Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card Review – 1.25x Miles

The Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card is a travel rewards card with no annual fee and a straightforward, easy-to-understand rewards system that earns 1.25 miles per dollar spent on every purchase. There are no minimum requirements for how much you spend or what you buy. You can redeem your accumulated miles for virtually any travel purchase.

VentureOne Rewards shares the spotlight with a number of other travel rewards credit cards. It’s closely related to its stablemate, Capital One Venture Rewards, which carries an annual fee ($95) and earns rewards at a higher rate of 2 miles per dollar spent. VentureOne Rewards has much in common with annual-fee-free competitors such as the Bank of America Travel Rewards Credit Card. And, finally, it competes with general-purpose and brand-specific travel rewards cards with annual fees ranging from $50 to $150, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card.

It’s important to note that although Capital One VentureOne Rewards earns a lower baseline rewards rate than the Venture Rewards and doesn’t carry an annual fee, it’s not exactly an entry-level version of its Capital One stablemate. Like Venture, this card requires applicants to have excellent credit. If you have any significant blemishes on your credit, or simply haven’t built up your credit yet, you’re unlikely to qualify for this card.

Capital One VentureOne Rewards vs. Capital One Quicksilver — How They Stack Up

The Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card has plenty of competition in the rewards credit card space. And some of those calls come from inside the house, as they say.

That’s right — VentureOne is a popular alternative to other Capital One travel and cash-back credit cards, and vice versa. Let’s see how it stacks up against another popular Cap One rewards card: the Capital One Quicksilver Rewards Credit Card.

Key Features of the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card

These are the most important features of the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card. I’m a particularly big fan of the solid early spend bonus and the travel loyalty partner transfer arrangements. The Capital One Travel price match is a nice touch too.

Early Spend Bonus

Earning No Hassle Miles

Capital One VentureOne Rewards earns an unlimited 1.25 miles per dollar spent on most purchases, with one exception: It earns 5 miles per dollar spent on hotel and car rental purchases made through Capital One Travel.

Redeeming No Hassle Miles

Accumulated miles are redeemable for virtually any type of travel purchase, including hotel stays, car rentals, airfare, ground transportation (such as trains and taxis) and more, always at a value of $0.01 per mile.

To redeem, you can do one of two things. First, you can exchange miles for account statement credits by calling Capital One’s customer service hotline, or you can visit your online account and manually select the purchases for which you’d like to redeem miles.

Second, Capital One allows you to book travel with miles directly through its online travel portal. In either case, if you’re redeeming for a purchase that costs more than the cash value of your miles, you can redeem the miles you do have (as long as you use at least 2,500 miles) and pay the remaining balance in cash.

Although Capital One also offers the option to redeem for non-travel items, such as gift cards, statement credits, and Amazon.com purchases, values for non-travel redemptions are highly variable, subject to change without warning, and often amount to less than $0.01 per mile.

Transfer to Travel Loyalty Partners

You can transfer your accumulated points to any of Capital One’s travel merchant partners. The lineup is subject to change, but generally includes about a dozen popular airline and hospitality brands.

Introductory APR

This card comes with a 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months. After that, variable regular APR applies (currently 19.99% to 29.99%). There is a 3% fee on the amounts transferred within the first 15 months. After 15 months the balance transfer fee will be 4%.

Important Fees

The card does not have an annual fee or foreign transaction fee.

Additional Cardholder Benefits

VentureOne Rewards comes with a number of general cardholder benefits, including:

• 24/7 concierge service and booking assistance
• 24/7 emergency card replacement for travelers
• Preferred seating and/or access to popular events, such as professional sporting events and celebrity golf outings
• Exclusive reservations and experiences with Capital One Dining
• Price match on Capital One Travel purchases — be sure you get the best price even after you book with Capital One’s powerful price-comparison technology

Credit Required

This card requires good to excellent credit.

Advantages of the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card

The VentureOne Rewards card has a lot of benefits, not all of which are apparent right off the bat. The bottom line here is that this is a simple yet unusually generous product relative to other no-annual-fee travel cards.

