Capital One's top-tier offerings of the *venture x* and the *venture x business* come with a handful of useful travel perks like access to Capital One Lounges, Priority Pass lounges, top-tier travel protections, a $120 statement credit for TSA PreCheck® or Global Entry, and more.
The most valuable benefit, though? An annual $300 Capital One Travel credit. Use it wisely and you can recoup the vast majority of either card's $395 annual fee in one fell swoop. You have to book through the Capital One Travel or the Capital One Business Travel portal, but you can redeem the credit in a multitude of ways to score a sweet discount on flights, hotels, rental cars, and more.
With the Venture X's current, best-ever 100,000-mile bonus offer after spending $10,000 in the first six months, there's never been a better time to add this card to your wallet and start taking advantage of this lucrative perk. Meanwhile, business owners can earn an even bigger bonus with the Venture X Business.
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 or the Venture X Business, the travel credit will essentially work the same. These credits are only redeemable on travel booked through the Capital One Travel or Business 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 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.
Please note that pricing across various travel portals varies significantly. Last year, we did a deep dive into hotel bookings through Capital One Travel and found that prices charged were often higher than other booking sites. Of course, this isn't universally true: Some properties were cheaper than booking elsewhere.
The point is, when you go to use this credit, 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 deal services (ahem, Thrifty Traveler Premium) is a match made in heaven.
For example, take this sweet roundtrip flight to Calgary (YYC) to explore Banff National Park next 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 maximize 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!
Take, for example, this Iberia-operated flight to Barcelona (BCN). With a $300 Capital One Travel credit, you could effectively book a flight to Europe for 80% off.
After applying your travel credit, this roundtrip flight to Europe 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 Trip to Fiji
Capital One frequently rolls out limited-time travel offers for discounts on hotels and flights. Stacking one of those, like the current $75 discount on select Fiji Airways flights shown here, with your Capital One travel credit can make a cheap flight to paradise even more affordable.
Even without that $75 discount, you'll be saving nearly half off a roundtrip 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 your cup of tea, you could do it 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 with lie-flat seats for a bargain. For instance, our absolute favorite way to fly to Hawaii is with Hawaiian Airlines' cozy new first class suites.
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. With $300 to spend, you could easily cover a night or two … 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 + Resorts®, you can use your experience credit on dining and spa purchases.
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.
Read next: Capital One Premier Collection Review: Elite-Like Perks & Top-End Hotels
The $300 annual travel credit you get with the Venture X card would nearly cover an entire nightly rate at this 5-star property. And be sure to keep your eyes peeled for additional Capital One Travel offers – like the 15% discount on select hotels shown here – to help you save even more.
Rent a Convertible for Your Next Trip
Depending on where you're heading, public transit might not cut it: You'll need a rental car. And Capital One has you covered there as well.
For an upcoming trip to Honolulu (HNL), we found this Ford Mustang Convertible to cruise the island in. Just imagine cruising the island with the top down … without spending a ton of money out of pocket!
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, which easily helps offset the majority of either card's annual fee.
Whether it's discounted flights, hotels, rental cars, activities, and more, there are a ton of incredible ways to use these credits to make your next trip more affordable.
Can you use your $250 credit towards a flight and pay the balance with points?
Yes, you can. But the better move would be to just charge it to your card so you can earn 2x miles on the remainder of the purchase and then go back and use miles to cover the purchase. Check out this story for more details: https://thriftytraveler.com/guides/points/dont-redeem-venture-miles-through-capital-one-travel/
If you find a hotel price that’s cheaper than the Capital one site and that price is available to the general public, Capital one will match that price with a statement credit. Has to be the same room with the same conditions and within 24 hours. I find the cheapest rate then book with Capital One and then call them to get the credit.
Well, I tried, just for fun, to book two different flights in Indonesia, one inter island trip, and another CGK to BKK, and all I get is crappy airlines with overpriced flights.