Everything you need to know about the Capital One travel portal
Editor's Note
Capital One's new travel portal, launched in 2021, has significantly improved since its beta release. It now allows Capital One credit cardholders, including those with the issuer's cash-back cards, to directly use their rewards for travel purchases. The portal also features updated flight search capabilities and the issuer's hotel programs: the Premier Collection and the Lifestyle Collection.
In this guide, we will explain what you need to know about the Capital One portal.
What is the Capital One travel portal?
Credit card issuers often provide bonus rewards when using their travel portals, but they can be frustrating due to poor customer service and user interfaces. However, Capital One differentiates itself by integrating technology from Hopper, a trusted app for predicting the lowest prices for flights and hotels. With access to vast amounts of data, Capital One claims a 95% accuracy rate in price predictions.
The portal also offers customer-friendly features like price drop protection, best price guarantee and price match with competitors. Suppose the portal advises you to book a flight. In that case, you will receive automatic price drop protection, ensuring a partial refund as a travel credit if the ticket price decreases within a specified time frame (generally up to $50 after booking).
Capital One has also addressed customer concerns by adding more support staff to reduce phone hold times. Three paid add-on features are available for users: cancel-for-any-reason (CFAR) coverage, price freeze protection and rapid rebooking.
CFAR coverage allows you to cancel your flight up to three hours before travel and receive back 70-90% of the ticket price. On the other hand, price freeze protection lets you pay a fee to lock in a price, protecting against sudden price increases. Rapid rebooking lets you select a same-day or next-day flight for up to $5,000 on any airline if your flight is delayed more than two hours or you risk not making your connection.
Here's a list of some top Capital One cards that offer access to Capital One Travel:
- Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
- Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
- Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card
- Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card
- Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card
- Capital One Spark Cash Plus
- Capital One Spark Miles for Business
You can access the portal through this link.
Related: Best Capital One credit cards
How to book flights through the Capital One travel portal
To book airfare using the Capital One travel portal, log into your account and hover over the "Flights" tab to search for one-way or round-trip flights. Enter your desired departure and arrival cities.
When selecting departure and return dates, it's not just a matter of merely selecting the convenient dates for you. Capital One brings in Hopper's familiar, color-coded interface, allowing you to see which dates offer the lowest prices in economy class.
You'll see Capital One's booking recommendation and flight options on the next screen.
From the results page, you can narrow the parameters by:
- Fare class (cabin)
- Stop
- Airline
- Time
- Price
Then, you can sort your results by:
- Recommended
- Price (low to high)
- Departure time (earliest to latest)
- Arrival time (earliest to latest)
- Stops (least to most)
- Duration (shortest to longest)
There are a few other interesting features worth mentioning. Above all the options, you can see the price prediction tool come into effect with clear messaging on whether or not it's a good time to book.
If the site's algorithms advise you to book, that will trigger free price drop protection. You'll get back up to $50 of the difference as a future travel credit if you book now and the price drops in the specified time period (10 days in the above example).
If you're not ready, you can press "Watch This Trip" to receive emails about the best time to book whenever better prices become available. Unfortunately, this feature applies to the route and date, not the specific flight(s) you want to watch — though you can exclude basic economy and connecting flights.
Pay attention to the fare class when booking flights. Basic economy differs between airlines. For example, United Airlines does not allow full-size carry-on bags, but Delta Air Lines does. Additionally, cancellation policies vary across fare classes.
Capital One has tried to standardize fare classes across all airlines on its platform, making it easier for users. When searching through Capital One Travel, you'll see the following labels:
- Basic: The best-priced options are often basic fares with restrictive policies and few amenities.
- Standard: Typically, main and economy fares include amenities like carry-on bags and seat selection.
- Enhanced: These fares include more legroom, priority boarding, and free beverages and snacks.
- Premium: These fares include cradled or reclined seats, priority boarding, and premium snacks and beverages.
- Luxury: These fares feature reclined seats with personalized services and premium meals. Priority boarding is also included.
After selecting your desired flight, Capital One Travel provides an extensive overview of what to expect during your journey. This includes detailed information on seat measurements, aircraft layout and onboard amenities like power outlets, fresh food options and whether lounge access is included. These comprehensive details surpass what you typically find on other travel portals or even when booking directly with airlines.
The payment side is quick and easy too. Enter the traveler information, with fields for frequent flyer numbers and Known Traveler Numbers (for instance, your TSA PreCheck number).
As a holder of the Capital One Venture card, I can apply my miles at a rate of 1 cent each toward the purchase. However, if you want to save your miles for later, press "Do not apply my rewards." You can use your credit card to pay for your reservation instead.
Note that the Capital One Venture X card offers 5 miles per dollar spent on flights booked through Capital One Travel.
Other options available in the booking process include purchasing the abovementioned add-ons: CFAR and price freeze. The price for these features will vary, depending on factors like your trip cost, how far in advance you're booking, whether the price is rated as "low" or "high," and other elements.
Related: Everything you need to know about Capital One's new rapid rebooking feature
How to book hotels through the Capital One travel portal
There are fewer distinctive features when booking your hotels through the Capital One travel portal, but the process is similar to the above.
