Can I downgrade my Capital One Venture card?

You can easily redeem Capital One Venture miles through the Capital One website, mobile app or customer service phone line. That’s fairly standard. What’s unique is that you can redeem Capital One Venture miles either before a trip, to book your accommodations, or to pay for travel expenses after the fact. You can charge any type of travel to your Venture card and then use your miles to pay once the purchases post to your account. You can also redeem Venture miles for gift cards and other non-travel rewards, but you’ll get half the value if you do that.… read full answer

Capital One Venture’s redemption process is one of its major perks. But there definitely are some do’s and don’ts to be aware of if you want to get top dollar for your miles. So let’s take a closer look.

Here’s how to redeem Capital One Venture miles online:

1. Log into your account on Capital One’s website.
2. Click on your rewards balance.
3. Choose your redemption method. The options are: “Redeem travel purchases,” “Book a trip,” “Get gift cards,” “Get an account credit,” “Get a check by mail,” and “Transfer Rewards.”
4. Follow the instructions for the option you’ve chosen.

As you can see, there’s a lot of different ways to redeem Venture miles. And with 2 miles for every dollar spent, along with a 50,000-mile initial bonus, they’ll build up fast. It’s also useful to note that you can redeem through the Capital One app too. Just log in with the same user name and password, click “Redeem Rewards” at the bottom, and select one of the options.

Here are the options for redeeming Capital One Venture miles:

• Redeem travel purchases: 1 cent per mile
  Capital One shows you what travel expenses you’ve made in the past 90 days, and you can use your miles to “erase” some or all of the cost from your credit card statement.
• Book a trip: 1 cent per mile
  The Capital One travel booking tool is powered by Orbitz, so you should have access to most major airlines, hotels and rental car companies.
• Get gift cards: 0.5 cent per mile
  90 stores are represented, including Bed Bath & Beyond, Lowe’s, AMC and Best Buy. Gift cards for as little as $10 are available for many stores. But the denominations vary by store.
• Get cash back: 0.5 cent per mile
  You can get a deposit into your checking or savings account or receive a check by mail. You can also set up automatic cash redemption when you reach a certain number of miles.
• Transfer miles: Value depends on the partner
  If you have another Capital One Venture or other travel rewards credit card account, you may be able to transfer your rewards to it.

The most convenient part about redeeming Capital One Venture miles is that you don’t have to decide to use them before making a purchase. You can use the so-called purchase eraser to pay for any type of travel expense charged to your card in the last 90 days. Capital One isn’t stingy about what it considers travel, either. It includes everything from hotels, airlines and cruises to Airbnb and Uber. That flexibility, combined with Venture’s top-notch rewards value, makes it one of the best cards available to frequent travelers.

You can cancel a Capital One credit card online or by calling 1-800-227-4825. To cancel a Capital One card online, click “I Want To…” (near the top of the page when you sign in), then select “Close Account” from the account services menu. Over the phone, the Capital One representative will walk you through the process.… read full answer

But before you cancel a Capital One credit card, there are a few things you should know. You’ll still be responsible for repaying any balance you owe. You will continue to get statements and owe monthly payments until the entire balance is paid off. You’ll also lose any rewards you haven’t redeemed when you close your account. And canceling your card will likely cause a dip in your credit score, though exactly how much depends on the age and credit limit of the account.

Plus, you’re not going to get a partial refund for a card’s annual fee. So it’s best to enjoy the benefits until shortly before your next annual fee is due to be charged.

Here’s how to cancel a Capital One credit card:

• Online: Log in to your Capital One account. Click on “More Account Services” and then “Close Account.” Capital One will ask you to confirm that you want to cancel your account.
• By phone: Call Capital One at 1-800-227-4825. Enter your full card number to be connected to a representative. Tell them you want to cancel your Capital One credit card.

If you call to cancel your Capital One credit card, the representative will likely try to get you to stay. They may even try to lure you back in you with a retention offer, like bonus rewards or a lower rate.

Capital One says that once you cancel a credit card account, there are “very few exceptions” where they can reopen it.