The Capital One Venture Rewards card is the OG of the bank’s “miles-based” offerings. Over the last few years, Capital One has greatly strengthened its transfer partners, making this not only a card that earns 2% everywhere towards travel, but also 2x everywhere in transferable currency. Let’s take a closer look at one of Capital One’s most popular cards.
Capital One Venture Rewards Current Welcome Offer
| Card Offer |
|---|
75K Miles ⓘ Affiliate 75k miles after $4k spend within first 3 months. (Rates & Fees)$95 Annual Fee Alternate Offer: Airport Kiosk offer of 80K miles after $4K spend in the first 3 months See this post for details. Recent better offer: Expired 9/9/24: 75K after $4K spend in 3 months + $250 Capital One Travel credit in first cardholder year |
Capital One Venture Rewards Review
The Capital One Venture Rewards frequently offers attractive welcome offers as well as a baseline earning rate of 2 cents per dollar (when miles are redeemed for travel). It combines that base earning with the ability to transfer “miles” to hotel and airline partners. However, it’s worth bearing in mind that there are 2% cash back cards with no annual fee, as well as cards (or combinations of cards) with better bonus categories. If you only want to carry one card and don’t want a high annual fee, the Venture Rewards might offer just enough flexibility to make it worth considering…provided you take advantage of the ability to transfer miles to travel partners.
- Annual Fee: $95
- Authorized User Annual Fee: Free
- Foreign Transaction Fee: None
- What points are worth: The Capital One Venture Rewards card earns Capital One “Miles.” Our current Reasonable Redemption Values pegs them at 1.45 cents each.
- Best Use for Points: Capital One Miles can be transferred to travel partners at a 1:1 ratio and this will usually yield the most value. Our favorite hotel transfer partner is probably Wyndham Rewards, because of the terrific redemptions that can be had with Vacasa Vacation Rentals. Airline partners can be an excellent value as well, and include Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France/KLM Flying Blue, British Airways Avios and Turkish Miles and Smiles. Venture Rewards cardholders can also use miles to erase travel purchases or redeem them directly through the Capital One Travel Portal at 1 cent per point.
- Earning Categories:
- 5X flights and hotels booked through Capital one Travel
- 2x everywhere else
- Credits:
- $100 Global Entry/TSA PreCheck (once every 4 years)
- Additional Perks:
- Capital One and Plaza Premium Lounge Access: Cardholders get up to two visits per year at Capital One Lounges or to a subset of Plaza Premium Lounges (ends 12/31/24).
- Premier Collection: Get access to Capital One’s “premium hotel collection. When booking through Capital One, get a $50 experience credit, daily breakfast for two and other benefits (see terms and list of properties here).
- Travel Protections:
- Auto Rental Coverage: Secondary auto rental CDW (collision damage waiver). This means that, if you have valid personal insurance, incidents will be processed through that first. Provides reimbursement for theft and collision damage for rental cars in the U.S. and abroad.
- Travel Accident Insurance: Accidental death or dismemberment coverage of up to $250,000.
- Purchase Protections:
- Extended Warranty: One additional year, on eligible warranties of three years or less (US warranties only).
- Who’s this card for? Folks that want a low annual fee, flexibility with points and don’t want to deal with multiple cards.
- Is the Capital One Venture Rewards a keeper? If you are looking for a simple one-card solution that offers a decent return on everyday purchases, it could be. For me, the Venture X, albeit with a higher annual fee, is a better keeper card within the Capital One ecosystem.
