Skip to Main Content

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card review: A streamlined travel rewards experience

Perfect for streamlined rewards from all of your spending.

 /  18 min
Bankrate logo

The Bankrate promise

At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict , this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here's an explanation for and how we rate our cards. The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of the offers mentioned may have expired. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. 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.

Snapshot

4.9

Bankrate rating
Info
Rating: 4.9 stars out of 5

Bottom line

Even when you’re not traveling, the boosted miles earned on all spending carry a 1:1 value through most transfer partners, so this card is a top pick if you want to earn easy-to-manage travel rewards on purchases.

Info
Best for travel rewards on everyday spending
Apply now Lock
on Capital One's secure site
  • Rewards value
    Rating: 4.3 stars out of 5
    4.3 / 5
    APR
    Rating: 4 stars out of 5
    4 / 5
    Rewards flexibility
    Rating: 5 stars out of 5
    5 / 5
    Features
    Rating: 3 stars out of 5
    3 / 5
Good to Excellent (670 – 850)
Info
Recommended Credit
Info

Intro offer

Info

$1275

Offer valuation

Info

2 Miles - 5 Miles

Rewards rate

Info

Annual fee

Regular APR

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card Overview

With the Capital One Venture, you can earn an unlimited 2X miles on all purchases, which makes it a great fit for occasional travelers who can’t take full advantage of a high rewards rate on travel purchases. Many other travel rewards cards only earn rewards at this rate on travel spending, so this is a valuable perk for people looking to go further with their everyday spending. 

You can redeem miles for any recent, travel-related purchase (such as vacation rentals, flights with any airline, hotels, rental cars, cruises, and more) and you’ll receive a statement credit in the amount of your redemption. This is another standout feature that you won’t find with co-branded travel cards that may restrict you to specific airlines or hotel brands.

But despite its value as a great everyday card, the Venture card lacks the extra travel perks available on some competing cards. Fewer perks are expected on a card with a low annual fee, so frequent travelers may find a card with better travel benefits to be more valuable.

  • Credit Card Cash Back

    Rewards

    • Earn 5X miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
    • Earn 2X miles per dollar on all other purchases

    Expert Appraisal: Good
    See our expert analysis

  • Rewards

    Welcome offer

    • Earn 75,000 miles after spending $4,000 on purchases within three months of account opening, equal to $750 in travel

    Expert Appraisal: Typical
    See our expert analysis

  • Credit Card Search

    Rates and fees

    • APR: 19.99 percent to 29.99 percent (variable)
    • Annual fee: $95
    • Balance transfer fee: $0 at the transfer APR, 4 percent of the amount of each transferred balance that posts to your account at a promotional APR that Capital One may offer to you
    • Cash advance fee: The greater of $5 or 5 percent of each cash advance
    • (See Rates & Fees)

    Expert Appraisal: Typical
    See our expert analysis

  • Congrats

    Other cardholder perks

    • Auto Rental Insurance*
    • Up to $100 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit
    • Lost Luggage Reimbursement*
    • Capital One Eno assistant
    • Perks with Lifestyle Collection hotel stays, including a $50 experience credit, room upgrades and more

    Expert Appraisal: Good
    See our expert analysis

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card pros and cons

Pros

  • Checkmark

    The card earns unlimited, flat-rate travel miles on all purchases, which is fantastic compared to other travel rewards cards that only earn miles towards specific flight and hotel bookings.

  • Checkmark

    Ideal card for purchases overseas.

  • Checkmark

    It offers solid benefits, including up to $100 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee (unlike the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card).

Cons

  • Unlike the Capital One Venture X card's fee, you can’t offset the annual fee with annual travel credits or bonus miles.

  • Miles are worth 1 cent or less unless you use select airline transfer programs, which can limit your overall earning potential.

  • Its sign-up bonus carries a steep spending requirement.

Why you might want the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

The Capital One Venture Rewards card offers an outstanding balance of flexibility and rewards value as a general travel card. It’s an ideal pick for occasional travelers who aren’t dedicated to one airline and want to use rewards from their everyday spending to fund their next trip. 

