Update: This partnership is ending on January 31, 2020.
Capital One and Hotels.com are partnering on a new promotion where you can earn 10x miles when paying with a Capital One Venture card.
The Deal
- Earn 10 miles per dollar when booking a stay at Hotels.com and paying with your Capital One Venture Rewards or Capital One Venture One card.
Key Terms
- To earn 10x miles, you must book through hotels.com/venture and pay with a Capital One Venture card.
- The Promotion starts at 12:00 AM CT on January 30, 2018 and ends at 11:59 PM CT on January 31, 2020.
Quick Thoughts
When I first read about this, my initial thought was that it’s a great deal. 10% cashback on hotels.com bookings isn’t too shabby, plus it can be stacked with the Hotels.com Welcome Rewards program.
After reading the terms and thinking about it some more though, it’s not such a great deal although there is the potential for some value in its convenience.
The biggest downside is that they state (and are adamant about it in the FAQs) that you must originate from the hotels.com/venture landing page. That means you’d forgo portal rewards which are usually ~5% when choosing to also earn Welcome Rewards.
Chuck at Doctor of Credit notes that you might be able to click through from a portal, then immediately go to hotels.com/venture in order to double dip. I’d love to give this a try but I don’t have a Capital One Venture card. Anyone want to be a data point?!
Chuck also states that “This 10x is on top of the standard Venture card earnings which is 2x on the Venture and 1.25x on the VentureOne.” After reading the press release, I have a different interpretation which is that you’ll only earn a total of 10% rather than 12% and 11.25% respectively.
That’s because the press release states that the offer “…is in addition to the unlimited miles Venture cardholders earn on all other purchases.” I bolded that final section as the “in addition” refers to all other purchases, not purchases on Hotels.com. I could be wrong on this though.
Something else to consider is that it’s frequently possible to purchase Hotels.com gift cards at a 10-20% discount. For example, I stocked up on ~$1k of Hotels.com gift cards during last year’s Amex Offer when it was 20% off. SVM on eBay also often sell $100 Hotels.com gift cards for $90.
Having said all that, earning 10x miles (i.e. 10% cashback) without having to mess around purchasing gift cards at a discount is convenient. It might therefore make sense for some to go that route, so long as you remember to start at the correct landing page.