Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers.
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card overview
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card effortlessly blends fixed-value redemptions with almost 20 airline and hotel transfer partners. Its modest annual fee and solid return on everyday spending make this card a keeper once you’re approved for it. Card rating*: ⭐⭐⭐⭐½
*Card rating is based on the opinion of TPG’s editors and is not influenced by the card issuer.
The world of award travel is incredibly complex, with airline miles, hotel points and award charts to keep track of, let alone credit card programs that allow you to transfer your rewards to various partners.
But it shouldn’t be challenging to earn and use credit card rewards. The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is an excellent antidote to the complexity of travel rewards, offering both simple earning and redemption options for beginners and high-value transfer options for the more experienced points and miles collector.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Capital One Venture card.
Official application link: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card with 75,000 bonus miles
Capital One Venture welcome offer
The Capital One Venture card comes with a solid sign-up bonus of 75,000 miles after spending $4,000 on the card within the first three months of account opening. This sign-up bonus isn’t the highest we’ve ever seen from Capital One, but it’s a solid offer for the relatively low spending requirement.
Based on TPG valuations, Capital One miles are worth 1.85 cents each when transferred to the issuer’s loyalty program partners, which include Air Canada Aeroplan and Air France-KLM Flying Blue. In other words, this 75,000-mile bonus can be worth $1,388 (valuation not provided by the issuer).
Related: Redeeming Capital One miles for maximum value
Earning miles on the Capital One Venture
Earning miles on the Venture Rewards card is straightforward, making the card useful to those who don’t want to spend a lot of mental energy swapping credit cards in and out for different merchants.
You’ll earn 2 miles for every dollar you spend with the card on every transaction, which means you’re getting 2 to 3.7 cents’ (factoring in TPG’s latest valuations) worth of travel rewards for every dollar in purchases, with no annual cap.
However, you’ll earn a higher 5 miles per dollar spent on hotels and car rentals booked through Capital One Travel.
It’s easy to zero in on high-powered and popular bonus categories for dining or travel, but you might spend a lot of money outside of defined bonus categories. Adding a Venture Rewards card to your wallet can help you mop up all those extra miles and ensure you aren’t leaving anything on the table when paying for non-bonus purchases.
Redeeming miles on the Capital One Venture
There are two excellent ways to redeem the rewards you earn with this card:
- Pay off travel purchases made in the past 90 days on your statement without worrying about the complexities of many loyalty programs.
- Transfer miles to airline and hotel partners.
This second option is how to get the most value from your miles. Here are some examples of how you can maximize your Capital One miles:
- Booking Lufthansa business class with no fuel surcharges through Avianca LifeMiles.
- Booking United Airlines business-class transcontinental flights through Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles.
- Booking U.S. domestic flights on various airlines through partners, like redeeming Singapore KrisFlyer or Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles miles for United tickets, or Flying Blue miles for Delta tickets.
If you’re confused about how to transfer Capital One miles to airline and hotel partners, here’s a guide on how to do it.
Capital One Venture benefits
The standout benefits of the Capital One Venture are:
- Application fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck: Up to a $100 credit every four years.
- Cardholders also get two complimentary passes to visit Capital One lounges each year. The first is open at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). Other lounges are expected open at Dulles International Airport (IAD) and Denver International Airport (DEN) in 2023. These passes can also be used to visit Plaza Premium lounges.
- Travel accident insurance.*
- Secondary auto rental coverage.*
- Extended warranty protection.*
- No foreign transaction fees.
These are solid perks for a card with a reasonable annual fee — though if you’re looking for enhanced benefits, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card could be a better fit for your wallet (more on that later).
* Benefits are only available to accounts approved for the Visa Signature card. Terms apply.
Which cards compete with the Capital One Venture?
No card perfectly replicates the Capital One Venture, but there are a few that offer similar benefits:
- If you prefer Chase: Consider the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. For a $95 annual fee, you’ll enjoy 5 points per dollar on travel booked through the Chase travel portal, 3 points per dollar on dining, select streaming services and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs), 2 points per dollar on all travel not booked through the Chase travel portal and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases. For more information, read our full review of the Sapphire Preferred.
- If you want more perks: Look at the premium Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card. You’ll get 10 miles per dollar on hotels and car rentals booked via Capital One Travel, 5 miles per dollar on flights booked via Capital One Travel and 2 miles per dollar on everything else, plus up to $300 back in statement credits annually for bookings made through Capital One Travel and loads more perks, including a Priority Pass lounge membership. For more information, read our full review of the Venture X.
For additional options, check out our full list of the best travel cards.
Read more: Credit card showdown: Capital One Venture vs. Capital One Venture X
Bottom line
The Capital One Venture packs a lot in for a $95 annual fee, and it even makes the cut as one of our best travel credit cards. It earns miles at a consistent rate and can facilitate simple, fixed-rate redemptions along with more complicated awards by transferring your miles to hotel and airline partners, making it a valuable card worth a spot in your wallet.
Official application link: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card with 75,000 bonus miles
For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.
Additional reporting by Ryan Wilcox, Stella Shon, Joseph Hostetler and Eric Rosen.
