At TPG, we love when credit cards offer a perk that is unique to that card and not replicated elsewhere, which is exactly the case with the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card. These cards have a unique bonus category of 10x miles made on purchases via Hotels.com Venture (ends Jan. 31, 2020).
Essentially what this means is that you'll receive at least 10% back (or a 14% rebate, factoring in our 1.4-cent valuation of Venture miles now that they are transferrable) on hotels booked at Hotels.com, since Capital One points are worth 1 cent apiece when redeemed for a statement credit against travel purchases. Venture cardholders must book and pay through a special URL, Hotels.com Venture, to receive the 10x miles. This bonus is currently said to be available through January 2020.
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: 50,000 miles after $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months
For those unfamiliar with Hotels.com, it's an online travel agency (OTA) where you can book hundreds of thousands of hotels all over the world. Hotels.com has a strong rewards program of its own, which amazingly, stacks with 10x from Venture.
10x miles is by far the highest credit card bonus you'll find for booking hotels on any card. The Amex Platinum offers 5x points, but only on prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel, which is much more restrictive and has a smaller number of properties.
Similarly, the Citi Prestige has the 4th Night Free benefit which can get you huge savings, but the card comes with a $495 annual fee. You can only take advantage of the perk if you're booking a stay of four nights or more and this perk is capped at twice per year.
Stacking with Hotels.com Rewards for 24% Back on Hotels
This 10x stacks to 24% back when you use it in conjunction with the Hotels.com Rewards program. For every 10 nights you stay, you'll get one free night that can be redeemed at any property in the world. The free night is worth the average price of the 10 paid nights — meaning that by booking through Hotels.com, you get 10% back even without the Venture cards.
When you combine the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card's 10x miles at Hotels.com with the effective 10% back from the Hotels.com Rewards program, you're essentially getting 20% (or 24% factoring in TPG's valuations) back on hotel purchases. That's an absolutely astounding value that no other credit card really comes close to matching.
Note that you usually won't be able to earn elite credits for chain hotels like Marriott, Hilton or IHG when booking via an OTA, so if you want to take advantage of elite status with a hotel, you'll have to book directly with the hotel itself. But for those who consider themselves hotel "free agents", or are simply booking a program that doesn't participate in a traditional hotel program (such as at Disney), booking with Hotels.com can be incredibly lucrative. I'd rather have 20-24% back toward travel than a handful of hotel points in a program I don't typically utilize.
50,000 Point Sign-Up Bonus Worth $700*
Right now, the Venture Rewards card is offering a 50,000 mile sign-up bonus after you spend $3,000 in the first three months of card membership. Those 50,000 miles are worth $500 as statement credits against travel purchases at a flat one point = one cent ratio, or you could get around $700 in value if you can maximize Capital One's transfer partners such as Avianca LifeMiles, Air Canada, etc.
*Bonus value is an estimated value calculated by TPG and not the card issuer
Related: How to Transfer Capital One Miles to Partners
The Venture Rewards card will still get 2x miles on all other purchases outside of those made on Hotels.com Venture — or a solid 2-2.8% back toward travel. When you take into account the 50,000 point sign-up bonus and the fact that the $95 annual fee is waived the first year, it makes signing up for this card a no-brainer for travelers.
The no-annual-fee VentureOne card will offer a lower, yet still substantial 20,000-mile bonus after you spend $1,000 in the first three months after opening your account. With VentureOne, you'll receive 1.25 miles on all purchases outside of Hotels.com Venture, or 1.25-1.75% back toward travel.
It's pretty easy to redeem Venture "miles," since you can either use the Purchase Eraser option to redeem miles to cover travel purchases or you can transfer your Venture miles to the selection of airline partners.
Additional Benefits
Both the Venture Rewards and the VentureOne Rewards cards are relatively similar in their benefits and mostly only differ when it comes to the sign-up bonus and earning rate on everyday purchases.
Key Details of the Venture Rewards:
- Annual fee of $95
- 50,000-mile sign up bonus
- 10x miles on purchases from Hotels.com Venture
- 2x miles on all purchases
- No foreign transaction fees
- Up to $100 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck enrollment fees
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver
- Travel Accident Insurance
- Extended Warranty on eligible products
Key Details of the VentureOne Rewards:
- No annual fee
- 20,000 mile sign-up bonus
- 10x miles on purchases from Hotels.com Venture
- 1.25x miles on all purchases
- No foreign transaction fees
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver
- Travel Accident Insurance
- Extended Warranty on eligible products
Bottom Line
The Capital One Venture card is one of our favorites for everyday spending, but it is truly stellar for those with Hotels.com expenses. Whether you want to redeem for travel at a fixed value or transfer to airline partners, there's many great ways to use your miles. Oh and the sleek metal card doesn't hurt.
