Capital One Platinum Card vs. VentureOne & Venture Cards [2023]

Capital One is a unique credit card issuer offering a large collection of cards with options appropriate for every credit rating. Perhaps you’d like to get started on the path toward securing a rewards-earning credit card, for example, but your credit history is not quite there yet. There’s a Capital One card right for you.

Conversely, if you’ve worked hard to improve your credit history, you’ll find several card options that will allow you to earn rewards on every purchase you make.

We’re comparing 3 Capital One cards today, each designed for a consumer with a specific level of credit history. We’ll cover what it takes to qualify for each card, compare the features and benefits, and if applicable, how you can earn and redeem rewards.

Join us as we discuss the Capital One Platinum Credit Card, the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card, and the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card.

Table of contents

Capital One Platinum Card vs. Capital One VentureOne Card and Capital One Venture Card — Overview
The Value of a Welcome Bonus
Earning Rewards
Redemption Options
Minimum Qualification Requirements
Final Thoughts

Table of Contents

Capital One Platinum Card vs. Capital One VentureOne Card and Capital One Venture Card — Overview
The Value of a Welcome Bonus
Earning Rewards
Redemption Options
Minimum Qualification Requirements
Final Thoughts

Capital One Platinum Card vs. Capital One VentureOne Card and Capital One Venture Card — Overview

First, let’s take a side-by-side look at our 3 featured cards. You’ll notice that each level of card comes with additional reward-earning potential and greater features/benefits.

	Capital One Platinum Credit Card	Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card	Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Welcome Bonus	No welcome offer is available.	Earn 20,000 miles when you spend $500 on purchases in the first 3 months.	Earn 75,000 miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
Earning	No rewards program	5x miles on hotels and rental cars purchased through Capital One Travel 1.25x miles on all other purchases	5x miles on hotels and rental cars purchased through Capital One Travel 2x miles on all other purchases
Redemption Options	No rewards program	Transfer points to airline and hotel partners Purchase travel via Capital One Travel Redeem for gift cards, shop with Amazon, redeem via PayPal, statement credits
Additional Benefits	Available to those with fair credit	None	TSA PreCheck or Global Entry fee reimbursement, up to $100, every 4 years
Annual Fee	$0	$0	$95

The Value of a Welcome Bonus

While the Capital One Platinum card does not offer a welcome bonus, the Capital One VentureOne card and Capital One Venture card each offer a welcome bonus in the form of Capital One miles earned when you complete minimum spending requirements within the first 3 months after card approval.

Keep in mind that welcome bonuses can change, but we’ve shown a snapshot above of the current applicable welcome bonuses and spending requirements.

Miles can generally be redeemed for 1 cent each, so a 75,000-mile welcome bonus would equal $750 in travel value. However, you could receive potentially greater value when utilizing the option to transfer miles to travel partners and use them for flights or hotel nights. We’ll cover more on redemption options shortly.

If you’d like to learn more about how the 2 rewards-earning cards compare, we’ve put together a detailed comparison of the Capital One VentureOne card vs. the Capital One Venture card.

Earning Rewards

Capital One is known for its simplistic earning structures, so you’ll always know how many Capital One miles you’ll earn on every purchase you make.

Let’s look at how our 3 featured cards compare when it comes to earning rewards:

Card	Annual Fee	Earning
Capital One Platinum card	$0	No rewards program
Capital One VentureOne card	$0	5x miles on hotels and rental cars purchased through Capital One Travel 1.25x miles on other purchases
Capital One Venture card	$95	5x miles on hotels and rental cars purchased through Capital One Travel 2x miles on other purchases

Bottom Line: The no-annual-fee Capital One Platinum card is designed primarily for building credit and does not earn rewards. The Capital One VentureOne card earns modest rewards but does not charge an annual fee. The Capital One Venture card charges a $95 annual fee but has the highest earning level of at least 2 miles per dollar spent on every purchase.

Redemption Options

Avianca Plane Landing — Redeem Capital One miles for free flights by transferring to airline loyalty programs. Image Credit: Sergio Shumoff via Shutterstock

While the Capital One Platinum card doesn’t earn rewards, miles earned on the Capital One VentureOne card and Capital One Venture card offer several redemption options.

Here are your options for redeeming your Capital One miles:

Transfer to Travel Partners — Receive the highest potential value for your miles by transferring to airline and hotel loyalty programs and purchasing award travel or free hotel nights.
Purchase Travel via Capital One Travel — Receive 1 cent per mile in value when purchasing travel via the Capital One Travel portal.
Additional Redemption Options — Redeem miles for gift cards, shopping at Amazon, statement credits, and more. However, not all options provide good value. Strive for no less than 1 cent per mile in value.

