Capital One SavorOne.... should I pair it with Venture X ?? Anyone tried this tempting combo?

[OmarGB9]

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@dangerously_caffeinated wrote:

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@Live4Fishing wrote:

I'm currently in the Chase Ecosystem.. and I'm seriously thinking of adding the Capital One ecosystem to complement my portfolio of cards.  And I can't seem to find a reason NOT to take the plunge.  In fact... if it goes well I'd even downgrade my Chase CSR card to the CSP.  The Venture X is also a Visa Infinite card with all the great travel protections we all love tha the CSR has.    Anyone else gone down this route yet ?  Would love some feedback from my Fico Forums community.

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Hey there! I currently have a SavorOne and will be adding a Venture X as my travel card when my 6 months are up. If you decide to do this as you know, the reward structure is pretty great for effectively $5 paid to you a year.  That being said, iif you do apply - Redacted cause bad

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Discussion of freezing reports to force lenders to pull others/only pull certain ones is not allowed on MyFICO. 

[UncleB]

Yep, we can't chat about selective bureau freezes on myFICO.  Thanks for the reminder, @OmarGB9. 

--UB

[quikj9]

@Aim_High Fantastic write up. I think there are really only a couple points worth clarifying.

It is possible to combine rewards between Cap1 cash back and Venture cards. It's a one way conversion from the cash back to the Venture cards, but pooling of points is possible and easily accomplished on the website. 

Assuming that one is always using transfer partners, the boost in Chase's travel portal becomes a moot point. The 3X points that the Savor One earns on dining can also be considered a 6% return on spend, given the ability to get at least 2cpp. The same goes for groceries, entertainment and streaming. 

That's why I think the pairing is such a powerful combo. The uplift that the Venture X provides the Savor One lies in the ability to leverage Capital One's transfer partners, now that almost all of them transfer at 1:1.

[NRB525]

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@quikj9 wrote:

@Aim_High Fantastic write up. I think there are really only a couple points worth clarifying.

It is possible to combine rewards between Cap1 cash back and Venture cards. It's a one way conversion from the cash back to the Venture cards, but pooling of points is possible and easily accomplished on the website. 

Assuming that one is always using transfer partners, the boost in Chase's travel portal becomes a moot point. The 3X points that the Savor One earns on dining can also be considered a 6% return on spend, given the ability to get at least 2cpp. The same goes for groceries, entertainment and streaming. 

That's why I think the pairing is such a powerful combo. The uplift that the Venture X provides the Savor One lies in the ability to leverage Capital One's transfer partners, now that almost all of them transfer at 1:1.

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I would be interested to see where you are getting a minimum 2cpp on airline points, where the flight is not involving two layovers and a red- eye ibut is ( preferred ) a non-stop in daylight hours between the same origin and final destination.  

[NoMoreE46]

My Ven X is an Infinite fwiw.  I have a few weeks to decide whether not to keep it before the $395 annual fee kicks in…

I also have the Savor and this is my first or second card with the most swipes/inserts/taps.

Capital One app is very friendly and easy to use.

[dangerously_caffeinated]

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@quikj9 wrote:

Assuming that one is always using transfer partners, the boost in Chase's travel portal becomes a moot point. The 3X points that the Savor One earns on dining can also be considered a 6% return on spend, given the ability to get at least 2cpp. The same goes for groceries, entertainment and streaming. 

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@quikj9 Can you provide insight into this? Am I missing something? For example, I make $100 dining purchase with the SavorOne. 3% of 100 is $3. I then transfer that $3 to the Venture X, wouldn't that account for 30 miles? Or would it be 60 miles? Does it still give you 2 cents pp after the purchase has been made on another card and you transfer that over to the Venture X?

[quikj9]

@NRB525 

Just looked into flying round-trip and non stop from LAX - FRA at the end of Feb on LH. 

In First, that would cost 200,000 Aeroplan pts (which is a Cap1 transfer partner) or $10,282. That would value each point at 5.1cpp. 

In Business, that would cost 140,000 Aeroplan pts or $4,276. That values each point at 3.1cpp. 

Perhaps, I should have been more clear, but I was hoping to highlight the ability to get similar value by leveraging Cap1's transfer partners as one could get with Chase's transfer partners. Travel Portals don't net the greatest value per point. Transfer partners and one's ability to utilize them advantageously yields the greatest return on spend, in my opinion. I'm not claiming that the floor is 2cpp, just as the floor is not 2cpp with URs. 

@dangerously_caffeinated You have a $100 dinner. Paying with your Savor One yields a 3% return of $3, as you mentioned. Those $3 are transferred to the Venture X as 300 "miles"(which are really points). If you used those 300 "miles" in the business class redemption above, you'd be getting 3.1cpp with your miles worth $9. Meaning that the value of those points would be an effective 9% return on your spend. 

[wasCB14]

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@quikj9 wrote:

@NRB525 

Just looked into flying round-trip and non stop from LAX - FRA at the end of Feb on LH. 

In First, that would cost 200,000 Aeroplan pts (which is a Cap1 transfer partner) or $10,282. That would value each point at 5.1cpp. 

In Business, that would cost 140,000 Aeroplan pts or $4,276. That values each point at 3.1cpp. 

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But would you actually buy that $10,282 ticket with cash if you lacked the miles?

I measure point value in terms of first deciding what I want to do, and then comparing the point cost to the  lesser of (the actual cash price, the cash price I would be willing to pay).

[quikj9]

@wasCB14 Not necessarily, but I could pay less and still end up with a value above 2cpp.

I also value these things differently. I see points as a way to take trips I wouldn't otherwise take or have experiences that I might not be willing to pay for with cash. That's why I don't use points for domestic travel. Instead I buy those fares, acquire status and save my points for international premium cabins. Can I drop 10k on a flight to Japan in a premium cabin? Perhaps, but I'd rather transfer MRs to ANA and pay for the trip that way. 

If people are paying the normal fare that I would have had to pay, then the published value is what the trip is worth to me. 

[wasCB14]

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@quikj9 wrote:

@wasCB14 Not necessarily, but I could pay less and still end up with a value above 2cpp.

I also value these things differently. I see points as a way to take trips I wouldn't otherwise take or have experiences that I might not be willing to pay for with cash. That's why I don't use points for domestic travel. Instead I buy those fares, acquire status and save my points for international premium cabins. Can I drop 10k on a flight to Japan in a premium cabin? Perhaps, but I'd rather transfer MRs to ANA and pay for the trip that way. 

If people are paying the normal fare that I would have had to pay, then the published value is what the trip is worth to me. 

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But people have different utility functions. A healthy college student on a tight budget will generally be willing to pay less for a first class plane ticket than a frail, wealthy octogenarian.

And in the case of first-class plane tickets, what people are actually paying varies. Some travel using employer/client funds, some pay with miles, and some will get upgrades due to elite status. Not all are using their own cash.