topic Re: ventureOne (cap 1) in Credit Cards

ventureOne (cap 1)

Imua — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 20:03:20 GMT

i am contemplating responding to an offer i received in the mail to apply for the VentureOne card (10k bonus miles for $1k spend within first 3 months, o% APR on purchases until Feb 2014).

anyone with experience with this card ? good, bad, so-so...

Re: ventureOne (cap 1)

asteroidblues86 — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 20:10:45 GMT

For me the best part of the card is that the miles post immediately. You don't have to wait for your statement to cut. The worst part of the card is that if you redeem for travel you have to have enough points to cover the entire charge. You can't use your available points and then pay the difference.

Re: ventureOne (cap 1)

Imua — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 20:12:53 GMT

@asteroidblues86 wrote:
For me the best part of the card is that the miles post immediately. You don't have to wait for your statement to cut. The worst part of the card is that if you redeem for travel you have to have enough points to cover the entire charge. You can't use your available points and then pay the difference.

thanks!

Re: ventureOne (cap 1)

Anonymous — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 20:59:50 GMT

If you want the card for the long-haul. It seems like the no-AF Cash Rewards would have a slight edge. It gets 1.5% vs. the 1.25% on the VentureOne and you don't have to redeem on travel purchases.

The only caveats are that you have to wait a year for the annual .5% bonus (flat 1% until then) and you must have "excellent" credit to qualify for the no-AF version (otherwise $39 a year).

Re: ventureOne (cap 1)

Anonymous — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 21:09:53 GMT

And if you can still get the 2% Priceline Visa from Barclays (no AF), that is a much better alternative, 2% on everything and can use on non-travel expenses

Edit: here is the link https://www.pricelinevisa.com/

This is for the long-term. It doesn't have the 0% APR intro

Re: ventureOne (cap 1)

Anonymous — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 21:09:47 GMT

Since it seems appropriate, I will also include a plug here for one of my own cards: The BofA Travel Rewards card:

1.5% back on all purchases (no waiting), 3% for booking travel through BofA, no AF, no FTF, comes with EMV chip for overseas travel, redeem points for travel purchases in increments of $25.

/endplug

Re: ventureOne (cap 1)

Open123 — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 21:16:24 GMT

Right, the Barclays 2%, Fid Amex 2%, PenFed 5%, and B of A non forex EMV for 1.5% are all better options.

The *only* case where Venture is the best is if you have a large amount of non-forex spending that is not travel or dining related.

Re: ventureOne (cap 1)

Imua — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 21:17:34 GMT

Thanks for all the input.

Decided to wander out of the garden and go ahead and apply for the VentureOne - instant approval for $10k

for cash rewards i already have BofA cash rewards and chase freedom

Re: ventureOne (cap 1)

asteroidblues86 — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 21:26:37 GMT

congrats!

Re: ventureOne (cap 1)

Open123 — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 21:34:44 GMT

Nice CL!

Re: ventureOne (cap 1)

Anonymous — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 21:36:33 GMT

@Open123 wrote:
Right, the Barclays 2%, Fid Amex 2%, PenFed 5%, and B of A non forex EMV for 1.5% are all better options.

The *only* case where Venture is the best is if you have a large amount of non-forex spending that is not travel or dining related.

Isn't it forex spending where Venture may win? Domestically, the 2% cards equal it, but they have Forex fees.

Re: ventureOne (cap 1)

Open123 — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 21:38:49 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Open123 wrote:
Right, the Barclays 2%, Fid Amex 2%, PenFed 5%, and B of A non forex EMV for 1.5% are all better options.

The *only* case where Venture is the best is if you have a large amount of non-forex spending that is not travel or dining related.
Isn't it forex spending where Venture may win? Domestically, the 2% cards equal it, but they have Forex fees.

Yes, I meant high level of "forex" spending to utilize the Venture's "non forex" feature. Not well written on my part with too many double negatives. My old English tutor must be cringing as we speak!

Re: ventureOne (cap 1)

Gunnar419 — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 21:44:07 GMT

@asteroidblues86 wrote:
For me the best part of the card is that the miles post immediately. You don't have to wait for your statement to cut. The worst part of the card is that if you redeem for travel you have to have enough points to cover the entire charge. You can't use your available points and then pay the difference.

+1 to what asteroid said. That was very annoying and was never clearly disclosed in their terms or covered in any of the reviews I read before getting the card.

Also, if you use the rewards for anything other than paying for an entire travel related purchase, you get only half their value (though to the good side, there are a lot of options for using them; it's just that all those options cut the supposed value of the rewards in half).

I was happy with the card at first because CapOne gave me my first right out of the gate $10k CL (I had one other that I took years to get). But since I don't travel much and don't regularly spend enough ever to earn enough points to pay off a full airfare or most other travel expenses, I'm mostly SDing the card.

It IS nice that it has no AF and no foreign exchange fees, though. So I'll hang on to it for any international travel I might do someday.

Re: ventureOne (cap 1)

tennisfan78 — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 21:45:24 GMT

Congrats!

Re: ventureOne (cap 1)

Gunnar419 — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 21:45:27 GMT

@Imua wrote:
Thanks for all the input.
Decided to wander out of the garden and go ahead and apply for the VentureOne - instant approval for $10k
for cash rewards i already have BofA cash rewards and chase freedom

Oh, I see my other comment came too late. Well, never mind. Isn't that a grand approval?

Re: ventureOne (cap 1)

Open123 — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 21:49:39 GMT

@Gunnar419 wrote:
It IS nice that it has no AF and no foreign exchange fees, though. So I'll hang on to it for any international travel I might do someday.

For this, I think the B of A Travel Rewards with EMV chip is best in class. No forex and 1.5% on all spending redeemable for travel statement credit.

Re: ventureOne (cap 1)

asteroidblues86 — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 22:06:17 GMT

@Gunnar419 wrote:
@asteroidblues86 wrote:
For me the best part of the card is that the miles post immediately. You don't have to wait for your statement to cut. The worst part of the card is that if you redeem for travel you have to have enough points to cover the entire charge. You can't use your available points and then pay the difference.
+1 to what asteroid said. That was very annoying and was never clearly disclosed in their terms or covered in any of the reviews I read before getting the card.

The first time I called to redeem my miles for a statement credit and I did not have enough miles the CSR was very nice and understanding. He made an exception redeeming all of my miles for a statement credit at full value because I was not made aware of that problem.

Re: ventureOne (cap 1)

Anonymous — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 22:10:53 GMT

i got my cap one when i was traveling abroad and then i was upgraded to venture one one day..always escaped FTF

Re: ventureOne (cap 1)

asteroidblues86 — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 22:20:25 GMT

@Gunnar419 wrote:

Also, if you use the rewards for anything other than paying for an entire travel related purchase, you get only half their value (though to the good side, there are a lot of options for using them; it's just that all those options cut the supposed value of the rewards in half).

The gift card redemptions aren't bad. You can redeem 2,500 miles for a $25 gift card, 5,000 miles for $50, and 10,000 for $100. But yeah you're correct. Statement credits and checks cut the rewards in half!

Re: ventureOne (cap 1)

Anonymous — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 22:32:32 GMT

@Open123 wrote:
@Gunnar419 wrote:
It IS nice that it has no AF and no foreign exchange fees, though. So I'll hang on to it for any international travel I might do someday.
For this, I think the B of A Travel Rewards with EMV chip is best in class. No forex and 1.5% on all spending redeemable for travel statement credit.

Yes, but I was delighted to get 3% back at UK supermarkets with the EMV Penfed, so I guess it's still "Choose the appropriate card for the spend."