Capital One Venture Rewards Card Overview

The Capital One Venture Rewards credit card was designed for people who love to travel, offering users five miles for every dollar spent on select travel purchases. Those who take advantage of the offer will also enjoy two miles per dollar spent on day-to-day non-travel purchases. 

                By                    Joshua Rodriguez

  • Overview

  • Features

  • Other Benefits

  • Comparable Options

  • Travel

  • 4.4

Pros

  • Cardholders earn 5 miles per dollar spent on Capital One Travel purchases and 2 miles per dollar spent on all other purchases.
  • Members can redeem rewards for statement credits or travel purchases.
  • The card offers a competitive interest rate.
  • Cardholders can earn a 75,000-mile welcome bonus.
  • Members can transfer miles to more than 15 partner rewards programs.

Cons

  • Cardholders are charged a $95 annual fee.
  • The card doesn’t come with an introductory interest rate.
  • Rewards can only be used for travel.

Cardholders can earn a welcome bonus of 75,000 bonus miles. Additionally, the card offers price-drop protection, providing a partial refund to customers if a flight’s price falls after they book it. 

Though rewards can be redeemed only for travel benefits, cardholders can redeem rewards by booking travel via Capital One Travel or through statement credits for travel purchases.

The one major drawback for cardholders is the annual fee to keep their accounts in good standing. 

Key Features

The Capital One Venture Rewards credit card comes with several intriguing features. Here’s a look at some of the most interesting perks.

Rewards

The credit card has a very generous rewards-earning structure. Cardholders earn five miles for every dollar spent on travel expenses like hotels and rental cars when they book their trips through Capital One Travel. 

For those who travel often, like business travelers, points will rack up rapidly.

The card is also a good fit for those who travel occasionally and use credit card rewards to reduce the cost. Every time a cardholder uses the Venture Rewards card, they’ll earn two miles for each dollar spent. So, even the average consumer who decides to use the card for groceries and gas has the opportunity to build rewards at a steady rate.

This fast rate of rewards earnings is why the Capital One Venture Rewards card comes with such a high annual fee. The company’s website points out that consumers who want to avoid the annual fee also have the option of signing up for the VentureOne credit card instead, which allows them to earn miles at a lower rate of 1.25 miles per dollar spent.

Fees and Interest

For the most part, the fees and interest charged on the Capital One Venture Rewards card are in line with the company’s competition.

Fees charged to cardholders include:

Customer Service

Any time a consumer considers a financial service, they should look into the quality of customer service provided. 

With Capital One, cardholders are working with one of the largest and most trusted lending institutions in the world. Therefore, they can be confident that their money is in capable hands.

Moreover, when customers have questions, Capital One’s customer support team is available 24 hours per day, every day, including holidays. The support staff should be able to handle any questions posed by customers.

Welcome Bonus

Welcome bonuses are popular among rewards credit cards, offering new cardholders the ability to rack up substantial rewards points within the first few months of being approved. The Capital One Venture Rewards card is no different. 

New members will receive a 75,000-mile bonus when they spend $4,000 in the first three months.

The 75,000-mile bonus offered by the Venture Rewards credit card is a generous offering, considering the average sign-up bonus on travel rewards cards is 51,027 miles, according to LendingTree.

Other Features of the Capital One Venture Rewards Card

Here’s a look at additional benefits that come with the Venture Rewards card.

Reward Redemption

Capital One makes redeeming miles a simple process. Customers can get their hands on their rewards in a variety of ways:

Free Visits to the Capital One Lounge

Capital One Venture Rewards cardholders get two free visits to Capital One Lounges or partner lounges at airports each year. There is currently just one Capital One Lounge location (Dallas-Fort Worth), but additional lounges are scheduled to open at Denver International Airport and Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C., sometime in 2023. The partner lounge network consists of more than 100 airport lounges worldwide.

Cardholders who have layovers or departures in one of these three airports will be able to relax and recharge with high-end amenities, including locally grown foods and beverages in the Capital One Lounge.

Hertz Five Star Status

Renting cars is part of travel, and Capital One Venture Rewards cardholders can skip the rental counter and choose from a wider selection of rental vehicles with Hertz Five Star status.

Capital One Dining

Capital One cardholders get first-class access to unique dining experiences and reservations at award-winning restaurants.

