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The Capital One® Venture® Rewards is a travel rewards card offering 5% cash back on rental cars and hotels, and 2% back on all other purchases. While the base rewards rate is relatively lucrative, the card comes with a $95 annual fee. Given the limited range of rewards and Capital One’s selection of fee-free cards with similar benefits, this card may not be worth the yearly cost.
Quick Review
The Capital One® Venture® Rewards credit card is a decent travel card, but the rewards fall short of meriting the $95 annual fee. However, the 2% cash back rate on everyday purchases is appealing, and Capital One offers a host of worthwhile benefits.
This card comes with no foreign transaction fees, access to airport lounges, free credit tracking, and exclusive events and travel access through Capital One’s booking platforms.
But the Capital One® Venture® Rewards has the potential for high APR with a range from 18.99%–26.99% (variable). And it doesn’t offer a 0% APR introductory period, as similar Capital One cards do. If you’re likely to carry a balance from month to month, or you want to consolidate your credit card debt, this isn’t the best borrowing choice.
Capital One® Venture® Rewards Important Details
Basic Card Details
- Annual fee: $95
- Purchase APR: 18.99%–26.99% (variable)
- Rewards rate: 2%–4%
- Welcome bonus: 75,000 bonus miles when you $4,000 in first 3 months
Additional Information
- Earn 5% cash back on hotels and car rentals booked through Capital One Travel
- No foreign transaction fees
- Capital One benefits such as concierge service, travel accident insurance, and extended warranty protection
- Virtual card numbers and account alerts from Eno
- Free credit scores and credit tracking with CreditWise
- Manage your account through the Capital One mobile app
Capital One® Venture® Rewards Feature Breakdown
We’ll explore the many facets and features of the Capital One® Venture® Rewards credit card to help you determine whether it meets your borrowing needs.
Fees
- Annual fee: $95
- Cash advance fee: $10 or 3% (whichever is greater)
- Balance transfer fee: 3% at any promotional transfer APR; $0 at regular transfer APR
- Late fee: Up to $40
- Foreign transaction fee: None
Interest Rates
- Purchase APR: 18.99%–26.99% (variable)
- Cash advance APR: 25.49% (variable)
- Balance transfer APR: 18.99%–26.99% (variable)
Rewards
The Capital One® Venture® Rewards is a travel rewards card, meaning it gives a higher rate of credit card rewards points for travel purchases. Here’s how the rewards program works:
- 5x points on hotels and car rentals booked through Capital One Travel
- 2x points on all other purchases
- 75,000 bonus points if you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months of card ownership
The Capital One® Venture® Rewards points structure has pros and cons. On the one hand, the base rewards rate of 2% back on all purchases is high compared to most rewards cards, which offer 1%–1.5% as the lowest cashback rate.
On the other hand, the travel cash back isn’t that impressive, as the 5% rate only applies to car rentals and hotels, rather than more extensive travel purchases, like flights and cruise packages.
Additionally, you need to consider the annual fee when determining whether or not the cash back is worth it. In order to break even on your $95 annual fee, you would need to spend either:
- $1,900 on car rentals and hotels booked through Capital One Travel, or
- $4,750 on day-to-day purchases
While these thresholds are easy to meet in a year, and bolstered in the first year by the 75,000 bonus points, the rewards rate may not be worth the annual fee in perpetuity.
Cash Advance
The Capital One® Venture® Rewards credit card allows you to withdraw money through cash advances. However, cash advances come at a high APR of 25.49% and a cash advance fee of 3% or $10 (whichever is greater). So we don’t recommend using this card to withdraw money from an ATM.
Balance Transfers
The Capital One® Venture® Rewards allows balance transfers if you need to consolidate credit card debt. However, this card doesn’t offer an introductory 0% APR, and has a relatively high balance transfer APR of 18.99%–26.99% (variable).
If you need to transfer a balance, we instead recommend looking for a credit card with 0% APR for at least 9 months.
Travel Benefits
The Capital One® Venture® Rewards is first and foremost a travel card that enjoys the Capital One foreignt transaction fee waiver, along with other travel benefits:
- 24/7 travel assistance services
- Travel accident insurance
- Rental car collision damage waiver
- 2 visits to a Capital One airport lounge annually
- Partner lounge visits
- Capital One Travel
- Up to $100 credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry
You can also transfer the rewards miles you earn on this card to any number of travel rewards programs you’re a member of, including:
- Accor Live Limitless
- Aeromexico
- Air France KLM
- Air Canada
- Asia Miles
- Avianca LifeMiles
- British Airways
- Choice Hotels
- Emirates Skywards
- Etihad Airways
- EVA Air
- Finnair
- Qantas
- Singapore Airlines
- TAP Air Portugal
- Turkish Airlines
- Virgin Red
Other Benefits
While most borrowers seek out the Capital One® Venture® Rewards for its travel benefits, Capital One credit cards also come with a host of handy day-to-day benefits:
- Extended warranty protection on eligible items
- Capital One Dining
- Capital One Entertainment
- $0 fraud liability
- Virtual card numbers through Eno
- Credit tracking through CreditWise
- Mobile app for account management
- Security alerts
- Immediate card locking
Qualifying for the Card
To get approved for a Capital One® Venture® Rewards credit card, you need excellent credit. Capital One defines excellent credit as:
- You’ve never declared bankruptcy or defaulted on a loan
- You haven’t been more than 60 days late on any credit card, medical bill, or loan in the last year
- You’ve had a loan or credit card for 3 years or more with a credit limit above $5,000
Credit Reporting
Every month, Capital One reports to credit bureaus, which helps ensure your credit report is kept up to date.
Should You Get the Capital One® Venture® Rewards?
FinanceJar verdict
Those who want a decent cash back rate on everyday purchases without the hassle of rotating rewards could benefit from this card. However, you would need to be willing to pay a $95 annual fee, and confident your cashback earnings would make it worthwhile. Because of the fee, lackluster 5% rewards category, and lack of 0% APR period, we think there are better Capital One or other travel rewards cards to explore.
Who is this card for?
- Frequent flyers: Rewards earned on the Capital One® Venture® Rewards card can be transferred (most often at full value) to a host of airline membership programs. If you’re already part of an airline club, or plan to be, this card is worth consideration. Additionally, Capital One offers flying perks like airport lounges, travel insurance, and flight deals through their booking platform.
- Comfort travelers: For those who enjoy traveling comfortably, the Capital One® Venture® Rewards offers a cheaper alternative to most luxury travel cards. You can enjoy access to partner lounges in airports around the world, as well as two free visits per year to Capital One lounges. Additionally, Capital One Travel, Dining, and Entertainment make booking trips and experiences easy.
Comparable Cards
To see if the Capital One® Venture® Rewards is the best choice for you, see how it compares to similar cards.
