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If you're looking for a travel credit card that has no annual fee and also earns flexible rewards, you're in luck. There are two great options that we're particularly fond of: the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card and the Citi Strata℠ Card (Rates & Fees).
The Capital One VentureOne comes with a 20,000 bonus miles-mile bonus once you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, plus enjoy a $100 travel credit during your first cardholder year, while the Citi Strata Card features a solid offer for 30,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.
Those aren't the very best credit card offers around, since no-fee cards tend to have lower offers. But both are solid bonuses for cards that earn transferable rewards.
In this post, we compare the welcome offer, earning rates, and benefits of these two popular cards to help you decide which one deserves a spot in your wallet.
- 5 Miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals, 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 – Earn 5 ThankYou® Points for each $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals and Attractions booked on Citi Travel℠ via cititravel.com
- 3X – Earn 3 ThankYou® Points for each $1 spent in an eligible Self-Select Category of your choice (Fitness Clubs, Select Streaming Services, Live Entertainment, Cosmetic Stores/Barber Shops/Hair Salons, or Pet Supply Stores). Choose your eligible Self-Select Category on Citi Online or by calling customer service. The default Self-Select Category is Select Streaming Services.
- 3X – Earn 3 ThankYou® Points per $1 spent at Supermarkets
- 3X – Earn 3 ThankYou® Points per $1 spent on Select Transit purchases
- 3X – Earn 3 ThankYou® Points per $1 spent at Gas and EV Charging Stations
- 2X – Earn 2 ThankYou® Points per $1 spent at Restaurants
- 1X – Earn 1 ThankYou® Point per $1 spent on All Other Purchases
Page Contents
Highlights of the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card
The Capital One VentureOne currently offers the following welcome bonus: Earn $300 in travel bonuses with a limited-time $100 Capital One Travel credit, plus earn 20K bonus miles with $500 spend within 3 months from account opening - that's equal to $300 in travel.
At a minimum, those 20,000 bonus miles are worth $200 toward travel expenses. But the real value comes from transferring those miles to one of 22 airline and hotel partners. This can provide a much higher value — especially when redeemed for business-class flights.
And here's the best part: The Capital One VentureOne is one of the only no-fee cards that allows you to transfer rewards to travel partners without needing an additional card that has an annual fee.
So not only can you earn great rewards, you also can use them to their fullest potential without any annual fee.
- Earn $300 in travel bonuses with a limited-time $100 Capital One Travel credit, plus earn 20K bonus miles with $500 spend within 3 months from account opening - that's equal to $300 in travel
- 1.25 Miles on every purchase
- 0% intro APR on purchases for 15 months; 18.99% - 28.99% variable APR after that
- No foreign transaction fees
- $0 annual fee
- 5 Miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals, 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.
Card highlights include:
- Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals, and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
- Earn 1.25X miles on all other purchases.
- Transfer miles to 22 airline and hotel partners. Miles transfer to 18 of these partners at a 1:1 transfer ratio, and transfers are usually instant.
- Redeem miles for a fixed value of 1¢ per mile towards any travel purchase in the past 90 days.
- 0% intro APR on purchases and 0% intro APR on balance transfers for 15 months; 18.99% - 28.99% variable APR after that; Balance transfer fee applies fee on the amounts transferred within the first 15 months.
- No foreign transaction fees — another rarity for no-fee cards.
- $0 annual fee.
The Capital One VentureOne delivers a lot of value for a no-annual-fee card. However, it's worth noting you can stack up rewards more quickly with a Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card that charges a small annual fee and earns 2X on all purchases — or the more premium Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card.
Related: Complete Guide to Capital One Rewards Miles
Highlights of the Citi Strata℠ Card
The welcome offer for the Citi Strata Card will net you 30,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months of account opening. As far as no-fee card offers go, this is a decent bonus with a low spending requirement.
Furthermore, the Citi Strata Card has a solid list of bonus categories that can help you continue to earn points quickly. As part of those spending categories, this no-annual-fee card has a unique feature: a Self-Select Category.
This feature lets you earn 3X ThankYou® Rewards points on one category of your choosing — fitness clubs, select streaming services, live entertainment, cosmetic stores/barber shops/hair salons, or pet supply stores.
- For a limited time, earn 30,000 bonus Points after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.
- 0% Intro APR on balance transfers and purchases for 15 months; after that, the variable APR will be 18.74% - 28.74%, based on your creditworthiness. There is an intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer (minimum $5) completed within the first 4 months of account opening. After that, your fee will be 5% of each transfer (minimum $5).
