Advertiser Disclosure
CAPITAL ONE VENTURE CREDIT CARD REVIEW [UPDATED 2019]
With two times the miles earned on every dollar spent, the Venture credit card from Capital One offers one of the best travel reward programs available today.
What sets the Venture card apart is that these reward miles apply to any and all purchases — they’re not restricted in any way.
Miles can add up quickly. Capital One has an online calculator that shows people who spend $2,000 per month with the Venture credit card will earn 48,000 miles per year. With that kind of reward system, it won’t be long until your next vacation is booked.
PROS
- Earn two times the travel reward miles on every dollar spent
- Signup bonus of 50,000 reward miles
- Earn 10 times the reward miles when you book hotels through Hotels.com
CONS
- After 12 months, there is an annual fee of $95
- Have to spend $3,000 on purchases within three months to get the signup bonus
- No introductory interest rate provided on balance transfers
SIGNUP BONUS
As with similar rewards cards, the Venture from Capital One starts cardholders off with a nice chunk of bonus miles.
People earn 50,000 bonus miles once they spend $3,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening.
This initial bonus is equal to $500 in travel, but it’s nearly identical to the bonus miles provided by other credit card issuers. And you will need to spend an average of $1,000 per month during the first three months to get those bonus miles. You’ll then earn two travel reward miles for every dollar spent.
Another feature that sets Venture apart is that you can earn 10 times the reward miles when you use the credit card to book hotels through the web portal Hotels.com. And you can choose from thousands of hotels worldwide – both in the US and overseas.
The Venture card is also extremely flexible when it comes to redeeming reward miles and booking travel.
You can use the Venture card to make travel purchases on virtually any airline, hotel or rental car company and you can travel when you want with no blackout dates. This flexibility is what cardholders really love about this credit card.
ANNUAL AND TRANSACTION FEES
There is no annual fee on the Venture credit card from Capital One for the first year. After 12 months, the annual fee is $95 – a fairly modest amount when compared to other reward cards that have annual fees above $400.
The annual fee is offset by the fact that there are no transaction fees on the Venture card – either for domestic or foreign purchases. This means that there is little cost to owning the Venture credit card.
INTEREST RATES
On the interest rate front, the Venture credit card offers attractive annual percentage rates (APR) of between 15.24% and 25.24%, depending on your creditworthiness.
People with a solid credit score will qualify for the lower APR while people with worse credit will pay the higher rate.
This is near the lower end of interest rates charged on travel reward cards, many of which charge interest rates as high as 28%.
On cash advances, the APR on the Venture card is also 25.24%. Many companies charge interest rates a couple of percentage points higher on cash advances. Capital One does not. While interest is charged at the end of the month on purchases, it begins being charged immediately on cash advances.
Capital One does charge 3% on all balance transfers and cash advances and there’s no introductory rate provided on balance transfers. Also, cardholders are subject to a $38 penalty fee if they make a late payment on this credit card.
Many credit cards do not penalize you for missing a payment or making one late. But Capital One does, so you’ll want to keep an eye on the payment due dates with this particular card.
OTHER BENEFITS
The Venture credit card from Capital One has a few unique features that should also be appealing, including getting a $100 application fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.
Also nice is the fact that miles accumulated with this card won’t expire for the life of the account and there’s no limit to how many miles you can earn. You can keep on collecting them.
Additional features to highlight include:
- Coverage, at no extra cost, for rental car collision damage
- Additional warranty protection at no charge on items that are purchased with the card
- Special discounts at select retailers and online merchants
- Complimentary upgrades and special savings at hotels, resorts, and spas
- Complimentary concierge service at certain hotels.
All-in-all, there are a number of benefits with the Venture card that should make traveling more luxurious and convenient.
WHO SHOULD NOT GET THIS CARD
The Venture card is for people who have a singular focus on earning rewards exclusively for travel.
If you’re someone who likes to use reward points to buy linens and kitchen appliances, then there are other cards on the market that would better serve that purpose.
Also, if you balk at paying any annual fee for a credit card and do not like facing penalties for late or missed payments, then there are other cards that would be more to your liking.
ALTERNATIVE CARD: THE CITI DIAMOND PREFERRED CARD
A comparable card to the Venture is the Citi Diamond Preferred card.
Like the Venture card, the Citi Diamond Preferred is focused on travel rewards. Both cards have identical bonus rewards at sign-up and charge the same interest rates. The Citi Diamond Preferred card also provides two times miles on all purchases made and charges an annual fee of $95 after the first year.
However, the Citi Diamond Preferred card charges 0% on balance transfers for 18 months from the date of the first transfer, and there’s a 0% introductory APR on all purchases made with the card for 18 months from the date that the account is opened as well. In this way, the Citi Diamond Preferred card is better in terms of cost savings during the first year.
CONCLUSION
There’s no question that the Venture credit card from Capital One is ideal for people who are passionate about travelling.
Few credit cards offer as much flexibility to book travel rewards such as airline tickets, hotels, and rental cars as the Venture credit card. On the flip side, this is a credit card that offers few other perks beyond travel.
About Author
The opinions provided in this article are those of the author and do not constitute investment advice. Readers should assume that the author and/or employees of Grizzle hold positions in the company or companies mentioned in the article. For more information, please see our Content Disclaimer.