Capital One Venture Card benefits and perks

  • Joseph Hostetler

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    When you open the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, you’ll receive 100,000 bonus miles when you spend $20,000 on purchases in the first 12 months from account opening, or still earn 50,000 miles if you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. If I’m being honest, this is the reason I initially opened the card.

    But is the card worth keeping after you’ve spent the bonus?

    In my mind, this question really hinges on one matter: Do you already have other travel credit cards? The Capital One Venture doesn’t come with many unique travel perks (though it has a couple). If you’ve been involved in the miles & points hobby for a while, it’s very probable that you already own a card with these same benefits. Here’s a look at the Capital One Venture benefits and perks, so you can decide for yourself. You can also read our Capital One Venture review for details such as how to use Capital One miles.

    The Capital One Venture earns miles you can redeem for flights, hotels, rental cars, even certain tours. But it has many other benefits & perks. (Photo by Wyatt Smith)

    Capital One Venture benefits and perks

    Earn 5 miles per dollar spent through Capital One Travel℠

    If you want to know how to earn Capital One miles fast, this is your best bet. You can earn bonus miles with the some of the best Capital One credit cards, including the Capital One Venture when booking your travel via Capital One’s proprietary online travel agency.

    Capital One miles value is generally 1 cent each (though it’s possible to receive more value when redeeming your miles with Capital One transfer partners).

    You won’t earn bonus miles on airfare — just the flat 2 miles per dollar you’ll earn on everything. If you’re looking for the best card to use for airfare, check out our post of the best airline credit cards.

    Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit

    This is one of the few cards with an annual fee below $400 that comes with a TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credit.

    Global Entry is a fantastic program that saves international travelers lots of time by getting them quickly through U.S. Customs and Immigration when returning to the U.S. from abroad. It also comes with a TSA PreCheck membership, which is a boon for domestic airport security. With TSA PreCheck, you won’t have to remove your:

    That’s a big time-saver. Plus, TSA PreCheck security lines are often much shorter.

    No foreign transaction fees

    Some non-travel credit cards charge a 3% fee for any purchases made outside the U.S. That can even include reserving foreign hotels on the internet from within the U.S. The Capital One Venture doesn’t charge these stupid fees, so it’s a good card to use internationally.

    Ability to transfer rewards to airlines

    You can transfer Capital One miles to several different airlines:

    For most airlines, the transfer ratio is 2:1.5 (in other words, you’ll receive 1.5 airline miles for every 2 Capital One miles you transfer). The exceptions are Emirates, JetBlue and Singapore Airlines, which have an even worse 2:1 transfer ratio. The Capital One Venture earns 2 miles per dollar, so you’re effectively earning 1.5 airline miles per dollar you spend (and 1 mile per dollar spent in the case of Emirates, JetBlue and Singapore Airlines).

    This gives you the opportunity to book amazing flights for cheap. For example, you could Transfer 94,500 Capital One miles to Avianca and book a busines-class flight to Europe on Swiss Airlines for 63,000 Avianca miles.

    Swiss business class from New York to Geneva costs ~$2,900 one-way. (Photo by Christian Kramer)

    These seats sell for nearly $2,900, meaning you’ll get a value of 3 cents per mile by using them this way. That’s triple the value you’d receive if you had straight up purchased the seat with Capital One miles. If you can find a good deal like this, transferring your miles is the best way to use Capital One miles.

    Lost luggage insurance

    You’ll receive up to $3,000 per trip when your luggage is lost from theft or misdirection by the airline, cruise, etc. The card will reimburse you the difference between the actual value of your belongings minus the money you receive from the common carrier.

    So for example, if the airline misplaces your $6,000 cashmere sweater and the airline may compensate you $3,000, the Capital One Venture will cover another $3,000. Crisis averted!

    This does not cover certain items like money, cell phones, art, glasses, or contact lenses.

    Rental car insurance

    The Capital One Venture offers secondary car insurance against collision or theft. Secondary coverage means your personal or business car insurance company pays first. You’ll have to pay your insurance deductible but this benefit could still save you a ton. Just note that Visa Signature benefits state you’re only covered if your rental period lasts:

    Best to split up your rental into multiple reservations if you plan to rent longer.

    Roadside dispatch

    This is basically like a AAA service, except you have to pay every time. You’ll receive 24 hour access to roadside help, including:

    The access is free, but service calls are currently $69.95. Not cheap, but definitely nice to have in case of an emergency.

    Travel accident insurance

    You, your spouse, and your unmarried dependent children can receive up to $250,000 of insurance for tragedies along your travels. Covered accidents include accidental loss of:

    You’re covered so long as the accident happens while you’re riding as a passenger in, entering, or exiting any “licensed common carrier” (like an airplane, cruise ship, etc.) You must buy the entire cost of your fare with the Capital One Venture to qualify.

    Extended warranty protection

    The Capital One Venture extended warranty protection will double the US manufacturer’s warranty up to 1 year. Here are some restrictions you should know about:

    You can’t buy stuff like motorized vehicles, computer software, or medical equipment. Check out the full benefits guide to see the other exclusions.

    Overall Value

    The card’s annual fee is $95. After you meet minimum spending requirements to earn the welcome bonus, you’ll have well over 100,000 Capital One miles, which are worth $1,000 in travel. You’ll also receive an up to $100 credit for Global Entry every four years.

    Because most other benefits are travel insurance for when something goes horribly wrong, HOPEFULLY this card won’t be worth more than that to you during the first year. Any additional value you’ll receive from the card will come from spending:

    If you travel often, you can really begin to rack up the rewards. I suggest reading our guide on the best travel credit cards, though, to ensure there’s not a better fit for you.

    Bottom line

    Is the Capital One Venture worth opening? Doi! The sign-up bonus is worth $1,000 in travel! Its easy-to-use rewards system makes it one of the best credit cards for travel. Whether the card makes a regular appearance in your wallet after that, however, depends on whether you value the following perks:

    Let me know what you think about the Capital One Venture benefits and perks! And subscribe to our newsletter for more mumbo-jumbo explained in layman’s terms.

    Editorial Note: We're the Million Mile Secrets team. And we're proud of our content, opinions and analysis, and of our reader's comments. These haven’t been reviewed, approved or endorsed by any of the airlines, hotels, or credit card issuers which we often write about. And that’s just how we like it! :)
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