Capital One Venture, Spark, and Quicksilver Cards
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No Foreign Transaction Fee
While the cards can be hard to get, Capital One offers a valuable points ecosystem. As long as you have one of the "miles" cards, you can transfer your points to a number of attractive airline partners and to Wyndham hotels (where you can redeem them for valuable Vacasa vacation rentals). You usually get fewer than 1 mile per point, but there are several good options for earning 2x points per dollar, so you are still getting great value from your spending.
You can earn up to 100,000 points. You'll earn 50,000 points with $3,000 spend in the first three months and another 50,000 with a total of $20,000 in spending during the first year. At an estimated value of 1.5 cents per point, the base offer has a net signup value of $550 (.19/$), the full offer is worth $1,200 (.06/$).
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Card Options
Capital One offers a variety of general-purpose cards. These cards don't have bonus categories or much in the way of special benefits. They just offer a certain rate of Capital One "miles" or cashback on all your purchases. The annual-fee versions of the cards offer better rates and bonuses than their no-annual-fee siblings.
| Card | Rate | Fee | Typ. Bonus | Current Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal cards | ||||
| Venture | 2x miles | $95 | 50,000 | 60,000 Chart |
| Quicksilver | 1.5% cash | $0 | 15,000 | 20,000 Chart |
| VentureOne | 1.25x miles | $0 | 20,000 | 20,000 Chart |
| Business Cards | ||||
| Spark Miles | 2x miles | $95 | 50,000 | 50,000 Chart |
| Spark Cash Plus | 2% cash | $150 | 50,000 | 50K + 50K Chart |
| Spark Miles Select | 1.5x miles | $0 | 20,000 | 20,000 |
| Spark Cash Select | 1.5% cash | $0 | 20,000 | 50,000 |
Annual fees are typically waived the first year, but that is dependent on the specific signup offer that is available.
A combination of the Spark Cash and VentureOne cards lets you earn 2x points on every purchase and gives you the flexibility of either transferring points out or getting real cashback, while a single Venture or Spark Miles card only allows "cashing out" points against travel purchases. We'd start with a Venture and if we could get approved for a Spark Card, downgrade it to a VentureOne at the end of the first year.
Introduction to Capital One Points
Some Capital One cards, like the Venture Card, earn "miles". Other cards, like the Quicksilver Card, earn "cash back".
- Miles. Capital One "miles" can be used at 1 cent each to erase travel purchases you make one of the miles-earning cards, but they can also be transferred to a over a dozen frequent flyer and hotel loyalty programs.
- Cashback. The points you earn from Capital One's cashback cards can be redeemed directly as statement credits (no need to use them to erase travel purchases).
- If you have a card that earns "cash back" and another card that earns "miles". you can transfer your points between them to redeem the way you want. If you want to cash out directly to your statement, transfer points from your miles card to your cashback card. If you want to use them for frequent flyer miles, transfer them from your cash bard to your miles card. This includes the points from signup bonuses.
You can then use the miles to book award tickets, hotel nights, or vacation rentals. For example, you could transfer your points to Etihad's frequent flyer to book American Airlines flights for what are often fewer miles than American Airlines would charge. Or you could transfer your points to Wyndham's loyalty program to get fantastic value on Vacasa vacation rentals.
The value of these awards varies, but in most cases, you can receive considerably more than 1 cent in value per point. Given Capital One's nice set of airline partners and the potential value from Wyndham points, we value them at 1.5 cents each. Capital One Miles Guide.
Collecting the Signup Bonus
- It is worth signing up for some of these cards just for the signup bonuses. Typical signup bonuses for the Venture, Spark Miles, and Spark Cash cards are worth a minimum of $500 (before expenses), often with a waived annual fee. Bonuses are worth more if you can use them on good frequent flyer and hotel redemptions. We value transferable Capital One points at 1.5 each, making a 50,000 point offer worth about $750.
- Capital One limits you to only two personal cards at a time (co-branded cards don't count against these limits). This limits the speed at which you can earn signup bonuses. The best offer is almost always from the Venture Card. If you are looking for a second signup consider the Savor Card, unless the bonuses from the VentureOne or Quicksilver are substantially larger. That will give you the option of earning extra miles on your restaurant and entertainment spending.
- These limits don't apply to the business cards. Offers on the Spark Miles and Spark Cash cards are often identical. The Spark Miles Card is usually the better option because it has the flexibility of being able to transfer to travel partners without needing another card. It also includes a possibly valuable $100 TSA credit. On the other hand, the Spark Cash Card doesn't show up on your personal credit report (and won't affect your Chase 5/24 status) and the Spark Miles Card will. There is no reason to avoid trying to sign up for as many of these cards as you can.
- It can be hard to get approved for Capital One cards. So think twice before cancelling a card that you really want to keep, in order to earn reapply (or apply for a different Capital One Card) just to earn a new signup bonus.
Promotional signup bonuses can be much higher (although they often require large amounts of spending).
Notable Benefits
- Access to special Capital One events (personal cards). These are available to all cardholders. Current list of events.
- $100 TSA fee credit (Venture and Spark Miles only). Every 4 years, you can receive an automatic reimbursement of your Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee (up to $100).
- Fixed-rate roadside assistance (business cards). Assistance isn't free, but rates are pre-negotiated to $70, including up to 5 miles of towing.
- Elite car rental status. As with all World Elite MasterCards, you get free National Emerald Club Executive and Sixt Platinum status. Instant Car Rental Elite Status.
- Access to Mastercard's luxury hotel program. Another benefit of high-end MasterCards is access to MasterCard's luxury hotel program. When you use the program to book one of the participating hotels, you'll get a number of valuable benefits, like free breakfast, a $100 hotel credit, a room upgrade, and late checkout.Take Advantage of Luxury Hotel Programs for Valuable Extra Perks.
- Free ShopRunner membership. Like all World Elite MasterCards, your card entitles you to a complimentary ShopRunner membership, which provides free two-day and return shipping from around 150 of the largest online retailers. ShopRunner.
- DoorDash and Hello Fresh discounts. Cardmembers who have a DoorDash membership get $5 off their first two orders each month when paid for by their Mastercard. If you don't have a free membership from Chase, you can get your first three months membership for free through Mastercard. You also get a 5% credit back on each HelloFresh purchase.
- Some additional discounts. If you pay for at least 3 Lyft rides each calendar month with your Mastercard, you'll receive a $5 Lyft credit good for the following month (once you enroll in the Lyft app). You also receive double Fandango points, a 5% reward rebate at Boxed, and $5 off every Postmates order of $25 or more.
Bonus Categories
None of these cards have bonus categories. You can earn 3-4x points on dining and entertainment with the Capital One Savor Cards.
It only makes sense to spend with the cards that offer at least 2% (Venture, Spark Miles, Spark Cash).