Editor’s note: This post has been updated with the latest credit card information.
Capital One VentureOne Credit Card Overview
The no-annual-fee Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card offers the same great redemption options as its sister card, the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card — but with a lower rewards rate and fewer perks. The miles earned on the card can be transferred to airline and hotel partners or redeemed directly as a statement credit on eligible purchases. It also comes with a few benefits not usually seen with a no-annual fee card. Card Rating*: ⭐⭐⭐
*Card Rating is based on the opinion of TPG’s editors and is not influenced by the card issuer.
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is on the radar of many award travelers thanks to its 60,000-mile sign-up bonus, simple earnings structure, airline transfer partners and easy-to-use rewards. However, did you know that you can access many of the same great redemptions without paying a $95 fee?
If you’re on the fence about paying an annual fee, you’ll want to take a look at the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card. Continue reading our analysis if the budget-friendly VentureOne card is the right one for you.
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In This Post
Who is this card for?
Capital One continues to add immense value to its travel cards, with the recent addition of four new transfer partners and an improved 1:1 transfer ratio for select programs. For those who like a straightforward option for earning and redeeming rewards, you can also use your miles to “pay” back travel purchases charged to your card in the past 90 days.
The math says that you should choose the no-annual-fee VentureOne over the standard Venture card on an ongoing basis if you spend less than $12,667 on everyday purchases per year. The biggest difference between the cards is the earning rates on everyday purchases — 2x for Venture versus 1.25x for VentureOne — and that number is the break-even point to earn back the Venture’s $95 annual fee in rewards.
Related: Credit card showdown: Capital One Venture Card vs. Capital One VentureOne Card
Sign-up bonus
However, on the front end of things, the math is a bit different.
The Capital One VentureOne comes with a sign-up bonus of 20,000 miles after you spend $500 in purchases within the first three months of account opening. Based on TPG valuations (not provided by the issuer) that peg Capital One Venture miles at 1.7 cents apiece, this sign-up bonus is worth $340. That’s significantly less than the Venture card’s bonus, which is currently at up to 60,000 miles (after you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening) and valued at $1,020 by TPG.
However, the 20,000 bonus is still more valuable than what many other no-annual-fee cards are offering. Additionally, the spending requirement for this card’s bonus is much easier to meet than the Venture card, with just a $500 spending threshold.
Earning
The VentureOne earning scheme is practically identical to the $95-a-year Venture Rewards card but with a slightly lower return on everyday spending. You’re getting a flat 1.25 miles per dollar on all other purchases, which equates to a solid 2.13% return using TPG valuations. While this is decent, it isn’t the best return for everyday spending. But, the benefit of an unlimited earning rate is that you don’t have to keep up with multiple bonus categories — exchanging simplicity for maximizing value.
Redeeming
You have a few options when it comes to redeeming Venture miles.
The most straightforward way is to use them to pay for eligible purchases as a statement credit. This allows you to sign in to your Venture Rewards online account and redeem miles at a flat 1 cent apiece for a statement credit against eligible travel purchases you’ve made with the card in the last 90 days.
This includes many travel expenses that traditional miles won’t cover, from Uber rides to Airbnb stays. There are no award charts or blackout dates and no minimum redemption amount is required. By taking this route, your 20,000-mile sign-up bonus would be worth a straightforward $200 toward travel.
Related: Use your Capital One Venture miles to stay at these 10 stunning Airbnb homes
But to get even more value from your sign-up bonus, you should try the more advanced redemption option — maximizing Capital One’s transfer partners. Capital One now has 16 airlines and three hotel partners (one of which is launching at a later in 2021) to which you could transfer your miles, including Avianca LifeMiles, British Airways Avios, Etihad Guest, JetBlue TrueBlue and Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles.
