Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card
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The Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card used to be a decent credit card, but has largely faded away with the introduction of its newest cousin, the Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card. It used to be good for consumers who wanted travel rewards without the hassle of rotating categories, but some of its features and restrictions make it less attractive than the pure cash back rewards card, the Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card, and its upgraded sister, Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card. Be sure to read our comparisons against other credit cards to pick the best card for you.
Review: Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card Not Rewarding Enough
The Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card has a low rewards rate, and doesn't make sense to have in your wallet when there are better and higher-earning credit cards out there. Its 1.25% return is lower than other no-fee credit cards that you can earn, such as the Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card. Below is a summary of the pros and cons of the credit card, and a credit card comparison visualization its better cousins, the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card (2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day), and the Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card (1.5% Cash Back on every purchase, every day).
Pros of Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card
- Unlimited 1.25% cash back towards all purchases
- Earn 20,000 Bonus Miles once you spend $1,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening
- No foreign transaction fees - save 3% on charges made abroad!
- No annual fees
Cons of Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card
- Not the best card to maximize rewards return (compare with the Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card for 1.5% cash back on all expenses, or unlimited 2% cash back on all expenses with the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card that includes this annual fee: $95
- Lower cash back returns on non-travel related rewards of 0.625%
Now that you understand the high level summary of the Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card, look into the nitty gritty of how the card works, and what better value you could be getting at other credit cards.
In-Depth Analysis: Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card
The Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card has a simple earnings formula: any purchase you make earns 1.25 miles on the dollar. No caveats or exclusions. Be it food, clothing, or basketball game tickets bought at a restaurant, department store, or online at Amazon - all are eligible for this simple flat rate. While other credit cards can have rotating categories each quarter, the Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card is a much more constant and dependable card all year round. A quick summary of the card's major features and benefits.
Early Spend Bonuses
Currently, new Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card applicants are eligible for the following welcome offer: Earn 20,000 bonus miles once you spend $1,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening. These bonus miles are worth $200 dollars towards a statement credit in travel.
Save up to 3% on Foreign Transaction Fees
This card will be good to have in your wallet when you're traveling abroad. Most credit cards and issuing banks charge a 3% fee to translate the local currency into your country's denomination. For purchases in a foreign currency, saving the 3% fee is easily more than the savings or rewards you could possibly receive with other cards. If you're going to be overseas, don't underestimate the value of having no foreign transaction fees.
Redeeming Rewards with the Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card
How can I redeem or use the reward miles with this credit card? Capital One lets Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card holders pay off past purchases with their miles (this is the "Purchase Eraser"), or book future travel with their reward miles. You can use your miles towards: travel, cash, account credits, gift cards, products, special experiences (skydiving, private dinner parties catered by chefs, etc.), and even towards local charities. While certain credit cards rewards are held captive by allegiance to a specific carrier, or subject to blackout dates and availability of seats, Capital One only cares about the price of that ticket. To redeem miles, simply divide your reward miles balance by 100 for travel. Bear in mind that redeeming your mile rewards for cash gives you less value than if you had used it towards travel.
Redeeming For Travel
Using your miles for statement credits on travel expenses will net you a 1 dollar credit for every 100 miles. This can include any spending flights, hotels, taxies, subways, and car rentals. By spending your VentureOne rewards on travel, the card will have an effective rewards rate of 1.25%.
Redeeming For Merchandise
Redeeming your bonus miles for merchandise must be done throuhg Capital One's rewards center, where you can spend miles to purchase available items. The value of the miles will vary since the products sold through the center may be available for different prices on sites such as Amazon or other retailers. Overall, expect to receive significantly less than 1 dollar for every 100 miles when using your points this way.
Example 1: the Garmin nuvi 2597LMT 5-Inch Vehicle GPS with Lifetime Maps and Traffic is selling for $199.99 on Amazon, and can be redeemed for 33,750 miles in Capital One's rewards center. This translates to an effective redemption rate of 169 miles / dollar.
