Key takeaways
- The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card offers flexible rewards that can be used for gift cards, merchandise, travel through the Capital One Travel portal and even transfers to Capital One airline and hotel partners.
- Capital One Venture benefits can also be incredibly generous, especially when you consider the card's reasonable $95 annual fee.
- Major benefits of the Capital One Venture Card include travel insurance protections, a fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck membership and access to special events, to name a few.
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is one of the most popular travel credit cards available today, especially among those who prefer easy-to-use cards with flexible rewards. The Venture card is best known for earning an unlimited 2X miles on all purchases as well as a 75,000-mile welcome bonus when you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first three months, plus receive a one-time $250 Capital One Travel credit in your first cardholder year. The card also earns 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
On top of the simple rewards scheme, the main benefit of this card is that Capital One miles are remarkably adaptable. The miles don’t have blackout dates, and they won’t expire for the life of your account. Plus, you can redeem them for 1 cent per point to cover eligible travel purchases you’ve made in the past 90 days. You can also transfer your miles to Capital One airline and hotel partners to get even more bang for your buck.
That said, the benefits of the Capital One Venture give this card even more value for the average consumer. Read on to learn about the perks you get with the Capital One Venture and steps you can take to maximize this card for the long haul.
Capital One Venture travel benefits
Since Capital One Venture Rewards is a travel credit card, it’s not surprising that it offers a range of travel-related perks. Here’s a rundown of the most important Capital One Venture travel benefits you can qualify for as a cardholder.
Global Entry or TSA PreCheck membership fee credit
First off, you should know the Capital One Venture Rewards credit card comes with up to a $100 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit. This credit will be automatically applied to your card account when you use your credit card to pay for either membership, and it can be used for the primary cardholder or anyone else. However, it can only be used once every four years.
Capital One transfer partners
Like you’ll find with American Express Membership Rewards and Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One features partner travel programs you can transfer Capital One miles to for a potentially higher value.
Capital One transfer partners and their respective transfer ratios include the following:
| Airlines | Transfer ratio |
|---|---|
| Aeromexico Rewards | 1:1 |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | 1:1 |
| Asia Miles (Cathay Pacific) | 1:1 |
| Avianca LifeMiles | 1:1 |
| British Airways | 1:1 |
| Emirates Skywards | 1:1 |
| Etihad Guest | 1:1 |
| Finnair Plus | 1:1 |
| Flying Blue (Air France and KLM) | 1:1 |
| Infinity MileageLands (EVA Air) | 2:1.5 |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | 1:1 |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 1:1 |
| TAP Miles&Go | 1:1 |
| Turkish Airlines | 1:1 |
| Virgin Red | 1:1 |
| Hotels | Transfer ratio |
| Accor Live Limitless (ALL) | 2:1 |
| Choice Privileges | 1:1 |
| Wyndham Rewards | 1:1 |
Hotel upgrades with Lifestyle Collection
Individuals who sign up for the Capital One Venture Rewards credit card can also upgrade their stays at Lifestyle Collection hotels. Visit over 100 destinations to gain access to exclusive benefits like a $50 experience credit, room upgrades (based on availability) and early check-in or late check-out (based on availability).
Travel insurance and protections
The Capital One Venture also comes with important travel insurance protections automatically, which include:
- Auto rental collision damage waiver that reimburses up to most rental vehicles’ actual cash value in case of theft or collision damage*
- 24-hour travel assistance allowing you to get an emergency replacement card and a cash advance if your card is lost or stolen*
- Travel accident insurance for a covered loss when you use your card to pay for your common carrier fare*
Capital One Venture additional benefits
The Capital One Venture Card also comes with a range of other benefits. Other perks of the Capital One Venture include the following:
Capital One Entertainment and Capital One Dining
Capital One Entertainment grants you opportunities to snag presale tickets and access to exclusive sporting, musical and dining experiences. Plus, you can earn 5X miles on qualifying purchases through the program. Meanwhile, Capital One Dining gives cardholders the chance to book exclusive dining and culinary experiences around the world.
Consumer protections
The Capital One Mobile app offers security features like card lock, $0 fraud liability, account alerts and emergency card replacement. You also have the option of using “virtual cards” when making online purchases.
Eno assistant and virtual credit card numbers
If you’re a stickler for security, Capital One credit cards could be some of the best cards for online shopping thanks to the extra layer of protection their virtual credit card numbers can offer.
Eno, Capital One’s assistant program, helps you manage your account and alerts you of any suspicious activity. Plus, Eno’s security measures extend to creating and storing unique virtual credit card numbers for each merchant that you shop online with. That way, your card data stays under close watch because merchants never see your real credit card number.
Virtual credit card numbers aren’t as common as they used to be, primarily since digital wallets now perform a similar function, but this Capital One perk still delivers another level of comfort.
CreditWise credit monitoring
Capital One also offers a comprehensive credit monitoring service at no extra cost. Through the CreditWise app, you can access your VantageScore at any time and perform simulations to understand the impact potential financial decisions could make. It also alerts you to any TransUnion credit report changes and even scans the dark web for your Social Security number in case your personal data may have already been seen by identity thieves.
Capital One Shopping
Capital One Shopping is a browser extension that scours the web and more than 30,000 retailers for competing prices and coupon codes to help you save money. You can also earn rewards, known as Capital One Shopping Credits, on eligible purchases, which you can redeem for gift cards to popular retailers like Walmart and eBay.
Although it’s similar to other online shopping extensions such as Honey, Capital One Shopping is a free, under-the-radar perk that can effortlessly save you a buck from time to time.
Maximizing the Capital One Venture Card
Due to the flat-rate rewards structure of the Capital One Venture Card, maximizing the card’s perks and features won’t take a ton of extra work. Here are the main steps you’ll want to take to get the most out of this card:
- Compare travel pricing through Capital One Travel before you book. Since the Capital One Venture Card offers 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One, it makes sense to compare travel pricing in the portal before you book. If pricing is the same or better through Capital One, booking travel through the portal and using your card could help you earn 5X points per dollar spent instead of the standard 2X miles per dollar offered on regular purchases.
- Pay your balance in full each month. With the relatively high variable rate this card charges, you’ll pay a lot more in interest than you earn in rewards if you carry a balance. To get the most out of this card, use it only for purchases you can afford to pay off and pay your full statement balance in its entirety every single month.
- Sign up for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck. Make sure to use the fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck membership, and remember that this credit applies when you use your card to pay the membership fee for anyone — not just the primary cardholder.
- Use your card for regular spending and bills. Finally, you can boost the rewards you earn each year by using your card for all your regular spending and bills. This means using your card for gas, groceries, school supplies, utility bills, kids activities and everything else you pay for.
The bottom line
If you’re in the market for a straightforward and affordable travel card, the Capital One Venture could be a great fit. Not only will you earn flexible rewards you can redeem in more than one way, but you get access to important Capital One Venture benefits that can help you save money, enjoy nice perks while traveling and get access to special events and dining.
That said, it never hurts to compare this travel credit card with others available on the market today, including travel credit cards from Capital One. For example, you can compare the Capital One Venture to the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card for luxury travelers and the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card with no annual fee.
*For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the benefits may be provided by Visa or Mastercard and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.
