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Capital One has built an impressive set of everyday spending cards with its Venture Rewards card family. All three cards feature high-value welcome offers backed by strong earning rates and competitive annual fees, considering the perks on offer.
But for the time being, we'll put Capital One's premium travel rewards card to the side and focus on the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card. Both cards deliver strong value and are worthy wallet additions for those wanting to collect Capital One miles.
Which of these two cards offers more value for new cardholders? Let's dive into the no-fee and mid-tier Venture cards to determine which delivers more bang for your buck.
Page Contents
Similarities Between the Capital One Venture and Capital One VentureOne
Before we get into the differences, let's first touch on the similarities between the two cards. Both cards give you access to the full range of 19 Capital One airline and hotel partners. Capital One miles transfer to partners at the same rates regardless of which card you carry — unlike with Citi ThankYou Points.
The target market for both cards is travel fans. Thus, it makes sense that neither card charges foreign transaction fees. You'll also get the same travel protection benefits on both cards, including auto rental collision damage waiver when you reserve a rental car, travel accident insurance, and roadside assistance.
Even the cards look somewhat similar! So, make sure to open up the right application when you apply.
- 5 Miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- 5 Miles per dollar on purchases through Capital One Entertainment (through 12/31/2025)
- 1.25 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day.
- 5X miles per dollar on purchases through Capital One Entertainment (through 12/31/2025)
- 5X miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- 2X miles per dollar on all other purchases
What Separates the Capital One Venture and Capital One VentureOne?
With the similarities out of the way, let's check out the differences.
Venture Card Bonus Offer
One of the most prominent differences is the welcome offer. The Capital One Venture offer is far superior to the bonus for new VentureOne cardholders.
Capital One Venture applicants can earn 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. The best offer we've ever seen for this card was back in July of 2021—and that 100,000-mile bonus came with a much more difficult $20,000 spending requirement.
AwardWallet users typically redeem Capital One miles for 2.01¢ apiece, putting the value of 75,000 miles at nearly $1,500.
Comparatively, the Capital One VentureOne offers 20,000 miles once you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening. That's a sizable amount of miles for a card with a $0 annual fee. It's not the card's best-ever offer — but formidable nonetheless, given a low spending requirement.
By extension, the 20,000-mile bonus is worth $450, based on recent AwardWallet user redemptions. You can redeem a small sum of Capital One Miles for great value in several ways, so you'd be wise not to overlook this bonus.
Travel benefits
The Capital One Venture card carries two benefits that are not available with the Capital One VentureOne card.
- Up to $120 credit toward the application fee for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry every four years.
- Access to Capital One Travel Portal's Lifestyle Collection for hotels. Benefits include a $50 experience credit, space-available room upgrades, and more.
Neither card offers game-changing travel benefits. However, there's value in the statement credit for trusted traveler program enrollment and the additional perks of making a collection-tier hotel reservation through Capital One Travel.
That said, if you already have trusted traveler credentials or prefer to book directly with hotels to earn points and elite status, the Capital One Venture doesn't look that different from the Capital One VentureOne benefit-wise.
Related: Capital One Venture and Spark Miles Cardholders To Lose Lounge Visits in 2025
Earning rates
On spending, the Capital One Venture earns more miles per dollar than the Capital One VentureOne in the catch-all category. Earning structures are broken down like this:
- Capital One Venture: 2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day. 5 Miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
- Capital One VentureOne: 1.25X miles per dollar on every purchase, plus 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
In other words, on non-Capital One Travel spending, you'll earn an additional 0.75 Capital One Miles per dollar spent when swiping the Capital One Venture instead of the Capital One VentureOne. Three-fourths of a single Capital One Mile might not seem like much, but your earnings will add up meaningfully over time.
Annual fee
Related: These Credit Cards Earn Transferable Points With No Annual Fee
Which Venture Card Should You Apply For?
Part of the calculus for choosing which card to apply for depends on whether paying a $95 annual fee makes sense in order to earn at a higher rate.
Capital One Miles are redeemable for 1¢ apiece towards almost any travel purchase (although we don't recommend redeeming miles this way). But using this number as a baseline — and excluding the sign-up bonus — you'd need to spend more than $12,700 on the Capital One Venture to justify paying the $95 annual fee vs. getting the Capital One VentureOne instead.
At 1 cent per point valuation, here's how that math breaks down:
- Capital One Venture: $12,700 at 2X earning rate = 25,400 miles = $254 in value – $95 annual fee = $159 net value
- Capital One VentureOne: $12,700 at 1.25X earning rate = 15,875 miles = $158.75 value
The breakeven point is more digestible when you consider the average redemption rate of Capital One miles. If you value miles at 2 cents apiece, it makes sense to get the Capital One Venture instead of the Capital One VentureOne at a spending rate of around $6,400 annually — or around $530 per month.
- Capital One Venture: $6,400 at 2X earning rate = 12,800 miles x 2 cents per point valuation = $256 in value – $95 annual fee = $161 net value
- Capital One VentureOne: $6,400 at 1.25X earning rate = 8,000 miles x 2 cents per point valuation = $160 value
If you can't commit to spending that much on the Capital One Venture every year, it makes more sense to opt for the no-annual-fee Capital One VentureOne.
So, yes, benefits and signup bonus are a piece of the “should I apply?” equation. But it's worth considering the cost to carry the card. Ideally, the card you apply for will be an asset, not a liability.
Final Thoughts
The higher earning rate makes the Capital One Venture one of the best everyday rewards cards available. You're effectively earning 2X airline miles for every dollar spent, with no cap on the miles you can earn. Cardholders can also take advantage of extra benefits that make travel more comfortable and easier on the hip pocket.
If most of your credit card spend is captured by cards that offer bonus points in select categories, or you spend less on credit cards, the Capital One VentureOne will still earn an excellent 1.25 miles per dollar on non-bonus spending. You can transfer those miles to the complete list of Capital One transfer partners, and you don't need to factor the annual fee into your earning strategy.
Ultimately, which Venture card you choose will depend on your travel needs, lifestyle, and how you plan to use the card to earn rewards.
- Earn 20,000 Miles once you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening; worth $200 in travel if redeemed for a fixed-value, or potentially much more when transferred to airline partners
- 1.25 Miles on every purchase
- 0% intro APR on purchases for 15 months; 19.24% - 29.24% variable APR after that
- No foreign transaction fees
- $0 annual fee
- 5 Miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- 5 Miles per dollar on purchases through Capital One Entertainment (through 12/31/2025)
- 1.25 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day.
- Earn 75,000 Miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening
- 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- 2X miles on all other purchase
- Fee credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre✔® (up to $120)
- No foreign transaction fees
- $95 annual fee
- 5X miles per dollar on purchases through Capital One Entertainment (through 12/31/2025)
- 5X miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- 2X miles per dollar on all other purchases
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