Credit Card Comparisons
As we mentioned above, the Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card is fading in value. Here are two other superior credit cards that you should consider instead: the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card, and the Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card.
Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card vs. Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card
This table lays out the ongoing earnings potential under theCapital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card vs. its upgraded cousin, the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card. We're excluding bonus miles to compare the long-term value of the cards.
| Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card | Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card | |
|---|---|---|
|
Credit card charges | $15,000 | $15,000 |
|
Miles earned | 15,000 x 1.25 = 18,750 | 15,000 x 2 = 30,000 |
|
Travel awards redeemed | 18,750 / 100 = $188 | 30k / 100 = $300 - $95 fee = $205 |
|
Redemption Return | $188 / $12k = 1.25% | $205 / $12k = 1.37% incl fee |
As you can tell from the above table, the Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card earns less than the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card does (in fact, the tipping point is a little less than $15,000). If you're planning on spending more than $14,000, then the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card gives you greater bang for your buck. The 1.37% return accounts for the annual fee that starts getting charged in year 2 and onwards ($95), and the more you spend, the more that fee gets spread across your spending and the greater your redemption return rate.
Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card vs. Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card
There's a new contender in the cash back credit card market, and its name is the Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card. This card gives cardholders 1.5% straightforward cash back - about 50% more than the typical cash back credit cards do without making folks jump through hoops on special categories and sign-ups.
The two cards are quite similar (no FX fees, no rotating or promotional categories), with the exceptions of the early spend bonus and the earnings rate. The value of the miles from the Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card's welcome bonus is higher than the Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card's promotional offer, but over the longer course, you'll get more value from the extra percentage earnings from the Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card. The extra 0.25% makes a difference at higher levels of spending, and will outweigh the Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card's initial miles bump. In fact, if you spend more than $40,000 in the first year, the Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card will get you greater value (the extra $100 from Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card's bonus is hard to overcome). Over the long run, the Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card's higher earnings rate will be better.
- Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card early spend bonus value: 20,000 miles / 100 miles per dollar of travel = $200 towards travel OR 20,000 miles / 200 miles per other dollar = $100 towards non-travel.
- Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card sign-up value: $100
- Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card vs. Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card inflection point: ($200 Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card Bonus Value - $100 Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card Bonus Value) / (0.015 Quicksilver® Earnings Rate - 0.0125 VentureOne® Earnings Rate) = $40,000.
Excluding the bonus, the Capital One® Quicksilver® Cash Rewards Credit Card wins every time (1.5% > 1.25% rewards rate).
More Information
What credit do I need for the Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card?
Excellent credit, according to Capital One bank. The issuer defines this as: no bankruptcy or defaulted loans, being less than 60 days late on your credit card or other payments, and having a credit card or loan with a credit limit above $5,000. An answer to this question can be had as soon as you submit your Capital One® VentureOne® Rewards Credit Card application online. The application is easy to fill out, and Capital One is fairly quick with their credit approval review, unless your credit history needs more review.
Joe Resendiz is a former investment banking analyst for Goldman Sachs, where he covered public sector and infrastructure financing. During his time on Wall Street, Joe worked closely with the debt capital markets team, which allowed him to gain unique insights into the credit market. Joe is currently a research analyst who covers credit cards and the payments industry. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin, where he majored in finance.
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How We Calculate Rewards: ValuePenguin calculates the value of rewards by estimating the dollar value of any points, miles or bonuses earned using the card less any associated annual fees. These estimates here are ValuePenguin's alone, not those of the card issuer, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the credit card issuer.
Example of how we calculate the rewards rates: When redeemed for travel through Ultimate Rewards, Chase Sapphire Preferred points are worth $0.0125 each. The card awards 2 points on travel and dining and 1 point on everything else. Therefore, we say the card has a 2.5% rewards rate on dining and travel (2 x $0.0125) and a 1.25% rewards rate on everything else (1 x $0.0125).