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- 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; 19.99% - 29.99% variable APR after that
- No foreign transaction fees
- $0 annual fee
- 1.25 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day and 5 Miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
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.
While the premium cards attract most of the press, the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card also gets plenty of attention. Following a recent update, the Capital One VentureOne now sports a bonus of 20,000 miles, an excellent offer for a card that doesn't charge an annual fee. It's the only no-annual-fee card to earn fully transferable Venture Miles.
Right now, the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is offering an increased signup bonus, delivering 75,000 Venture Miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening. And although the Capital One Venture charges a $95 annual fee, cardholders can take advantage of a higher earning rate of 2X miles per dollar.
Which of these two cards offers more value for new cardholders? Let's dive into the entry-level Venture cards to determine which delivers more bang for your buck.
- Earn 75,000 Miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening; worth $750 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
- 5X miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- 2X miles per dollar on all other purchases
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 18 Capital One airline and hotel partners, with miles transferring to partners at the same rates regardless of which card you carry.
These cards are targeted toward travel fans, so it makes sense that both cards charge no foreign transaction fees. You'll also get the same travel protection benefits on both cards, including auto rental collision damage waiver when you hire a rental car, travel accident insurance, and roadside assistance.
What Separates the Capital One Venture and Capital One VentureOne?
Higher 75,000-Mile Signup Bonus on Capital One Venture Card
The first big difference to highlight is the welcome offer.
The Capital One Venture currently features an increased offer of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening. This is one of the best offers for a mid-tier travel card, delivering plenty of value even after you factor in the annual fee.
The 20,000-mile offer on the Capital One VentureOne is a great offer for a no-annual-fee travel card — delivering 20K flexible rewards points that you can transfer to travel partners without holding a card that charges an annual fee. This rare feature can provide a lot of value if you try to keep yearly fees to a minimum.
Travel Benefits of the Capital One Venture vs. Capital One VentureOne
The Capital One Venture card provides advantages that are not available with the Capital One VentureOne card. If you are a Capital One Venture cardholder, you will receive two free lounge access passes to the new Capital One lounge network, with a reduced price of $45 per visit thereafter. In addition, you can enjoy up to $100 credit toward the application fee for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry every four years.
- Earn 75,000 Miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening; worth $750 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
- 5X miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- 2X miles per dollar on all other purchases
For frequent travelers, the benefits of the Capital One Venture benefits make it worth paying the annual fee each year. However, most card members will need to consider how much they spend each month on non-bonus purchases when deciding between the two cards.
Capital One Venture Earning Rate Will Ultimately Determine Which Card You Get
- Capital One Venture: 2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day. 5 Miles per dollar on hotels 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
Venture Miles can be redeemed for 1 cent per mile towards almost any travel purchase. If you spend more than $1,000 a month on everyday purchases, you want the Capital One Venture in your wallet. If you spend less than $1,000, you want the Capital One VentureOne. Why?
Let's say you value Capital One miles at just one cent each. To justify the $95 annual fee on the Capital One Venture, you'd need to earn an additional 9,500 miles over the no-annual-fee Capital One VentureOne. After factoring in the earning rate differences, the breakeven point is found at $12,667 in spending per year. Above that, the Capital One Venture becomes a more valuable card to hold.
| Annual Spending | Capital One VentureOne | Capital One Venture | Difference | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Point Earnings | Value At 1¢ Per Mile | Point Earnings | Value At 1¢ Per Mile | Net Value After Annual Fee | ||
| $10,000 | 12,500 | $125 | 20,000 | $200 | $105 | $20 |
| $13,000 | 16,250 | $162.50 | 26,000 | $260 | $165 | $2.50 |
| $16,000 | 20,000 | $200 | 32,000 | $320 | $225 | $25 |
| $20,000 | 25,000 | $250 | 40,000 | $400 | $305 | $55 |
The breakeven rate drops further the higher you value Capital One miles. In recent redemptions, AwardWallet members get an average value of 2.66¢ cents per Capital One mile. At this redemption rate, you only need to earn an additional 3,816 miles per year to break even on the Capital One Venture. That reduces the annual spending required to $5,088 a year ($424 per month) to make it worth paying the yearly fee.
The sweet spot for most cardholders will be somewhere in the middle. To keep it simple, if you spend more than $800 a month on non-bonus purchases, the Capital One Venture will almost certainly deliver more value over the long term. If you spend less than that, the Capital One VentureOne card might be better.
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 you spend over $800 monthly on non-bonus spending, this card will provide more value than its no-annual-fee counterpart.
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 and lifestyle, and how you plan to use the card to earn rewards.
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Your article on this card shows 40,000 miles bonus but capital one website shows only 20,000 miles ??
Thanks
We see that now! Looks like our links are still 40k bonus for now.
Can you sign up, get the SUB and hold the Venture Capital One for a year and then downgrade to Capital One VentureOne without loosing any points?
I don’t see anything that would keep that from working!