Capital One Venture Rewards Pros and Cons
Pros
- Earns 2x everywhere
- Often has the best welcome offer of the Capital One miles-earning cards
- Nice variety of transfer partners
- Miles can be shared across cards and cardholders
- Unusually for a $95 card, provides 2 free lounge visits per year
- Points can be redeemed at 1 cents each for travel if you don’t want to hassle with transferring to partners (although, as a rule, we don’t recommend doing it)
Cons
- Outside of Capital One Travel, no bonus categories
- Can be difficult to get approvals for multiple Capital One cards
- Transfers to Choice Privileges at 1/2 the rate of Citi
- Some folks won’t like the lack of domestic airline transfer partners
Capital One Transfer Partners
| Rewards Program | Capital One Transfer Ratio | Best Uses |
|---|---|---|
| Accor Live Limitless | 1000 to 500 | Use to pay hotel bill with value of 2 Euro cents per point. In some cases (such as hotel to airline transfer bonuses) it may make sense to convert Accor points to the following airline miles at a 1 to 1 ratio: Finnair, Iberia, Qantas, or Virgin Australia |
| Aer Lingus Avios | 1 to 1 via BA | Fuel surcharges are sometimes lower when booking with Aer Lingus rather than British Airways, Qatar, or Iberia. It's possible to move points (Avios) between Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Qatar. See also: Avios Sweet Spots for Award Tickets. |
| AeroMexico ClubPremier | 1 to 1 | AeroMexico is a SkyTeam partner. Club Premier points can be used to book flights on AeroMexico, SkyTeam alliance members (such as Delta or Korean Air), or on select partner airlines. Unfortunately many have reported that awards are extremely difficult to book through AeroMexico so we do not recommend transferring points to this program. If you want to fly AeroMexico, look to transfer points to another SkyTeam partner (such as Air France) and then book AeroMexico with that program. |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | 1 to 1 | Redeem for Star Alliance flights and/or flights with Air Canada partners (such as Etihad). No fuel surcharges; $39 CAD award booking fee; 5,000 points to add stopover on one-way award. See: Air Canada Aeroplan: Everything you need to know. |
| Air France KLM Flying Blue | 1 to 1 | Monthly Air France Promo Awards often represent very good value. Air France miles can be used to book Sky Team awards, including Delta awards. Air France often offers very good business class award pricing between the US and Europe & Israel. |
| Avianca LifeMiles | 1 to 1 | Avianca LifeMiles can be great for Star Alliance awards. They offer reasonable award prices and no fuel surcharges on awards. They also offer shorthaul awards within the US (for flying United, for example) for as few as 7,500 miles one-way. Best of all, their mixed-cabin pricing can lead to fantastic first-class award prices. See this post for details. |
| British Airways Avios | 1 to 1 | While flights on British Airways itself often incur outrageously high fuel surcharges, many BA partners charge low or no fuel surcharges. Excellent value can be had in redeeming BA points for short distance flights. It's possible to move points (Avios) between Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Qatar. See also: Avios Sweet Spots for Award Tickets. |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | 1 to 1 | Cathay Pacific has a decent distance based award chart, but they no longer allow stopovers longer than 24 hours. Cathay Pacific Asia Miles can be a good option for booking American Airlines flights with a distance based award chart, especially if other OneWorld Alliance miles aren't available. For long distance flights, it is possible to reduce the cost of a premium cabin award by adding on a lower cabin segment. See this post for details. |
| Choice | 1 to 1 | Choice Privileges points seem to be randomly valuable within the US, but dependably valuable internationally in expensive locations such as Scandinavia and Japan. Points can sometimes offer great value when used towards participating Preferred Hotels of the World. |
| Emirates Skywards | 1 to 1 | The best use of Emirates miles has been to fly Emirates itself. Unfortunately fuel surcharges can be extremely steep. One workaround is to book select routes such as JFK to Milan or Newark to Athens. See: How to find and book Emirates first class awards. |
| Etihad Guest | 1 to 1 | Etihad offers a distance based award chart for flying Etihad and another for its partners. Points may offer good value for expensive but short-distance flights. |
| EVA Air Infinity MileageLands | 1000 to 750 | If you want to fly one of the best business class products in the sky, the best way to snag EVA flights is with their own miles since they release more award space to their own members. One-way business class flights from the US to Taipei cost 75K to 80K miles. Fuel surcharges are very low on these routes. |
| Finnair Plus+ | 1 to 1 | Finnair points are now "Avios" and points can be moved to/from other Avios programs. Finnair uses zone based award charts rather than distance based. As a result, Finnair sometimes has better (and sometimes worse) pricing than other Avios programs. |
