Is the Capital One Venture Card worth it? For this traveler, yes

The Venture easily provides more than enough value to justify its $95 annual fee, between its lucrative rewards structure, flexible redemption options, and practical travel perks. If you’re wondering whether the Capital One Venture Card is worth it, here are five key reasons I believe this travel card is a keeper. 

2X rewards at a reasonable annual fee

I have multiple credit cards that earn bonus points on categories like dining, grocery spending and travel. While I earn up to 5X points per $1 spent with my other cards, the Venture Card comes in handy for purchases that fall outside of these categories. 

The Capital One Venture Card earns a flat 2x miles on every purchase, allowing me to maximize every dollar I spend—even if it’s not in a specific rewards category like gas stations or grocery stores. 

Plus, the Venture also earns 5x miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. While I prefer to book directly with airlines and hotels to ensure I earn frequent flyer miles and receive elite status benefits, I don’t mind using this card for rental car bookings if the rates are competitive. Furthermore, I’ve occasionally found lower rates booking through the Capital One Travel portal, letting me earn miles while saving money on travel.

A great selection of transfer partners

A competitive transfer partner selection is the main reason I think the Capital One Venture Card is worth it. Capital One has 15 airline and three hotel partners to which you can transfer your Capital One miles, most at a 1:1 rate. I get tons of value by transferring miles to programs including Air Canada Aeroplan and Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles for business class tickets. 

International business class tickets generally cost thousands of dollars, which I can’t afford out of pocket. Instead, I use these miles to reduce costs and stretch my travel budget. 

Even if I wasn’t planning to spend money on business class seats, and would have just booked economy class, using miles saves me money I would have spent on that economy ticket. I get to keep my cash in the bank for a rainy day—and relax in a better seat too. It’s a win-win. 

Flexible redemption options

While transferring miles is often the best way to maximize value from flexible rewards, sometimes it’s nice to zero out your credit card balance after a vacation. 

I try to keep my travel expenses to a minimum at all times—it’s why I’ve feverishly collected points for the past decade.

But when the cost of hotels is relatively low or there’s a great flight deal, I’m often conflicted between wanting to save points vs. money. The Capital One Venture Card makes it so I don’t have to choose. 

Capital One miles are worth 1 cent each to cover past travel purchases. Since I’m earning them at a 2X rate, I feel less conflicted about occasionally redeeming Capital One miles for travel expenses.

I love returning from a trip with an unseemly credit card balance and zeroing it out without spending an actual dime. Capital One makes that option viable.

I get my money’s worth

The Capital One Venture Card is well worth the $95 annual fee I pay every year. I earn thousands of miles that exceed the annual fee in redemption value—and I get value from award redemptions and benefits. I also use the card abroad for non-bonus purchases because it waives foreign transaction fees, so I easily save hundreds of dollars in fees every year.

Aside from these money-saving benefits, the Venture Card offers a very important perk that most other cards with an annual fee in the $95 range do not: an up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. 

Global Entry is a trusted traveler program that allows you to go through an expedited security line when you return from a trip abroad. It also includes automatic enrollment in TSA PreCheck, which streamlines the security screening process when flying out from more than 200 airports across the United States. Between these two programs, I estimate that I save hundreds of hours transiting the airport over the four-year membership period.

I used the card’s $100 application fee credit this year to renew my Global Entry membership. It’s not a huge amount, and I would have gladly paid for it out of pocket. But it offset my Venture Card’s annual fee this year, making it a keeper. 

Useful travel protections

Travel protection is one of the most important features I look for in a credit card. Sure, earning points is great, and having access to a strong list of transfer partners is crucial. But I need the peace of mind that comes with knowing my travel purchases are protected, no matter which card I use.

The Capital One Venture Card provides travel accident insurance (covering you and eligible family for loss of life, limb, sight, speech or hearing) plus extended warranty and secondary rental car insurance.

And, as a World Elite Mastercard, the Venture provides baggage delay and trip cancellation/interruption insurance, too.

I like knowing that I’m protected if I use this card during my travels (or for everyday purchases) and something goes wrong. 

The takeaway

The Capital One Venture Card is worth the annual fee between the miles, high-value transfer partners, and recurring benefits. I don’t mind paying $95 per year in return for thousands of miles that I can use to top off my most prized mileage balances with my favorite loyalty programs. It’s fair to say I save thousands of dollars on travel and maximize every dollar I spend, thanks to the Venture.
But, if you’re a hardcore traveler who spends so much time on the go that you want even more generous rewards and elevated perks such as airport lounge access, you may want the Venture’s big sibling—the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card. Here’s why one Fortune Recommends writer keeps the Venture X in his wallet despite its $395 annual fee.

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Please note that card details are accurate as of the publish date, but are subject to change at any time at the discretion of the issuer. Please contact the card issuer to verify rates, fees, and benefits before applying.