You might already be familiar with the Venture Rewards Card from Capital One, but this offshoot is a little bit different. Whereas the Venture Rewards card might be overkill for more frugal travelers, the Venture One Rewards Card is designed to make a similar experience more accessible . It is not a “watered-down” version of Capital One’s flagship travel card, because this offering stands on its own.
Truly, the Capital One® Venture One® Rewards Credit Card is a great option for travelers who do not spend much on their credit cards. As far as rewards and travel perks go, this can be quite the good choice, and no annual fee means that it is more suitable for frugal flyers and budget-minded hotel patrons.
Capital One® Venture One® Rewards Credit Card: Overview
There are perks and rewards to be had as a cardholder. Capital One has tried to offer something to everyone with the Venture One, and it looks like they have hit the mark. This card does not knock any single feature out of the park, but as a low APR rewards card, it will likely suit most consumers quite well.
It is worth noting that the low interest rate on the Capital One® Venture One® Rewards Credit Card makes it a strong contender overall. Rewards cards usually have a higher interest rate to offset the cost of the rewards program, but with this card you’ll enjoy 0 percent APR on any purchases made within the first 12 months, and a variable 13.49 to 23.49 percent interest rate after that.
Let us look at some of the other features of this card:
$200 Initial Bonus: Once you have accrued $1,000 worth of charges on your VentureOne Card (during the first 3 months), you will receive 20,000 bonus miles. These can be redeemed for $200 in credits that can be applied to travel expenses that you charge to the card.
Rather than using your reward points to book airfare or hotel stays, you use them retroactively to pay for qualifying charges that appear on your bill. Once you have crossed the $1000 spending threshold, the bonus miles will hit your account within two billing cycles. (Just remember to charge $1000 or more before the three months is up, or you will lose the bonus.)
What qualifies as a “travel-related expense”? You will be glad to know that Capital One is very generous in their definition of travel-related expenses. The following types of purchases all qualify and therefore can be paid off with reward points:
- Hotel reservations
- Cruise reservations
- Travel Agent fees
- Timeshare payments
- Train tickets
- Airfare
- Taxi and bus fare
1.25 Miles Per $1 Spent: This rate applies to all purchases, meaning that you do not have to keep track of which types of purchases pay out what percentage of rewards. This arrangement allows you to earn 1.25 miles per $1 spent on all purchases, which effectively translates to 1.25% cash back. You can also earn 10 miles per $1 on hotels when you book with the card through the hotels.com/venture portal. Compared to other travel cards on the market, this is an extremely good rate.
- 0% New-Purchase Financing: VentureOne gives you 0% on new purchases for 12 months. This is a great way to save money on interest payments if you need to make a large purchase…and doing so can get you across that threshold for the sign-up bonus right away.
- No Annual Fee: VentureOne has no annual fee, unlike its Venture card sibling. Though you earn a higher percentage of reward points with the Venture, you would need to charge nearly $8000 a year to offset the annual fee and make the card worthwhile.
Downsides to the Capital One® Venture One® Rewards Credit Card
- Variable APR When You Apply: VentureOne has a rather wide sliding scale for its regular APR, which usually means it is easier to get approved. Depending on your credit score, balances that you carry from month to month beyond the initial 0% term will accrue interest at a rate that could be 13.49% – 23.49% (V). The low end of this range is excellent – well below the average for pristine credit – but the high end is above average for cardholders with fair credit. It is important to consider your approved APR before deciding how to use this card.
- No 0% Financing For Balance Transfers: This is kind of unusual, especially for a card with the first year of 0% interest financing. You’ll want to keep this in mind if you’ve already accrued dept that you wish to transfer to a lower APR card.
View more information about the Capital One® Venture® One Card.
Similar Competing Cards
The Citi® Double Cash Card has much to offer and stands as a good alternative to the Capital One Venture One card. There is one noteworthy difference between the two that could be a deciding factor – the Venture One card does offer lower APRs across the board.
The Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card gives cardholders 1.5% cash back bonus (which is 50% more than the typical cash back credit card.) These two cards have much in common with the exceptions of the early spend bonus and the earnings rate. The VentureOne®’s welcome bonus has a more generous welcome bonus, but over the long run, you’ll get more value from the extra percentage earnings from the Quicksilver®.
Venture One® Rewards Credit Card from Capital One®: Other Points
- This Card is Best for Travelers: While you do not have to redeem your reward miles for travel-related expenses, you should. The miles earned on a VentureOne card go furthest when redeemed for travel or gift cards. Taking cash back or merchandise will mean losing up to half of your accrued value.
- No Foreign-Transaction Fee: VentureOne does not charge foreign transaction fees. This means you do not have to worry about inflated costs while traveling abroad or shopping with an international merchant. Considering this card’s position as a travel companion, we would expect nothing less.
- No Balance Transfer Fee: Although there’s no 0% introductory interest rate on balance transfers, VentureOne’s lack of a transfer fee could help you save some money if you have an expensive balance and get approved for a comparatively low regular APR.
As you can see, the Capital One® Venture One® Rewards Credit Card would make an excellent choice for many people. No annual fee and perks that suit the average traveler make it a strong contender for top travel credit card in the mid-range. It is not about luxury; it’s just about being a useful and rewarding card that most people would enjoy.