Rewards rate: Solid, flat-rate cash back for every purchase

The Capital One Venture earns flat-rate rewards, meaning it earns unlimited Capital One miles at the same rate on all purchases. It also earns a boosted rewards rate for hotels and rental cars booked using Capital One Travel.

Most other travel credit cards earn rewards primarily from travel-related spending, like airfare and hotel purchases. But the Venture card’s flat-rate approach and the Capital One Travel portal make it easy to earn and redeem travel miles without sacrificing top-tier rewards value. Issuer travel portals aren’t known for delivering the best travel booking deals, but Capital One makes it easy to get the full value from your hard-earned miles while keeping the redemption process simple.

Other cards may offer higher rewards rates in specific categories, such as dining or gas, but you may find that you get better overall value from earning rewards on all purchases at a solid flat rate. If you frequently make purchases that are not in staple rewards categories like groceries, dining, gas or streaming subscriptions, then a flat-rate card like the Capital One Venture can help you get a nice sum of rewards. Where tiered rewards typically award just 1X points or 1 percent cash back on “all other purchases,” the Venture card doubles that rate for the same purchases.

Redemptions: Points are flexible and valuable for bookings or transfers

Capital One provides more redemption options than many competitors, including a comprehensive list of 1:1 transfer partners and the option to use miles to cover outside travel purchases. Transferring miles for a better value could be your most lucrative redemption option. Based on Bankrate's latest credit card point valuations, Capital One miles could be worth around 1.7 cents each on average when you transfer to a top airline or hotel travel partner. However, if you aren’t pleased with the transfer partner list or aren’t finding any suitable offers in the travel portal, you can shop externally and cover the cost with miles you redeem as a statement credit. You can apply your miles to past travel purchases within 90 days, allowing you to shop around for the best deal.

Your miles don’t expire for the life of your account and there are no blackout dates, so you’d be better off saving them for a rainy day than cashing them in for a half-sized check. Additionally, you shouldn’t have any problem finding an opportunity to use Capital One’s transfer partners. 

Why you might want a different travel card

The Capital One Venture Rewards credit card offers a nice blend of value and convenience for cardholders, but it has some shortcomings compared to other cards. The best card for you will depend on various factors, so here are a few things to consider.

Welcome offer: Steep spending requirement

New cardholders can earn a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles after spending $4,000 on purchases within three months of account opening. This bonus is worth up to $750 in travel redemptions when you book travel through the Capital One Travel portal.

Although the current bonus is a step up from the card’s most recent bonus of 60,000 miles (after spending $3,000 within the first three months), it is not the card’s highest offer (100,000 miles after spending $20,000 in your first year) and requires quite a bit of spending to earn a payout that falls short of what you can find on other cards.

The current offer competes with other cards in the $95 annual fee range (See Rates & Fees). For instance, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers 60,000 points after a $4,000 spending requirement in the first three months, worth up to $750 when redeemed for travel through the Chase Travel℠ portal. Additionally, unlike the Venture Rewards Card, you won't need to transfer points to redeem more than 1 cent per point with the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

It’s worth noting that the Venture card's welcome offer matches or nearly matches the bonus offered on the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card. It’s rare for a card with a $95 annual fee (See Rates & Fees) for the Capital One Venture Rewards) to offer a bonus as high as a card with a $395 annual fee (See Rates & Fees for Capital One Venture X), but this might say more about the Venture X card than it does the Venture card. 

Yearly perks: Lacks annual bonus points

The Venture Rewards card carries consistent purchase value with its flat-rate rewards, but it fails to deliver on yearly perks and credits that bring additional value (outside perks with Lifestyle Collection hotel stays). Some cards have annual bonuses for cardholders that can bring upwards of a hundred dollars worth of value to your card account.

For instance, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card has a $50 annual hotel stay credit and a 10 percent anniversary point bonus. With this benefit, Chase will reward you on each account anniversary with 10 percent of the points you redeemed in the previous year. The Sapphire Preferred is just one example, but other travel cards like the Citi Premier® Card and the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card also have annual benefits that can offset their respective annual fees.