• No Annual Fee. The Capital One VentureOne Rewards Card doesn’t carry an annual fee. That’s a big advantage over many competing travel rewards cards, including the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card ($95) and Chase Sapphire Preferred ($95 annual fee).
• Price Matching on Capital One Travel Purchases. Capital One automatically compares the price you pay for travel booked through Capital One Travel to make sure you’re getting the best price — even after you book. This isn’t unique to VentureOne, but it’s worth mentioning because many VentureOne cardholders book travel through Capital One Travel.
• Flexible Rewards Program. When it comes to redeeming for travel, the VentureOne card’s rewards program is super flexible. You can redeem for virtually any travel purchase, including hotel stays and just about any type of conveyance. This is a big advantage over airline-, hotel-, or platform-specific alternatives that require you to redeem with a particular brand or brand partnership, or on a particular online platform, such as Expedia.
• Easily Attainable Early Spend Bonus. This card’s early spend bonus is relatively easy to attain if you use VentureOne as your primary credit card.
• Nice Intro APR Promotion. This card boasts a 0% intro on purchases for 15 months (then variable regular APR applies, currently 19.99% to 29.99%). Some competing cards, including the Citi Hilton Honors Visa Signature Card (no annual fee) and the regular Capital One Venture Rewards Card, don’t offer intro APRs at all.
• No Penalty APR. The VentureOne card doesn’t carry a penalty APR. That’s great news for cardholders who occasionally miss payments, and is a big benefit over competing cards that do charge penalty APR.
• No Confusing Spending Categories. This card’s travel rewards program is about as straightforward as can be. You never have to worry about spending categories, or any associated caps or restrictions. You simply earn 1.25 miles for every dollar spent. By contrast, the Expedia+ Card accrues 3 points per $1 spent on Expedia purchases and 1 point per $1 spent on everything else, while the Expedia+ Voyager Card earns 4 points per $1 spent on Expedia purchases, 2 points per $1 spent on dining and entertainment, and 1 point per $1 spent on everything else.

Disadvantages of the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card

The VentureOne Rewards card isn’t perfect. It doesn’t earn miles very quickly, doesn’t offer particularly high redemption values (without outbound transfers, at least), and has choosy credit requirements.

• Moderate Miles Earning Pace. Capital One VentureOne Rewards earns miles at a moderate pace: 1.25 miles per dollar on most purchases (car rentals and hotels purchased through Capital One Travel excepted). By contrast, BankAmericard Travel Rewards earns an unlimited 1.5 miles per $1 spent.
• Miles Always Have the Same Value When Redeemed for Travel. The VentureOne Card’s miles are always worth $0.01 apiece when redeemed for travel. While this makes for fewer mathematical calculations – and headaches – come redemption time, it’s also not great for cardholders who wish to maximize the value of their accumulated points. When redeemed for travel purchases through Chase’s Ultimate Rewards portal, Chase Sapphire Preferred points are worth $0.0125 apiece.
• Limited Travel Benefits. Aside from complimentary upgrades and savings opportunities where available, the VentureOne Card doesn’t have much in the way of luxury perks or convenience benefits for travelers. Many branded cards, including American Express’ Delta SkyMiles Gold card, offer perks such as in-flight discounts, priority boarding, and free checked bags.

Is the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card Legit?

Yes, the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card is legit. It’s cut from the same cloth as the better-known Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, but more accessible to people with modest incomes.

The Capital One VentureOne Rewards card earns high marks from verified users too, and it has a lot going for it relative to other entry-level travel rewards cards. So it’s a great choice if you’re not sure you’ll qualify for a premium product.

Final Word

The Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card doesn’t earn miles at a breakneck pace or offer gold-plated benefits for cardholders in good standing. If you’re looking for a card that races you to free airfare or pampers you wherever you go, there are definitely better alternatives. However, there’s a lot to be said for a card with VentureOne’s simplicity and straightforwardness. With this card, you always know where you stand – and how long it’s going to take to get from there to free or reduced-price travel.