37 Benefits of Using the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

While you won’t find a lot of bells and whistles or luxury travel perks on most Capital One credit cards, there’s normally enough value present to merit consideration. Having the ability to transfer Capital One miles to airline programs, for example, is one benefit that can add significant value when you redeem your rewards. Plus, Capital One cards have always featured simplified, yet solid, rewards-earning rates.

We’re focusing on the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card today because the card stands out as one of Capital One’s core travel cards. It’s the card that fostered the marketing phrase, “What’s in your wallet?” because it earns double miles on every purchase.

But the Capital One Venture card is much more than just a card that earns miles.

Let’s take a look at how the Capital One Venture card has transformed into a product that’s packed with more benefits, perks, and value than ever before.

Initial Benefits

1. Lower Annual Fee

The Capital One Venture card charges a $95 annual fee yet comes with unlimited earnings (rates & fees).

2. Generous Welcome Offer

Welcome offers vary, but you can typically count on hundreds of dollars (sometimes even thousands) worth of Capital One miles when you’re approved for the Capital One Venture card.

Terms Apply / Rates & Fees

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the in's and out's of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

Get 2x miles plus some of the most flexible redemptions offered by a travel credit card!

Apply Now(at Capital One's secure site)

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Get 2x miles plus some of the most flexible redemptions offered by a travel credit card!

Welcome Offer

Enjoy a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel.

75,000 miles

UP's Bonus Valuation*:

$1,350

Annual Fee

$95

APR

19.99% - 29.49% (Variable)

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^®Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit cardapplication.

Good to Excellent Credit (670-850)

Why We Like This Card

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is one of the most popular rewards cards on the market. It’s perfect for anyone in search of a great welcome offer, high rewards rates, and flexible redemption options.

Frequent travelers with excellent credit may benefit from this credit card that offers a lot of bells and whistles. And it offers easy-to-understand rewards earning and redemption.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 5x miles per $1 on hotels, vacation rentals, and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
• 2x miles per $1 on all other purchases
• Up to a $120 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit

Cons

• $95 annual fee (rates & fees)
• Limited elite benefits

Read Full Review

Card Highlights

• Enjoy a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel
• Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day
• Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options
• Miles won't expire for the life of the account and there's no limit to how many you can earn
• Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck^®
• Use your miles to get reimbursed for any travel purchase—or redeem by booking a trip through Capital One Travel
• Enjoy a $50 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Lifestyle Collection
• Transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 19.99% - 29.49% (Variable)
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Rewards Center

Capital One Miles

Earning Rewards

3. Earn 2x Miles on Every Purchase

With the Capital One Venture card, there are no complicated bonus categories or earning structures to navigate. You simply earn 2x miles per dollar on every purchase you make. This makes the Capital One Venture card one of the best cards for monthly bills.

Using your card for all your everyday spending, travel, and miscellaneous expenses can really add up. Spending $25,000 per year on the card would earn you 50,000 miles, meaning you’d earn $500 to $900 in travel, based on our valuation of Capital One miles, toward that family vacation you’ve been dreaming of.

4. Unlimited Earnings

No matter how you earn Capital One miles, there’s no limit on how many you can earn.

For additional information on earning Capital One miles, check out our list of the best ways to earn lots of Capital One miles.

5. Bonus Earnings on Hotels and Rental Cars

Use your card to book hotels, vacation rentals, and rental cars via Capital One Travel and earn 5x miles.

6. Refer a friend

Refer friends and family for a Capital One credit card and when they’re approved you could receive a referral bonus. You could earn from 10,000 to 20,000 Capital One miles per referral, up to 50,000 miles each year. Here’s more information about the Capital One Refer-a-Friend Program.

Bottom Line: You’ll earn 2x miles for every dollar you spend on your Capital One Venture card and 5x miles on hotels, vacation rentals, and rental cars via Capital One Travel. There’s no limit on how many miles you can earn. 

Redeeming Capital One Miles

Capital One miles are simple to earn and easy to redeem.

7. Transfer Miles to Airline Partners

Capital One miles aren’t really airline miles, but you can turn them into real airline miles by transferring them to airlines’ frequent flyer programs.

Capital One miles can be transferred to more than a dozen airline partners so you can utilize those miles to purchase award tickets. This option can result in getting greater value for your miles compared to the more basic redemptions.

For example, for just 25,000 Capital One miles transferred to Avianca LifeMiles you can book a flight across the U.S. in United’s Polaris business class. For just 78,000 Avianca LifeMiles, you can fly from the U.S. to South Africa in business class.

