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The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is one of Capital One’s most popular travel card that allows travelers to earn miles on everyday purchases that can be redeemed for travel rewards such as flights, hotels and much more. However, for people who aren’t heavy spenders, the $95 annual fee that the Venture Rewards Card charges isn’t worth the benefits that it provides.
So, for those who want to earn Capital One Miles but don’t want an annual fee eating into their value, the $0 fee Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card may be a better option.
The Capital One VentureOne Card offers 1.25X miles on every purchase, every day, meaning that you don’t have to bother with keeping track of spending categories. On top of that, when you make purchases through Capital One Travel (which allows you to book flights, hotels and rental cars), you’ll earn 5X miles. Your miles won’t expire as long as your account remains open, and there’s no limit to how many miles you can earn.
There are many ways to redeem your miles once you earn them, but in most cases, you’ll get the most value by transferring your miles to one of Capital One’s many airline partners. Here’s a full list of Capital One’s airline transfer partners:
| Aeroméxico Club Premier | Finnair Plus |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Air France-KLM Flying Blue |
| Avianca LifeMiles | Qantas Frequent Flyer |
| British Airways Executive Club | Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go |
| Emirates Skywards | Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles |
| Ethiad Guest | Virgin Red |
Capital One Miles transfer to all of the aforementioned programs at a 1:1 ratio, and you can get a ton of value out of your miles by booking award flights with these airlines.
On top of the ability to earn Capital One Miles, the VentureOne Card also comes with several other notable benefits. Still, there are other no-annnual-fee cards on the market that may offer better rewards than the VentureOne Rewards Card from Capital One (which we’ll get into later). Let’s take a look at everything you need to know about the VentureOne Card.
| Pros | Cons |
| No annual fee | The rewards earning rate is subpar |
| Capital One Miles can be redeemed for outsized value with transfer partners | Requires good/excellent credit |
| No foreign transaction fees |
Capital One VentureOne Cash Rewards Credit Card Spending Bonuses
As previously mentioned, the Capital One VentureOne Card allows you to earn Capital One Miles for making everyday purchases. For those who value simplicity, this card’s spending bonuses are incredibly easy to understand and keep track of.
Here are the bonus categories for the VentureOne card:
- 5X miles on purchases through Capital One Travel
- 1.25X miles on everything else
The ability to earn 5X miles on Capital One Travel purchases is great for frequent travelers who want to earn rewards for booking flights, hotels or rental cars. However, the fact that the VentureOne Card offers 1.25X miles on all purchases is pretty unimpressive. Plenty of other cards don’t charge annual fees and offer better rewards.
For instance, the Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card also has no annual fee and is available in the same credit range as the VentureOne Card. The SavorOne Card offers 8% cash back on Capital One Entertainment purchases, 5% back on Capital One Travel purchases, 3% back on dining, entertainment, popular streaming services and at grocery stores (excluding superstores such as Walmart and Target), and 1% back on everything else. These are obviously far superior rewards than those offered by the VentureOne Card.
Still, before you make up your mind about whether or not to sign up for the VentureOne Card, you should be aware of the other benefits that it has to offer.
Capital One VentureOne Cash Rewards Credit Card Benefits
In addition to the ability to earn Capital One Miles with the VentureOne Card, this card offers several other valuable benefits that are worth noting.
No Annual Fee
The Capital One VentureOne Card has a $0 annual fee, meaning that you won’t have to worry about earning enough miles to make this card worth it. Plus, with the wonderful benefits and rewards offered by the VentureOne Card, there’s a lot of upside and virtually no downside.
No Foreign Transaction Fees
Capital One cards, including the VentureOne Card, don’t charge foreign transaction fees. Capital One markets its credit cards toward people who like to travel, so you won’t have to worry about being charged an additional fee for making transactions outside of your home country with a Capital One card.
$0 Fraud Liability
If you ever lose your card or your card is stolen, you can rest assured knowing that you’ll be completely covered by Capital One’s $0 fraud liability protection. With this feature, you’ll be notified via text, email and phone if Capital One detects any suspicious activity on your VentureOne Card. Then, you can either confirm that you made the transaction or report it as fraudulent.
