Capital One has quietly nerfed the annual $300 travel credit on the Venture X….. There was no prior announcement or forewarning. These unannounced devaluations always suck but it’s a part of the game. Let’s get into what exactly changed.
Change In Terms
This is what the old terms used to look like
The $300 statement credit will be provided as a single credit if the Capital One Travel purchase is greater than or equal to $300, or in multiple statement credits until the total Capital One Travel purchases are greater than or equal to $300. The credit will appear in your account within 1-7 business days, but it may take up to 2 billing cycles after purchase. If the credited Capital One Travel purchase is canceled, the statement credit may be removed from your account, though it can be reissued on any past or future Capital One Travel purchases up to $300.
And this is what the new terms look like. My emphasis in bold.
Annually, eligible Venture X primary account holders will receive a $300 Capital One Travel credit (“Credit”) to use toward purchases made through Capital One Travel. Each annual Credit will expire on the next account open date anniversary. The Credit will be available within Capital One Travel and can be applied to purchases at checkout. The Credit may be used in whole for a single purchase or in part over multiple purchases. Rewards will not be earned on the Credit. If the purchase using the Credit is canceled, the Credit will be restored if it is not expired. An expired Credit will not be restored upon cancellation.
Pretty different from each other and unfortunately, the new terms are a big devaluation of the credit. Here’s why.
The Travel Credit No Longer Earns Points
Previously, whatever travel purchases were made using this credit would also net you either 5x or 10x points depending on what the purchase was. If you used the full $300 on a hotel or rental car through the portal, you would get 3000 points and if you purchased a flight you would get 1500 points.
However, with this change you no longer get any points at all. This is similar to the Chase Sapphire Reserve’s annual $300 travel credit where purchases using this credit don’t earn any points.
Honestly it sucks to lose out on these free points but I can’t say I’m surprised since it was too good and this change makes the card more in line with what competitors like Chase are doing.
The Travel Credit No Longer Applies As Statement Credit
Previously, you would make a purchase using the travel credit and then be reimbursed in the form of statement credit later. Now, the travel credit applies directly at checkout as sort of an “instant discount”.
This change has pros and cons. The pro is that the statement credit reimbursement would sometimes take awhile to post. So having it apply immediately at purchase is a welcome sight.
The con that comes with this is that you can no longer “cash out” the credit by cancelling your original booking. Previously, you could purchase a hotel stay or flight ticket, receive the statement credit, then refund the purchase back to your card. This would allow you to essentially get a free $300 without having to make a qualifying travel purchase.
However, now it is clearly stated that you can no longer do this. Any cancellations will result in the credit being reinstated to your account. This sucks as well since you now are forced to use the portal each year to utilize the credits.
Conclusion
Overall, negative changes to the travel credit. The credit is no longer applied as statement credit but is now an instant discount and you can also no longer receive points for the credit purchase or cancel a booking and still receive the credit.
These aren’t the worst changes in the world but they do make the card less desirable and more annoying to use. Let me know how you guys feel about these changes!
