What's the Capital One Venture miles value?

Cash back vs. miles is a frequent debate among rewards credit card shoppers, but it’s like comparing apples and oranges. Both are fruit, or rewards that you earn on every purchase, in this case. And both have their virtues, though a lot depends on your personal tastes. For example, you always know how much cash back is worth, while miles tend to be more mysterious. Miles are also associated with travel, which is fun. But much like you can eat both an apple and an orange, there’s room in your wallet for a … read full answercash back credit card and a credit card with miles. The best approach is to use a cash back card with a high baseline earning rate for everyday purchases and a credit card with miles for travel expenses.

It’s still good to know how these two major rewards currencies compare, no matter how many credit cards you decide to get. So let’s take a look at some of their biggest similarities and differences.

Cash Back vs. Miles: Key Categories

• Best Credit Card: Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer vs. Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
• Average per $1: 1.12% cash back vs. 1.23 miles
• Average Initial Bonus: $230 vs. 31,338 miles
• Can Be Devalued? No vs. Yes
• Expiration: Possible vs. Possible
• Typical Redemption Method: Statement credit vs. Eligible travel expenses

Averages are from WalletHub’s 2023 Credit Card Landscape Report. And if you’re wondering, rewards devaluation is when a credit card company increases the number of points or miles needed for a certain amount of redemption value, which decreases the value any unredeemed points or miles you may have. That’s not a concern with cash back because a credit card company can’t change the value of a dollar.

Cash back is just a lot more straightforward than miles because it’s already in dollar terms. So you’ll always know exactly how much you’re earning on a particular purchase as well as how much your unredeemed rewards are worth. With credit card miles, you have to compare the number needed for a certain redemption item – a flight, for example – to how much that item would cost if purchased normally.

But cash back and miles credit cards have a lot in common, too. For example, you’ll find a similar mix of rewards programs among both types of cards. Some offer the same rewards earning rate on all purchases. Some give you more rewards in designated bonus categories, if only up to a certain amount spent. And others offer even higher bonus rates in categories that change every few months. You’ll also find initial bonuses on both types of cards but only on some offers in each group.

For more information, check out WalletHub’s Credit Card Rewards Guide.

Travel credit cards work just like any other rewards credit card, though they tend to reward cardholders more for making travel-related purchases than anything else. The points or miles that travel credit cards provide are also usually worth more when redeemed for travel, compared to other redemption methods. Plus, travel credit cards commonly offer features such as travel insurance, no foreign transaction fee, airport lounge access, and reimbursement for TSA PreCheck/Global Entry application fees.… read full answer

Travel rewards credit cards offer rewards in one of two currencies: miles or points. There isn’t much of a difference between the two, but miles are more frequently used in the context of airline rewards, while points are often associated with hotels. On that note, co-branded travel cards tend to give higher rewards rates and special perks with specific airline and hotel brands, while non-cobranded travel cards don’t favor any particular brand but give good rewards on travel purchases in general.

How Travel Credit Cards Work

They often reward you more for travel.

Travel purchases are usually going to be a lot more profitable rewards-wise than other types of purchases. For example, Chase Sapphire Preferred gives 5 points per $1 spent on travel purchased through Chase, 2 points per $1 on all other travel purchases, 3 points per $1 on dining and online grocery purchases, 3 points per $1 on select streaming services, and 1 point per $1 on all other purchases. But this isn’t true for every card. Capital One Venture, for instance, gives 2 miles / $1 on almost all purchases.

Travel redemption is usually the best value.

In most cases, you don’t have to spend your rewards on travel, but the credit cards companies give big incentives for you to do so. Take Chase Sapphire Preferred, for example. You get 25% more value from your points when you redeem them for travel.

No foreign transaction fees.

Very few travel cards will charge you extra for using your card abroad or with foreign merchants online. But you should check your cardholder agreement just to be sure.

There may be booking restrictions.

Some travel cards, like Capital One Venture, pride themselves on rewarding you equally for any type of travel, no matter where you book it. But other cards, especially airline or hotel cards, may only give travel-specific rewards rates if you book directly through the issuer.

You may need at least good credit.

Travel rewards cards are typically available only to people with good or excellent credit. You should shoot for a credit score of 700+ for cards that require good credit and 750+ for excellent credit.

You’ll often get travel insurance & other perks.

Travel insurance is a big plus. Some cards will cover you for trip cancellation, delays or accidents. Many travel credit cards still offer rental car insurance, too, though many regular credit cards have dropped that benefit. Certain cards, generally those with annual fees, also give you a yearly credit toward airline or travel purchases. You may even get other perks like free airport lounge access and the ability to transfer your points or miles to hotel and airline loyalty programs.

So if you travel frequently, getting a travel credit card is a good idea. After all, you might as well get rewarded for trips you’d go on anyway.