• Book a trip with miles through Capital One Travel (or use miles to get reimbursed for past travel purchases made elsewhere)
• Once you make a travel purchase with VentureOne, redeem your miles as a statement credit toward the cost
• Capital One cardholders get 50% off all handcrafted beverages everyday at any Capital One Café
• Pay for Amazon.com purchases using your Capital One rewards
• Free Hertz Five Star® Status (with status upgrade at select locations)

When it comes to Capital One Miles, the best way to maximize your miles is to redeem them with travel.

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[.dontreco] We don’t recommend: Turning your Capital One Miles into cash [.dontreco]

With a Capital One rewards card, you earn cash back or miles on every dollar you spend. The amount you earn varies based on the card and how you use it. However, this method simply doesn’t give you the best value.

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[.sometimesreco] We sometimes recommend: Booking through Capital One’s portal [.sometimesreco]

Booking travel through Capital One lets you redeem miles at 1 cent each, but you won't earn extra rewards or elite perks. It's better to book directly and then use your miles to cover the cost.

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[.alwaysreco] We always recommend: Redeeming your miles for travel [.alwaysreco]

The bottom line is — if a flight or hotel room can be bought with cash, you can use your miles to book it. You can redeem your miles at 1 cent each for travel purchases made in the last 90 days on your card. And, there's no minimum amount needed. This means you could redeem for airlines, hotels, rail lines, car rentals, limousines, buses, cruises, taxis, travel agents, and more — literally anything in your wildest dreams! Taking advantage of this is what makes the VentureOne card (and other Capital One cards) so freaking awesome. By redeeming your miles for travel, you’ll absolutely maximize their value.

1. The Credit Card Newbie

If you’re just getting started with travel rewards, this is the perfect entry point. It’s simple to use, you can redeem miles for past travel purchases, and there’s no annual fee to worry about. Not to mention, you'll have access to Capital One's travel partners, which is a pretty sweet list.
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2. The Budget Traveler

Travel often, but don’t want to pay hundreds a year for a premium card? The VentureOne lets you earn and redeem travel rewards for no fee. And, if you're traveling abroad, this card also has zero foreign transaction fees. So, it's a solid pick if you regularly plan trip out of the country and want to earn points on purchases globally.

If you want the biggest points back on your everyday spending (think 2x everywhere or more), or perks like airport lounges and statement credits, you might want to level up to the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card or a Sapphire card. This is a great starter, but it doesn't come with any glamrous travel perks.

A good to excellent credit score is recommended for the VentureOne card. But again, if you’re in a solid place with your credit and feel you are ready for a new card, don’t let the fear of being rejected keep you from applying. We’ve known several people to be rejected on their first application, use the reconsideration line, and be granted the card they applied for. The worst they can say is “no,” and more often than not, we’ve found these people want to help!