Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card Review

Link: Learn how to apply for the card_name (See Rates and Fees)

The card_name is one of the best first travel cards out there, and I’m not just saying that. It was my first card, and it has been immensely helpful in allowing me to earn rewards on everyday purchases without having to stress about maximizing bonus categories.

The Venture Miles earned with the card have allowed me to book everything from comfortable business class flights overseas to short to domestic flights for visiting friends over the weekend and winter ski condos. Of course, all for a fraction of the price. This review will help determine whether the Capital One Venture card deserves a spot in your wallet.

Capital One Venture Sign-Up Offer

The Capital One Venture card is a great card to sign up for, with plenty of bonus miles offered. However, now is especially a good time while they offer an increased amount. It is an incredibly valuable offer that can single-handedly pay for part of, if not an entire trip or multiple.

Over three months, the spending requirement should be manageable for many considering how quickly expenses such as eating out with friends or groceries add up. You may even be able to charge your rent to it, which will help you get there even quicker. It may make sense to time the sign-up around a considerable expense, such as paying tuition or books at the beginning of a semester.

Capital One Venture Fees

See Rates and Fees

With a low annual fee, the Capital One Venture makes sense for many people. It is easy to justify this fee with some of the great perks that come with the card, and more on that below.

Additionally, remember that as long as you pay off your card on time and in full every month, the APR rate will not make a difference, as you will not carry a balance.

No foreign transaction fee is excellent, especially for saving you a large percentage of each purchase whether you study abroad in Europe or go to Spring Break in Mexico with your friends. This adds up significantly throughout the duration of a trip, so the Venture card is a smart move if you are planning to go abroad.

Earning Venture Miles

One of my favorite things about the Capital One Venture card is that earning is simple. You do not need to worry about the best time to use the card because it has a great earning rate on every purchase. Compared to many other cards that only offer 1x on everyday purchases, there is never a wrong time to use the Venture.

If you are purchasing travel through Capital One, then it gets even more rewarding; with an increased earning rate, your rewards will stack up quickly.

Redeeming Venture Miles

Rest assured that you will never run out of ways to redeem your Venture Miles after you build up your balance with the Venture Rewards Card. The points can be redeemed towards any travel purchase charged to the card at 1 cent per point. This means that if you purchase a $200 flight, you can redeem 20,000 miles to pay for it.

My favorite redemption opportunity is with some of Capital One’s valuable transfer partners. This means that you can book countless hotels worldwide and flights to nearly any corner of the globe with your Venture Miles.

One of my favorite redemptions was transferring 7,500 miles to Avianca Lifemiles. In addition to $21.60 in taxes and fees, I got a United Airlines ticket to visit friends in Chicago, which would have cost $260.

I also redeemed 15,000 points per night and transferred to Wyndham to book a Vacasa vacation rental that slept up to 8 people in Colorado. This helped make skiing during MLK weekend possible when the paid rates were $500+ per night.

If you search for luxury, you could transfer 45,000 miles to Turkish Airlines to book United Polaris business class to Europe for $5.60. This means you could fly on an otherwise multi-thousand-dollar ticket in the comfort of your lie-flat seats with an ice cream sundae for a small fraction of the cost.  

Capital One Venture Perks

There is also no need to wait in line with statement credits towards TSA Precheck or Global Entry. All you need to do is charge the purchase of one of these services to your card, and you will receive a statement credit to cancel out the cost. I recommend getting Global Entry as it includes free TSA Precheck (but the other way around does not apply).

An often-overthought benefit of credit cards is the protection and insurance that come with using them. Unlike many debit cards, fraud protection will help protect you in case your card information is ever used to make purchases not authorized by you. Additionally, rental car insurance is terrific if you ever need to rent a car.

Capital One Travel is powered by Hopper, an innovative travel company that uses bulk data to track the best time to purchase flights. This helps ensure that you save as much on your travel as possible to free up more you can spend when you reach your destination. You also know you are never overpaying with a price match guarantee.

The Last Point

The beauty of the card_name is that it is so straightforward to earn miles with it. It has a terrific welcome offer that will quickly boost your balance, but the simplicity of earning 2x miles on every purchase, every day makes managing your wallet even easier.

Whether your goal is to live your dream out in Greece or just visit a friend over the weekend one state over, Venture Miles are flexible enough to help you make that possible. Add travel perks such as TSA Precheck, and you will be traveling in style in no time.