Capital One Venture Credit Card Review
Big banks only roll out totally new credit cards every couple of years (typically in an effort to win new customers from competitors by offering some kind of improvement on their rewards). Capital One has done just that with its new Capital One Venture Card, a $59-annual fee credit card that pays double miles on purchases and lets users redeem rewards on any travel-related purchase.
So is the Captial One Venture Card something to get excited about? If you play the credit card points/miles/cash back game and travel is your chosen reward, perhaps…
In general, I recommend most people go with one of these highly-rated cash rewards credit cards. The rewards are generous and they can be redeemed for real cash or travel or gift cards. With other cards, you may be stuck with points or miles that aren’t as useful.
(And a friendly reminder, if you don’t pay off your credit card balance(s) in full every single month, don’t bother with a rewards card…you won’t come out ahead).
All that said, Capital One cards are becoming popular with travelers for two reasons:
- Simple Rewards: Many users say Capital One’s miles rewards programs have been living up to the card company’s “no hassles” tagline.
- No Foreign Currency Fees: Capital One cards are among the only cards that do not charge foreign currency transaction fees and they have pledged to continue this practice even as other issuers raise fees. Becuase that could save you between two and four percent on any overseas purchases, some would say Capital One cards are among the best credit cards for international travel.
On the Downside
Capital One often ranks near the bottom in credit card customer satisfaction surveys. In this JD Powers credit card satisfaction survey, Capital One only scored a two out of five for overall satisfaction. American Express and Discover were near the top with five-star ratings for overall satisfaction.
What’s New About the Venture Card?
At first glance, the Capital One Venture Card offers similar benefits to the card company’s No Hassles Miles Rewards cards except that the Venture Card has a higher rewards level: You’ll earn two miles for every dollar spent, without limits. According to Capital One:
There are no limits on when, where or how you earn double miles, no retailer specifications or spending categories, no separate rewards enrollment or re-enrollment requirements, and no limit on the number of miles cardholders can accumulate. What’s more, cardholders enjoy easy redemption by booking on any airline at any time, with no blackout dates, no advance booking required, and no expiration. Rewards can be redeemed for any travel related expense, such as airline, hotel, cruise line and rental car transactions.
The other big difference with the Venture Credit Card is the way you redeem rewards—you can use your miles to pay for any travel-related purchase you make with your card. You simply purchase your travel and flag the charge for reimbursement from your accumulated miles. And the redemption rate is average—100 points equals one dollar’s reward. So $15,000 in spending earns you 30,000 miles which can buy a $300 airline ticket…any airline ticket. That’s better than a lot of points rewards cards that only give you one point for every dollar spent and then require you to cash in up to twice as many points to get a cash-value reward like a gift card.
Is It Worth It?
The Capital One Venture Credit Card is free for the first year but has a $59 annual fee thereafter (with its rewards structure, you’d need to spend $3,000 a year on the card to break even with the annual fee). As of its introduction, the card has a variable 13.9 percent APR. There is also a no-fee version of the card—the Capital One VentureOne Credit Card—which offers similar benefits but pays only 1.25 miles rewards per dollar spent.
If you’re dead-set on getting travel rewards out of your credit card, you might give Venture a closer look. I’d also recommend checking out the Chase Sapphire Card. It doesn’t offer double points on every purchase, but there are some other perks and there are more ways to redeem rewards.
Consider a Cash Back Card
To reiterate, I think cards that offer cash rewards (all for no annual fee) are the better deal. At the end of the year, I’d rather have $300 cash-in-hand, even if I ultimately spend it on a plane ticket.
If you’re interested in going this route, check out our list of cash rewards credit cards compared. These include the following highly-recommended cards:
And again, if you carry a balance on your card, just forget the rewards game altogether. Find the lowest APR card you can and pay it off as fast as you can with a card like the Citi® Dividend Platinum Select® MasterCard® , which offers a 0% APR for 15 months on balance transfers.
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Topics: Credit Cards, Reviews, Rewards Programs.
Published on March 15th, 2010.
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I’ve had a Capital One card for 10 years and in the past year their customer service has been horrible. Most recently I spent 15 minutes on hold to activate my new card, and they hung up on me, then I called back, spent another 15 minutes on hold and when I finally got through they told me their system was down and to call back in 3-4 hours.
I am not the only one who feels this way: http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SmartSpending/ConsumerActionGuide/the-customer-service-hall-of-shame-2009.aspx
Look at #4 on this list.
