Anyone have the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card?

[ekatiel]

DH and I would like to do a med or transatlantic cruise for our 40th birthdays (5 years from now). Thinking of signing up for a travel rewards credit card to at least help with the flights. We have the Southwest card (which we will probably cancel b/c I don't want to pay the fee!), but that's not going to get us across the pond! We also used to have a United card, but I cancelled it before I had to pay the yearly fee, so I guess we could re-sign up for that one. I started googling last night, and it seems like a lot of people really like the Capital One card-- the rewards are flexible for all travel, so you are not tied into one cruiseline or one airline. It does have a yearly fee, though, which I seem to have a strong aversion towards!! Just wanted some feedback from people who might have this card.

 

[jel0511]

We have one and we love it. Just remember that the rewards aren't true miles but points that are redeemed as dollars like if your airfare is $500 you'll need 50,000 points to erase the purchase from your statement. I do believe the points do expire at some point, so look I to that to make sure. There is no foreign transaction fee on the card, which is nice when abroad.

 

[ekatiel]

We have one and we love it. Just remember that the rewards aren't true miles but points that are redeemed as dollars like if your airfare is $500 you'll need 50,000 points to erase the purchase from your statement. I do believe the points do expire at some point, so look I to that to make sure. There is no foreign transaction fee on the card, which is nice when abroad.

Thanks for the input. I did notice the points are redeemed in dollars, but it seems like it's almost as good a deal as airline miles because you get 2 points for every dollar spent. I was looking at a flight on United to Rome, just to see. Choosing the cheapest airline miles tier, it would cost 60,000 United points for one round trip ticket. The cost of the flight was $1,300. So, it would cost 130,000 Capital One points, but theoretically, I'd be earning those points twice as fast, so while it's a bit more, I figured the difference could be made up in the ability to look for deals on any airline. Am I thinking about it correctly?!

 

[hsmamato2]

I have a Barclays card,which is similiar to venture...I like the flexibility, where I just use my points to 'credit' my acct for travel purchases.... it's pretty simple- one thing I will note, any card with whopping rewards comes with a fee. Calculate what you could save,and decide if it's worth more than a small fee of 65-95.00.
Flyertalk forums are full of info.....

 

[Green Tea]

I have it and I do like it. In Novemeber they are changing the program, so I think at that point I will like it less. Right now they have a site to shop through for bonus points....like make a purchase via their link at Vista Print and get 10 bonus points per dollar, so 12 points per $. That made it easy to get more points. Come November that is being eliminated.

With the points you find the flight or travel item you want and if you have enough points ($130 hotel would cost 13000 miles) you can book it that way. I have never done that though.

I use the travel eraser feature. All travel is available for 90 days in a log. If you have enough points for a particular item, you can erase it, thus getting a statement credit in that amount.

In your example, when you bought your $1300 flight....if you had only 129,000 points, you couldn't use those to "buy" the ticket. But within 90 days if you got up the required amount of points you would be reimbursed. On the flip side, if you did not get up to the 130,000 points within 90 days of purchase you CAN NOT apply the 129,000 to a purchase that cost more.

I signed up when they had the opportunity for up to 100,000 miles sign on bonus. It was a great deal.

 

[cndij]

I think it all depends on your travel /purchase style. We got it a couple of years ago, when they had the enhancement, that they would match "miles" from another account. It was a really good deal for us, because I had 120,000 Delta miles at the time, that I was able to document and get added to our account. However, I continue to use my Delta Amex to buy Delta tickets, and a Marriott Visa for Marriott stays because of the much better points/dollar on those type of purchases. I do really like how the redemption works and you can choose any flight, not just one with award seats available, and basicly get reimbursed for any type of travel.

 

[mbf]

We have the Capital One No Hassle Rewards card. We use it for a lot of things but mostly for my husbands business expenses. Our last Disney trip we had enough points to pay for round trip flights to Orlando for our family of 5. My husband was so impressed that he went into high gear after that, and even pays our electric and other utility bills on the card (and it also helps him keep better track of expenses at the end of the year). This trip (two years later) we have enough already for 4 round trip flights to Orlando, our hotel across from Universal, a Daytona hotel for 2 days, AND our rental car! He asked if we could also get our Universal tickets with points and I told him that with the purchase eraser we definitely could but he needs to make sure to use the card for expenses when he can.

In short, we have been very happy with our Capital One card rewards. Yesterday I even paid some medical bills and our DD's college meal plan with the card. As my DH says, it is money we have to spend anyway so why not get something back in return.

Also, we don't pay a fee on our CO card. I think because that was the deal DH locked into years ago when he got the card. All travel is booked through Travelocity as well and there are price guarantees.

 

[distherapy]

We have it and I can't say enough good things about it. We have stopped using the Delta Amex because we liked the flexibility and found it worked out better for us. The purchase eraser works really well, too. Our last trip to Disney, I knew I had around $500 in rewards (50,000 points), so I asked the front desk to run $500 onto the card. It was great to have "free" money to credit our account. Helped a lot on overseas travel too with no foreign transaction fee.

 

[hsmamato2]

purchase eraser..that's what it's called...very convenient I like using it, once a travel purchase shows up, I use the points to 'erase' it!

