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INSIDER SECRET: Keeping the Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card open for the long term because it has no annual fee can help your credit score with no downside.
I love no annual fee credit cards because they are often easier to get approved for and still offer valuable sign-up bonuses with low minimum spending requirements. Some no annual fee cards even have unique sweet spots such as rotating category earning bonuses or valuable perks just for keeping the card open.
The Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card is a great example of a solid no annual fee credit card which offers good ongoing earnings as well as a welcome bonus worth at least $200 towards travel purchases. You can also transfer your Capital One miles to strategic travel partners to get even more value from your welcome bonus.
So is the VentureOne card worth it? I think so — and that’s why I’m keeping this card open for the foreseeable future.
Is the Capital One VentureOne Card Worth It?
Apply Here: Capital One VentureOne Card
Read our review of the Capital One VentureOne Card
When you open the Capital One VentureOne card, you’ll earn 20,000 Venture miles after you spend $1,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening.
That’s worth $200 in statement credits toward travel, and you can use your Capital One miles for pretty much any travel-related purchase such as airfare and hotels. You also have flexibility in how you redeem your bonus because you can also transfer your miles to any of over a dozen Capital One transfer partners.
Here are a few reasons why I’ll keep the VentureOne card open for the long haul.
Excellent Earning Rates at Hotels.com
Overall, the VentureOne card isn’t spectacular with its earning in that you earn 1.25x miles per dollar on any and all purchases, regardless of their category. That’s even less impressive since you can easily be earning 2% cash back or even 2x Venture miles with one of Capital One’s other credit cards.
But it’s nice to earn at a consistent rate and it makes record keeping simple. I might choose to put most of my spending on other cards, but the 1.25x miles isn’t terrible.
Where the Capital One VentureOne card really excels is with its incredible earning rates — 10x miles per dollar spent — when booking hotels through Hotels.com. Through January 31, 2020, you can earn 10 Venture miles per dollar you spend on hotel stays booked and paid for with your card through this Hotels.com link. I had never used Hotels.com until a couple years ago, but it’s an easy to use hotel booking site that even offers its own rewards program.
You can then use any of your earned miles to redeem for travel statement credits or transfer them to valuable airline partners, which I’ll discuss more below.
Flexibility (Even When Awards Aren’t Available)
Earning miles and points might be easy, but redeeming them can often be headache-inducing. That’s why I love to keep some “cash equivalent” points and miles around in case I need to book a particular hotel or flight and don’t want to worry about awards being available.
You can redeem your Capital One VentureOne miles for a statement credit to “erase” any travel charges billed to your card. And best of all, Capital One is very generous when it comes to their classification of travel purchases. For my wedding, I “erased” a two-day rental charge from Silvercar that I used to drive off newly married in a brand new Audi A4. It was awesome, and I was grateful to pay nothing out of pocket because of my VentureOne miles.
When you’re a bit more flexible with your travel plans, it’s nice to have access to Capital One’s transfer partners. I like having this card open so that if I need to top up one of my loyalty accounts for a specific award redemption, I can transfer miles to any of Capital One’s travel partners.
For example, I have used Capital One Venture miles as a last minute transfer to Singapore Airlines miles. Singapore Airlines offers a range of valuable award flights and having Capital One miles at my disposal was helpful to top up my account in a pinch.
Other Capital One VentureOne Perks and Benefits
There are certainly some other benefits offered by the VentureOne card that might make it valuable for you. Perks like no foreign transaction fees, extended warranty, travel accident insurance or secondary rental car insurance might be helpful if you don’t get these benefits from other cards.
Finding a no annual fee card with no foreign transaction fees is pretty valuable, so that alone might be a strong consideration point. Or check out our post on credit cards with no foreign transaction fees to see if you already carry a card with no fees abroad.
But for me personally, I get stronger perks and benefits with some other more premium cards that I keep in my wallet (most of which require an annual fee). So although these benefits are nice to have, they’re less impressive than other cards’ offerings and thus don’t influence me all that much.
We tell you all about the card’s slew of benefits in our review of the Capital One VentureOne card.
Best No Annual Fee Credit Cards
Of course, you should consider other no annual fee credit cards before deciding which card is the right fit for you. I hold on to other great cards that I plan keep long term because they have no annual fee and valuable perks. For example, I keep the Chase Freedom card for its rotating quarterly spending bonuses.
For more information on which fee-less card might be best for you, visit our post on the best no annual fee credit cards.
What About Other Capital One Cards?
Apply Here: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Read our review of the Capital One Venture
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is the bigger brother version of the VentureOne card. Although it does carry an annual fee of $95, it’s waived for the first year.
The card also offers a more valuable welcome bonus. You can earn 50,000 Venture miles (worth $500 in travel) after you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening. You’ll also have the following perks:
- 2 Venture miles per dollar you spend on all purchases
- Statement credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck
- 10x Venture miles on hotels when booked and paid through this Hotels.com link through January 31, 2020
- No foreign transaction fees
In summary, the card offers a stronger earning rate for your purchases, a statement credit of up to $100 for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, and a more valuable welcome bonus – all of which can more than offset the card’s $95 annual fee.
Bottom Line
Is the Capital One VentureOne card worth it? I think so because it offers a decent sign-up bonus and no annual fee. This means you can keep the card long term and use it to build credit history without worrying about paying a costly annual fee.
You also get some benefits like no foreign transaction fees and the ability to transfer miles to travel partners, but those are more common to find on other credit cards as well. I do love the 10x earnings at Hotels.com when you use your card to book through this link, though!
I plan to keep this card long term, but it might not get too much daily use as my credit card of choice. What do you think?
You can apply for the Capital One VentureOne Credit Card here.
To learn more about Capital One miles, check out our guides:
- Capital One Rewards Review
- Capital One Miles Value
- Best Way to Use Capital One Miles
- Capital One Transfer Partners
- How to Earn Capital One Miles
- How to Setup a Capital One Miles Account
- How to Use Capital One Miles
- Do Capital One Miles Expire?
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