If you report the transaction as fraudulent, you’ll be reimbursed for the full amount of the transaction.
Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver
If you rent an eligible vehicle using your Capital One VentureOne Card, you can be covered for damage due to collision or theft. It’s important to note that this benefit is useful only if you choose to decline the collision damage waiver offered by the rental car agency. You’ll also need to pay for the entire booking with your Capital One VentureOne Card (or another Capital One card in the Venture family).
It’s also important to note that Capital One’s insurance covers only your rental car and not other vehicles. That means that if you’re at fault in an accident, you could still be on the hook for any damage done to the other vehicle as well as any medical expenses that the other driver might incur.
With the Capital One VentureOne Card, the auto rental collision damage waiver will act as secondary insurance when you’re within your home country, which means that this policy will cover only the amount that’s not covered by a primary auto rental insurance policy.
So, if you’re a U.S. citizen and you’re renting a car in the United States, you’ll still have to pay for primary insurance coverage even if you hold the Capital One VentureOne Card. However, if you’re renting a car abroad, the auto rental collision damage waiver that comes with the VentureOne Card will act as your primary insurance and you don’t need to pay for any other insurance policies.
Welcome Bonus
Cards that don’t have annual fees often don’t offer welcome bonuses. However, the VentureOne Card is a notable exception. This card offers a valuable welcome bonus to customers who spend a certain amount of money in a certain period of time after opening their account. This is a great way to rack up a lot of Capital One Miles quickly.
Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card Drawbacks
There aren’t many negative things to say about the VentureOne Rewards Card from Capital One. It’s a solid $0 annual fee card with an easy-to-understand rewards structure. However, you may want to save that space in your wallet for other cards that also don’t charge an annual fee and offer far superior rewards to the VentureOne.
Additionally, depending on how much money you spend on your credit card per year, you might also be better off signing up for a card with an annual fee that offers superior rewards.
Still, if you don’t want to worry about an annual fee and you want a card that earns rewards, the VentureOne isn’t a bad option.
Requires Good/Excellent Credit Score
To be approved for the Capital One VentureOne Card, you’ll need to have a credit score in the “good” to “excellent” range, which is generally considered to be 700 or above. If your credit score is lower than 700, it may still be worth applying for the VentureOne Card as some people with credit scores lower than 700 are occasionally approved.
Also, Capital One offers several credit cards that you can easily be approved for with a credit score that’s less than “good” or “excellent” (such as the Capital One QuicksilverOne Cash Rewards Credit Card). Unfortunately, these cards typically don’t allow you to earn Capital One Miles. Instead, you’ll earn pretty modest cashback rewards.
Unfavorable Cash Back Redemption Rate
The Capital One VentureOne Card offers spending bonuses paid in Capital One Miles, which is a much more flexible rewards currency than, for instance, Marriott Bonvoy points (which are pretty much redeemable only at Marriott properties and with their short list of partners). Capital One Miles can be transferred to a wide variety of hotel and airline partners as well as applied toward your credit card statement, making this one of the most flexible rewards currencies out there.
Unfortunately, if you want to redeem your Capital One Miles for cash back, you’re not going to get good value as miles can be redeemed for cash at a rate of 0.5 cent apiece. Capital One Travel redemptions yield a value of 1 cent per point. However, if you choose to transfer your miles to one of Capital One’s transfer partners, you can find redemptions far exceeding 1 cent per mile in value.
So, if you’re looking to use your rewards for cash, then you’re probably better off signing up for a card that earns cashback rewards. However, if you’re willing to redeem your rewards either through the Capital One Travel portal or through one of Capital One’s transfer partners, you can find some seriously high-value redemptions.
Other No-Annual-Fee Cards Offer Better Rewards
While the Capital One VentureOne Card offers a decent rewards structure, allowing you to earn 5X miles on Capital One Travel purchases and 1.25X miles on everything else, there are other $0 fee cards out there in the same credit range that offer far superior rewards.
