Capital One Mileage-Match Giveaway is a Blockbuster with Alec Baldwin

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Capital One’s “Match My Miles Challenge” launched on Facebook with a 30-second advertisement featuring film and television star Alec Baldwin.

Capital One takes direct aim at airline credit card reward miles programs in one of the first blockbuster credit card offers of 2011. In what’s billed as the “Match My Miles Challenge,” consumers who open a Capital One Venture Rewards Card from March 11 through May 13, 2011, receive a one-to-one match of up to 100,000 new, unrestricted Venture Card miles for miles they have stored through an airline rewards credit card program. The first-come, first-served promotion will cap at 1 billion miles awarded.

In less than 24 hours, over 156,000 viewers “liked” the campaign’s Facebook page, indicating significant momentum for the vanguard program.

Under terms of the offer, new Capital One Venture Card cardholders will receive the match, plus 10,000 bonus miles, when they provide proof of current airline credit card miles and spend $1,000 on their new card in the first three months. The value of the promotion is up to $1,000 for each eligible cardholder.

No restrictions on miles

In launching the “Match My Miles Challenge,” Capital One hopes to attract consumers frustrated by airline rewards credit cards. Venture Card miles are not restricted to a specific airline or fare level, and can also be used for hotel stays, rental cars or any other travel-related expenditures. “Airline credit card reward miles can be so difficult to redeem that they’ve become virtually useless,” said Capital One US Card Executive Vice President Mike Wassmer in a statement.

These 13 airline miles credit cards programs are subject to the match:

1. AirTran Airways A+ Visa (1,000 miles per credit)
2. Alaska Airlines Visa Card
3. American Airlines Card
4. Continental Airlines Card
5. Delta SkyMiles Card from American Express
6. Frontier Airlines MasterCard
7. Hawaiian Airlines Visa Card
8. JetBlue Card from American Express
9. Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards Visa (1,200 miles per credit)
10. Spirit Airlines Free SPIRIT MasterCard
11. United Mileage Plus Visa Card
12. US Airways Dividend Miles MasterCard
13. Virgin America Visa Card

Capital One Venture named best rewards card

The “Match My Miles Challenge” is backed by a card with a strong pedigree. Dubbed “best rewards card if you aim to rack up airline miles” by Money Magazine in 2010, the Capital One Venture Card has no annual fee in the first year ($59 annually thereafter) and provides double miles on every purchase, no foreign transaction fees and miles that never expire.

Often earning accolades for the simplicity of its reward programs, Capital One Venture Card was named “an almost ideal travel card” by Newsweek and a best Travel Rewards Card by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine in 2010.

Capital One’s “Match My Miles Challenge” launched on Facebook with a 30-second advertisement featuring film and television star Alec Baldwin. In less than 24 hours, over 156,000 viewers “liked” the campaign’s Facebook page, indicating significant momentum for the vanguard program.

Rewards card could spur competition

Capital One’s Baldwin-backed blitz could signal new tactics among the major credit card companies. Since 2007, there’s been a 23 percent decline in the number of cards consumers carry, with the average consumer holding 1.97 cards, according to a recent IndexCreditCards.com report.

If the Capital One Venture Card promotion proves successful, credit card companies may follow Capital One’s “Match My Miles Challenge” with additional big-budget blitzes. If fully subscribed, the “Match My Miles Challenge” would represent an estimated $10 million in cumulative rewards to cardholders.

Published 03/11/11 (Modified 01/13/14)