By pure happenstance, this was the first credit card that I applied for to begin my illustrious “career” as a travel hacker and it is still the card that I recommend to anyone just starting out on their travel hacking plans.
I truly got lucky picking this card first, but I’m hoping I’ll be able to actually explain why you too should pick this card first in the below review.
So let’s look at the specs on this card.
The Basics
- Bonus: 50,000 Points when you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months of opening it
- Annual Fee: $95, waived the first year
- Credit Needed: Good – Excellent
- Earning Points: 2x points per $1 spent on ALL purchases
- Annual Bonus: No
- Expiration of Points: No, as long as the account remains open
Other Perks
- Free Global Entry or Pre TSA Check Voucher: A $100 value.
- 10x Miles per $1 on Hotels Booked Using Hotels.com: A $100 hotel returns 1,000 points. (10% cash rebate)
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver: Insurance covering rental car accident or theft on cars rented via this card
- Lost Luggage Reimbursement: Up to $3,000
- Travel Accident Insurance
- Extended Warranties on large purchases with warranties under 3 years
- No Foreign Transactions Fee
- 24 Hour Travel Assistant Services
- Metal Card: Very satisfying to use
Card Valuation
So right away, when you reach the bonus you’ll receive 50,000 points plus the 6,000 points generated to reach the $3,000 spending. Which before any point transfers will result in $560 dollars of free travel.
However, with the flexibility of the Capital One card to transfer points to different airlines (which we will talk about later), most people value the points as 1.4 cents per point which would now take the bonus to a valuation of $750. $850 when you add in free global entry/Pre TSA Check.
$850 dollars of free travel that is just given to you simply using your credit card responsibly for your everyday purchases.
Pros:
- Best Starting Credit Card
- Easiest Credit Card to Redeem Points
- Large Initial Bonus
- 2x points on all purchases
Best Starting Credit Card
Travel hacking in general can be very overwhelming when you are first starting out. Which card to pick? How to get points? Point valuation? How to redeem points? How to transfer points? Finding “sweet spots”?
It can be a lot. For a beginner this card has the most value with the most ease.
“Purchase Eraser”
With this card, you simply purchase your travel expense how you normally would, whether that be a plane ticket, a train ticket, an Uber/Lyft, a cab etc. using your Capital One Venture card.
Once the statement posts, you go into the app or onto the website and simply go to the charge and hit erase.
THAT’S IT! You hit erase and your charge is gone. I’m positive that even my dad could use thi card to begin travel hacking.
Your points will automatically update and you will be flying somewhere for free without even paying for the tax or transaction fees on the flight like you do with many of the other redemption processes.
No mapping and planning your trip to best maximize your miles, no transferring your miles to participating airlines, and no waiting to see if you can get a better redemption rate. Just click and erase. Simple.
And once I saw how easy travel hacking could be, I was then motivated to learn more about the more in depth redemption processes to further maximize my points for travel.
Large Initial Bonus
* See point valuation above.
The normal sign up bonus is 50,000 points but during certain promotional periods I have seen this card’s initial bonus up to 70,000 points which brings the value up to over $1,060.
2x Points on ALL Purchases
Most cards offer increased points on only certain purchase such as 2x points on gas or groceries, etc. This card has you covered for double the points on everything making it a great card to rack up points with.
My Between Cards Card
Because of this fact, this is the card that I use when I am between traveling credit cards. So one I earn a bonus on a different card, I go back to my Capital One Venture Card until I apply for a new credit card again
I know some people use one card for gas, one for groceries etc. but for me it is easier to only use one card at a time so I am able to better keep track of my spending and simplify my life. I also cancel cards to avoid annual fees once I have reached the bonus or no longer have a use for the card, so it’s best for me to just have one card to use between cards.
I love maximizing returns but sometimes simplicity trumps only minimal increased returns.
Cons:
- Must Spend $3,000 in 3 months
- No Annual Bonus
- Requires Good – Excellent Credit
I’m going to be honest, for me, this card has few cons. The major problem most people run into is getting approved for this card. My girlfriend who has great credit is a graduate student still and was denied when she applied for this credit card the first time around.
