughts - I tried to cancel the transfer but was told it could not be reversed
Due to fraud the transfer failed - good for me! The miles came back and were used slowly
I found that 100k transfers went through to TK and EK with no issues and I did some to Aeroplan and some to SQ - the last one was 500k - went without issue but was after I had done a few transfers before
ALL my transfers - TK, EK, SQ, AC went through in seconds
#8
Join Date: Nov 2021
Programs: DL, WN, B6, Marriot, IHG
Posts: 105
This sounds like a winner to me. They're just making sure no one hacked you and redeemed your rewards. I think adding 2-step authentication before completing transfer would help here.
#9
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: SFO
Programs: Marriott LT Plat; WoH Exp; AS Gold; AA Plat
Posts: 367
On a related note, I transferred 150k to Aeroplan from my AmEx account and that reflected immediately.
#10
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Dallas, TX
Programs: WN A-List Pref, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Gold, IHG Plat
Posts: 460
Like the OP, I triggered a fraud alert with a Spark card open since 2011, but I was transferring to BA and it was only 1000 miles. C1 has always been more difficult to work with compared to Amex, Citi, or Chase. At least that's my experience. This is true for reporting fraud transactions as well, where C1 doesn't seem to take a proactive approach once contacted.
#11
Join Date: Sep 2011
Programs: Virgin Atlantic Silver, IHG Diamond, Bonvoy Gold, Hilton Diamond, AA Platinum Pro
Posts: 1,385
Tried transfering a little under 100K points to Finnair about 8 hours ago. No points have shown up on the Finnair side thus far, and no perceived fraud issues on the C1 side, so my assumption is that Finnair transfers are not actually instant, as opposed to what the blogs say.
EDIT: Called CapitalOne and was told no issues on their end (no fraud block, etc.), and that in their systems it stipulates 48-72 hour for transfers to Finnair to fully complete. Kind of odd in every blog it says "instant." Has anyone recently done such a transfer?
EDIT 2: Also called Finnair, which said that there are no issues or flags on their end. After reviewing everything again, I noticed that I haven't yet received the email from Capital One saying that the miles are now ready to be used in the partner program, as I have always received for previous transfers. So that leads me to believe that the transfer is indeed still in progress and will probably take the 48-72 hours I was told by Capital One. Not thrilled, but there seems to be plenty of space for this particular redemption, so not overly worried (and I have a plan B in place if it doesn't work out).
FINAL EDIT: For posterity's sake, here is the final outcome of the situation: At around T+30 hours, I received an email from Cap1 saying the transfer failed, and I was welcome to try again. Indeed, the points were returned to my account and ready to use (which is far better than other issuers like Citi that make you wait 2 weeks...). Upon reviewing the redemption history, there was a remark along the lines of "general failure" in the line item for the failed transfer, which led me to believe that this was.... a "general" issue, and not some kind of block by either program :-). I then tried to transfer 1000 points, which posted to Finnair immediately. A subsequent transfer of the rest also posted immediately and the desired redemption has been booked.
EDIT: Called CapitalOne and was told no issues on their end (no fraud block, etc.), and that in their systems it stipulates 48-72 hour for transfers to Finnair to fully complete. Kind of odd in every blog it says "instant." Has anyone recently done such a transfer?
EDIT 2: Also called Finnair, which said that there are no issues or flags on their end. After reviewing everything again, I noticed that I haven't yet received the email from Capital One saying that the miles are now ready to be used in the partner program, as I have always received for previous transfers. So that leads me to believe that the transfer is indeed still in progress and will probably take the 48-72 hours I was told by Capital One. Not thrilled, but there seems to be plenty of space for this particular redemption, so not overly worried (and I have a plan B in place if it doesn't work out).
FINAL EDIT: For posterity's sake, here is the final outcome of the situation: At around T+30 hours, I received an email from Cap1 saying the transfer failed, and I was welcome to try again. Indeed, the points were returned to my account and ready to use (which is far better than other issuers like Citi that make you wait 2 weeks...). Upon reviewing the redemption history, there was a remark along the lines of "general failure" in the line item for the failed transfer, which led me to believe that this was.... a "general" issue, and not some kind of block by either program :-). I then tried to transfer 1000 points, which posted to Finnair immediately. A subsequent transfer of the rest also posted immediately and the desired redemption has been booked.
Last edited by moe8555; Sep 22, 2022 at 12:50 am Reason: Update about final outcome
#15
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend; Moderator: American Express, Capital One, Citi, Chase, Credit Card Programs, Diners Club, Signatures
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA & Marriott Perpetual Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 48,881
But a ticket can be issued in anyone's name, and I think that's why airlines sometimes delay processing transfers that are large enough to redeem for an expensive ticket.