Background:
Capital One has their own Travel Portal and it is available to customers with a US-issued, eligible Capital One credit card. Eligible cards include:
- Venture X
- Venture
- VentureOne
- Spark Miles
- Spark Miles Select
- Capital One Walmart Rewards
On this portal, you can book flights, hotels and rental cars. It is operated by Hopper, who is known for their popular travel app that predicts future flight and hotel prices and notifies you when there’s a deal.
I got the Venture X Card!
So, I recently got the Capital One Venture X Card, and with it I get a statement credit for up to $300 in purchases made via Capital One Travel each year. Additionally, with the card earning structure, I earn 5x miles on flights and 10x miles on hotels and rental cars.
Using the $300 Travel Credit:
On a recent trip to Downtown Los Angeles, I was comparing rates from the Capital One Travel Portal and booking directly with hotels. I noticed that the Capital One Travel Portal had pretty substantial discounts for Marriott properties to my surprise.
How the Capital One Travel Portal Looks
On the Marriott website, the Sheraton Grand was going for $230 for my dates, but I used the Capital One Travel Portal and found the Sheraton Grand at $170 for the night. $60 in savings was definitely worth it to forgo points and not book directly with Marriott in my opinion. With the Capital One Venture X Card, I got 10x points for the booking, and got to also use the annual travel credit! I was also considering trying the JW Marriott Los Angeles, which was also over $60 cheaper on the Capital One Travel Platform than the Marriott website.
I had a solid stay at the Sheraton Grand Los Angeles. At check-in, I did ask to get my Marriott Bonvoy Number added, and the front desk was happy to thank me for my Gold Elite status and proactively offer me a 2pm late checkout as well as a city-view upgrade. But of course, no elite night credit or points were earned during my stay.
Sheraton Grand Los Angeles Lobby
The Verdict:
Overall, I was surprised to see such substantial discounts for hotels via the Capital One Travel Portal. That makes the $300 annual benefit even more attractive, and helps to offset that $395 annual fee. So far, a good start to my experience with my first Capital One card.
Have you used the Capital One Travel Portal before? What were your thoughts? Comment below!
Cheers,
Ty
Have any questions? Comment below or email me at takeofftotravel@gmail.com. I’ve also started working with a travel agency, Fora Travel, and can assist in booking hotel stays or planning trips. You can also view all my other posts here! Thanks for stopping by!