Even for a card that doesn’t charge an annual fee, the rewards offered by the Capital One VentureOne Card just don’t stack up the competition. Luckily, there are many other no-fee cards out there issued by Capital One and other banks that offer superior rewards.
Other Cards to Consider
As we just mentioned, there are other cards with $0 annual fees that offer superior rewards and benefits to the VentureOne Rewards Card from Capital One. And, if you spend over a certain amount of money annually, it may also be worth considering a card that charges an annual fee and offers superior rewards.
Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card
The Capital One SavorOne Card is another Capital One card that doesn’t charge an annual fee and gives rewards in the form of cash back. Here are the spending bonuses offered with the SavorOne Card:
- 10% cash back on purchases through Uber and Uber Eats (through Nov. 14, 2024)
- 8% cash back on purchases through Capital One Entertainment
- 5% cash back on purchases through Capital One Travel
- 3% cash back on dining, entertainment, popular streaming services and at grocery stores (excluding superstores such as Walmart and Target)
- 1% cash back on everything else
It’s fairly easy to see that the SavorOne Card’s spending bonuses are better than those offered by the VentureOne, especially because it offers 3% cash back at restaurants and groceries (which are two of the largest expense categories for most people). Plus, by earning 8% cash back through Capital One Entertainment and 5% cash back through Capital One Travel, the SavorOne Card could help you rack up a ton of cash back rewards.
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
If you plan on spending more than $12,750 per year on your card, then you’re better off going with the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card than the VentureOne Card. While the VentureOne offers 1.25X miles on all spending, the Venture Card offers 2X miles on all spending, meaning you’ll earn 60% more miles with the Venture Card than the VentureOne Card. So, if you spend $12,750 annually, the additional miles you’ll earn will negate the $95 annual fee that comes with the Venture Card.
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel
The Venture Card also comes with improved benefits including two complimentary visits to Capital One Lounges or more than 100 other lounges through the Partner Lounge Network, a $100 application fee reimbursement for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry, and automatic Hertz Five Star status.
These benefits alone can also offset the Venture Card’s $95 annual fee. And with the 2X miles you’ll earn on all purchases, going with the Venture Rewards Card over the VentureOne Card is probably the right decision for frequent travelers.
Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card
Moving outside the Capital One family, the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card also doesn’t charge an annual fee and offers 2% cash back on every purchase. This is an excellent cashback rate for a no-annual-fee card, and the rewards earnings structure couldn’t be more simple.
This card also comes with a solid welcome bonus for meeting minimum-spending requirements after account opening. Unfortunately, this card charges a 3% foreign transaction fee, so you’re probably better off sticking with Capital One if you’re a frequent traveler.
However, the Wells Fargo Active Cash card also offers 0% introductory APR on both purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months after account opening. Additionally, like all Wells Fargo cards, the Active Cash Card comes with cell phone coverage for damage or theft up to $600 per claim.
The Bottom Line
In general, the VentureOne Card offers some decent travel perks and the 1.25X miles you’ll earn on all purchases isn’t bad. But if you’re in the market for a $0 annual fee credit card, you can definitely find a card with better rewards than the VentureOne Card. Additionally, depending on how much you spend on your card annually, it may be worth it to sign up for a card that charges an annual fee and comes with better rewards and benefits.
Still, if you like the idea of earning travel miles through your everyday spending, you want a card that doesn’t charge annual fees or foreign transaction fees and you want a simple rewards structure that you can understand, then the VentureOne Card from Capital One might be a decent option for you.
In our opinion, though, if you’re interested in getting a no-fee card from Capital One, the SavorOne Card is a better option for most people. This card offers some great cashback earnings as well as a solid welcome bonus, no foreign transaction fees and a $0 introductory APR period.
Just getting started in the world of points and miles? The Chase Sapphire Preferred is the best card for you to start with.
With a bonus of 60,000 points after $4,000 spend in the first 3 months, 5x points on travel booked through the Chase Travel Portal and 3x points on restaurants, streaming services, and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), this card truly cannot be beat for getting started!
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