AwardWallet receives compensation from advertising partners for links on the blog. Terms Apply to the offers listed on this page. The opinions expressed here are our own and have not been reviewed, provided, or approved by any bank advertiser. Here's our complete list of Advertisers.
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card has a solid new-cardmember offer and some great perks. This card is a great fit for anyone who likes having a super-easy option to redeem rewards at a fair value.
With most rewards, the easier it is to redeem, the less money you save. But Capital One offers the best of both worlds: use points to pay yourself back for any travel purchase or transfer Capital One rewards to airline and hotel partners for even more value.
In this post, we'll review the Capital One Venture‘s key benefits to help you decide whether or not it deserves a place in your wallet.
- Earn 100,000 Miles when you spend $20,000 on purchases in the first 12 months from account opening, or still earn 50,000 miles if you spend $3000 on purchases in the first 3 months; worth $600 in travel if redeemed for a fixed-value, or potentially much more when transferred to airline partners
- 2 Miles on every purchase
- Fee credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre✔® (up to $100)
- No foreign transaction fees
- $95 annual fee
- 2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day.
Capital One Venture Welcome Offer
The current offer from Capital One matches the all-time high for this card: Earn 100,000 miles when you spend $20,000 on purchases in the first 12 months from account opening, or still earn 50,000 miles if you spend $3000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
$20,000 in total spending to earn the full bonus is a higher target than you'll see with many competitors. But if you spread that evenly over 12 months, the requirement is only $1,667 per month—which should be achievable for many.
The key difference with this offer is that you need to commit to making the Capital One Venture your primary card for a longer period of time. Fortunately, this card is an ideal choice for folks that like to keep their earning strategy simple.
Earning Potential and Bonus Spending Categories
The Capital One Venture card offers 2x miles for every dollar spent, on all purchases, in all categories. There is no limit to the miles you can earn, and they never expire. For every $1,000 you spend on the card, you'll earn 2,000 Venture Miles.
If you truly want to maximize the points you earn, there are other cards that earn more than 2X points on select categories. But it can take some organization to come out ahead with a portfolio of cards. If you like the simplicity of earning 2X miles on everything—without having to think about which card to use—the Capital One Venture is a perfect choice.
Ultimate Flexibility Redeeming Capital One Venture Miles
Capital One miles are perhaps the most flexible rewards out there. You get to choose between exchanging miles for a fixed cash value or transferring them to partners where the potential savings is even greater.
Redeem Miles for Any Travel Purchase
Capital One's “Purchase Eraser” feature is a simple way to use rewards for any travel purchase. Just pay with your Capital One Venture card (the same way you would make any other purchase) and redeem your rewards up to 90 days afterward to “erase” the charge from your monthly bill.
The Purchase Eraser works for flights, hotels, car rentals, and more. You can redeem as many miles as you want, from $1 all the way up to the full amount of miles you have in your account.
In addition to being easy, the purchase eraser feature gives you maximum flexibility. Most fixed-value points must be redeemed through a particular website or travel portal. Capital One lets you buy travel from whichever website or vendor you like. That means you can take advantage of flash-sales, error fares, and discounts that aren't available in other places. It also means you can book directly with a hotel so you can earn and enjoy elite benefits.
Transfer Miles to Airlines and Hotels
While it's great to have an easy option, sometimes, you can save far more with each mile redeemed by transferring points to a hotel or airline loyalty program. Capital One gives you the best of both worlds with 13 airline and 2 hotel transfer partners.
For more tips on making the most of your Capital One miles, check out the post below.
Related: Redeem for Maximum Value with the Capital One Venture Card
More Travel Perks
In addition to great rewards, the Capital One Venture card offers solid travel perks including no foreign transaction fees, travel insurance, roadside assistance, reimbursement for lost luggage, and a 24/7 concierge service that provides you with great support.
The Capital One Venture is also one of the many cards that features a statement credit towards the TSA Pre✓ or Global Entry application fee. The value of the credit depends on which program you choose:
- $100 rebate on Global Entry enrollment fee
- $85 rebate on TSA Pre✓ enrollment fee
Since Global Entry includes TSA Pre✓, you're better off applying for Global Entry if you might take an international trip in the next few years. In either case, the Capital One Venture credit will cover the full value of the application fee once every four years if you pay with your card.
Related: Cards that Offer a Credit for TSA Pre✓ and Global Entry
Final Thoughts
The Capital One Venture has been on our list of favorite cards for a long time. If you like simple, this card gets top marks for easy redemptions and its straightforward 2X earning structure.
If you're willing to put in the effort to keep track of which card to use for each type of purchase, you can earn more points with a combo of cards that might earn 3X or even 5X in the right category. But for an easy path to solid rewards, it's hard to beat the Capital One Venture.
- Earn 100,000 Miles when you spend $20,000 on purchases in the first 12 months from account opening, or still earn 50,000 miles if you spend $3000 on purchases in the first 3 months; worth $600 in travel if redeemed for a fixed-value, or potentially much more when transferred to airline partners
- 2 Miles on every purchase
- Fee credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre✔® (up to $100)
- No foreign transaction fees
- $95 annual fee
- 2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day.
The comments on this page are not provided, reviewed, or otherwise approved by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
not worth it taking hit on all 3 credit reports.
Es una recompensa muy interesante pero el consumo por año es muy alto! A que aerolíneas se le pueden atribuir el bono de millas?
Does anyone know whether this is a Visa or Mastercard? I have a large monthly charge but they only take Visa so if this is a Mastercard it won’t work for me. Thanks!
The Venture Card is issued as a Visa card.
Good news! The Capital One Venture card is a Visa product.
Is there a way to pay the annual fee with points on this card? (I do this with my Arrival Plus; that way I know the card truly doesn’t cost me anything to keep.) Regardless, I probably will apply for this card because of the excellent bonus and the fact that I am about to move to another state — plenty of ways to spend a big chunk of that 20k when you are setting up a new household. Thanks for the info.
I applied and was turned down! I have been turned down by Capital One before despite having excellent credit. I never bothered to look into it because the rewards were not worth the effort. This time, I called to ask why but the applications person could not tell me. She said that I would have to wait until the letter arrived in the mail (Which apparently will provide an explanation) then make the request again for them to re-consider. Oh Well, I guess this means that I will be getting the new Freedom Flex instead. Or maybe the Hyatt card (if I am still under 5/24)
That’s one very high spending requirement!
This is certainly a big reward but with a big time spending of $20,000 a year. This is not a card for everyone.
What are the airlines to which you could transfer those 100,000 miles?
We have a complete guide to Capital One transfer partners here: https://awardwallet.com/blog/complete-guide-to-capital-one-transfer-partners/
pending 20K a year seems difficult in the current situation.
Any word on how long this will be available?
Hi Pam, no information has been shared with us. Most LTOs average around 50-70 days, but there are plenty of exceptions. We’ll share as soon as we know.