Bottom Line
The 20,000 sign-up bonus points makes this card a let down. But that's why you get for no annual fee and a minimum spend of $1,000. This card is hardly worth considering, unless you just want to get your feet wet in collecting travel points -- with no upfront commitment.
Why You Might Want This Card
Limp Sign Up Bonus
It's hard to get excited about this card. The welcome bonus is limp at 20,000 points, but what can you expect from a no-fee card with a minimum bonus spend of just $1,000? You'll earn 1.25x miles on every purchase, which is actually less than the average 1.5x earning that comes on other competitor cards. Rewards don’t expire and you get 0% APR for the first 12 months. All this with no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees. It’s an attractive option if you want a travel card, but are just getting started in collecting points. There aren’t a ton of perks with the VentureOne, but you do get essential ones that protect you -- security and account alerts via text, email and phone. Plus apps and digital services, so you can manage your account anywhere, anytime. The Capital One VentureOne card is one of those cards that you can utilize for travel wherever and whenever you want. There are 3 ways to redeem: You can use your miles toward the purchase eraser to simply eliminate your travel charges. You can transfer miles to 12+ travel partners. Or you can book travel through the Capital One portal. It should be mentioned that you get the best redemption value by booking travel. If you cash out your miles, you'll lose a lot.
Check out our Capital One Miles page for more details on how to best use Capital One Points
Exceptions To The Rule
About Capital One Miles
Capital One Miles fall more into the niche category. The points are extremely flexible, able to be used to reimburse you for any travel charges (Purchase Eraser). This makes their points most valuable for items like rental cars and cruises, which are not typically bookable with points.
Capital One also recently added partner airlines. The most valuable partner is Avianca, where you can book relatively cheap business class flights (30-55K each way) on Star Alliance partner flights like Lufthansa, Swiss Air, United and ANA to name just a few. Etihad Guest, Air Canada and Air France transfers may also be worth checking out -- in that order in terms of value.
The challenge is that it’s difficult to make the $50,000 spend to qualify for their bonus of 200,000 points with the Spark Miles for Business offer. Plus it’s tough to earn enough points for a full trip for two people with Capital One because of the limited number of cards and their approval restrictions. But if you have a business with a very high annual spend, grab this special offer when you see it for an easy 6x return on $50,000.
We call these points niche, not because they don’t have flexibility. It’s just more difficult to earn a high number of points, and Capital One lacks mainstream partners. If you’re under 5/24 and have already gotten all of our highest recommended cards, it might be worth a look at a Capital One card.
Where Capital One VentureOne Fits In This Point Ecosystem
Personal Experience
