Capital One VentureOne Card review: No annual fees, generous welcome bonus, and easy-to-earn rewards

CAPITAL ONE VENTUREONE REWARDS

The CardName rarely gets much attention outside of its own website since the big brother CardName has stolen the spotlight through national ad campaigns. But the CardName holds its own thanks to word-of-mouth and a not-ungenerous 1.25 miles per $1 spent on all your purchases. Sure, that's less than the better-known sibling's two-miles-per-$1 offer, but with no annual fee, the CardName could be just the right "no-strings-attached" fit for a rewards-card seeker who just doesn't travel enough or spend enough on credit cards to justify an annual fee.

Most notable features of the CardName:

• Enjoy a one-time bonus of 20,000 miles once you spend $500 on purchases within three months from account opening, equal to $200 in travel.
• Earn unlimited 1.25 miles per $1 on every purchase, every day, and pay no annual fee.
• Earn 5X miles on hotels and car rentals booked through Capital One Travel.
• Transfer your miles to multiple leading travel loyalty programs.
• Fly any airline, stay at any hotel, anytime.
• Enjoy a 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months (then, RegAPR; 3% fee on the amounts transferred within the first 15 months).
• Travel when you want with no blackout dates.
• Pay no foreign transaction fees.
• Miles won't expire for the life of the account and there's no limit to how many miles you can earn.

FEATURED CARD

 

Chase Sapphire Reserve®

• Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
• $300 Annual Travel Credit as reimbursement for travel purchases charged to your card each account anniversary year.
• Earn 5x total points on flights and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards® immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3x points on other travel and dining & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases
• Get 50% more value when you redeem your points for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. For example, 60,000 points are worth $900 toward travel
• 1:1 point transfer to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs
• Access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide after an easy, one-time enrollment in Priority Pass™ Select and up to $100 application fee credit every four years for Global Entry, NEXUS, or TSA PreCheck®
• Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more

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Credit Needed:

Excellent

CAPITAL ONE VENTUREONE CARD BENEFITS

When we called the CardName a "no strings attached" card above, we meant it.

While some rewards credit cards, particularly travel rewards cards, have an introductory no-annual-fee offer for the first year, many expect you to pay a fee every year after that. With the CardName, this is something you'll never have to worry about, which means you don't need to work through the math of whether you'll earn enough rewards in a given year to offset the fee.

And though you might not earn as many miles per purchase as with the $95-per-year CardName, the CardName does still allow you to rack up 1.25 miles for every $1 spent; offers a nice welcome offer of 20,000 miles after spending $500 in the first three months; and as an added bonus, has introductory 0% interest APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months (then, RegAPR; 3% fee on the amounts transferred within the first 15 months). These perks, along with no annual fee ever, certainly make the CardName one to not overlook.

There are a also a number of travel benefits offered with this card. CardName holders have access to travel accident insurance, 24-hour travel assistant services, auto rental collision damage waiver, and more. There are also no foreign transaction fees associated with this card, making it a great international companion as well.

CAPITAL ONE VENTUREONE REWARDS CREDIT SCORE NEEDED

CardName offers lucrative rewards, but you'll need solid credit in order to access them. In terms of actual numbers, the credit bureau Experian says those with excellent credit usually have FICO scores of at least 800. Please note, however, that this number can vary between different bureaus.

POTENTIAL DOWNSIDES OF CAPITAL ONE VENTUREONE CARD

No annual fee is great, but those looking for a rewards card that will gain miles quickly might become frustrated with the 1.25 mile per $1 ratio. While the no annual fee perk makes the CardName a great option for those who have time to work on their mile accumulation, those wanting to gain miles fast might want to consider a card with a higher mile-to-$1 ratio.

CAPITAL ONE VENTUREONE CARDHOLDER SCORES

CardRatings conducts a survey annually to learn what actual cardholders think of their cards. Here are the results:

HOW CAPITAL ONE VENTUREONE COMPARES TO OTHER REWARDS CREDIT CARDS

Capital One VentureOne vs. Citi® Double Cash Card

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The CardName earns cash back instead of miles, but the nice thing about that is you can put your rewards towards anything, including travel. Plus, this no-annual-fee card earns just a bit more than the VentureOne card, that is, if you pay your monthly bill on time. With the Citi® Double Cash Card you'll earn 1% cash back when you make your purchases and then another 1% when you pay for your purchases. Just make sure you pay at least the minimum due on time.

The card offers an intro 0% APR on balance transfers for 18 months, which is a nice bonus in and of itself, but there's no traditional bonus. After the intro period expires, RegAPR will apply.

If you're looking for a card to travel internationally with, this might not be your best option as it charges a foreign_fee fee on all foreign transactions.

Capital One VentureOne vs. CardName

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The CardName is yet another very similar card to the CardName. The CardName has no annual fees, no foreign transaction fees, a 0% intro APR period on purchases and balance transfers (for 15 months, then RegAPR after that; 3% fee on the amounts transferred within the first 15 months), has a decent signup bonus (one-time $200 cash-back bonus after spending $500 on purchases within the first three months from account opening), and earns rewards on every purchase made.

One big difference though is that like the Citi® Double Cash card, the CardName earns cash back instead of miles, and the earning rate is a bit higher, at 1.5% per dollar spent, versus the 1.25 you get with the CardName.

Capital One VentureOne vs. CardName

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Do you and your family only have a couple long weekends on the horizon, or are you dreaming of a year of jetsetting? Choosing between the CardName and the CardName just requires you to know your annual "break-even" point.

Both the CardName and CardName feature one-time bonus offers for new cardholders. The CardName offers a one-time bonus of 20,000 miles once you spend $500 on purchases within the first three months, equal to $200 in travel, and the CardName offers a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.

If you are looking at bonus offers alone, the CardName is a clear front-runner for the slot in your wallet reserved for a travel rewards card; however, if you don't spend very much on credit cards or don't travel that often, the CardName becomes a better deal as the years pass.

Quick math estimates that, with the CardName annual fee, you'll have to spend about $5,000 on the card every year to break even, if you don't earn the welcome bonuses. If you're funneling every monthly expense, vacation charge and supermarket purchase to your travel rewards card, you'll hit that mark pretty quickly each year. If that's not for you, the CardName gives you the ability to earn rewards for travel without spending a dime on annual fees.

IS CAPITAL ONE VENTUREONE A GOOD CARD?

The CardName is a great no annual fee credit card option for those who are in no hurry to cash in on their miles, and who have some time to work on their mile accumulation. Plus, if you're just looking for a card that earns miles in the background while you go about your daily spending, this one won't disappoint thanks to its simple, flat-rate earning structure.

Survey Methodology: CardRatings commissioned Op4G in September and October 2022 to conduct surveys among 1,554 cardholders nationwide. CardRatings website analytics from Jan. 1, 2022-Aug. 31, 2022 were used to determine a selection of the most popular cards and additional cards were included to add survey breadth. Responses to each of nine questions were given on a scale of 1-10 and respondents' scores were then averaged under broad topics. To determine the overall score, responses from questions 1-8 were summed and the answer to "How likely are you to recommend this card to a friend, coworker or family member?" was double weighted. "Current Scores" reflect scores from the most recent survey (2022); "Past Scores" reflect scores from the 2021 survey.

For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.