Good to know, Lauren; thanks for sharing your experience. I have a Capital One card but I rarely use it and to be honest, hadn’t had much experience with their customer service…though I have yet to meet a big bank/credit card company that leaves me all warm and fuzzy.
The 0% foreign transaction fee is the top reason why we recommend Capital One cards as one of the best travel credit cards. Keep in mind this card is for people with excellent credit.
I have a Cap1 Card (No Hassle Miles) that has no annual fee and accumulated miles can be used for anything – even cash – all at the same rate of 100 miles per reward dollar. I *could* request that Cap1 reimburse me for specific travel purchases (like a flight), but I find it easier to just request a credit to my statement…plus I still earn the miles on the flight purchase.
Also, I earn miles at a rate of 1 mile per dollar on the first $1k spent each month, and 2 miles per dollar thereafter. So for $3k spent in a month, I am earning an average of 1.67 miles per dollar. I used to get a flat rate of 1.25 miles per dollar, but request the change and they obliged.
I’ve never had a bad experience with Cap1 customer service, but have heard many complaints from others. My only beef is that my wife is an auth. user and I would like her to be a joint account holder, but they will not do that without opening a new account.
Capital One “no hassels” is very misleading. My husband and I have used this card for 10 years and as of recently have been extrememly disappointed. We travel abroad frequently so the lack of a foreign transaction fee is appealing, but we found that the “customer service” protection that they tout as a benefit is non-existent. We had a recent issue in Mexico, they have used every exploitive tactic to avoid assisting us in recovery. Beware, if you are using Capital One you may be avoiding the foreign transaction fee but if something goes down, YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN!
If you are choosing between the 1.25 mile card and the 2 mile card with the fee, you need to spend about $7900 to break even. (You are trading $59 for 0.75 points per dollar spent. $59 divided by .0075 is $7866.67.) The $3000 means you aren’t paying more in the annual fee than you earn in mileage, but that is a rather low bar if you qualify for another miles card with no annual fee.
I have a Capital One Signature Card which earns 3 miles for every $1. spent on gas and groceries. My credit limit is $30,000. and the interest rate is low, I pay it off every month. I wanted to get a Capital One Vantage Card in addition the the one I already have, however Cap 1 will not approve it, because I have a credit limit of 30k, I asked them to lower it to 10k and approve the Vantage Card, they could not / would not do it. I am so angry and frustrated with Cap 1. ALL banking, money market, some CD’s , checking and credit cards are with Cap 1, I don’t know where to go from here.
Kathleen, I work for Capital One in the dept that upgrades customers to the venture and we are supposed to make sure the card is going to fit the customer before we upgrade them. If you are already getting the visa signature benefits with 3 miles per dollar, no annual fee with a high limit, and low int rate then you should be very happy with your account because the venture earns 2 miles and the $59 fee. Capital One offered the 3 miles per dollar program for a very limited time and no longer offers it to new customers. When I see accounts like yours I think of that customer being extremely lucky because those are the best accounts. Hope I changed your outlook a little.
@AH
You don’t seem to understand the terms of the Visa Signature card. Yes, there are 3 mile for every dollar spent on GAS & GROCERIES only! All others is 1 to 1. In my plea I want to keep this card, I also wanted to the Venture card to use on other purchases. I dropped my AA Citibank card which also had a fee and wanted to replace it with the Venture card.
After many weeks of hassling trying to get the Venture card, I had success. A personal banker took up my case, (she had worked at many positions for Cap1 and knew people that could help), she spent many hours on my case. She got them to lower my credit limit on my Signature card, allowing me to get the Venture card.
Now my advise to you AH is to read and listen to your customer. Also know what the Signature card offers, I would be extremely happy if what you stated is true 3 to 1 on everything, but that is not the case.
Thanks to Brittany at Capitol One Branch, North Plano (Coit) she got to a real person, instead of a computer. Thank you Brittany.
AH, perhaps if Cap 1 gives the customer what they want, instead of what Cap 1 wants, problems similar to mine would be easily solved.
Also, if I get with the Signature Card 3 miles for EVERY dollar, I would love to see that in writing. I had to choose which of the 3 choices I wanted to have 3 miles for the dollar spent. I choose Gas and Groceries. If I am wrong in this statement, please advise me.
Thank you
Oh SNAP!