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Christine ran her own business developing and managing insurance and financial services. This stoked a passion for points and miles and she now has over 2 dozen credit cards and creates in-depth, deta...
With years of experience in corporate marketing and as the Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Qatar, Keri is now Editor-in-Chief at UP, overseeing daily content operations and r...
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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.
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.
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!
Get 2x miles plus some of the most flexible redemptions offered by a travel credit card!
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
$1,350
$95
19.99% - 29.99% (Variable)
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)
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Cardis 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
5x miles per $1 on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
2x miles per $1 on all other purchases
2 complimentary visits to a Capital One Lounge or Plaza Premium Lounges each year
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.
Use your card to book hotels 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 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
Transferring Capital One miles to Avianca Lifemiles to fly in United Polaris Business class is a great redemption! Image Credit: Chris Hassan
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.
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 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
Find out risk-free if you’re pre-qualified for Capital One credit cards. Image Credit: Capital One
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.
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 $100. You can receive this benefit once every 4 years.
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).
24. Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver
Visa Signature benefits on the Capital One Venture card include collision damage waiver for rental cars. Image Credit: why kei via Unsplash
Rent a vehicle using your Capital One Venture card, decline the car rental agency’s collision damage coverage, and receive secondary coverage for collision damage and theft on a domestic car rental and primary coverage for international rentals.
Rentals cannot exceed 15 days within your country of residence and 31 days outside of your country of residence.
25. 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.
26. 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.
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.
28. Roadside Dispatch
Receive 24/7 service assistance for towing, gas, tire changing, jump-starting, and lockout service. Service calls are priced at a flat $59 for cardholders.
29. Premium Visa Travel Benefits
Enjoy perks at Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection properties, VIP access to events, and access to your own Visa Signature Concierge 24/7.
30. 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.
31. Gravity Haus Benefits
Cardholders receive a $300 discount toward a Gravity Haus membership. This entitles you to discounted hotel stays near top ski resorts, exclusive events, and discounts on your ski or snowboarding gear. This partnership will last through January 19, 2024.
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.
33. Purchase Security
Purchase an eligible item and receive 90 days of coverage (from the purchase date) for theft or damage. There’s a limit of $500 per claim.
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 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 X Rewards Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.
Featured Image Credit: Upgraded Points
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the Capital One Venture card work?
With a simple earning structure of 2x miles per dollar on every purchase, the card makes it easy to earn miles.
Redeeming miles is simple, too. The best value comes from transferring miles to airline partners, but you can also redeem for travel, gift cards, and cash-back.
Can I use my Capital One Miles on any airline?
You’ll be able to use your Capital One Miles for a flight on any airline, but there are two ways of going about this.
This is because you can transfer your miles either to airline partners or use the miles for a travel statement credit after your purchase is made with any airline using your card.
Capital One miles aren’t real airline miles but you can transfer them to airline frequent flyer programs and use them to book award tickets.
Transfers are limited to about a dozen airline programs currently but more are being added.
What are Capital One miles worth?
Generally Capital One miles are worth 1 cent each.
Redeeming miles for cash or some gift cards can result in a value of less than 1 cent.
Redeeming miles by transferring to airline partners or for some gift cards can result in a value greater than 1 cent per mile.
What credit score do I need for a Capital One Venture card?
While definitions vary, generally a score of around 700 to 739 would be considered good and a score of 740 or higher would be considered excellent. If you’re considering a Capital One credit card, use the pre-qualification tool first to see which credit cards you may qualify for.
Is paying the annual fee worth it?
Paying the Capital One Venture card’s annual fee is worth it if the rewards and perks from the card outweigh the cost of the annual fee.
For example, if you receive $500 worth of travel in the first year from the sign-up bonus, that value definitely covers a few years of annual fees.
Or if you spend enough on the card to earn value beyond the annual fee and then yes, the fee is worth it.
If you don’t receive value from the card that exceeds the cost of the annual fee, then it’s not worth it.
Christine ran her own business developing and managing insurance and financial services. This stoked a passion for points and miles and she now has over 2 dozen credit cards and creates in-depth, detailed content for UP.
This bonus value is an estimated valuation calculated by UP after analyzing redemption options, transfer partners, award availability and how much UP would pay to buy these points.