| Iberia Avios | 1 to 1 via BA | On their own flights, Iberia offers low award prices and a very reasonable 25 Euro cancellation fee. Partner awards can offer good value under some circumstances as well, but these are usually nonrefundable. Fuel surcharges are sometimes lower when booking with Iberia rather than British Airways, Aer Lingus, or Qatar. It's possible to move points (Avios) between Iberia, British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Qatar. See also: Avios Sweet Spots for Award Tickets. |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | 1 to 1 | Best use is probably for flights on El Al with no fuel surcharges. Also useful for short AA flights. Qantas offers distance based award charts similar to Cathay Pacific. Both are OneWorld Alliance members. I recommend comparing award prices across both programs before transferring to either. Qantas offers round the world business class awards for only 280,000 points (but with many restrictions) |
| Qatar Privilege Club Avios | 1 to 1 via BA | Qatar has reasonable award prices for flying Qatar itself. Points are now transferable 1 to 1 to British Airways (and from there to Aer Lingus or Iberia). It is now also possible to book JetBlue flights with Qatar Avios. |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 1 to 1 | Use to book Singapore Airlines First Class awards (generally reserved for their own members), Alaska Airlines economy awards, or for Star Alliance awards (including United Airlines). |
| TAP Air Portugal | 1 to 1 | Surcharge-free Emirates redemptions. Increased availability on TAP flights between US and Europe. |
| Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles | 1 to 1 | Miles & Smiles offers a number of awesome sweet-spot awards including 7.5K one-way anywhere within the US, even to Hawaii. Many awards cannot be booked online but can be booked via phone or email. See: Turkish Miles & Smiles Complete Guide and Turkish business class sweet spots from the US. |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 1 to 1 | Virgin Atlantic offers a few excellent sweet spot awards. See: Best uses for Virgin Atlantic points (Sweet Spot Spotlight). |
| Wyndham | 1 to 1 | Wyndham often allows booking multi-room suites for the same price as a standard room. It's sometimes possible to get great value from points in that way. Bonus: award nights are not subject to resort fees. Additionally, you can book Vacasa vacation rentals for only 15K points per room per night. Wyndham Earner cards offer automatic 10% discount on award stays. |
Related Cards
Capital One Consumer Cards
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
$200 Cash Back ⓘ Affiliate One time bonus: $200 after $500 spend in 3 months from account opening. (Rates & Fees)No Annual Fee FM Mini Review: While you can do better with a 2% cash back card that has no annual fee, the Quicksilver card often offers excellent discounts with popular services such as Spotify. Earning rate: 1.5% everywhere ✦ 5% on hotels and rental cars booked via Capital One Travel Base: 1.5% Other: 5% Card Info: Mastercard issued by CapOne. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Noteworthy perks: No foreign transaction fees |
$250 Cash Back ⓘ Affiliate One time bonus: $250 after $500 spend in 3 months from account opening. (Rates & Fees)No Annual Fee Earning rate: 3% on dining, entertainment, select streaming services, and purchases at grocery stores (excluding superstores like Walmart® and Target®) ✦ 8% cash back on Capital One Entertainment purchases ✦ 5% on hotels and rental cars booked via Capital One Travel (terms apply) ✦ 1% everywhere else Base: 1% Dine: 3% Grocery: 3% Other: 3% Card Info: Mastercard issued by CapOne. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Noteworthy perks: No foreign transaction fees |
20K miles ⓘ Affiliate Earn 20,000 bonus miles once you spend $500 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening. (Rates & Fees)No Annual Fee FM Mini Review: Decent welcome bonus for a card with no annual fee, but other cards offer better rewards for ongoing spend. Click here for our complete card review Earning rate: 1.25X miles everywhere ✦ 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked via Capital One Travel Card Info: Mastercard issued by CapOne. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Noteworthy perks: Redeem miles for travel at value of 1 cent per mile ✦ Convert "miles" to airline miles & hotel points |
75K Miles ⓘ Affiliate 75k miles after $4k spend within first 3 months. (Rates & Fees)$95 Annual Fee Alternate Offer: Airport Kiosk offer of 80K miles after $4K spend in the first 3 months See this post for details. Recent better offer: Expired 9/9/24: 75K after $4K spend in 3 months + $250 Capital One Travel credit in first cardholder year FM Mini Review: This card earns 2 "miles" per dollar, which are worth exactly 1 cent each toward travel. This makes the return on spend similar to a 2% cash back card (though in this case you must redeem your miles to offset travel in order to get 1 cent per mile). One big advantage over cash back: Capital One allows transfering their "miles" to airline miles & hotel points. Click here for our complete card review Earning rate: 2X miles everywhere ✦ 5X miles on hotels, vacations rentals and rental cars booked via Capital One Travel Card Info: Mastercard issued by CapOne. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Noteworthy perks: Receive up to $120 application fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® ✦ Redeem miles for travel at value of 1 cent per mile ✦ Convert "miles" to airline miles & hotel points ✦ No foreign transaction fees |