Transfer ratios will vary depending on the partner. Capital One has added a 1:1 ratio for nine partners (meaning 1 Venture mile will get you 1 point/mile at a transfer partner). However, some programs still offer a lower 2:1.5 or 2:1 ratio. In other words, you’re earning 0.625 to 1.25 airline miles (or hotel points) per dollar spent on the VentureOne card.
This redemption option is slightly more advanced than just redeeming against charges at a fixed value, but it’s not as difficult as it sounds. We have plenty of guides that will teach you how to best redeem your miles using transfer partners:
- Best ways to redeem Capital One miles for domestic flights
- Best ways to redeem Capital One miles on Star Alliance airlines
- Best ways to redeem Capital One miles on Oneworld airlines
- Best ways to redeem Capital One Miles on SkyTeam airlines
Main benefits and perks
The VentureOne card comes with the standard suite of Visa Signature travel and shopping benefits, including:
In addition to these Visa Signature perks, the VentureOne is among the few no-annual-fee cards with no foreign transaction fees, making it a great option to use outside of the U.S. Benefits only available to accounts approved for the Visa Signature card. Terms apply.
Which cards compete with the Capital One VentureOne Card?
If this sounds pretty appealing, know that several no-annual-fee cards compete with the VentureOne. For instance, there’s the Citi® Double Cash Card, which earns 2% cash back on every purchase — 1% when you make the purchase, and then another 1% when you pay it off. Coupled with an eligible ThankYou points-earning card, you’re earning 2 ThankYou Points per dollar — a better earning rate than with the VentureOne.
There’s also the Chase Freedom Unlimited, which earns 5% on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3% on dining and drugstore purchases and 1.5% back on all other purchases. Although the Freedom Unlimited is a cash-back card, it earns rewards in the form of Ultimate Rewards points.
Paired with a Chase Sapphire Reserve or the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, you can pool your points together to transfer to Chase’s 10 airline and three hotel partners at a 1:1 ratio. However, unlike the VentureOne, you’re unable to transfer to loyalty programs with just the Freedom Unlimited.
Related: The power of the Chase Trifecta: Sapphire Reserve, Ink Preferred and Freedom Unlimited
But the VentureOne edges out both the Citi Double Cash and the Chase Freedom Unlimited as a stand-alone travel credit card with no annual fee — you don’t need an additional card to pair with it.
Venture vs. VentureOne Card
Depending on your spending habits, it might make more sense to apply for the Capital One Venture than the VentureOne — especially while the Venture has a 60k welcome bonus. Here’s a quick overview that compares these cards side-by-side:
| Benefit | Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card | Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card |
| Sign-up bonus | Earn 60,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening. | Earn 20,000 bonus miles once you spend $500 on purchases within the first three months from account opening. |
| Earning rates | 2 miles per dollar spent on every purchase | 1.25 miles per dollar spent on every purchase |
| Redemption | Redeem your miles at a fixed rate of 1 cent apiece toward eligible purchases or transfer them to Capital One’s airline partners. | Redeem your miles at a fixed rate of 1 cent apiece toward eligible purchases or transfer them to Capital One’s airline partners. |
| Additional perks | Up to $100 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck enrollment fees; Visa Signature benefits like purchase security and lost luggage reimbursement; no foreign transaction fees. Benefits only available to accounts approved for the Visa Signature card. Terms apply. | Visa Signature benefits such as purchase security and lost luggage reimbursement; no foreign transaction fees |
| Annual fee | $95 | $0 |
Aside from the annual fee and sign-up bonus, the biggest difference between these cards is the earning rate on everyday spending and the $100 Global Entry/TSA PreCheck application fee credit.
Related: Capital One Venture vs. Capital One VentureOne
Bottom line
The Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card is solid. There aren’t many no-annual-fee cards with the ability to transfer points/miles directly to travel partners, so it’s nice that this card offers that option. This card also beats other no-annual-fee cards when it comes to perks such as purchase protection and no foreign transaction fees.
Additional reporting by Stella Shon.
Featured image by Eric Helgas / The Points Guy.