- 5/24 Count: Prior to this application, Ben only had opened two personal credit cards in the past 24 months, putting him at 2/24. This meant, he still could get another personal credit card without jeopardizing his ability to open future credit cards with Chase as well as still have a 5/24 spot for any future elevated offers that seem worth getting. Now with the Venture approval, he's at 3/24.
Remember, the Chase 5/24 rule is that if you've opened any 5 credit cards from ANY financial institution/store (not JUST Chase), in the past 24 months, Chase will not approve you for a new credit card (personal or business). The 24-month period is rolling, so as time progresses, cards you've opened will drop out of your 5/24 count.
- Elevated Offer: The standard typical Capital One Venture card offer is 75,000 points for spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of having the card. However, there are currently two elevated offers that you can pick from. These elevated offers are scheduled to end May 12th, 2025:
- 75,000 points + a $250 travel credit (to be used in Capital One Travel portal) for $4,00 spend in 3 months. This combination of points and travel credit is worth at least $1,000 of travel.
- 100,000 points for $5,000 spend in 3 months (also worth at least $1,000 of travel)
- Points Diversity: We started into Capital One points' ecosystem last year and plan to book a trip later this week, which will utilize our existing C1 points. Signing up for this Venture card at the elevated offer is a great way to replenish our C1 points and maintain point diversity across the major banks.
- Recent Inquiries: Capital One is known to be inquiry sensitive, meaning if you've had more than one credit pull in recent months, you may automatically get denied from a C1 credit card application, just based on credit inquiries alone! Since Ben hadn't applied for a credit card in close to six months, I assumed it would be a good time to apply to Capital One (and it was!)
Note: some people say that if you've had a few inquiries in the past six months, a work around is to freeze your credit for roughly a week (or more) before applying for a Capital One card. Unfreeze immediately before applying.
- Spend! We never open a credit card without first having a plan on how to hit the minimum spend. In our case, we have an upcoming Airbnb charge we need to make, as well as the fact that we've already starting paying for kids' summer camp; and then we have our normal routine spend like utilities, groceries, dining out, insurance, etc on top of that. I know we can fit this minimum spend before the three month time period is up.
Capital One Venture Card Benefits
On top of those personal considerations, the Venture Card offers the following appealing major benefits:
- $95 annual fee
- 2x points on all purchases
- 5x points on travel purchases booked through Capital One Travel (including rental cars)
- No foreign transaction fees
- Up to $120 credit towards TSA PreCheck or Global Entry when you use this card to apply (note, credit is available once every 4 years)
- Ability to combine points with other members of your household
- Ability to transfer points to Capital One Travel partners for direct bookings and to gain larger value from points (compared to Capital One Travel portal, where 1 point equals 1 cent). More below
- Ability to redeem miles for travel-related purchases (as long as the purchase is coded as "Travel").
Capital One Travel Partners
Similar to Chase and American Express, Capital One has it's own partners that you can transfer your points to, which typically helps you book travel for less points than the portal; thus making your points go farther!
To transfer points, log into your Capital One account and click on "View Records", then navigate to "Transfer rewards" (as shown in the photo above).
Capital One has 16 travel partners:
Plus, don't forget airline alliances! If you are not be able to transfer your C1 points directly to a specific airline you want because they're not a Capital One travel partner, if they're part of an airline alliance, you may be able to locate that flight you want on an airline partner and transfer/book with the partner.
For example, you cannot transfer points directly to Delta, but you can transfer points to Flying Blue (Air France/KLM) and you may be able to book the exact Delta flight you want through/on Flying Blue. Note: not all flights are available through partners, so first search the partner you can transfer to, to make sure the flight you want is bookable.
It's important to be familiar with travel partners and consider how you'd use points with a bank before you start collecting. As you can see above, Capital One doesn't have a lot of direct US airline partners - however it's possible to book US flights through airline alliances as mentioned above.
Another tip for lodging is that you can book short-term rental properties via Wyndham. Wyndham has a partnership with VaCasa. By transferring points to Wyndham you can then book VaCasa properties, if you prefer non-hotel lodging.
That's all on Capital One for now! Don't forget, the current elevated offers are scheduled to May 12th. If you're interested in applying, here are referral links! Thank you as always for your support!
75,000 points + a $250 travel credit for $4,00 spend in 3 months
OR
Looking for more information on points/miles? You can find all of my points talk posts linked here
Curious what cards I (and/or my husband) have, and why? Read here!
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