Is the Capital One Venture Rewards card worth it?

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers.

If you’re wondering whether a travel rewards credit card is right for you, consider your travel goals and financial needs. Then, determine which card fits your lifestyle the best and whether it’s worth paying its annual fee.

If your goal is to save on travel, the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card might be a great fit since you can redeem your rewards for travel or transfer them to Capital One’s 15-plus transfer partners. This card comes with a $95 annual fee (see rates and fees).

Here’s what makes the Capital One Venture Rewards card worth it.

Capital One Venture Rewards welcome offer

For starters, new Venture Rewards cardholders can earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 in the first three months from account opening. Plus, new cardholders will receive a $250 Capital One Travel credit to use in the first year. This is a limited-time offer.

If you’re able to leverage Capital One’s 15-plus airline and hotel partners, TPG’s February 2025 valuations peg this welcome bonus as worth up to $1,638.

Earning miles with the Capital One Venture Rewards

One of the top reasons many people love the Capital One Venture Rewards is its straightforward earning structure of at least 2 Capital One miles per dollar spent on anything you buy.

You also don’t have to worry about miles expiring as long as you keep your account open, and there’s no limit to how many miles you can earn.

One factor that makes this card so appealing is that there aren’t numerous categories to track. Cardholders will earn 5 miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals and car rentals booked through Capital One Travel. All other purchases will net 2 miles per dollar.

It’s an ideal card for busy people who want to simplify their earning strategy and redemption options. It’s also a great card to fill in any gaps that may exist in your reward-earning strategy.

Redeeming miles with the Capital One Venture Rewards

This is where the card truly distinguishes itself. Capital One miles can be redeemed for a fixed value or by transferring them to airline and hotel partners.

You can redeem miles at 1 cent apiece with the fixed-value option toward eligible travel expenses charged to the card. For example, say you reserved an Airbnb for $750 for an upcoming vacation.

You could redeem the 75,000 miles earned from the welcome bonus to offset the Airbnb purchase and cover the entire stay with the miles earned on your Capital One Venture Rewards.

This particular redemption option comes in handy when you don’t want to jump through hoops to find award availability or if you like to stay at non-chain hotels. This is also a popular redemption approach when you find cheap airfare and prefer to save your other valuable transferable points for more aspirational redemptions.

Capital One Venture Rewards benefits

The Capital One Venture Rewards proves its worth with other ongoing benefits, too. They include:

• Travel assistance services*
• MasterRental Insurance*
• Extended warranty protection*
• No foreign transaction fees (see rates and fees)

*Benefit available to accounts approved for the World Elite Mastercard product, subject to terms, conditions, and exclusions in the World Elite Mastercard Guide to Benefits. See Account Terms or Application Terms for more details. Terms, conditions and exclusions apply.

These benefits of the Capital One Venture Rewards card can help provide peace of mind while you travel.

The card also offers an up to $120 application fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, making the airport security and immigration process quicker.

Bottom line

The Capital One Venture Rewards is a favorite among travelers for a few reasons.

Its simple earning structure of at least 2 miles per dollar makes it easy to maximize every purchase. The ability to redeem miles directly for travel at a fixed rate and to transfer miles to various airline and hotel partners makes it extra versatile.

Then, there are the value-added benefits like relatively robust travel and purchase protections, making this card a great one to carry in your wallet.

It’s a strong all-around choice for travelers, both frequent and otherwise, and well worth the $95 annual fee (see rates and fees).

To learn more, read our full review of the Capital One Venture Rewards.

Apply here: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

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