To find a hotel, hover over the "Hotels" tab on the landing page and enter your destination, dates and number of travelers. Unlike flight bookings, there is no color-coded calendar for prices.
You'll then see a list and map format with various options. Filter your search by rating and price per night. Sort the listings by recommended, price (low to high) or star rating (high to low).
If your city has Premier Collection hotels, those options will appear toward the top. These hotels include benefits like an on-property "experience credit" of up to $100, daily breakfast for two people and complimentary Wi-Fi. Access is limited to those with premium credit cards from Capital One: Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card and Capital One Venture X Business (a business credit card formerly known as the Spark Travel Elite card).
If you click "All filters," you can sort by the amenities that matter to you or even look up specific properties.
While the search features are more limited than booking flights, you'll get a detailed description of each hotel and can find out about amenities, rates, location and cancellation policy.
The payment process for booking hotels is the same as for flights. You can redeem your Capital One miles for the trip or pay with your card.
Paying with your card may be the better option here, as multiple cards offer bonuses on hotels booked through Capital One Travel:
- Venture X: 10 miles per dollar spent
- Venture, VentureOne and Spark Miles: 5 miles per dollar spent
- SavorOne, Quicksilver and Spark Cash Plus: 5% cash back
However, if you book hotels in a major loyalty program — like Marriott Bonvoy or Hilton Honors — through Capital One Travel, you likely won't receive points. You also won't enjoy any elite status perks.
Related: The best hotels in San Francisco for a golden getaway
How to book rental cars through the Capital One travel portal
The process for rental cars is straightforward. Click "Car Rentals" at the top and enter your search criteria. You'll receive a list of options that can be filtered by car type, price per day, rental car company and specifications.
You can then reserve the car in a few clicks, with clear information about pick-up and drop-off.
With some rental car agencies — Hertz, Thrifty and Dollar — you can add your rewards number to the booking and likely enjoy the associated benefits. The option to add your loyalty number generally won't appear for other companies.
This is particularly appealing for Venture X cardholders, as you can earn 10 miles per dollar spent on rental car bookings and still enjoy the complimentary Hertz President's Circle status* that's included on the card.
Note that these car rentals earn rewards at the same rate as hotels booked through Capital One Travel:
- Venture X: 10 miles per dollar spent
- Venture, VentureOne and Spark Miles: 5 miles per dollar spent
- SavorOne, Quicksilver and Spark Cash Plus: 5% cash back
*Upon enrollment eligible cardholders will maintain Hertz President's Circle status through Dec. 31, 2024. Please note, enrolling through the normal Hertz Gold Plus Rewards enrollment process (e.g., at Hertz.com) will not automatically detect a cardholder as being eligible for the program and cardholders will not be automatically upgraded to the applicable status tier. Additional terms apply.
Related: Stacking rental car perks with Hertz and the Venture X
Further things to consider about the Capital One travel portal
Capital One Travel packs a punch for cardholders, but there are a few additional things to remember.
First, consider checking alternative platforms like Google Flights for better prices or alternate routings before booking with Capital One. Credit card portals sometimes have higher prices and don't always show all available flight options. Be sure you're not paying more for the same itinerary.
Additionally, if you're planning on using your Venture miles or Spark miles at a rate of 1 cent apiece, you should always book directly with the travel provider (whether it's an airline, hotel or car rental company). Then, use the miles to cover that purchase. This ensures you get all of the benefits of booking directly while using your rewards at exactly the same redemption value.
Also, with 18 transfer partners, Capital One offers a range of options for transferring your miles at a 1:1 ratio. Before booking through the portal, compare prices against Capital One transfer programs. For instance, a $150 United flight can cost 15,000 Capital One miles through the portal or just 7,500 Avianca LifeMiles (plus minimal taxes and fees). In this instance, it makes more sense to transfer your Capital One miles to Avianca LifeMiles.
As noted, hotel and car rental reservations through Capital One Travel likely won't be eligible for perks in a given loyalty program. If your elite status is important, it's advisable to book directly with major chain hotels and most car rentals. However, if you're booking independently owned hotels or elite status isn't a concern, the Capital One travel portal may be a better option.
Finally, remember that Venture X cardholders enjoy $300 in annual credits for bookings made via Capital One Travel. Unlike the $300 credit on the Chase Sapphire Reserve, this only applies to purchases made through the portal. As a result, even if you'd rather book flights, hotels or car rentals directly with travel providers, you should still spend at least $300 on your Venture X through Capital One travel each year.
Related: 7 tips to help keep an airline from losing your luggage
Bottom line
Capital One has made significant advancements in the travel space, including improved transfer partners, the introduction of a premium card and the opening of its flagship lounge in Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW).
The Capital One travel portal offers a user-friendly interface. With its detailed pricing and fare class information, you might consider especially using it for flight bookings. Additional features like CFAR coverage, price drop protection, rapid rebooking and price freeze add value for cardholders.
You can also earn bonus rewards for many Capital One Travel purchases across most of the issuer's card portfolio, making it a great option as you plan upcoming trips.
Additional reporting by Stella Shon.