The second problem is reaching the minimum spend of $3000. If you don’t spend on average over $1,000 a month, you will have a hard time reaching these spend requirements and may miss out on the bonus. And I never recommend over spending just to reach bonuses.
There are a few options though, if you are in a relationship, oftentimes combining expenses is a great way to reach bonuses. It also helps space out how often you are opening credit cards. They open one, reach the bonus, you open one, reach the bonus and so on.
But if you are single, I know that a lot of people will buy gift cards to the grocery store or gas station they use frequently. That way you reach the bonus and are only spending on essentials that you know you will use in the upcoming months. I’ve also seen many people pre-pay their utilities or plan opening credit cards around upcoming big purchases such as buying appliances etc.
Point Transfer
So like I mentioned above, although this card does have an easy to use redemption process, we are able to further maximize our Capital One Points if we transfer the points to up their value.
This is the same process as the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card but only with different transfer partners.
Capital One Transfer Partners
Airlines: Aeromexico, Air Canada, Aeroplan Air France/KLM, Alitalia Avianca, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Etihad, EVA Air, Finnair, Hainan Airlines, JetBlue, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines
Hotels: Wyndham and Accor
How to Transfer Points
This again is made very simple by Capital One but it does require some planning. On the app or website, simply click on your reward points, and click the prompt “transfer your reward”.
This will now allow you to decide which of the transfer partners you want to transfer points to and how much. You will then be allowed to transfer Capital One Points to the various transfer partners in 1,000 point increments.
Note: You will need to have a rewards account for the program you wish to transfer points to, so sign up if need be.
How to Decide Which Program to Transfer To?
This is where travel hacking becomes a bit more work. Now, you will have to research which airlines have the best return on points based on where you are traveling, what time of year, etc. And because I don’t have time for that, I take advantage of some of the amazing websites that do it for us such as The Points Guy and others.
In that linked article they describe, for Capital One Points, Air Canada Aeroplane, Avianca Life Miles, and Eithad guest offer the most valuable redemption rates.
So How Does Transferring Points Increase Value?
This is where I was most confused when just starting out. I understood how to transfer points but I didn’t understand why I should do it. So let’s look at an example.
So using one of the above transfer partners as we know them to be the best. We decide we are going to use Avianca Life Miles to go take a trip. Avianca is part of Star Alliance which means we can use these miles on any of the airlines that is a part of Star Alliance.
So we decide to book a roundtrip flight a flight Los Angeles to Melbourne, Australia. Normally, this flight would cost you over $1,200 on average but because we are using transfer miles we could find this trip for only 40,000 Avianca Life Miles.
And because Capital One Points Transfer to Avianca Life Miles at a 2:1.5 ratio. It would cost roughly 53,000 capital one points to take this trip.
Via the “Purchase Eraser” it would take 120,000 capital one points to cover this originally $1,200 flight but because we used the flexibility this card has and transferred points to Avianca. It only cost us 53,000 points Which makes the value of each point 2.26 cents.
Which now takes our initial sign up bonus of 56,000 points and value it at $1,265 of FREE travel.
It can be a bit confusing, but hopefully this example helps outline its true power! If you have questions, as always comment below or email me at fiscaltherapist1@gmail.com
How Did I Use My Points?
Like I said, I liked this card as it introduced me to travel hacking. I simply used this cards “erase” feature and flew for free. I know now how much more value I could have gotten from this card but I was still happy with the return I got.
I was able to use my points to take 4 round trip flights from Boston to Minneapolis to visit my family and attend my closest friends weddings.
This card turned what could have been a very expensive summer into a very manageable one. And that’s without me not using this card to its fullest.
I still use this card now, recommend it to anyone who asks, and take full advantage of the power it holds. This card is a staple of my wallet.
Conclusion
This card speaks for itself. It’s my favorite starting travel hacking credit card for a reason.
Great sign up bonus, easy to use, the flexibility to maximize returns, and 2x points on ALL purchases to make it a great in between card.
If you want to sign up for the Capital One Venture Card, feel free to use my link below. This helps me to continue to support this website and keep the information free for all of my readers. Thank you!
*Affiliate link above, using my link helps support this blog
If you have any questions, feel free to comment below or email me directly at fiscaltherapist1@gmail.com