- Earn 3 ThankYou® Points for each $1 spent in an eligible Self-Select Category of your choice (Fitness Clubs, Select Streaming Services, Live Entertainment, Cosmetic Stores/Barber Shops/Hair Salons, or Pet Supply Stores). Choose your eligible Self-Select Category on Citi Online or by calling customer service. The default Self-Select Category is Select Streaming Services.
- Earn 5 ThankYou® Points for each $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals and Attractions booked on Citi Travel® via cititravel.com; earn 3 ThankYou Points for each $1 spent at Supermarkets, on Select Transit purchases, and at Gas & EV Charging Stations.
- Earn 2 ThankYou® Points for each $1 spent at Restaurants; earn 1 ThankYou® Point for each $1 spent on All Other Purchases.
- No Annual Fee
- 5X – Earn 5 ThankYou® Points for each $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals and Attractions booked on Citi Travel℠ via cititravel.com
- 3X – Earn 3 ThankYou® Points for each $1 spent in an eligible Self-Select Category of your choice (Fitness Clubs, Select Streaming Services, Live Entertainment, Cosmetic Stores/Barber Shops/Hair Salons, or Pet Supply Stores). Choose your eligible Self-Select Category on Citi Online or by calling customer service. The default Self-Select Category is Select Streaming Services.
- 3X – Earn 3 ThankYou® Points per $1 spent at Supermarkets
- 3X – Earn 3 ThankYou® Points per $1 spent on Select Transit purchases
- 3X – Earn 3 ThankYou® Points per $1 spent at Gas and EV Charging Stations
- 2X – Earn 2 ThankYou® Points per $1 spent at Restaurants
- 1X – Earn 1 ThankYou® Point per $1 spent on All Other Purchases
Card highlights include:
- Earn 5X on hotels, car rentals, and attractions booked through Citi Travel.
- Earn 3X on select transit and at gas & EV charging stations, and on an eligible Self-Select Category of your choice.
- Earn 2X at restaurants.
- Earn 1X on everything else.
- 0% Intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers, then a Variable APR of 18.74% - 28.74%.
- $0 annual fee.
There is potential for earning points much faster with the Citi Strata Card thanks to its generous spending categories. Unfortunately, the downside is that points transfer at a lower rate of 10:7, meaning the extra points earned from higher spending categories gets negated by the low transfer rate.
However, if you also hold one of Citi's annual fee cards, such as the Citi Strata Premier® Card (Rates & Fees), your points will transfer at a full 1:1 ratio. This makes the Citi Strata Card a prime candidate to pair with another Citi card.
Related: The Best Ways to Earn and Use Citi ThankYou Points
Which Card Delivers More Value to Cardholders?
The Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card delivers a better long-term value than the Citi Strata Card as a standalone card. It allows you to transfer to partners without a companion card, charges no foreign transaction fees, and has an introductory 0% APR. Not having to focus on specific spending categories makes this an easy no-brainer card.
However, the Citi Strata Card is an excellent choice if you are already invested in the ThankYou Points ecosystem and hold a card that lets you transfer points to airline and hotel partners. When added to the Citi trifecta, there is the potential to earn a mountain of ThankYou Points through all of the major spending categories.
Final Thoughts
If you're looking for a travel credit card with no annual fee, the Capital One VentureOne and the Citi Strata Card both offer great rewards. However, the better choice will depend on your specific needs and the other cards you have in your wallet.
As a standalone travel card, the Capital One VentureOne is the better choice over the long term. Meanwhile, the Citi Strata Card is a must-have for cardholders who are already invested in the ThankYou Points ecosystem.
- 5 Miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals, 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 – Earn 5 ThankYou® Points for each $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals and Attractions booked on Citi Travel℠ via cititravel.com
- 3X – Earn 3 ThankYou® Points for each $1 spent in an eligible Self-Select Category of your choice (Fitness Clubs, Select Streaming Services, Live Entertainment, Cosmetic Stores/Barber Shops/Hair Salons, or Pet Supply Stores). Choose your eligible Self-Select Category on Citi Online or by calling customer service. The default Self-Select Category is Select Streaming Services.
- 3X – Earn 3 ThankYou® Points per $1 spent at Supermarkets
- 3X – Earn 3 ThankYou® Points per $1 spent on Select Transit purchases
- 3X – Earn 3 ThankYou® Points per $1 spent at Gas and EV Charging Stations
- 2X – Earn 2 ThankYou® Points per $1 spent at Restaurants
- 1X – Earn 1 ThankYou® Point per $1 spent on All Other Purchases
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Citi Strata℠ Card (Rates & Fees), and Citi Strata Premier® Card (Rates & Fees)
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