Capital One Venture Rewards card review: earn and redeem travel miles hassle-free

Our take: The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card earns at least 2x miles on every purchase, redeemable rewards for travel, cash back and more. Transfer miles to 15+ airline and hotel partners for potentially even higher value.

Capital One Venture Rewards: Overview

Earning rewards with the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is like hitting the easy button. It offers 2x miles on every purchase, plus 5x miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. . New cardholders also receive 75,000 miles after spending $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening.

Redeeming rewards is also simple, although travel redemptions tend to be the best option. You can book travel using miles, cover previous travel purchases or transfer to 15+ airline and hotel partners. Miles can also be redeemed for cash back, gift cards, shopping and more, but those tend to offer less value. The card also includes other travel benefits, like two lounge passes each year, basic travel protections and reimbursement for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck fees.

Who is a Capital One Venture Card good for?

The Capital One Venture Card is ideal for budget-conscious travelers who want to earn bonus miles on every purchase. While the card does not have specific bonus categories, it earns an unlimited 2x miles on every purchase compared to the standard 1x of most travel credit cards.

People who prefer earning flexible points will also appreciate this card. Rewards earned from airline and hotel credit cards typically can only be redeemed with those brands. With flexible rewards, you have multiple ways to redeem your miles based on what’s most important to you at that moment. Experienced travelers will also enjoy the 15+ transfer partners, so they can search out the best value redemptions based on where they’re traveling.

Who shouldn’t get a Capital One Venture Card?

People who want to take advantage of bonus categories to maximize their purchases will be disappointed with the Capital One Venture Card. While it earns an unlimited 2x miles on every purchase, it does not offer bonus rewards on everyday purchase categories, like groceries, gas or dining. The card does earn 5x miles on hotel and rental car reservations made through Capital One Travel. However, many hotel loyalty programs do not offer points, status credits or elite benefits when booking through a third party.

Capital One has numerous airline and hotel transfer partners, but many of them may be unfamiliar to the average U.S. traveler. Because of that, some customers may have difficulty unlocking the maximum value of their rewards.

Capital One Venture: How to earn rewards

Cardholders have three primary ways to earn Venture Miles with the Capital One Venture Card, including earning a welcome bonus, miles on everyday purchases and when booking travel through the bank’s travel portal.

Earn a welcome bonus

When you’re a new cardholder, you have the opportunity to earn 75,000 miles after spending $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening. Those miles are worth $750 towards travel booked through Capital One Travel or as statement credits covering recent travel purchases.

Unlimited 2x miles on everyday purchases

Instead of bonus categories, the Capital One Venture Card offers an 2x miles on every purchase. You don’t need to remember which merchants offer bonus rewards or register for special promotions. There are no spending caps, so you can earn an unlimited number of miles every year.

Booking travel through Capital One Travel

Cardholders earn 5x miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. Unfortunately, you won’t earn extra rewards on flights, cruises or other travel reservations booked through the travel portal.

How to redeem Capital One Venture rewards

Redeeming Capital One Venture Miles is easy through the bank’s website or mobile app. You can book travel, cover travel purchases, get gift cards and more. Additionally, you can transfer miles to airline and hotel partners for a potentially higher value.

Book a trip

Cardholders can book flights, hotels, rental cars and more through the Capital One Travel portal. Points are worth one cent each and can be used to cover some or all of your reservation. Unlike traditional airline miles and hotel points, there are no blackout dates or restrictions on which airline or hotel you can book with.

Cover travel purchases

If you’d rather book directly with the airline, hotel or other merchant, your Venture Miles can be used to cover travel purchases. As long as the purchase codes as travel, your miles can be redeemed toward that purchase. Capital One allows cardholders to go back up to 90 days when covering travel purchases. This means you can book travel today and then have almost three months to earn additional rewards toward that purchase.

Transfer to airline and hotel partners

Capital One has relationships with 15+ airline and hotel partners where you can transfer your miles to their loyalty programs. When you transfer Venture Miles, the miles or points you receive combine with the balance in your loyalty account. You can use those rewards to book flights or hotels for a potentially higher value, like a first class flight, five-star hotel or holiday travel.

Participating partners include Flying Blue, Cathay Pacific, Qantas and Wyndham Rewards. However, not all transfers are on a 1:1 basis. Take note of the transfer ratios to ensure that the redemption makes sense. Once you transfer miles, the transaction cannot be reversed. With this in mind, make sure that the award space is available before transferring your miles.

Buy gift cards

Whether you’re buying a gift card for yourself or someone else, your miles can cover the cost. Cardholders have dozens of popular merchants to choose from. The values vary by merchant, but most start at just $25. Your miles are generally worth 0.8 cents each when redeeming for gift cards. Occasionally, Capital One runs promotions where it costs fewer miles to buy a gift card.

