If you’re a traveler like me, you’re probably always looking for ways to make your trips more affordable. That’s why I accumulate points and miles: they help me reduce my travel expenses so I can spend my money on what it is. in fact important…which usually means booking more trips!
One card that can help you earn more points and miles, which translates to more free flights and hotel stays, is the Capital One Venture Business card. It’s an easy-to-use card, perfect for travelers who want to simplify earning points and miles. Here’s everything you need to know about the card to help you decide if it’s for you. It’s a solid business card for those who don’t want a card with a high annual fee but want some added benefits besides earning miles when they spend money.
What is it?
He Capital One Venture Business The card is the rebranded version of Capital One’s Spark Miles. But it has some notable improvements that I think make it worth adding to your wallet. Here’s a look at the card’s main benefits:
- A welcome offer of up to 150,000 miles
- Standard 2x miles on every purchase
- 5 times miles on travel purchases (through their portal)
- $50 annual travel credit
- $50 annual statement credit
- Up to $120 for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck
- Hertz Five Star Status
- No foreign transaction fees
The card’s annual fee is just $95, meaning it’s effectively free once the two statement credits are taken into account. Defaulting to 2x miles per dollar spent, this makes this card a solid choice for everyday spending. And without a ton of different spending categories, the card is very easy to use, making it perfect for travelers new to the points and miles game.
Car rental benefits
In addition to giving you Hertz Five Star status, which allows you to skip the counter at select locations while still offering a broader selection of cars, the card also offers car rental coverage when you rent a car for business purposes. You’ll need to charge the full fare to your card and also decline the company’s collision damage waiver, but once you do, you’ll be covered for damage due to both collisions and theft.
While I don’t usually rent cars for work, I appreciate the free collision coverage and being able to skip the lines (especially at the busier rental locations).
Travel partners
You’ll earn Capital One miles with this card. You can use them like you would with any other rewards program: to earn cash back, book travel directly, or transfer to travel partners.
The easiest option is to redeem your miles for travel on the Capital One travel portal, which works just like booking through Expedia or any other online travel agency. Doing it is very simple. Simply search and book your flight, hotel or rental car and choose “miles” as your payment method. It’s basically like using your miles in cash, worth one cent per mile.
Both options are very easy to implement, making this a great card for beginners. And if this is the only way to use your miles, go for it! Using them is better than leaving them sitting.
However, you can usually get more for your miles when you transfer them to Capital One transfer partners.
The ability to transfer to travel partners is what makes Capital One miles valuable. While the actual value varies depending on what you book, you can usually find airline and hotel redemptions worth much more than the 1 cent per mile mentioned above.
Transferring to travel partners is a little more work than using the portal, but there are more tools than ever to help you maximize your miles (like dot.me to find flights and Awayz to search for stays in award-winning hotels).
These are your current hotel and airline transfer partners:
- Accor lives without limits
- Aeromexico Rewards
- Air Canada airplane
- Avianca Lifemiles
- British Airways Club
- Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Choice Privileges
- Emirates towards the sky
- Etihad Guest
- EVA air
- Finnair Plus
- flying blue
- I prefer hotel rewards
- Japan Airlines mileage bank
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Qantas Frequent Flyer
- Qatar Airways Privilege Club
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- TOUCH Miles&Go
- Turkish Airlines Miles and Smiles
- red virgin
- Wyndham Rewards
Who is this card for?
This card is best for business travelers looking for an easy-to-use card that helps them earn points and miles. While I personally think the Capital One Venture And since the credits cover the annual fee, the card is essentially free!
the new Capital One Venture Business The card has an incredible welcome offer, a respectable double on every purchase, and some solid benefits for regular travelers. And with its low annual fee, this card is an obvious choice for travelers looking for a new business card. I just wouldn’t wait too long – this great welcome offer won’t last forever!
Stop paying full price to travel!
Download my free points and miles guide and learn how to use points and miles to travel for free. That’s how all the professionals travel so much! In this guide, I will show you:
- How to choose a credit card
- How to earn up to 10 times more miles on your spending
- How to redeem your points
- And many other money-saving tips!
Book your trip: logistical tips and tricks
Book your flight
Find a cheap flight using skyscanner. It’s my favorite search engine because it searches websites and airlines from all over the world so you always know that no stone is left unturned.
Book your accommodation
You can book your hostel with Hostelworld. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, please use Reserva.com as it consistently returns the cheapest rates for guesthouses and hotels.
Don’t forget travel insurance
Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft and cancellations. It is comprehensive protection in case something goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it because I have had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:
Do you want to travel for free?
Travel credit cards allow you to earn points that can be redeemed for free flights and accommodations, all without any additional costs. Check out my guide to choosing the right card and my current favorites to get started and see the latest best deals.
Do you need a rental car?
Discover Cars is an international cheap car rental website. No matter where you’re headed, you’ll be able to find the best and cheapest rental for your trip!
Need help finding activities for your trip?
Get your guide is a huge online marketplace where you can find interesting walking tours, fun excursions, skip-the-line tickets, private guides, and more.
Ready to book your trip?
Check out my resources page for the best companies to use when traveling. I list all the ones I use when I travel. They are the best in their class and you can’t go wrong using them on your trip.
