MoneyGeek’s Take

Capital One Venture Review

The Capital One Venture Rewards credit card is a great, introductory-level rewards card for travelers who like simple rewards and earnings. While it doesn’t have many luxury perks, it does offer two miles on every dollar spent and a bonus of 60,000 miles if you spend $3,000 on purchases within three months of opening the account.

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Last Updated: 11/9/2021

With this card, your bonus miles do not expire as long as the account stays open. You can redeem these miles for gift cards as a statement credit against travel-related purchases or transfer them to more than 15 partner airlines and hotels.

In this Capital One Venture review, we will discuss its pros and cons and compare it with other cards to see if it is the best option for frequent travelers.

Card Details to Know Up Front

Bonus, Fee or Feature
Has or Not
Has Annual Fee
Has Balance Transfer Offer
Has APR Offer
Cash Back Rewards
Travel Rewards
Hotel Benefits
Airline Benefits
Has Rewarding Welcome Offer
Has Foreign Transaction Fee
Credit Needed
Good–Excellent

Click to see this card’s rates, fees and how they compare to other cards in our dataset.

OUR REVIEW AT A GLANCE

Credit Card Details at a Glance
Pros & Cons Explained
Bonuses & Rewards Explained
Our Verdict: Is This Card for You?

Capital One Venture at a Glance

The Capital One Venture Card does not charge a foreign transaction fee and offers many travel rewards such as 2x miles on every purchase and a bonus of 60,000 miles for spending $3,000 within three months. The simple earnings and flexible redemptions make it one of the best credit cards in the category.

You also get a $100 credit for a TSA PreCheck or Global Entry application fee with this card. In addition, it offers travel accident insurance and car rental coverage at no extra cost.

Capital One Venture
A great rewards card that lets you earn unlimited miles
- Good–ExcellentCredit Needed
- $95Annual Fee
- 2 Miles per $1Rewards Rate
- 2xRewards Rate on Air Travel
- 2xRewards Rate at Hotels
Pros
Earn an early spend bonus of 60,000 miles by spending $3,000 on purchases within the first three months
Earn unlimited 2x miles per $1
Transfer miles to different airline loyalty programs
Redeem miles in various other ways
No foreign transaction fees
Receive Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit

Cons
$95 annual fee
Cash advance and balance transfer fees
Get 60,000 miles as an early spend bonus if you spend at least $3,000 on purchases within three months from account opening.
Earn unlimited 2x miles per dollar on all purchases.
Transfer your miles to Accor Live Limitless, Aeromexico Club Premier, Air Canada Aeroplan, Alitalia MilleMiglia Program, Asia Miles, Avianca LifeMiles, British Airways Avios, Emirates Skywards, Etihad Guest, Infinity MileageLands, Finnair Plus, JetBlue TrueBlue, Qantas Frequent Flyer, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go or Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles.
Redeem your rewards with PayPal, at Amazon.com or through Capital One Shopping.
Get a $100 statement credit toward Global Entry/TSA PreCheck fees every four years.
Pay no foreign transaction fees.
Get complimentary travel accident insurance, auto rental collision damage waiver and extended warranty.
Get access to premier culinary experiences as well as various music and sports events.
Get protection against unauthorized charges made using your card through $0 fraud liability.
Setting up autopay is possible.
Getting additional cards for authorized users comes with no added fee.
Disclaimer: Credit card offers are constantly changing. We work hard to stay updated with the latest information, but the offers listed on our site may no longer be available.
Terms, rates and fees apply
Compare this credit card with other top-rated cards from our partners.

Pros & Cons Explained

To better understand the Capital One Venture’s benefits and drawbacks, let’s quickly discuss some of the card’s primary pros and cons.

Pros

Benefits
Description
High reward rate
With this card, you earn two miles on every dollar spent, which gives credit card members a return of 2% on every purchase.
Early spending bonus
The sign-up bonus on this card offers 60,000 miles once you spend $3,000 within three months of opening your account.
No foreign transaction fee
The Capital One Venture card does not charge any fee on international transactions. On other cards, this fee is often in the ballpark of 3%.
Flexible reward redemption options
This card lets you redeem your reward miles in several different ways. You can cover any travel purchase by redeeming miles for statement credit, paying upfront with miles at Capital One’s travel portal or transferring miles to partner airlines or hotels. You can even use them for Amazon.com purchases.

Cons

Drawbacks
Description
High variable APR
This card has a high variable APR of 17.24%–24.49%, making it a costly proposition if you carry your balance forward every month.
Limited travel partners
With this card, you can transfer your miles to a limited number of travel partners and most of the partner airlines are non-U.S. airlines.

LOOKING FOR THE BEST CREDIT CARDS OF 2021?

The Capital One Venture card is not featured in The Best Travel Credit Cards of 2021 by MoneyGeek. You can visit the page to check out our recommended travel credit cards. We update this list monthly.

Bonuses & Rewards Explained

The Capital One Venture card has a great rewards program for travelers. Depending on your needs and preferences, you can reap many travel benefits from this card.

2x miles on every purchase

By spending one dollar with this card, you get two miles which do not expire as long as the account stays open. There’s also no limit on how much you can earn.

