How to Choose a Travel Credit Card
When planning to travel domestically or abroad, the top expenses typically include:
- Airfare: This is often the largest upfront cost, especially for international trips.
- Accommodation: Hotel or other lodging expenses can add up significantly depending on the destination and length of stay.
- Transportation: Costs can include rental cars, public transportation, taxis, and Ubers.
- Daily Spending: This encompasses meals, entrance fees for attractions and museums, souvenirs, and other daily expenses.
Therefore, selecting the best travel-friendly credit card can help save money and maximize rewards in these categories.
The Key Considerations when choosing a Travel Credit Card will include:
- Travel Rewards: Look for cards that offer high rewards rates on travel-related purchases such as airfare, hotels, and dining.
- Sign-Up Bonuses: Consider the value of the sign-up bonus, which can significantly offset travel expenses.
- Annual Fees: Assess whether the card’s annual fee is justified by the rewards and benefits you will receive.
- Foreign Transaction Fees: Ensure the card has no foreign transaction fees to avoid extra charges when spending abroad.
- Flexibility: Consider the flexibility of redeeming points or miles, such as transferring to airline and hotel partners.
By choosing a travel credit card that aligns with your spending habits and travel needs, you can save money, earn rewards, and enjoy additional travel perks, ultimately cutting down your overall travel expenses.
Advantages of Capital One VentureOne Rewards
The Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card is highly regarded among travel credit cards for several reasons:
1. No Annual Fee:
Unlike many travel rewards cards, the VentureOne card has no annual fee, making it a cost-effective option for frequent travelers.
Tips: What is Annual Fee?
The annual fee of a credit card is a yearly charge by the credit card issuer to the cardholder for the privilege of using the card. This fee can vary widely depending on the type of card and its benefits.
The Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card stands out because it has $0 Annual Fee, while many other credit cards charge fees starting at $95 or more. This $0 annual fee is a significant advantage for saving money.
2. Rewards Rate:
Cardholders Earn unlimited 1.25X miles on every purchase, plus 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. This means that in addition to the standard 1.25X miles on all purchases, you will earn 5X miles when you book flights, hotels, or car rentals through [Capital One Travel]. The travel site features a selection of chain hotels that may not be available on other hotel booking websites.
3. Bonus Miles:
You will earn 20,000 miles after spending $500 in the first 3 months, equivalent to $200 in travel. Compared to other credit cards that require spending significantly more than $500 to earn miles, this card offers a more comfortable and attainable rewards structure.
4. Flexible Redemption Options:
Using Miles for Travel Purchases
With Capital One’s flexible redemption options, you can use your accumulated miles to reimburse any travel purchase or book directly through Capital One Travel. Here’s how it works:
4.1 Accumulate Miles:
Earn miles on your Capital One credit card through your everyday purchases.
4.2 Book Travel:
you can book travel Through Capital One Travel by Using your miles directly to book flights, hotels, car rentals, and more via the Capital One Travel portal.
4.3 Flexible Payment Options:
– If you have enough miles to cover the full cost of your travel, you can redeem them all at once.
– If you don’t have enough miles, you can use a combination of miles and cash. For example, if you have 30,000 miles and your airfare costs 60,000 miles, you can use the 30,000 miles and pay the remaining balance with cash or your credit card.
This flexibility allows you to maximize the value of your miles and tailor your redemption strategy to your travel needs and preferences.
5. No Foreign Transaction Fees:
The card does not charge foreign transaction fees, which is a valuable benefit for international travelers as it saves on extra costs when making purchases abroad.
Tips: What is Foreign Transaction Fees?
Foreign transaction fees are charges applied by credit card issuers or banks when you make purchases or transactions in a foreign currency or through a foreign bank. These fees typically consist of two components:
- Currency Conversion Fee: This fee covers the cost of converting one currency to another. It’s usually a percentage of the transaction amount, commonly around 1%.
- Issuer Fee: This is an additional charge imposed by the credit card issuer or bank. It can vary but is often around 2% to 3% of the transaction amount.
Together, these fees can add up to 3% or more of the total transaction amount. They apply to various transactions, such as purchases made abroad, online transactions with foreign merchants, and cash withdrawals from foreign
6. Cash Back Rewards:
Capital One cardholders can earn cashback rewards on their purchases when using the Capital One app. The specific cashback rates and rewards structures vary by card. For example, the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card offers:
– 4% cashback on Booking.com
– 10% cashback on Viator.com or GetTourGuide.com
– 4% cashback on Orbitz.com
A full list of affiliate partners and their respective cashback rates can be viewed by logging into the Capital One app.
7. Great Exchange Rate:
Comparing with Currency Conversion App, the exchange rate of Capital One VentureOne rewards card is close to the fair market rate, which is much better than the rates you get when exchanging currency at airports, hotels, or currency exchange services at your travel destinations.
8. Security Features:
If you make a purchase overseas and a duplicate charge for the same amount appears on the same day, Capital One will immediately send a text message to your cellphone to alert you of this duplicate charge.
9. Contactless Payment Options:
For public transportation system such as subways or metro services have become increasingly popular around the world, These options allow you to pay for your ride by simply tapping your contactless credit card at the entrance gate, without the need to purchase or recharge a specific metro card. This is convenient for both domestic and international travelers.
Key Benefits includes:
– Convenience: No need to buy or recharge a separate metro card.
– Speed: Faster entry and exit, reducing waiting times at ticket machines.
– Flexibility: Use the same payment method across different cities and countries.
Examples of Cities Offering Contactless Payments:
– London: The London Underground accepts contactless payment cards, including international ones.
– New York City: The MTA’s OMNY system allows contactless payments with various credit cards.
– Paris: The Paris Metro supports contactless payments.
– Tokyo: Some lines in Tokyo now accept contactless credit card payments.
– Singapore: The MRT system accepts contactless payments from various credit cards.
– Sydney: The Opal system accepts contactless credit card payments.
How It Works:
1). Tap and Go: Approach the entrance gate, tap your contactless credit card on the reader, and the gate will open.
2). Fare Calculation: The fare is calculated automatically based on your entry and exit points.
3). Payment Processing: The payment is processed through your credit card, appearing on your statement as a regular transaction.
This system simplifies the process of using public transportation, making it more accessible and user-friendly, especially for tourists and occasional users.
Conclusion
Overall, the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card stands out for its combination of no annual fee, competitive rewards structure, and flexible redemption options, making it a top choice for travelers looking to earn and use rewards efficiently.
- $0 annual fee and no foreign transaction fees
- Earn a bonus of 20,000 miles once you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $200 in travel
- Earn unlimited 1.25X miles on every purchase, every day
- Miles won't expire for the life of the account and there's no limit to how many you can earn
- Earn 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options
- Use your miles to get reimbursed for any travel purchase-or redeem by booking a trip through Capital One Travel
- Transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Enjoy 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months; 19.99% - 29.99% variable APR after that; balance transfer fee applies
- Intro APR
- 0% on Purchases and Balance Transfers
- Intro APR Period
- 15 months
- Annual Fee
- $0
- Credit Needed
- Excellent, Good
Tips:
In this article, we talk about the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card, which should not be confused with the other two Capital One credit cards:
– Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
– Capital One VentureOne Rewards for Good Credit
These three cards have very similar names but are distinct from one another. Click here to read the three cards comparison.
