Bank Of America^® Travel Rewards Credit Card vs. Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: Low Cost or More Benefits?

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is better than the Bank of America^® Travel Rewards credit card if you want more travel benefits. The Capital One Venture offers up to $100 application credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry, two free visits per year to Capital One and Plaza Premium lounges, and Hertz Five Star elite status.

But if you want to avoid the $95 annual fee on the Capital One Venture Rewards, choose the Bank of America Travel Rewards. It has a $0 annual fee and can make more sense if you occasionally travel and want to take advantage of an intro annual percentage rate (APR) bonus offer.

Explore the benefits of both cards to see which one suits you more in this Bank of America Travel Rewards vs. Capital One Venture comparison.

Bank of America Travel Rewards vs. Capital One Venture

Both the Bank of America Travel Rewards and Capital One Venture Rewards are travel credit cards that provide welcome offers and decent earning opportunities. But you’ll find differences between their fees, earning rates, redemption methods, and additional benefits.

	Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card	Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Card type	Travel	Travel
Credit card issuer	Bank of America	Capital One
Credit card network	Visa	Visa
Annual fee	$0	$95
Early spend bonus	Earn Earn 25,000 online bonus points after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening - that can be a $250 statement credit toward travel purchases	Earn a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening
Earning rate	1.5 points per $1 spent on all purchases	2X miles per dollar on every purchase, every day and 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
Redemption methods	Statement credits for travel and dining purchases Deposits into an eligible Bank of America checking or savings account Credits into an eligible Cash Management Account® with Merrill Gift cards Mailed checks	Capital One Travel Cover past travel purchases Statement credits Transfer partners Experiences via Capital One Entertainment and Dining PayPal Amazon Gift cards Mailed checks
Introductory APR	See Terms intro APR for 18 billing cycles on purchases (then See Terms) See Terms intro APR for 18 billing cycles for any qualifying balance transfers made in the first 60 days (then See Terms)	Doesn’t offer introductory APR
Travel perks	Trip cancellation/trip interruption insurance Trip delay reimbursement Auto rental collision damage waiver (secondary to your personal auto insurance in the U.S.) Roadside dispatch Lost luggage reimbursement Visa Signature concierge Travel and emergency assistance services	Up to $100 TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credit every four years 2 visits per year to Capital One or Plaza Premium lounges Hertz Five Star status Auto rental collision damage waiver (secondary to your personal auto insurance in the U.S.) Roadside dispatch Lost luggage reimbursement Travel accident insurance Visa Signature concierge Travel and emergency assistance services
Other benefits	Extended warranty protection	Extended warranty protection Purchase protection Capital One Entertainment Capital One Dining
Foreign transaction fee	None	None
Credit needed	Excellent, Good	Excellent, Good
	Learn more	Learn more

What both cards excel at

The Bank of America Travel Rewards and Capital One Venture Rewards have several similar benefits:

Both credit cards have no foreign transaction fees and use the Visa payment network to process transactions. These and other travel-related benefits make the Bank of America Travel Rewards and Capital One Venture excellent cards to have on hand for a trip, especially if you’re traveling abroad.

Visa credit cards are generally accepted in more places worldwide compared to American Express or Discover credit cards. You can use your Visa credit card in over 200 countries and territories.

You may find it useful that both credit cards have several travel-related redemption options. This includes the flexibility of making a travel purchase, such as a flight, cruise, or hotel stay, and then using your points or miles to cover that travel expense. This redemption strategy lets you avoid any potential blackout dates that airlines or hotels have for award bookings.

Not every travel card enables you to use this strategy, which makes it a unique benefit. But this benefit is better because you’re purchasing with your card. This means that you earn rewards before using your rewards to cover that purchase.

6 important differences between Bank of America Travel Rewards and Capital One Venture

There are six differences between the Bank of America Travel Rewards and Capital One Venture Card that help you decide which card is a better fit.

1. Annual fees

The Bank of America Travel Rewards has a $0 annual fee. In contrast, the Capital One Venture Rewards has a $95 annual fee.

A $0 annual fee credit card is often the better option if you’re new to credit card rewards and travel cards in particular. Having no fee makes it easier for you to learn how rewards cards work before potentially moving onto cards with more benefits and higher costs. This allows you to learn how to get enough value from a card to offset its annual fee.

Winner: Without considering other benefits, the Bank of America Travel Rewards wins this category because it has a $0 annual fee.