Early spending bonus

The Capital One Venture card rewards you with 60,000 miles once you spend $3,000 within three months. You can use this card for regular purchases to reach the spending requirement early.

TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credit

With this card, you receive up to $100 credit for the application fee of TSA PreCheck or Global Entry every four years.

Several reward redemption options

You can redeem your rewards as a statement credit to cover travel purchases, transfer them to travel partners, buy gift cards or do online shopping at Amazon.

Other Features Explained

The Capital One Venture card also offers many other useful features. Having a look at them can be helpful while deciding between this and other travel rewards cards.

Card Feature
Description
Travel accident insurance
In case of injury or death during travel, this card provides you with travel accident insurance up to $250,000 worth of coverage.
24/7 travel assistance
Capital One will send you a replacement card and a cash advance if you lose your card during travel.
$0 fraud liability
You have zero liability if your Capital One card is used for any fraudulent transactions.
Security alerts
With this card, you get notifications of every suspicious transaction through text, email or phone.

MONEYGEEK EXPERT TIP

"Capitol One Venture Rewards are incredibly flexible. Use these points for travel expenses you can’t redeem with other programs, such as tickets to Disneyland or short-term rental bookings." - Alene Laney, Credit Card Journalist

Understanding the Fine Print

Understanding the fees and rewards rates associated with the Capital One Venture card will help you decide if this card is worth applying for.

Card Feature
Amount or Rate
APR
17.24%–24.49%
Annual Fee
$95
Cash Back Rewards
Rewards Rate
2 Miles per $1
Airline Benefits
Rewards Rate on Groceries
2x
Rewards Rate on Gas
2x
Rewards Rate on Dining
2x
Rewards Rate on Entertainment
2x
Rewards Rate on Online Shopping
2x
Rewards Rate on TV, Phone, Internet Services
2x
Rewards Rate on Air Travel
2x
Rewards Rate at Hotels
2x
Balance Transfer Fee
3%
Balance Transfer APR
17.24–24.49%
Late Fees
$40.00
Cash Advance Fee
3%
Cash Advance APR
24.49%
Foreign Transaction Fee
None

Regular APR
The Capital One Venture card charges a variable APR of 17.24%–24.49%, which is high compared to the average APR. It means that if you don't pay off your balance in full every month, you will accrue a lot of interest on your balance.
Annual Fee
This card's annual fee is $95, which may be worth it considering how much you spend using this card. For example, you would have to spend roughly $400 with this card every month so that your estimated rewards can make up the annual fee.
Miles Rewards Rate
This card rewards you with two miles on every dollar spent. You can use this card for your daily purchases to maximize your rewards.
Cash Advance Fee
With this card, you'll pay 3% of the total amount or $10 in fees, whichever is greater, when you take out a cash advance. Cash advances are also subject to a 24.49% APR.

FINDING YOUR CARD'S RATES AND FEES

The best way to find out this information is your credit card issuer’s website, mobile app or billing statement. You can also check the Credit Card Agreement Database maintained by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Who Should & Shouldn’t Consider Capital One Venture?

Other Considerations for Capital One Venture

While deciding about getting this card, you should be mindful of how you have used credit cards before and if the Capital One Venture card will be your only card or an addition to your wallet.

Things to Consider if This is Will Be Your First or Only Credit Card

As the Capital One Venture card offers a high miles rewards rate, you would be able to maximize your rewards by using it for regular purchases every day. However, you should only spend what you can pay off, as its high APR will cause you to accrue a lot of interest if you don’t pay your balance in full before the due date.

Things to Consider if This is Will Be an Additional Card in Your Wallet

In the case of multiple cards, you can keep the Capital One Venture card for your everyday purchases, while using cards with higher category-specific rewards rates for certain purchases (like those at restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores, etc.). While traveling internationally, using this card would be the best option as it does not have a foreign transaction fee.

WHY TRUST OUR REVIEWS

At MoneyGeek, we follow a six-step process to review credit cards. Our methodology involves collecting credit card information, standardizing data points, analyzing potential cardholder profiles, considering annual and introductory bonuses, establishing the card values and reviewing data monthly to reprocess rankings.

How Capital One Venture Compares to Other Cards

While the Capital One Venture card has a great rewards program for travelers, there are other cards in the same category which offer a better reward rate or other benefits with no annual fee.

Quick Comparison of Capital One Venture

Capital One Venture

Purchase APR: 17.24%–24.49%
Annual fee: $95
International transactions fee: 0%
Miles reward rate: 2 miles per dollar spent
Best for: Moderate travelers looking for a card with no foreign transaction fee

Capital One VentureOne

Purchase APR: 15.49%–25.49%
Annual fee: $0
International transactions fee: 0%
Miles reward rate: 1.25 miles per dollar spent
Best For: Travelers looking for a card with no annual fee

Other Helpful Decision-Making Q&As

The following frequently asked questions about the Capital One Venture card can be helpful while making your final decision.

Still not sure about this card? Consider these options.

While the Capital One Venture card offers great travel rewards, if you’re not sure about getting it, you can look over the features of other cards in the same category to see if they benefit you and fit your requirements.