Minimum Qualification Requirements

Capital One Credit Levels — Capital One offers cards that are designed for every level of credit history. Image Credit: Capital One

Each of our featured cards has its own specific requirements to get approved for the card. Let’s look at the level of recommended credit you would need to qualify for each card.

Capital One Platinum Card

The Capital One Platinum card encourages at least a fair credit score. The definition of a fair credit score, according to leading credit score creator FICO, is a score between 580 and 669. Additionally, Capital One describes the typical qualifying applicant as “having defaulted on a loan in the past 5 years” or “having a limited credit history, owned a credit card or other credit for less than 3 years.”

Capital One VentureOne Card

If your credit score is considered good to excellent, you might want to apply for the Capital One VentureOne card. According to Capital One, in order to qualify for the card, you “have not declared bankruptcy or defaulted on a loan in the past 5 years” and “have a credit card or loan that has not been more than 30 days late on any payment in the last year.”

Capital One Venture Card

The Capital One Venture card recommends a good to excellent credit score which is generally defined as between 670 and 850. Capital One states that the ideal applicant “has never declared bankruptcy or defaulted on a loan, not been more than 60 days late on any credit card, loan, or medical bill, in the last year, and has had a loan or credit card for 3 years or more with a credit limit above $5,000.”

Next Steps

Prior to applying for any card, you’ll want to know your credit history and credit score. You can obtain a credit report from each of the major credit bureaus via AnnualCreditReport.com and there is no cost for the service. Reviewing your credit report for accuracy is always a good first step.

Should you find any errors on your credit report, you’ll want to submit a dispute to the credit bureau and resolve the issue prior to applying for a card.

Once you’ve determined where you stand and have corrected any errors, you can access any available card offers risk-free with the CardMatch tool. There is no inquiry on your credit report and very little information is required to utilize the tool. Capital One also has a risk-free pre-qualification tool, but it does require you to provide more information.

These tools provide a list of card offers you may qualify, for but do not guarantee that you will be approved for the cards.

Final Thoughts

Capital One is a good place to start building or rebuilding your credit. The variety of cards offered can serve as stepping stones to elevate your creditworthiness to a point where you may have an endless choice of rewards-earning card options.

If your credit is fair, starting with the Capital One Platinum card could help you improve your credit and ultimately qualify you for a next-step card such as the Capital One VentureOne card and then the Capital One Venture card. For information on additional Capital One miles- and rewards-earning cards, you’ll want to check out this list of some of the best cards from this issuer.

If you have bad credit or absolutely no credit, you still have options for cards to help you build good credit.

Once you’ve achieved a good to excellent credit score, you’ll have your choice of some of the best travel rewards cards.

For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.

The information regarding the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
The information regarding the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.

Frequently asked questions

Which is better, the Capital One Platinum card, Capital One Venture card, or the Capital One VentureOne card?

The Capital One Venture card is the best card among these cards but isn't necessarily the one you'll qualify for. If you have fair credit, you will not qualify for the Capital One Venture card or Capital One VentureOne card. You may, however, be able to qualify for the Capital One Platinum card.

If you have good to excellent credit you may be able to qualify for one of the Venture cards.

Prior to applying, you should obtain a copy of your credit card, verify it for accuracy, and know where you stand. You can also use the CardMatch tool to see if you have card offers available.

Does the Capital One Platinum card earn rewards?

The Capital One Platinum card is designed for building or rebuilding credit and does not earn rewards.

Can I use my Capital One miles for flights?

Capital One miles earned on the Capital One VentureOne card and Capital One Venture card are not frequent flyer miles that can be redeemed directly for flights. However, you can transfer Capital One miles to airline partners and then use the airline's frequent flyer miles to purchase award flights.

You can also redeem Capital One miles for flights via Capital One Travel at the value of 1 cent each.

What credit score do I need for the Capital One Venture card?

It's recommended you have excellent credit to qualify for the Capital One Venture card. While the definition of an excellent credit score varies, it is generally defined as one that is at least 740 or better.

Capital One describes the ideal applicant for the Capital One Venture card as one who "has never declared bankruptcy or defaulted on a loan, not been more than 60 days late on any credit card, loan, or medical bill, in the last year, and had a loan or credit card for 3 years or more with a credit limit above $5,000."

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Capital One Platinum Card vs. VentureOne and Venture Cards [Detailed Comparison]

Capital One Platinum Card vs. Capital One VentureOne Card and Capital One Venture Card — Overview

The Value of a Welcome Bonus

Earning Rewards

Redemption Options