75K Miles ⓘ Affiliate 75k miles after $4k spend within first 3 months. (Rates & Fees)$395 Annual Fee Recent better offer: Expired 3/14/22: 100K after $10K spend in 6 months + $200 credit for vacation rental spend in first year FM Mini Review: This card offers annual rebates that easily mitigate the fee for those who travel often. Authorized users are free and also get access to perks like Priority Pass, Capital One Lounges, Plaza Premium lounges, and more. The card earns 2 "miles" per dollar on most purchases just like the Capital One Venture Rewards card, which are worth exactly 1 cent each toward travel. This makes the return on most spend similar to a 2% cash back card (though in this case you must redeem your miles to offset travel in order to get 1 cent per mile). One huge advantage over cash back: Capital One allows transfering their "miles" to airline miles & hotel points. Click here for our complete card review Earning rate: 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked via Capital One Travel ✦ 5x miles on flights and vacation rentals booked via Capital One travel. ✦ 2X miles everywhere else. Card Info: Visa Infinite issued by CapOne. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Noteworthy perks: $300 annual credit for bookings made through Capital One Travel ✦ 10,000 bonus miles each year starting at first anniversary ✦ Up to $120 application fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® ✦ Capital One Lounge access ✦ Priority Pass membership w/ unlimited guests (lounges only) ✦ Plaza Premium lounge access ✦ Cell phone insurance ✦ Trip insurance ✦ Primary CDW coverage ✦ Redeem miles for travel at value of 1 cent per mile ✦ Convert "miles" to airline miles & hotel points |
Capital One Business Cards
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
$750 Cash Back ⓘ Non-Affiliate Earn a $750 cash bonus when you spend $7,500 within the first 3 months. $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95 Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. FM Mini Review: A good option for business owners who prefer simple cash back rewards. Earning rate: 2% everywhere ✦ 5% on hotels and rental cars booked via Capital One Travel Base: 2% Card Info: Visa Signature issued by CapOne. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Noteworthy perks: No foreign transaction fees |
$2,000+ Cash Back ⓘ Affiliate Earn a $2K cash bonus when you spend $30K in the first 3 months + earn an additional $2K bonus for every $500K spent within the first year.. (Rates & Fees)$150 Annual Fee Recent better offer: Expired 3/14/22: $3K after $50K spend in 6 months FM Mini Review: This may be a good option for business owners who prefer simple cash back rewards. Note that this is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month. Earning rate: 2% everywhere ✦ 5% on hotels and rental cars booked via Capital One Travel Base: 2% Card Info: Visa issued by CapOne. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Big spend bonus: Spend at least $150,000 annually and get $150 annual fee refunded. Noteworthy perks: No foreign transaction fees ✦ No preset spending limit |
$500 Cash Back ⓘ Affiliate One time bonus: $500 after $4,500 spend in 3 months from account opening. (Rates & Fees)No Annual Fee Note: Most Capital One Business credit cards (including this one) DO count against Chase's 5/24 Rule Recent better offer: Expired 9/9/24: $750 Cash Back after $6k spend in 3 months FM Mini Review: This is a good option for business owners looking for simple cash back rewards with no annual fee. If you spend $30,000 or more per year, though, you would be better off with the 2% Spark Cash Plus card. Earning rate: 1.5% everywhere ✦ 5% on hotels and rental cars booked via Capital One Travel Base: 1.5% Card Info: Mastercard issued by CapOne. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Noteworthy perks: No foreign transaction fees |
50K Miles ⓘ Affiliate Earn a one-time 50K miles bonus when you spend $4,500 in the first 3 months. (Rates & Fees)$0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95 Note: Most Capital One Business credit cards (including this one) DO count against Chase's 5/24 Rule FM Mini Review: This card is similar to the Spark Cash Plus card, but it has the advantage that "miles" earned with this card can be transferred to a large number of airline & hotel programs. Earning rate: 2X Miles everywhere ✦ Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacations rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel Base: 2X (2.9%) Card Info: Mastercard issued by CapOne. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Noteworthy perks: Redeem miles for travel at value of 1 cent per mile ✦ Convert "miles" to airline miles & hotel points ✦ No foreign transaction fees ✦ Up to $120 fee credit for TSA PreCheck® application fee or Global Entry application fee |