Although these cards don’t have the same rewards rates, welcome offers, transfer partners or issuer portals as Capital One, they could be better choices for you if you are looking for a reliable way to offset the fees that usually accompany traveling. However, you’ll want to review those cards’ details before deciding because an annual bonus is just one feature.

Rewards value: The value of your miles is average unless transferred

According to Bankrate’s latest points and miles valuations, Capital One Miles offer a baseline value of 1 cent per mile, which is average compared to other issuers’ rewards. Although Capital One Miles can be worth around 1.7 cents per mile on average when transferred to a partner airline or hotel, you’ll need to find a valuable transfer partner and book during a time of the year when you might find a cheaper flight than usual. Unfortunately, this process is labor-intensive.

If you’re looking for a straightforward rewards program with valuable rewards for the easiest redemptions, you might want to consider a credit card with an issuer’s rewards program with a higher baseline point value, like Chase Ultimate Rewards. If you hold either of the Chase premium travel cards, the baseline value of your points can increase up to 1.5 cents per point, giving you top-tier rewards value without any transferring involved.

First-year value vs. ongoing value

Given its small list of perks, it’s clear that this card’s key value comes from its travel rewards program. If you’re more of a “show me the money” type, the only ongoing Venture card feature with a clear monetary value is the $50 Lifestyle Collection hotel stay experience credit and the up to $100 application fee credit you’ll receive every four years for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry.

That means you’ll have to rely primarily on rewards spending each year to make up for the $95 annual fee. Here’s a look at what you’d have to spend each year to offset the annual fee:

  • 2X miles flat-rate spending: at least $4,752 per year if you get a 1-cent-per-mile redemption value ($2,794 if transferring miles, assuming an average mile value of 1.7 cents per mile)
  • 5X miles on hotel and rental car booked through Capital One Travel: at least $1,900 per year ($1,117 if transferring miles, assuming an average mile value of 1.7 cents per mile)

Some competing cards in the Venture’s class provide more benefit value to offset annual fees. But depending on your spending habits, the $95 may not be much of a concern, especially if you plan to transfer miles for an average of 1.7 cents per mile (Bankrate’s valuation). The 75,000-mile sign-up bonus is pretty hefty, too — enough to cover the annual fee for at least seven years, even if you only get 1 cent per mile in redemption value.

Here’s a look at the first year and ongoing value you should expect based on a 1-cent-per-mile redemption value:

Benefits and Costs First-year value Ongoing value (no welcome offers)
Yearly rewards* +$327 +$327
Welcome offers +$750 value (75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 during the first three months)
Perks (of monetary value)
  • +$25 (up to $100 application fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck every four years)

  • +$50 (experience credit for eligible Lifestyle Collection hotel stays)
  • +$25 (up to $100 application fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck every four years)

  • +$50 (experience credit for eligible Lifestyle Collection hotel stays)
Annual fee -$95 (See Rates & Fees) -$95 (See Rates & Fees)
Total value $1,057 $307

*Based on our formula used to calculate each card’s average rewards rates and average ongoing rewards value, using Bureau of Labor Statistics spending data and an assumed $15,900 yearly spend over three years ($1,325 per month).

We tried it: Here’s what our experts say

Frequent Bankrate contributor Jacqueline DeMarco loves the Capital One Venture card for its streamlined rewards experience and has been collecting miles with it for the past seven years.

“I don’t enjoy figuring out which spending categories will generate the most credit card rewards. With the Capital One Venture, I was attracted to the simplicity of earning unlimited 2X miles on all purchases. For this reason, I use my Capital One Venture for most major purchases over $100, whether it’s to upgrade a phone, buy clothes or do some holiday shopping. If I charge $1,500 in a month, I know that I’ll earn 3,000 Capital One miles. It’s an uncomplicated calculation.”
“In the end, even with a $95 annual fee, my Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is a bargain. This card gives me options, including flat-rate rewards, flexible flights and numerous protections.”

