Is Capital One Venture Card Worth the $95 Annual Fee?

The card dishes out a bevy of premium perks. But is the modest annual fee worth it?

Many credit cards have no annual fee, so it takes some justification to make the decision to possess a card where you'll have to pay one. While the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card charges a $95 annual fee, it probably won't break the bank for most people. Still it's a good amount of scratch for a credit card. As you'll see it's quite a bargain in this case, as Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is packed with enough features to make our list of the best credit cards. Here's a few reasons why it qualified.

Big bonus for new cardmembers

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card offers a raft of bonuses and perks. New cardholders can earn 75,000 miles nearly right out of the gate. This bonus kicks in after the user spends $4,000 on the card within three months of approval. At a redemption value of $0.01 per mile, this equates to $750 in travel statement credits. It has to be noted, though, that for cash statement credit redemptions this card's rate ($0.005 per mile) is lower than what you'd get with a cash-back credit card.

No foreign transaction fees

Ugh. Nobody likes foreign transaction fees. These pesky fees can stick charges not only on purchases abroad, but on buys made in the U.S. from sellers located overseas. For obvious reasons foreign transaction fees are a real headache for credit card holders who like to travel -- Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card's target audience. The card has no foreign transaction fees at all, potentially saving a user hundreds or even thousands of dollars every year.

For example, a one-week vacation in Tokyo might cost somewhere around $3,500, given judicious budgeting. Since 3% is a more or less typical foreign transaction fee, that visitor would incur charges of $105. This alone exceeds the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card annual fee.

Final take

I'm stopping at only three features, because they're more than enough to justify the annual fee of Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. If a cardholder takes advantage of the sign-up bonus, that alone would pay for more than half a decade of annual fees. Even without that, the across-the-board 2x miles can quickly amass total miles to help defray travel expenses. At the end of the day, this is a card that earns nicely for those who enjoy at least a little travel, with earning and redemption rules that are refreshingly straightforward.