For instructions on how to transfer your Capital One miles to airline partners and a collection of some very creative flight redemption ideas, check out the best ways to use Capital One miles.

8. Transfer Miles to Hotel Partners

Capital One has 3 hotel transfer partners, ALL – Accor Live Limitless, Choice Privileges, and Wyndham Rewards, which allows you to get above-average value from your Capital One miles.

We like the value you can receive with Wyndham Rewards as redemptions start at just 7,500 points per night. Plus, the program offers all-inclusive resorts for just 30,000 points per night. This means you can enjoy the Waikiki Marina Resort at the Lliaki in Honolulu or the Grand Residences Rivera Cancun for 30,000 points per night.

9. Redeem for Previous Travel Purchases

Redeem your miles for a statement credit for previous travel purchases at the rate of 1 cent per mile.

10. Travel Purchases

Another option to redeem your Capital One miles for travel is to book directly via Capital One Travel.

You’ll receive 1 cent per mile towards travel purchases. For example, if your travel purchase is $200, you’ll need to redeem 20,000 miles to cover the purchase.

11. Use Capital One Miles To Pay for Entertainment and Experiences

Want to score that sought-after March Madness ticket, take in a Michelin-starred dining venue, or attend a top-tier concert? Cardholders can redeem their rewards for more than 500,000 experiences. Miles are worth 0.8 each when used for experiences, meaning it would take 12,500 miles to purchase a $100 ticket.

Or, book an experience of your choice and redeem your Capital One miles for a statement credit to offset the cost of the travel purchase (within 90 days of purchase).

12. Redeem for Gift Cards

Redeem your Capital One miles for gift cards with merchants like Best Buy, Starbucks, and more. Watch for special offers making it possible to receive more than 1 cent per mile when you redeem your Capital One miles for gift cards. Be sure to compare redemption prices to receive the best value for your miles — a good value for gift cards is 1 cent per mile or better but prices start at 0.8 cents per mile.

13. Redeem for Cash-back

Redeeming your Capital One miles for cash is not a good value, but it is an option. You’ll only receive half a cent in value per mile redeemed.

14. Donate Your Rewards

Capital One miles can no longer be redeemed for charitable donations via the Capital One Giving Site as it has been discontinued.

You can, however, transfer your Capital One miles to one of the airline partner programs and donate your miles through the airline’s donation program.

15. No Minimum Redemption Amount

You can redeem even a small amount of miles from your account as there is no minimum redemption requirement.

16. Checkout With PayPal

When your eligible card is linked to PayPal, you can checkout with PayPal and redeem your miles at a rate of 125 miles to $1, or 0.8 cents per miles. We’d recommend this only if you can’t use your miles for travel or as a statement credit.

17. Miles Never Expire

As long as you have an active Capital One account open and in good standing, your miles never expire. You will forfeit your miles if your account is closed, so be sure to use all of your miles before closing your account.

Hot Tip: Redeeming Capital One miles by transferring to airline partners and for some gift cards can result in receiving value in excess of the standard 1 cent per mile. 

18. No Charge for Rewards Transfers

Capital One Miles offer the option of transferring the miles to another account. The account holder you’re transferring to or from just needs to have an active Capital One Miles account.

Risk-free Offers for Capital One Credit Cards

19. Pre-qualification Tool

Capital One has created a stress-free way to find out if you’re pre-qualified for one of its credit cards. Their pre-qualification inquiry process isn’t a formal credit card application, so no credit check is done.

The tool is designed for you to find out quickly and easily if you may be pre-qualified for a Capital One credit card. Just complete the simple form and submit it to see if you’re pre-qualified. It takes less than 60 seconds to see the results.

Being pre-qualified isn’t a guarantee that you will get approved for a particular card. It does, however, give you an idea of which credit cards you’re most likely to qualify for.

20. Capital One Participates With CardMatch

There’s another option for accessing credit card offers that may be waiting for you which may include offers from Capital One. The CardMatch tool is a risk-free way to see if you already have credit card offers available to you.

Your credit report isn’t accessed so there’s no risk in checking it out. For additional information, check out our guide on how you can find pre-qualified and pre-approved credit card offers.

Bottom Line: Prior to applying for a Capital One credit card, be sure you utilize a pre-qualification tool to see which cards you’re most likely to get approved for. 

