Capital One Venture Rewards Guide

A travel rewards credit card can be a money-saving tool if it yields points or miles toward free flights, hotels, and other travel expenses. An estimated 28% of Americans say they plan to use travel miles or points to book their next adventure, according to a 2021 Harris Poll. Capital One Venture Rewards is one option for earning travel rewards. Specifically, this program is aimed at travelers who prefer earning miles on their purchases, rather than points or cash back.

Understanding Capital One Venture Rewards

Capital One Venture Rewards is a rewards program for certain Capital One travel rewards credit cards. With this program, travelers can earn miles on eligible purchases. Those miles can then be redeemed for travel expenses. The number of miles earned per dollar spent can depend on which card the user has. There are currently four personal credit cards that earn Capital One Venture Rewards miles:

Capital One Venture Rewards card

The Capital One Venture Rewards credit card offers unlimited 2 miles per dollar spent on eligible purchases. So a traveler who spends $25,000 a year with their card could earn 50,000 miles. New cardholders also have an opportunity to earn a 60,000 introductory miles bonus by meeting a minimum spending requirement.

This card comes with some valuable travel benefits, including:

• Fee credit toward Global Entry or TSA PreCheck
• Travel accident insurance
• 24-hour travel assistance services

There are no foreign transaction fees with this card, but it does have a $95 annual fee.

Capital One VentureOne Rewards credit card

The Capital One VentureOne Rewards credit card offers unlimited 1.25 miles per dollar on eligible purchases. So someone who spends $25,000 a year could earn 31,250 miles annually with this card. There's also a 25,000-miles introductory bonus available to new cardholders who meet certain spending requirements.

This card's features and benefits include:

• Travel accident insurance
• Auto rental collision damage waiver
• Extended warranty protection

There is no foreign transaction fee or annual fee with this card.

Capital One Venture X Rewards credit card

Launched in November 2021, the Capital One Venture X Rewards credit card is a premium travel card with a $395 annual fee. In addition to the benefits provided with other Venture cards, it offers 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, 5 miles per dollar on flights booked through Capital One Travel, and 2 miles per dollar on all other purchases. It also offers an opportunity to earn a 75,000-mile introductory bonus and a yearly anniversary bonus of 10,000 miles.

Capital One VentureOne Rewards for Good Credit

The VentureOne Rewards for Good Credit card from Capital One is suited for people who have good credit but may not qualify for the Venture Rewards, VentureOne Rewards, or Venture X Rewards cards based on their credit score. This card earns unlimited 1.25 miles per dollar with no annual fee.

The same basic card benefits and redemption options apply. There's no introductory bonus, however, and cardholders who qualify for this card won't be able to take advantage of any introductory annual percentage rates (APRs) on purchases or balance transfers.

How To Earn Capital One Venture Rewards Miles

Earning Venture Rewards miles is as simple as making a purchase with an eligible Venture Rewards credit card. The main differences among the four available cards are the number of miles earned per dollar spent and whether or not you'll pay an annual fee.

Say you have a Venture Rewards card, which pays unlimited double miles on every purchase. Your typical annual spending looks something like this:

• Groceries: $4,942
• Gas: $1,568
• Clothing: $1,434
• Dining out: $2,375
• Entertainment: $2,912
• Personal care: $646
• Miscellaneous: $907

Those numbers reflect the average annual expenditure per household, as measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Now, say you also charge $10,000 a year in travel. Your total spending for the year comes to $24,784. Based on that and assuming you were able to put all of those expenses on your card, you'd earn 49,568 miles for the year.

Earn More Venture Miles With Introductory Bonuses

Many travel rewards programs offer introductory sign-up bonuses for eligible new cardholders and Venture Rewards is among them. The Venture Rewards, VentureOne Rewards, and Venture X Rewards cards all offer bonuses, while VentureOne Rewards for Good Credit does not. Here's a quick look at how the bonus compares for each card.

The Venture Rewards and Venture X Rewards cards offer the biggest bonuses, but you'll need to spend a lot more than with a VentureOne Rewards card to qualify for one. So it's important to consider your typical spending habits to decide if the bonus is within reach.

How To Redeem Capital One Venture Miles

There are a variety of options for redeeming Venture Miles. They include:

• Travel (hotels, airfares, rental cars, etc.)
• Statement credits
• Pay for purchases with PayPal
• Shop at Amazon.com
• Gift cards

Rewards don't expire as long as your account remains open and in good standing. There are no limits on the number of rewards you can earn and no minimum to redeem.

What Are Capital One Venture Miles Worth?

Miles earned through the Capital One Venture Rewards program are worth approximately 1.02 cents each when redeemed for travel, according to Investopedia's calculations. So, for example, 50,000 miles would translate to roughly $510 in value.

However, that is an average, and you might get a bit less from your rewards if you use them for other purposes, such as gift cards or shopping at Amazon.com.

Capital One Venture Miles Transfer Partners

Capital One offers the option to transfer Venture Miles to over 15 travel partners. Travel partners include:

• Accor Live Limitless
• Aeromexico
• Air France KLM
• Air Canada
• Asia Miles
• Avianca LifeMiles
• British Airways
• Emirates Skywards
• Etihad Airways
• EVA Air
• Finnair
• Qantas
• Singapore Airlines
• TAP Air Portugal
• Turkish Airlines
  

Miles can also be transferred to select hotel partners booked through Capital One Travel, which include Accor and Wyndham properties. Typically, miles transfer on a 1:1 basis, though some travel partners may offer more or less value per mile. So if you're planning to transfer miles, it's important to calculate what your miles may be worth with different travel partners to avoid losing value.

The Bottom Line

Capital One Venture Rewards is a rewards program that offers travel miles on purchases with select Capital One credit cards. The number of miles varies depending on the card. Miles can be redeemed to cover airline flights, hotels, rental cars, and other expenses.