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Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card This is a popular travel credit card that has been constantly improved over the past few years. It’s a much more versatile credit card today than just a few years ago, and it offers far more value than ever before. It’s known these days for its flat rate of 2X miles on every purchase, flexible redemption options, and a pretty attractive sign up bonus.
So now is the perfect time to take a fresh look at this card and see if it’s really worth it for your needs.
When Should I Give Capital One Venture Rewards?
Like all credit cards, Capital One Venture Rewards isn’t for everyone, but here are a few times it could be beneficial for you.
If you would like to receive travel rewards
Airline, hotel, and credit card reward programs can be extremely difficult and frustrating to use, even for travel reward experts who learn these things for a living. So there is definitely a demand for cards with a simple rewards program. These cards, like the Venture Card, are for those who don’t want to go into extreme details to get valuable travel rewards.
The Capital One Venture Rewards program simply offers double miles on all purchases. As with many other rewards programs, each Capital One mile costs the standard 1 cent. You can also earn 5x miles on hotels and car rentals booked through Capital One Travel. It is so simple.
When you are new to travel cards
Exploring the nuances of frequent flyer award cards and finding the elusive low-mileage award travel bookings appeals to the savvy award travel enthusiast. But if you’re just getting started, there’s nothing easier than using the Capital One Purchase Eraser feature to simply use your miles to pay for existing bookings if they’ve been made within the last 90 days. So if you don’t want to be tied to booking travel on the Capital One Travel portal, you can keep your options open with a Venture Card.
And if you ever want to, you can always take award travel to the next level someday by converting Capital One miles into airline miles or hotel points, but it’s up to you. Capital One Miles can be transferred to over 15 partner airlines and hotels, in most cases at a 1:1 ratio.
You should also keep in mind that Capital One has been revisiting its travel rewards program for a while, so while the Venture Card itself is simple, it’s a great entry into a great rewards program that rivals even the best.
When you spend in different categories
With many popular Travel Rewards credit cards, you earn as little as 1 point or mile per dollar spent on regular purchases and reward points on individual purchases. For example, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers 2X points for regular trips, 3X points for meals, 5X points for Chase Ultimate Rewards trips and 1X points for all other expenses.
However, since Chase Sapphire Preferred only earns Reward Points in certain categories, this can be disadvantageous if you spend across different categories. On the other hand, the Capital One Venture Card offers double miles on all purchases and 5X miles for every dollar spent on hotels and car rentals booked through Capital One Travel. This means you will always earn at least 2 miles on every purchase, no matter how you use your card.
When is Capital One Venture Rewards not worth it?
Despite its benefits, Capital One Venture Rewards is not for everyone. Here’s an example where it wouldn’t cost you.
When you travel only occasionally
It’s easy for some frequent travelers to forget that there are many people who don’t travel regularly, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. If your idea of travel is to visit family or fly occasionally once a year or two, then you probably won’t travel enough to make the best use of the rewards offered by this card. In fact, you may not be able to buy enough trips to be able to use your bonus miles. Those who rarely travel may also not be interested in passing on rewards to partner airlines and hotels.
Those who travel infrequently are likely to be better off with a leading cashback card, which is less likely to offer travel-focused bonus categories. For example, the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards* credit card offers 4 percent cash back at restaurants, entertainment, and popular streaming services, and 3 percent at grocery stores. This cashback card can be ideal for those who travel infrequently.
Is it worth getting Capital One Venture Rewards?
The Capital One Venture Card is a great choice for frequent travelers looking for a card with a simple rewards program. It also makes sense for those who spend in different categories but always want to get as many rewards as possible. Just be aware that it is not meant for the occasional traveller, and there are other cards that offer rewards and bonus features that are not geared towards the needs of frequent travelers.
bottom line
Like many other products, choosing a credit card is all about finding the best deal for your needs. And for those new to the travel rewards industry and those who appreciate simple rewards programs, Capital One Venture Rewards could be that card. Once you understand how this card works and who it’s best for, you’ll quickly see if it’s worth it.
*All Capital One Savor Cash Rewards credit card information has been independently collected by CreditCards.com and has not been verified or approved by the issuer.
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