Capital One’s top-tier offerings of the *venture x* and the *venture x business* come with useful travel perks ranging from access to Capital One Lounges and Priority Pass lounges to a $120 statement credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry. The most valuable among these benefits is the annual travel credit that comes with each card, which helps cardholders recoup the relatively-high annual fee.
And now, the *capital one venture card* is offering its own travel credit as a one-time bonus offer. Earn 75,000 Miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening, plus receive a one-time $250 Capital One Travel credit to use in your first cardholder year – that’s equal to $1,000 in travel.
There’s likely no better time to open a new Venture card to take advantage of the incredibly easy-to-use travel credits. You have to book through the Capital One Travel Portal, but you can redeem the credit in a multitude of ways to score a sweet discount on flights, hotels, and rental cars.
Let’s go over the Capital One travel credit and some of the ways you can maximize it.
How the Capital One Travel Credit Works
Whether you have a Capital One Venture X card or the Venture card, the travel credit will essentially work the same. These credits are only redeemable on travel booked through the Capital One Travel portal.
To use your credit, simply log in to your Capital One account online and click the “Travel” button under “Rewards” and then click “Book a trip.” Or you can head straight to the Capital One Travel site and log in there.
Once you find something that you want to book, the credit will automatically be applied at checkout. You can use it up across multiple purchases or all at once.
Unfortunately, since the credit is applied as a discount on the purchase price and not as a statement credit, you won’t earn any extra Capital One miles on that credit. That’s a small bummer but not the end of the world, as you’re still getting up to $300 worth of travel for free.
Just know that pricing across all the different travel portals will vary wildly. Earlier this year, we found that with Capital One, prices charged were often higher than other booking sites, especially for hotels. So it’s important to do a little price shopping to ensure you’re getting a good deal.
Read more: Capital One Travel Credit: Everything You Need to Know
Our Favorite Ways to Use the Capital One Travel Credit
Make a Cheap Flight Even Cheaper (Or Free!)
One of the best ways to use your Capital One travel credit is to offset the cost of airfare – one of the most expensive parts of any trip. It gets even better if you can find a cheap domestic or international flight, and use your Capital One travel credit to cover most or all of the cost.
Pairing one of the best travel credits out there with one of the best flight deals services is a match made in heaven. Of course, we’re biased, but one of our favorite ways to use the Capital One travel credit is to take advantage of our Thrifty Traveler Premium flight deals and use the credit to offset the cost of airfare. For example, take this sweet roundtrip flight to Calgary (YYC) to explore Banff National Park this summer.
Just use Google Flights to zero in on the best roundtrip flight to Calgary (YYC), then head to the Capital One Travel portal to search for the exact same flights.
Applying Capital One travel credit at checkout would make this roundtrip flight effectively free – heck, you could even bring a friend along for little to nothing.
Of course, we’re biased, but waiting for a cheap flight deal from Thrifty Traveler Premium and then booking through Capital One using your credit is one of the easiest ways to make the most of your travel credit!
Fly to Europe Roundtrip
Cheap flights to Europe are abundant right now. In fact, they are so affordable that you could possibly fly there and back for as low as $400!
Depending on your Capital One credit card, you could effectively book a trip for 50% to 75% off using your travel credit. Take this Iberia-operated flight to Barcelona (BCN) as an example.
This roundtrip flight to Europe after applying the travel credit would be cheaper than most domestic economy flights. That’s an insane bargain! You could effectively get a free roundtrip flight just by paying the annual fee of your Capital One card.
Score a Discount on a Japan Airlines Flight
You could also save big on a one-way flight to Tokyo (NRT) with one of the best economy seats in the world with Japan Airlines.
Capital One frequently rolls out limited-time travel offers for discounts on hotels and flights. Stacking one of those, like the $100 discount on select Japan Airlines flights shown here, with your Capital One travel credit can make a cheap trip to the Land of the Rising Sun even more affordable.
Even without that $100 discount, you’ll be saving nearly half off of a one-way ticket using your Capital One travel credit!
Book a Lie-Flat Domestic First Class Flight for the Price of Economy
If domestic travel is more of your cup of tea, you could do so in style by booking a one-way, lie-flat seat on a transcontinental route or even all the way to Hawaii.
You can snag a one-way ticket in a lie-flat seat between the West Coast and East Coast for half the price by using your travel credit, like on this JetBlue Mint route from Seattle (SEA) to Boston (BOS).
Or you could use the Legrooms for Google Flights plug-in to find domestic routes that have lie-flat seats for a bargain. For instance, one of my favorite ways to fly to Hawaii is in a comfy first class seat departing out of the West Coast that I found a cheap fare for.
Instead of paying a similar amount for a basic first class recliner seat on the same route, book a heavily discounted first class one-way fare with a lie-flat seat instead.
Book a Stay at a 5-star Hotel
Already got flights covered? You’ll need accommodations. Fortunately, you can also book hotels through Capital One. You could easily cover a nightly rate or snag a heavily discounted stay at a top-tier property at any destination of your choosing.
If you have the Capital One Venture X or Venture X Business card, you’ll have access to Capital One’s Premier Collection – luxury properties where cardholders get exclusive benefits like a daily $100 experience credit, daily breakfast for two, and complimentary Wi-Fi plus late checkout and complimentary upgrades when available. Similar to Amex’s Fine Hotels and Resorts properties, you can use your experience credit on dining and spa purchases.
Read next: Capital One Premier Collection Review: Elite-Like Perks & Top-End Hotels
In fact, you could live like royalty and stay in a real-life castle with a booking at the Schlosshotel Kronberg – Hotel Frankfurt, which is the historic home of German Empress Victoria. The $300 annual travel credit you get with the Venture X card would nearly cover an entire night (or should I say knight?) at this 5-star property. Even if you just picked up the *capital one venture card* to take advantage of its one-time $250 Capital One Travel credit, you’d still end up with a relatively cheap hotel stay.
Just know: Some travelers are finding that prices charged by Capital One Travel are often higher than other booking sites, especially for hotels. This isn’t exclusive to Capital One: With all the different booking engines and travel portals out there, these pricing discrepancies are the name of the game. So be sure to shop around a bit before you book!
Rent a Convertible for Your Next Trip
Depending on where you’re heading, public transit just won’t cut it. You’ll need a rental car, and Capital One has you covered there as well.
For an upcoming trip to Honolulu (HNL), I found this Ford Mustang Convertible to cruise the island in. Imagine getting to ride with the top down without wasting money on rideshares!
This entire nine-day reservation could easily be covered with the Capital One travel credit. Plus, if you book with a Capital One Venture X card (even if you’re using the travel credit), you’ll get primary rental car insurance coverage, too.
Bottom Line
The *venture x* and the *venture x business* both come with an annual $300 Capital One Travel credit that easily helps offset most of the card’s annual fee. Meanwhile, the *capital one venture card* is out with a limited-time bonus offer of 75,000 miles after spending $4,000 in the first three months, plus you get a one-time $250 Capital One Travel credit to use in your first year with the card.
Whether it’s discounted flights, hotels or even rental cars, there are a bunch of incredible ways to use these credits to make your next trip more affordable.
