There’s a new sheriff in town, folks! The Capital One Venture just took the title of “best fixed-value credit card.”
Don’t know what fixed-value cards are? Then check out our beginner’s guide.
They are perfect for beginners because the points are easy to redeem, AND they allow you to make redemptions for purchases that might not otherwise count as “travel.” This includes Disney park tickets, trips to resorts (even those with an indoor waterpark), cruises, and so on.
Be sure to check out this list of 10 creative ways to use the card.
For quite some time now, other fixed value cards outperformed the COV. But after some changes in the last couple of weeks, the torch has been passed. The best fixed-value card right now is the Capital One Venture card. Here’s why…
Increased Early Spending Bonus
The Capital One Venture bonus has been 40,000 points, but it was just increased to 50,000 when you spend $3,000 in the first three months. Because you’ll earn 2 points per dollar spent, this means that the bonus is really worth a total of 56,000 points, which is valued at $560!
One important thing to note is that the annual fee changed, too. It used to be $59, but not the fee is $95. However, it’s still waived for the first year. Essentially, the bonus has increased by $100, and the fee increased by $36, so as you can see this is a very good deal in the first few years vs. the old offer.
Other Card Perks
Let’s talk more about why this card is so easy-to-use and great for certain types of travel:
- You can “erase” travel expenses by redeeming miles.
- This generic “travel” redemption gives you lots of flexibility and allows for using points in situations where you wouldn’t be able to otherwise.
- No minimum redemption. You can redeem for a $5 Uber ride if you want to.
- You can partially redeem expenses. (Example: redeem $100 from a $200 hotel stay). There is a minimum for partial redemptions of $25 (2,500 miles).
As you can see, there are lots of great perks here. Again, this is great for beginners, but it’s equally great for anyone whose plans involve general travel that can’t be redeemed with other point programs. For now, this is absolutely the top fixed-value card.
Don’t Totally Forget about Other Options
Right now, the Capital One Venture is hands down the best offer on a fixed value card. But that doesn’t mean you can’t use other strategies, too. For a long time, we’ve been recommending that large families in our Disney Program open the Capital One Venture and another fixed value card if they need points for more tickets. There aren’t many fixed value options available currently, so another one to consider is the Chase Sapphire Reserve, which gives an annual travel credit in addition to many other benefits. You can also earn the big cash back bonuses to offset your expenses.
But for now, the low-hanging fruit that we think most people should start with, in terms of fixed value, is the Capital One Venture.
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