Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card Review
Updated:
If you’re looking for a travel card not attached to a certain airline or hotel company and want to start small, the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card could be perfect for you. You’ll earn a decent sign-up bonus while also getting the standard benefits that come with travel cards.
The Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card allows you earn 1.25% miles on all your purchases. When you spend $500 within three months of account opening, you’ll receive a one-time bonus of 20,000 miles.
You can use those miles for travel-related purchases including flights, hotels and rental cars. After you make a qualified purchase through the VentureOne system, you’ll receive a statement credit for the dollar amount of your miles.
Features
This card isn’t designed for people who just want a simple cash-back card — it’s for those dipping their toes into travel rewards but who might not be ready for premium cards with annual fees.
- New cardholders can earn 20,000 mile bonus if you spend more than $500 within three months of account opening (this offer is not available to current or previous cardholders)
- No annual fee
- No foreign transaction fees
- Receive travel upgrades
- 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months and then an APR of 19.24% to 29.24%, depending on your credit score (these rates will change based on the market rate). There is a 3% fee on transfers made within the first 15 months of card membership.
- No limit on how many miles you can earn
- Extra warranty on items you purchase with the card
- 24-hour travel emergency service for lost or stolen card
- Rewards will not expire
Card Benefits
The best way to use this card is how it’s designed: as a travel card. While you can redeem your rewards for cash back, rates are different than for travel, so you should take advantage of this card’s travel-centric nature.
While this card won’t earn you enough to fly to Japan and back, the 20,000 bonus miles can be enough for a domestic flight if you plan ahead. You can redeem your miles in two ways: by using them on a past qualified purchase or using them to book your next trip. According to Capital One, eligible purchases includes those from “airlines, hotels, rail lines, car rental agencies, limousine services, bus lines, cruise lines, taxi cabs, travel agents and timeshares.”
If you use this as your main credit card, you may be able to earn yourself a free flight every year. Spending only $1,500 every month on the card will yield 22,500 miles a year.
Serious travel veterans will like this card because it allows you to get free upgrades with hotels and other merchants when you use the card. The travel insurance included with the card can’t be beat. You’ll get reimbursed for lost or stolen luggage, get travel and emergency services, collision damage waiver for your rental car, and roadside services for your car 24/7. Make sure to book your entire trip on this card so there’s no question of whether or not your trip will be covered.
Drawbacks
This card is only available for people with excellent credit, which may be an issue for some. The one-time bonus of 20,000 miles is also on the low end for many travel cards, where you can find 40,000 mile deals if you look for them.
The cash-back reward rate of 1.25% is also fairly low, considering you can find other travel cards with at least 2% cash back for certain categories. Basically, this card doesn’t pack as much punch as other travel cards, where you can find enough points for two domestic round-trip flights. With the bonus for this card, you’ll only earn enough for $200 — barely one flight.
Bottom Line
If you don’t make enough qualified purchases in one month on your credit card, earning credit card sign-up bonuses may seem impossible. But the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card has an easy credit card bonus to qualify for, since you only have to spend $166.66 a month for three months.
While other travel-focused credit cards tend to have higher bonuses and cash-back percentages, you’ll still get the travel-centric rewards of extra trip insurance, no foreign transaction fees, and other perks while earning cash back rewards to use during your trip.
First published , last updated
TWEET
SHARE
Topics
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Holden Briggs is a freelance writer specializing in personal finance. She writes a blog about paying off her student loans in three years at Debt Free After Three. A trained journalist, she's covered everything from murder trials to the Final Four.
Editorial Note: Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer.
Credit Cards House may earn affiliate commissions from our partners on this page. These commissions do not affect how we select, rate, or review products. To find out more, read our complete terms of use.