Redeem for merchandise and experiences

One of the lowest-value redemptions is swapping your rewards for merchandise, like Apple products. Portals tend to have high prices on items, and you’ll receive a value of just 0.8 cents per mile. These redemptions can make sense in certain situations, but you’re better off booking travel if you want the most value for your miles.

An exception to this rule is the exclusive experiences that Capital One offers. These experiences are typically not available to the general public, so it can be hard to assign a specific value to them. When you’re able to meet a childhood hero, attend an intimate concert with your favorite musician or learn how to cook from a celebrity chef, the experience can be priceless. Before redeeming for one of these packages, consider how much the miles would be worth otherwise to decide whether it is worth it.

Capital One Venture Card rates and fees

• Annual fee: $95
• Foreign transaction fee: None
• Purchase APR: 19.99%–29.99% variable

Additional benefits

Aside from valuable rewards on spending, the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card also comes with the following perks:

• Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® credit: Cardholders can get up to $100 in a statement credit to cover their Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee. You must use your Venture card to pay the application fee to receive this credit. One statement credit is available per account every four years.
• Travel accident insurance: As long as you purchase your travel fare using your Venture card, you receive automatic insurance for a covered loss at no extra charge.
• Extended warranty: Eligible items that you purchase with your card receive additional warranty protection at no charge. Get double the original manufacturer’s written U.S. repair warranty, up to one full year, on eligible warranties of three years or less.
• Auto rental collision damage waiver: When you use your card to pay for the entire cost of an eligible rental vehicle and decline the rental company’s collision damage waiver, you will be covered for damage due to collision or theft.
• Airport lounge access. Capital One Venture cardholders get two complimentary visits per year to Capital One Lounges or Plaza Premium lounges through December 31, 2024.

Credit cards similar to Capital One Venture

The Venture card from Capital One isn’t your only option if you’re in the market for a travel rewards card. Here are a couple of other similar cards to consider.

Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Capital One Venture

The Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card is another flexible rewards card with a price tag under $100. Instead of earning 2x miles per dollar on all purchases, the Preferred Card has different bonus categories for cardholders to maximize rewards. You’ll earn 3X points on dining, online grocery orders and select streaming services. Travel booked through Chase earns 5X points, and all other travel purchases earn 2X. Plus, everything else earns 1X.

Ultimate Rewards points can be redeemed for travel, cash back and more, and when you book travel through Chase, your points are worth 25% more. Capital One doesn’t offer bonus value when booking travel through its portal. Chase also has 14 airline and hotel partners that transfer at a 1:1 ratio.

Capital One VentureOne vs. Capital One Venture

The Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card is a more affordable version of the Venture. Though it doesn’t charge an annual fee, the base rewards rate is lower at 1.25 miles per dollar spent vs. the Venture’s 2 miles per dollar. The VentureOne also lacks some of Venture’s perks, like the credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck. Overall, the Venture card is a better option for those who don’t mind spending a bit upfront to get more value from their card.

Is the Venture card right for you?

The Capital One Venture Card is an excellent choice for people who want to earn flexible rewards but don’t want to spend a lot of money. It has a $95 annual fee, but cardholders receive adequate value for their money, including two airport lounge passes per year and complimentary travel protections. You’ll earn 2x miles on every purchase you make without having to remember bonus categories or register for additional rewards. Miles can be redeemed in numerous ways, including to book travel, cover travel purchases or transfer to partners.

While this card has value, some travelers are better off selecting a different card. If you spend large amounts with certain vendors, a card that offers bonus rewards for that category is a better option. Although Capital One has 15+ partners, you may not like those hotels or airlines. In that case, select a card that partners with those loyalty programs.

Frequently asked questions

Is it hard to get a Capital One Venture Card?

The Capital One Venture Card requires Excellent credit, so some consumers may have difficulty getting approved. Credit scores are available for free from many banks and websites. Check your credit before applying, and if your score is too low, take steps to boost your score to improve your approval odds.

Is Capital One Quicksilver or Venture better?

Both of these credit cards offer rewards on your purchases, and the best choice depends on the features and benefits most important to you. The Quicksilver card earns 1.5% cash back that can be spent however you like, and it includes an intro APR offer on purchases and balance transfers that eliminates interest charges. The Venture Card gets 2x miles on every purchase and includes travel benefits, but its rewards are best used toward travel.

How many credit cards should you have?

Typically, consumers should have at least three credit cards to maximize benefits and rewards. Having credit cards from different banks allows you to take advantage of the best offers from each bank and diversifies your credit. If you like to travel, getting a card from your favorite airline and hotel provides exclusive benefits on vacation and a general travel card provides flexibility when redeeming rewards.

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