Travel Protections and Benefits

21. Global Entry or TSA PreCheck Credit

Just charge your Global Entry or TSA PreCheck fee to your Capital One Venture card, and you’ll receive a statement credit in the amount of the fee, up to $120. You can receive this benefit once every 4 years.

Hot Tip: Want to know more about Global Entry? Check out our piece on the top Global Entry FAQs and check out other credit cards that come with a Global Entry fee reimbursement.

22. No Foreign Transaction Fees

There’s nothing worse than having 3% to 5% added to your foreign purchases. There are no foreign transaction fees when using the Capital One Venture card abroad (rates & fees).

23. MasterRental Insurance

Use your card to rent an eligible vehicle and you may be covered for physical damage and theft of the rental vehicle

24. Travel Assistance Services

Receive 24/7 access to emergency legal, medical, and transportation assistance while traveling. Your spouse and dependent children (under 22 years of age) are also covered.

The cardholder is responsible for any costs incurred for referred services.

25. Travel Accident Insurance

When there’s a death or severe personal injury loss on a common carrier, and you’ve paid with your Capital One Venture card, you may receive up to $100,000 for a covered loss.

26. Lost Luggage Insurance

Pay for your ticket with your Capital One Venture card and receive up to $3,000 ($2,000 for New York residents) if your luggage is lost or stolen.

27. Master RoadAssist

Take advantage of 24-hour toll-free assistance to help with services like towing, gas delivery, jumpstarts, and tire changes.

28. Concierge Services

Enjoy assistance 24 hours a day, from home and when you travel, with World Elite Mastercard Concierge

29. Hertz Benefits

Receive complimentary Hertz Five Star status as long as you have the card. Hertz Five Star Status gives you elite benefits when renting a vehicle from the company, including perks like a 1-class car upgrade when available, a free additional driver (spouse or domestic partner), and more.

Hot Tip:

Hot Tip: Wondering how the Capital One Venture card stacks up against other popular travel rewards cards? Check out our related articles like Capital One Venture card vs. Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card*×Information collected independently. Not reviewed by Capital One., Capital One Venture card vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card, and Capital One Venture card vs. the Citi Double Cash Card^®.

Shopping Protections and Benefits

30. Extended Warranty

Purchase a qualifying item entirely with your Venture Card and have the original manufacturer’s warranty period doubled in length, up to 2 additional years.

For example, if you have a manufacturer’s warranty of 2 years, you would receive an additional 2 years when you purchase the item on your Capital One Venture card. The original warranty must be 3 years or less.

31. Purchase Assurance

Purchase an eligible item and receive 90 days of coverage (from the purchase date) for theft or damage.

Hot Tip: Are you a business owner? If so you might want to check out these Capital One business credit cards.

Account Management and Security Features

32. Capital One Mobile App

Manage your account on the go with the Capital One mobile app. You can check your balance, track your purchases, and even pay your bill.

33. Check Your Credit for Free

With CreditWise, you can access and monitor your credit score for free. You don’t even have to be a cardholder to use CreditWise.

34. Eno, the Virtual Account Assistant

Eno tracks your account 24/7 and alerts you of suspected fraud, answers your inquiries, and helps you shop online safely.

35. Add an Authorized User

Add a user to your account and track their spending — there’s no cost to do so (rates & fees).

36. Custom Account Alerts

Set up account alerts for unusual activity, large purchases, or other specific card activity so you’re never surprised.

37. Zero Fraud Liability

You are not liable for unauthorized purchases on your card.

Final Thoughts

If you’re looking for luxury travel perks such as widespread airport lounge access, airline and hotel statement credits, and elite status, you’re not going to find any of these on the Capital One Venture card. However, what you will find is a solid reward-earning card with many flexible redemption options.

It’s a card you can keep in your wallet and know you’ll be earning double miles on every purchase you make. And when it comes time to redeem your miles you’ll have quite a few ways to use your rewards.

If you’re looking for a premium Capital One card that does offer high-end benefits you’ll want to check out the Capital One Venture X card. Or maybe you’re a frequent traveler and looking for a travel-focused rewards card, our list of the best travel rewards credit cards gives you all the information you need to select the right card for your travel style.

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

Upon enrollment, accessible through the Capital One website or mobile app, eligible cardholders will remain at that status level through the duration of the offer. Please note, enrolling through the normal Hertz Gold Plus Rewards enrollment process (e.g. at Hertz.com) will not automatically detect a cardholder as being eligible for the program and cardholders will not be automatically upgraded to the applicable status tier. Additional terms apply.