Jasmin: “How I’d Use the Capital One Venture 40,000 Mile Bonus”

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With the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card, you can earn 40,000 Venture miles (worth $400 in travel) after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months.

$400 in travel is a good deal, so I’ve asked the Million Mile Secrets team how they’d use the card’s sign-up bonus.  Here’s team member Jasmin! Jasmin:   I’ve had my eye on the Capital One Venture card because you can use Venture miles for LOTS of different travel purchases, including expenses you can’t normally cover with miles and points.  But I won’t apply for it yet, because I’m trying to get under Chase’s 5/24 limit.

Here are 3 ways I’d consider using the sign-up bonus from the Capital One Venture Rewards card.

How WE Would Use the Capital One Venture 40,000 Mile Bonus

• Keith
• Meghan
• Joseph
• Harlan
• Jasmin

Capital One Venture Miles Card

Capital One Venture miles are worth 1 cent each.  So the 40,000 Venture mile sign-up bonus on the Capital One Venture card is worth $400 in travel.  Lots of people like earning and using them because the rewards program is simple.

You don’t have to worry with transfer partners or ratios, blackout dates, or search for open award seats or hotel nights.  And you can use the miles as a credit towards most travel purchases you make – with no minimum.  That includes airfare, hotels, campsites, cruises, rental cars, Uber, and more.

Once I’m under “5/24” and get the Chase Sapphire Reserve and Chase Ink Business Preferred, I’ll definitely consider the Capital One Venture.  It’ll be a good way to help off-set the out-of-pocket travel expenses I can’t use other miles and points for.

And the Capital One Venture rewards program is appealing, because you can redeem miles toward smaller travel purchases.  I have the Barclaycard Arrival Plus, but you can only redeem for travel purchases of $100+.

Here are a few ways I’d use Capital One Venture miles!

1.  Make a Splash at Great Wolf Lodge

My kids love waterparks (OK, I do too 😉 ).  We visited Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara Falls, Canada, when they were younger.  But they were too little to ride the biggest waterslides, and they’d love to go back!

Great Wolf Lodge locations aren’t cheap.  And they’re not part of a chain loyalty program.  Standard rooms (never mind the cool “KidKamp” suites) often sell for $400+ per night in peak season.  But room rates include waterpark passes, which means you can use Capital One Venture miles to erase the cost of your accommodations and all-day waterpark fun!

You can sometimes find cheaper deals at Great Wolf Lodge on 3rd-party travel sites, which count as travel with Capital One Venture, too.  And if you eat on-site, meals are billed to your room, so you could offset the cost of food as well.

We’re hoping to visit the Great Wolf Lodge in the Poconos next time, maybe as a side trip to or from New York City!

2.   France in North America – St. Pierre and Miquelon

Growing up in Canada, I learned about the French islands St. Pierre and Miquelon in school.  It’s an “overseas collectivity of France,” like St. Martin and French Polynesia.  But it’s less than an hour’s ferry ride from Fortune, Newfoundland.

I’ve always been fascinated by the idea that there’s a bit of France right here in North America.  With a population just over 6,000, St. Pierre and Miquelon doesn’t get a whole lot of attention.  But it looks like an incredible (and remote!) place to visit, with brightly-colored buildings and a European vibe.

You’ll need a valid passport (except Canadians, who can get by with a driver’s license) to enter St. Pierre and Miquelon, and the local currency is the Euro, although Canadian dollars are usually accepted.  The ferries run April to December, but you can also fly with Air St. Pierre from Halifax, Montreal, St. John’s, or Sydney (Nova Scotia, not Australia!).

I’d love to book a weekend trip here as part of a visit to the East Coast of Canada.  And because you can redeem Venture miles with any airline, and also ferries, the Capital One Venture card would be a terrific way to reduce the price of the trip.

There are only a handful of hotels and Airbnbs in St. Pierre and Miquelon, but you can use Capital One Venture miles towards those costs as well.

3.   Ecotourism in Palawan, Philippines

I’m currently planning a bucket-list trip to the Philippines with the kids next year to visit relatives, and see the places our ancestors came from.  While most of our family lives within a ~2 hour drive of Manila, I hope to also take the kids to Palawan.

It looks absolutely breathtaking.  Everyone I’ve talked to says the crystal-clear ocean, lush forests, and white sand beaches are incredible.  And the kids would definitely enjoy the amazing snorkeling there and paddling through underground rivers and caves.

We’ll probably book a cheap ticket from Manila to Palawan on Air Asia or Cebu Pacific, with prices ~$60 each way.  And most hotels and resorts in Palawan aren’t part of major chains, so I’ll welcome a way to off-set the cost of accommodations with Venture miles.

Now to decide which tours we’ll do! 🙂

Capital One Venture Card Offer

Link:   Capital One® Venture® Card 

Link:   My Review of the Capital One Venture Card

With the Capital One Venture card, you can earn 40,000 Venture miles (worth $400 in travel) after spending $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months.

You’ll also get:

• 2 Venture miles per $1 you spend on all purchases
• NO foreign transaction fees
• $59 annual fee, waived the first year

The card also comes with Visa Signature Benefits, which include:

• Rental car insurance – Secondary protection against collision or theft
• Travel accident insurance – Up to $250,000 insurance for accidental loss of life, limb, sight, speech or hearing
• Lost luggage insurance – Up to $3,000 per trip, provided the luggage was lost from theft or misdirection by the airline, cruise, etc.

And for folks who live near a Capital One Cafe, you can get 50% off coffee purchases when you pay with your Capital One debit or credit card.

Bottom Line

The 40,000 Venture mile sign-up bonus on the Capital One Venture card is worth $400 in travel purchases.

Team member Jasmin hopes to use the bonus to treat her kids to a visit to Great Wolf Lodge.  Or visit spots off the beaten path like St. Pierre and Miquelon, or Palawan, Philippines.

Folks like Venture miles for their convenience.  Because after making a travel purchase with your card, you can simply “erase” the purchase with your miles!

How would you use the 40,000 Venture mile sign-up bonus from the Capital One Venture card?