Charles H. Miller
With its Venture® Rewards Credit Card, Capital One wants to make traveling easier, and more rewarding. The card’s No Hassle miles feature allows users to redeem their miles for statement credits toward any travel expense. Also, new users are awarded with a nice bonus to get started. Let’s delve into details…
Highlights
- Sign-up bonus of 40,000 miles (equal to $400)
- Double miles on purchases, each mile is worth a single cent
- Variable APR 13.24%-23.24% on purchases and balance transfers
- No foreign transaction fees
- $59 annual fee, waived in the first year
How It Works
More than miles: The Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card offers double miles on all purchases. Once earned, these miles (which are actually some sort of points) can be redeemed for a statement credit towards any airfare, hotel, car rental, or cruise purchase. Each mile is worth one cent, so each dollar spent returns 2% back in reward value. These rewards are redeemed from Capital One’s website, where users can select travel expenses, and apply for reimbursement.
Sign-up bonus: Accepted applicants will receive a one-time bonus of 40,000 miles (equal to $400 in travel) after spending $3,000 within the first 3 months of the account opening.
Annual fee: $59, waived in the first year.
APR: Ranging from 13.24% to 23.24% based on your creditworthiness.
No foreign transaction fees: This card is made for travel, obviously.
Visa Signature benefits: These would include travel upgrades and savings, as well as special shopping discounts. Also, there’s a complimentary 24-hour concierge service and 24-hour travel assistance services. In addition, users get special access and preferred seating to popular entertainment events and additional warranty protection on purchases made with the card.
Costs
- $59 Annual Fee (waived for the first year)
- 13.24%-23.24% variable APR (purchases and balance transfers)
- 0% Balance Transfer Fee
- 0% Foreign Transaction Fee
At Capital One’s secure website
Pros
- Sign-up bonus worth $400. This could easily be transferred into (say) a round trip to Europe.
- Flexible rewards program with the ability to use miles for any flight on any airline with no blackout dates. And the same goes for hotel points – you can use this card to get a discount or even a free stay at a hotel.
- No foreign transaction fees along with other benefits make this card great for traveling.
Cons
- With variable APR of 13.24%-23.24% you’ll want to pay off your balance in full and on time. Travel credit cards are notorious for including high APRs.
- Annual fee – even though it’s waived in the first year and despite the lucrative sign-up bonus, we don’t like ’em. And we never will.
Is This The Card For You?
Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card is one of the best travel credit cards on the market. It’s simple to use, and its rewards are easy to benefit from. With one card, you get to collect both airline miles and hotel points, and use them the way you want to. This, we think, is what will make it more appealing to everyone who is NOT interested in playing games with points and miles. Or to those who don’t have time to do that…