 

[justplaingoofy]

DH and I would like to do a med or transatlantic cruise for our 40th birthdays (5 years from now). Thinking of signing up for a travel rewards credit card to at least help with the flights. We have the Southwest card (which we will probably cancel b/c I don't want to pay the fee!), but that's not going to get us across the pond! We also used to have a United card, but I cancelled it before I had to pay the yearly fee, so I guess we could re-sign up for that one. I started googling last night, and it seems like a lot of people really like the Capital One card-- the rewards are flexible for all travel, so you are not tied into one cruiseline or one airline. It does have a yearly fee, though, which I seem to have a strong aversion towards!! Just wanted some feedback from people who might have this card.

I've had this card for years & I think it is the BEST! Well worth the yearly fee! We put EVERYTHING on the card, then pay it off at the end of the month. We put doctors copays, homeowners insurance...if a company takes a credit card, then we use it! We never carry a monthly balance so its free money. The regular card with the yearly fee gives back 2% so I would figure out on average how much you spend in a year on credit cards. If its $20,000 that is 40,000 miles equivalant to a $400 credit. In order to get your yearly fee back you would only need to put $2,000 a year on it & your rewards would be $40.

Another thing that makes this card great is say you purchase airline tickets with it. You can fly on any airline, whenever you want...and you also can either accumulate points for another 3 months then apply your credits to your statement to get reimbursed, or you can go sign right into your account & transfer your points over then so you wouldn't have to pay for them out of pocket at all.
THey are also one of the few credit card companies that don't have an exchange fee when traveling outside the USA.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

DH and I would like to do a med or transatlantic cruise for our 40th birthdays (5 years from now). Thinking of signing up for a travel rewards credit card to at least help with the flights. We have the Southwest card (which we will probably cancel b/c I don't want to pay the fee!), but that's not going to get us across the pond! We also used to have a United card, but I cancelled it before I had to pay the yearly fee, so I guess we could re-sign up for that one. I started googling last night, and it seems like a lot of people really like the Capital One card-- the rewards are flexible for all travel, so you are not tied into one cruiseline or one airline. It does have a yearly fee, though, which I seem to have a strong aversion towards!! Just wanted some feedback from people who might have this card.

If you are saving for a trip 5 years from now, I would recommend that you just get a 2% cash back card. Rewards programs are notorious for changing the terms for redemption, often without warning. That's why the motto for many who collect rewards is "earn and burn."

The only way I would recommend you get the Cap1 card today is if you have enough travel between now and 4+ years from now that would allow you to erase those charges and then pocket the difference in your saving for Europe fund.

Best of luck -- Suzanne

 

[fac]

Thanks for the input. I did notice the points are redeemed in dollars, but it seems like it's almost as good a deal as airline miles because you get 2 points for every dollar spent. I was looking at a flight on United to Rome, just to see. Choosing the cheapest airline miles tier, it would cost 60,000 United points for one round trip ticket. The cost of the flight was $1,300. So, it would cost 130,000 Capital One points, but theoretically, I'd be earning those points twice as fast, so while it's a bit more, I figured the difference could be made up in the ability to look for deals on any airline. Am I thinking about it correctly?!

I had the capital one card and just cancelled last month...I signed up when they gave 100,000 matching miles...
Don't overlook the sign up bonus...I have a united card which gave me 50,000 after fulfilling the spend requirement. Keep in mind that for some cards, you can cancel and reapply in 18 months or 2 years...some cards are churnable... ( again, if you do, make sure you do not need to apply financing anytime soon and do not carry a balance)

 

[kmchisholm]

I love my Venture Card! We've had the 2x miles with the annual fee for 3 yrs now and charge everything to the card and pay it off on a weekly basis. I've also been able to get my fee waived for all 3 years, with most major cards all you have to do is call in and ask. If they say no, call back a few weeks later.

Since we've had it, I haven't paid out of pocket for a plane ticket (and been to Disney 1-2x each year). Also, if you link the card to your room everything bills back as travel vs individual charges in the parks and you get the best rate on redeeming rewards. If you only have a certain number of points remember you can stop by the front desk and ask they go ahead and run your card for a certain amount. Right now you can also get gift certificates at the same rate as travel, but don't know if that will change with other Nov changes.

Sorry for lengthy post, just thought I'd share in hopes others can enjoy!

 

[TwoAtDisney]

ekatiel, the Cap 1 bonus is the "no foreign transact fee". Also, talk to your ATM card bank; Huntington waived our fees on ATMs used in Europe.

Hope you don't mind, & in case you have not been out of the country before, I'll offer some travel info - sorry,
1. Spend a lot of time on cruisecritic.com & fodors.com.
2. We found our best value for the price on Cunard & Royal Caribbean. Surprisingly, Cunard runs some good deals on the Queen Mary transatlantics; food is better & the ship is so plush.
3. Try to plan your trip for the shoulder seasons - Mar/Apr or Oct/Nov if you want better prices.
4. If you do a Med cruise, cruising out of Venice is so special. Plus you can add some nites in Venice pre or post cruise. RCCL docked overnite right next to the center of Venice!
5. Get travel insurance that covers health care costs & provides evac to home for health reasons - insureyourtrip.com & medjet.com. If you need pre-existing condition coverage, most policies require that you buy the insurance within so many days of making the first payment on any part of your travel plans.
6. Leave copies of your itinerary & all ID & bank cards with someone at home. If lost/stolen, you can call home & get the info.

Good luck & have fun planning your special trip.