50K Miles ⓘ Friend-Referral 50K after $4,500 spend in 3 months from account openingNo Annual Fee Note: Most Capital One Business credit cards (including this one) DO count against Chase's 5/24 Rule Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. FM Mini Review: This card is similar to the Spark Cash Select for Business, but rewards are intended to be used to offset travel purchases. This is a good option for business owners who prefer simple rewards with no annual fee, and who value free travel over cash back. If you spend more than $19K per year, though, go for the 2X Spark Miles card. Earning rate: 1.5X miles everywhere ✦ Earn 5X miles on hotel and rental car bookings through Capital One Travel Base: 1.5X (2.18%) Card Info: Mastercard issued by CapOne. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Noteworthy perks: Redeem miles for travel at value of 1 cent per mile ✦ Convert "miles" to airline miles & hotel points ✦ No foreign transaction fees |
150K Miles ⓘ Affiliate Earn a one-time bonus of 150K miles after $30K spend in the first 3 months$395 Annual Fee Recent better offer: Expired 3/31/23: 250K Miles after $50K in spend. FM Mini Review: Similar to the Venture X consumer card, the business version offers annual rebates that easily mitigate the fee for those who travel often and could be worth it for the lounge access and travel protections given the cost/benefit ratio. Unlike the Venture X, free authorized users do not get Priority Pass access. The card earns 2 "miles" per dollar on most purchases just like the Capital One Venture X Rewards card, which are worth exactly 1 cent each toward travel. This makes the return on most spend similar to a 2% cash back card (though in this case you must redeem your miles to offset travel in order to get 1 cent per mile). One big advantage over cash back: Capital One allows transfering their "miles" to airline miles & hotel points. Click here for our complete card review Earning rate: 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked via Capital One Travel ✦ 5x on flights and vacation rentals booked via Capital One travel. ✦ 2X everywhere else. Card Info: Visa issued by CapOne. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Noteworthy perks: $300 annual credit for bookings made through Capital One Travel ✦ 10,000 bonus miles starting at first anniversary ✦ Up to $120 application fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® ✦ Capital One Lounge Access ✦ Priority Pass w/ unlimited guests ✦ Plaza Premium lounge access ✦ Cell phone insurance ✦ Trip insurance ✦ Primary CDW coverage ✦ Redeem miles for travel at 1 cent per mile ✦ Convert "miles" to airline miles & hotel points |
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I just got my first CapOne card, CapOne Venture Rewards. My 1st statement has been issued, I have met the spend, paid in full, and received the SUB. However, I am unable to transfer rewards to an airline. I get a message that I do not have access to this option, and it sends me a text code. Repeat over and over.
I see reddit reports of this same behavior a YEAR AGO, someone was finally told they had to wait until the next bill cycle.
I called CapOne, they have no idea, put me on hold forever and I gave up.
Has anyone had this issue? Big bummer, I was wanting to get their transfer bonus to KLM, which is good through 29Sep (tomorrow).
Great SUB offer right now but seemingly difficult to get for those in the game. P2 auto-denied with 800+ credit at 1/6 and 2/12 for both cards and total inquires (almost 1/12 as account was about to roll off). P2 already has Venture X was hoping to find a way to earn more points – spending at 2X isn’t that appealing as a long term play.
Reports suggest that Capital One has a 4/24 rule.
Good to know. I’d heard of Barclays likely having 6/24 but no others outside of Chase, seems like your /6 and /12 numbers matter more to Citi. We’re not burning through the CapOne points quickly as I’d rather use AMEX or Chase when it’s an option, but I have really liked the MLB ticket redemptions and would like to keep more on hand for those next year.
Barclays 6/24 correct.
Does this have any worthy downgrade options after the first year?
2 free Cap One lounge passes ends at the end of this year. Also the real advantage of this card is 2x miles in transferable currency with no foreign transaction fee. Other way to get 2x is Double Cash but that has a foreign transaction fee. 1.5x with CFU, but same thing. That is why I signed up for the card.
Assuming one has another card for travel and dining, as a practical matter, how much “all other” spending does one actually do outside the US? If that number is as high as $5k, one is looking at only 5k additional points relative to most other no FTF cards. For some, that’s enough. For others, the Citi Double Cash for domestic purchases is a simpler solution. Best of luck.
That is a very fair point. Now that the two Cap One lounge passes have been nixed going forward (and they are often so busy that I can’t get in within a reasonable time period anyway), I do sometimes wonder if the additional points are worth the $95.
See Ntyr’s comment immediately below. I’ve not heard about this but, if true, Capital One is now a less friendly ecosystem. Best of luck.
Not sure if Ntyr’s comment is still accurate. Looks like there was an issue 10 months ago but I think it has been resolved. May be mistaken since I don’t have any other C1 cards, so I can’t test it.
Cap one cards lost all the travel value for because they removed the function to transfer rewards from SavorOne to Venture X. Done using them. Back the Chase Trifecta.