— Jacqueline DeMarco
Personal finance writer

How the Capital One Venture compares to other travel cards

The Venture card is popular thanks to its ease of use and simple reward structure. However, travelers who want to maximize their credit card rewards with strategic spending may be better served with another card.

Image of Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Bankrate Score
See Rates & Fees , Terms Apply
Apply now Lock
on Capital One's secure site

Annual fee

$95

Intro offer

Earn 75,000 miles
Info

Rewards rate

2 Miles - 5 Miles
Info

Recommended Credit Score

Good to Excellent (670 – 850)
Info
Image of Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Bankrate Score
Apply now Lock
on Chase's secure site

Annual fee

$95

Intro offer

60,000 bonus points
Info

Rewards rate

1x - 5x
Info

Recommended Credit Score

Good to Excellent (670 – 850)
Info
Image of Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card
Bankrate Score
See Rates & Fees , Terms Apply
Apply now Lock
on Capital One's secure site

Annual fee

$0

Intro offer

20,000 miles
Info

Rewards rate

1.25 Miles - 5 Miles
Info

Recommended Credit Score

Good to Excellent (670 – 850)
Info
Lightbulb

Bankrate Insight

If you’ve discovered that the Venture card is worth its annual fee, you should also consider the Capital One Venture X card. Although its annual fee may seem more intimidating, its yearly statement credits on Capital One Travel purchases and account anniversary bonus completely offset the annual fee.

Best cards to pair with the Capital One Venture

Flat-rate rewards cards generally pair best with category rewards cards that align with your biggest expenses.

Who is the Capital One Venture right for?

The Capital One Venture offers plenty to love if you’re looking for a simple travel rewards card that doesn’t ask much. Consider the card if you’d label yourself one of the following.

Bankrate’s Take — Is the Capital One Venture worth it?

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is convenient if you prefer simple flat-rate rewards or don’t spend enough on travel to justify a bonus category card or the Capital One Venture X’s $395 annual fee (See Rates & Fees).

That said, its rewards and benefits aren’t as great as the specialized features of a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred. And if you spend more than $300 on Capital One travel bookings each year, it may be worth upgrading to the Venture X due to its extra benefits and rewards potential, which can make it easy to recoup the higher annual fee.

*For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply

How we rated this card

Document
150+
cards rated
Congrats
50+
rewards programs valued
Search
1800
data points analyzed
Credit Card Reviews
40+
perks evaluated

We rate credit cards using a proprietary card scoring system that ranks each card’s estimated average rewards rate, estimated annual earnings, welcome bonus value, APR, fees, perks and more against those of other cards in its primary category.

Each card feature is assigned a weighting based on how important it is to people looking for a card in a given category. These features are then scored based on how they rank relative to the features on other cards in the category. Based on these calculations, each card receives an overall rating of 1-5 stars (with 5 being the highest possible score and 1 being the lowest).

We analyzed over 150 of the most popular rewards and cash back cards to determine where each stacked up based on their value, cost, benefits and more. Here are some of the key factors that influenced this card’s overall score and how the score influenced our review:

Frequently asked questions

Written by
Garrett Yarbrough
Writer, Credit Cards

Bankrate expert Garrett Yarbrough strives to make navigating credit cards and credit building smooth sailing for his readers. After regularly featuring his credit card, credit monitoring and identity theft analysis on NextAdvisor.com, he joined the CreditCards.com and Bankrate teams as a staff writer to develop product reviews and comprehensive credit card guides focused on cash back, credit scores and card offers.

Edited by Senior Editor, Credit Cards
Reviewed by
Itzel Garcia Ruiz

* See the online application for details about terms and conditions for these offers. Every reasonable effort has been made to maintain accurate information. However all credit card information is presented without warranty. After you click on the offer you desire you will be directed to the credit card issuer's web site where you can review the terms and conditions for your selected offer.

Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. The information, including card rates and fees, is accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the bank’s website for the most current information.