Global Entry or TSA PreCheck Reimbursement

Capital One reimburses cardholders for fees associated with Global Entry or TSA PreCheck services once every four years, up to a maximum of $100.

Access to Events and Dining Benefits

On top of access to exclusive reservations for award-winning restaurants and food experiences, Capital One cardholders also receive special access to live music events. This includes access to on-site lounges and special VIP packages.

Moreover, cardholders get discounted VIP access and tickets to some of the most popular sporting events in the world.

Lowest-Priced Travel

When reserving a travel experience through Capital One Travel, cardholders receive a lowest-price guarantee. Capital One even provides price-drop protection, reimbursing cardholders for the additional cost of travel should prices drop after they’ve made their reservations.

Comparable Credit Cards To Consider

The Capital One Venture Rewards card is unique because of the exclusive perks offered to cardholders. Few credit cards give customers access to private lounges in airports, exclusive statuses with rental car services or the guaranteed ability to purchase the lowest-priced travel.

Good To Know

According to a projection from Hopper, the average cost of a domestic round-trip ticket in the United States as of January 2023 is estimated at $208. Because a single Venture Rewards mile is worth 1 cent, cardholders need 20,800 miles to cover the cost of the average domestic flight. 

The card is also on the high end of the spectrum when it comes to welcome bonuses and the ability to earn rewards quickly. 

Nonetheless, there are competitive offers that some applicants may find more appealing. For those who find that the Capital One Venture Card isn’t the best fit for them, some comparable cards of interest include the following options.

Capital One VentureOne Rewards Card

The Capital One VentureOne Rewards credit card offers many of the same perks you’ll find with the Venture Rewards card. While cardholders don’t have free access to the Capital One Lounge, they are eligible to take part in Capital One Dining offers, the lowest-cost travel guarantee and unique Capital One experiences.

VentureOne cardholders can also earn five points per dollar when booking travel through Capital One Travel and 1.25 points per dollar on all other purchases. There’s also a $0 annual fee on the card.

The Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card offers 25,000 bonus points, worth $250, when cardholders spend at least $1,000 in the first 90 days, and 1.5 miles per dollar spent on everyday purchases.

There’s no annual fee, and the card comes with an APR.

Final Take

The Capital One Venture Rewards credit card is a compelling option for consumers who use their rewards credit cards often and travel often. With a annual fee to contend with, those who don’t travel frequently are likely better suited with another option, like the VentureOne card or the Bank of America Travel Rewards credit card, both of which come with no annual fee.

Additionally, rewards credit cards incentivize spending, which makes it easy to rack up overwhelming amounts of credit card debt. Only those with a strong sense of self-control and keen budgeting skills should consider taking advantage of any rewards credit card.

Cynthia Measom contributed to the reporting for this article.

  • How much are Capital One Venture points worth?

  • Each mile cardholders earn using the Capital One Venture Rewards credit card is worth 1 cent, which comes out to $1 for every 100 miles. So when a customer amasses 100,000 miles, they will have $1,000 in travel rewards to redeem.

  • How often can you get the Capital One Venture bonus?

  • As with most credit cards, the sign-up bonus offered with the Venture Rewards card can only be earned once.

  • Do Capital One rewards expire?

  • Miles earned on the Capital One Venture Rewards card will not expire as long as the cardholder keeps the credit card open. However, once the account is closed, earned rewards will no longer be available.

  • What is the Capital One Venture Rewards card good for?

  • The Capital One Venture Rewards credit card is best for earning travel rewards quickly. Cardholders earn at least 2 miles for every dollar spent.

  • Each mile cardholders earn using the Capital One Venture Rewards credit card is worth 1 cent, which comes out to $1 for every 100 miles. So when a customer amasses 100,000 miles, they will have $1,000 in travel rewards to redeem.

  • As with most credit cards, the sign-up bonus offered with the Venture Rewards card can only be earned once.

  • Miles earned on the Capital One Venture Rewards card will not expire as long as the cardholder keeps the credit card open. However, once the account is closed, earned rewards will no longer be available.

  • The Capital One Venture Rewards credit card is best for earning travel rewards quickly. Cardholders earn at least 2 miles for every dollar spent.

Rates are subject to change; unless otherwise noted, rates are updated periodically. All other information on accounts is accurate as of Jan. 25, 2023.

Editorial Note: This content is not provided by any entity covered in this article. Any opinions, analyses, reviews, ratings or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author alone and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any entity named in this article.

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