Learn more in our Bank of America Travel Rewards credit card review.

2. Rewards rates

The Bank of America Travel Rewards enables you to earn 1.5 points per $1 spent on all purchases. The Capital One Venture Rewards offers 2X miles per dollar on every purchase, every day and 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.

Considering that the redemption value for rewards on either card is generally the same, the Capital One Venture Rewards is the better card in this category for most people. It has a higher earning potential, which means more value.

Learn more in our Capital One Venture review.

While the Capital One Venture Rewards is the overall winner here, it should be noted that certain people might receive more earning potential with the Bank of America Travel Rewards.

This is because Bank of America cardholders can benefit from the Bank of America Preferred Rewards program. Preferred Rewards is free to join and provides between a 25% to 75% boost to your eligible credit card rewards. But you need two things to qualify:

1. An eligible Bank of America personal checking account
2. At least a three-month combined average daily balance of $20,000 or more in qualifying Bank of America deposit accounts and/or Merrill investment accounts

The Bank of America Travel Rewards is likely only better than the Capital One Venture Rewards for certain Preferred Rewards members who qualify for this boost.

Winner: Capital One Venture Rewards since it has a higher potential for earning rewards.

3. Statement credits

You can redeem points on the Bank of America Travel Rewards to receive a statement credit toward travel and dining purchases. You can do something nearly identical with the Capital One Venture Rewards, but you can only cover past travel purchases, not dining purchases.

Since you get the same value of one cent per point or mile on either card for these redemption options, the Bank of America Travel Rewards is the better choice here because it includes dining purchases. This additional redemption option gives you more flexibility with your rewards points, which can be useful if you don’t travel frequently.

Winner: Bank of America Travel Rewards since it enables you to use your points to receive a statement credit for purchases at restaurants, bars, and on takeout as well as travel purchases.

4. Transfer partners

Using your points or miles for travel-related redemptions typically provides the most value on either card.

This gives the Capital One Venture Rewards an edge since it has a travel redemption option that’s unavailable on the Bank of America Travel Rewards. This option is transferring miles to travel partners.

Capital One has over a dozen transfer partners, including British Airways, Air Canada, and Wyndham. Let’s look at an example of how a transfer partner may provide more value.

Here’s a flight from Salt Lake City, Utah (SLC) to Phoenix, Arizona (PHX) for $110 on American Airlines.

American Airlines isn’t a transfer partner of Capital One. But you can book American Airlines flights using Avios, the rewards currency for British Airways, which is a Capital One transfer partner.

It costs 7,500 Avios + $5.60 in taxes and fees for the same flight.

Subtracting the tax from the original cash value ($110 - $5.60 = $104.4) and dividing by the point value ($104.4 / 7,500 = $0.0139) shows that you would receive nearly 1.4 cents per mile for this redemption. This is much better than the one cent per mile for redeeming through the Capital One Travel portal or covering a past travel purchase.

Since Bank of America doesn’t have transfer partners, the Capital One Venture Rewards wins this round.

Winner: Capital One Venture Rewards since it offers the opportunity to transfer your miles to airline and hotel partners.

5. Intro APR offers

The Bank of America Travel Rewards provides these intro APR offers:

• On purchases: See Terms intro APR for 18 billing cycles on purchases (then See Terms)
• On qualifying balance transfers: See Terms intro APR for 18 billing cycles for any qualifying balance transfers made in the first 60 days (then See Terms)

Travel credit cards don’t typically offer intro APR, which is why you won’t find any on the Capital One Venture Rewards.

Winner: Bank of America Travel Rewards, as it offers intro APR on purchases and qualifying balance transfers.

6. Travel perks

The Bank of America Travel Rewards and Capital One Venture Rewards provide these travel benefits:

In our opinion, the Capital One Venture Rewards has better travel benefits. We think so because frequent travelers are more likely to get direct value from benefits such as TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credit, complimentary lounge visits, and Hertz Five Star elite status.

The Bank of America Travel Rewards has trip cancellation and interruption insurance, as well as trip delay reimbursement — which can definitely come in handy. But you’re unlikely to use these benefits on every trip.

Winner: Capital One Venture Rewards since it offers travel benefits that may benefit you more often.

Which card should you choose?

