How to use the $200 vacation rental credit on the Capital One Venture X card

Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.

Late last year, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card hit the market, immediately becoming one of the most exciting new rewards credit cards to come around in years. That's thanks to the card's plethora of premium perks, but also its terrific welcome bonus.

New cardholders who apply on or before Monday, March 14, 2022, can earn 100,000 bonus miles after spending $10,000 on purchases within the first six months from account opening. Plus, receive up to $200 back in statement credits for vacation rentals charged to the card within the first year.

The 100,000 bonus miles are easy enough to maximize thanks to Capital One's phenomenal redemption options. However, you might be wondering just how the vacation rental credit works. Fortunately, it's incredibly simple to make the most of. Here's everything you need to know to use the $200 vacation rental credit on the Capital One Venture X card.

For more TPG news delivered each morning to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.

What is the Venture X vacation rental credit?

As part of its launch welcome offer, the Venture X is offering folks who apply by March 14, 2022, up to $200 back in statement credits for vacation rentals charged to their card in the first year.

It's important to mention that this statement credit is part of the card's welcome bonus — so it's not an annual perk that you can use every year. Nevertheless, if you're looking to book a rental through a site like Airbnb or Vrbo, this is a great way to cut the price of that rental by $200 right off the bat.

What's more, you don't need to book a vacation rental for more than $200 in order to qualify. According to the terms of the offer:

"The $200 statement credit will be provided as a single credit if the purchase is greater than or equal to $200, or in multiple statement credits until the total vacation rental purchases are greater than or equal to $200."

So if you just book a few cheap rentals of, say, $80 per night, you'd earn $80 back on the first one, $80 back on the second, and then $40 on the third, since you'd hit the $200 ceiling at that point.

It's also worth noting that, should you wind up canceling your rental and receiving a refund to your card, the $200 credit may be reversed. However, the terms clearly that that, "It can be reissued on any past or future vacation rental purchases up to $200."

Read more: Fantastic perks and a 100,000-mile bonus ending soon: A review of Capital One Venture X

Which vacation rental sites are eligible for the Venture X credit?

There's a wide variety of vacation rental sites out there, so it may not be clear whether your purchase will be eligible.

Capital One uses the business's merchant category code to determine if your transaction qualifies for the $200 statement credit. Unfortunately, some rental sites are classified under a "hotel" code rather than a "rental" one.

However, Capital One specifically lists some popular sites that are eligible:

• Airbnb
• Vrbo
• TurnKey
• Vacasa

Note that this is not an exhaustive list. In fact, one TPG reader even found that his monthly homeowner’s association fee coded as a vacation rental and thus triggered the statement credit.

Ultimately, the only way to know for sure if a given site works is to make a purchase. However, if you stick with a well-known provider, you should be eligible.

Related: Why I checked out of my hotel after just 1 night — and how Airbnb saved the day

How to use the credit

Thankfully, the process for actually using the credit is very simple. You just use your card to make the purchase directly with the rental service, and the statement credit should automatically post to your account.

As an example, I booked an Airbnb for a November trip to Europe on Feb. 25. The total amount I charged to my card was $215.36.

On March 3, a $200 statement credit appeared on my account.

Capital One says that the credit should be applied within 1-7 days but could take up to two billing cycles and TPG staffers' experience confirm this timeline.

As you can see from the above example, my $200 credit posted six days after my purchase. TPG's Chris Dong (who opened the card shortly after it launched) booked a vacation rental on Nov. 19 and received the statement credit on Nov. 22 — just three days later.

However, TPG's Kyle Olsen had to wait much longer. His Jan. 31 reservation didn't trigger the credit until Mar. 7 — a gap of 35 days.

These data points show that you shouldn't panic if it takes some time for the $200 statement credit to post to your account, though you should make a note to follow up if you still don't see it after a month or two.

Related: Why I decided to apply for the new Capital One Venture X card

How to stack with other offers

In addition to saving you $200 on your next vacation rental, you can stack your purchase with other discounts and bonus offers on rental services.

For example, I currently see an offer to earn 5% back at Vrbo by signing into the Capital One portal with my Venture X and clicking through to Vrbo from the issuer's shopping portal.

In addition, you could earn bonus airline miles on vacation rental purchases through select loyalty programs — including Delta, British Airways and United.

I booked my Airbnb through British Airways' site to earn 2 Avios for every dollar I spent. Based on TPG's valuations, this saved me another 3% on my reservation.

Read more: Maximizing points and miles on vacation rentals with Airbnb and VRBO

Bottom line

The Capital One Venture X card is loaded with perks, and the current welcome offer of 100,000 bonus miles plus a $200 vacation rental credit is incredibly enticing. As you can see, it's very simple to use that vacation rental credit and easily save $200 on your next trip. You just might have to wait up to two billing periods for the statement credit to hit your account.

Remember, this welcome bonus is only available for those who apply by March 14, 2022 — so if you've been holding off on adding the card to your wallet, you shouldn't wait much longer.

Official application link: Capital One Venture X card with a 100,000-mile bonus plus $200 in statement credits for vacation rentals

Featured photo courtesy of Airbnb.