You should choose the Capital One Venture Rewards if:

• You’re a frequent traveler and can take advantage of this card’s benefits
• You’re going to benefit from this card’s higher earning rate and potentially offset its annual fee

The Capital One Venture Rewards gives you several travel benefits. This includes up to $100 TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credit, two complimentary visits per year to Capital One or Plaza Premium lounges, and Hertz Five Star elite status.

The TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credit can immediately offset the $95 annual fee for the first year.

Keep in mind that this credit is available once every four years. If you’re worried about getting value after the first year, consider the higher standard earning rate of the Capital One Venture Rewards compared to the Bank of America Travel Rewards.

The Capital One Venture Rewards offers at least 2X miles on every purchase, every day. The Bank of America Travel Rewards offers 1.5 points per $1 spent on all purchases. Rewards on both credit cards are equal to at least one cent per point if redeemed for travel.

So if you spend $20,000 in a year on everyday expenses, you may earn at least:

In this example, the Capital One Venture Rewards provides more value than the Bank of America Travel Rewards even after accounting for the $95 annual fee.

On the other hand, you should choose the Bank of America Travel Rewards if:

• You prefer a $0 annual fee
• You want an intro APR offer
• You qualify for a rewards boost from the Bank of America Preferred Rewards program

The Bank of America Travel Rewards has a $0 annual fee that frees you from having to justify paying an annual fee. The Travel Rewards card offers a See Terms intro APR for 18 billing cycles on purchases (then See Terms). It also offers See Terms intro APR for 18 billing cycles for any qualifying balance transfers made in the first 60 days on balance transfers (then See Terms).

The Bank of America Travel Rewards also has a few benefits you won’t find on the Capital One Venture Rewards. These benefits include trip cancellation and interruption insurance and trip delay reimbursement.

You can also take advantage of the Preferred Rewards program, which may boost your rewards earnings by up to 75%. Qualifying for the greatest boost can increase the points you earn after spending $20,000 to 52,500 points, valued at $525 toward travel.

FAQs

Bottom line

The Capital One Venture Rewards is the better overall card for frequent travelers since you can transfer points to airline and hotel partners. You can also get elevated perks, including up to $100 TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credit every four years, Hertz Five Star elite status, and two free visits per year to Priority Pass or Plaza Premium lounges.

However, the Bank of America Travel Rewards has a $0 annual fee and allows you to bump up its rewards rate through the Preferred Rewards program. You also get a few travel benefits over the Venture Rewards, including trip cancellation or trip interruption insurance and trip delay reimbursement.

In addition to these two cards, you can also explore our dedicated page to compare credit cards and learn more about available credit card offers.

Great travel rewards with no annual fee

Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card

Benefits

Card Details

• Earn 25,000 online bonus points after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening - that can be a $250 statement credit toward travel purchases
• Earn 1.5 points per $1 spent on all purchases
• Longer intro APR on qualifying purchases and balance transfers
• No foreign transaction fees
• Apply Now

• Earn unlimited 1.5 points per $1 spent on all purchases, with no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees and your points don't expire.
• 25,000 online bonus points after you make at least $1,000 in purchases in the first 90 days of account opening - that can be a $250 statement credit toward travel purchases.
• Use your card to book your trip how and where you want - you're not limited to specific websites with blackout dates or restrictions.
• Redeem points for a statement credit to pay for travel or dining purchases, such as flights, hotel stays, car and vacation rentals, baggage fees, and also at restaurants including takeout.
• If you're a Preferred Rewards member, you can earn 25%-75% more points on every purchase. That means instead of earning an unlimited 1.5 points for every $1, you could earn 1.87-2.62 points for every $1 you spend on purchases.
• Contactless Cards - The security of a chip card, with the convenience of a tap.
• This online only offer may not be available if you leave this page or if you visit a Bank of America financial center. You can take advantage of this offer when you apply now.

Apply Now

on Bank of America’s secure website

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Intro APR

See Terms

Annual Fee

$0

+

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Why we like it

• Lucrative welcome offer 
• Easy-to-earn points you can redeem for travel
• $0 annual fee
• Apply Now

Author Details

Ben Walker, CEPF Ben Walker, CEPF, is a credit cards and travel writer at FinanceBuzz who loves helping others achieve their travel goals through financially sound decisions. For over a decade, he has been using credit card points and miles for the sole purpose of traveling the world. Ben is a Certified Educator of Personal Finance and has been featured in The Washington Post, MSN, Debt.com, and Finder.com.

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