This credit card can help you save on your next road trip

With international travel largely restricted, road trips have gained new popularity during the coronavirus pandemic.

More Americans are taking to the road to visit national parks, explore new cities, and discover other destinations across the country. However, road trips can still be expensive: you'll need to budget for gas (or electric vehicle charging), accommodations like hotels or Airbnbs, tolls, and other travel-related costs that can quickly accumulate on longer journeys. If you're looking to cut down on these expenses, consider using the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card.

This card allows you to offset most travel costs with Capital One miles, making it an excellent option for reducing the expenses of your road trips. Additionally, you can transfer your miles to three hotel partners: Accor, Choice (available later this year), and Wyndham.

In this article, we'll explain how to leverage the Capital One Venture card to finance your next road trip. We'll begin with a brief overview of the card, followed by details on the expenses you can cover using your miles. By the conclusion of this article, you'll have a comprehensive understanding of how to utilize your Capital One miles during road trips.

The Capital One Venture card

Recognized as one of TPG's top travel credit cards, the Capital One Venture card is also a favorite of Brian Kelly from Dinogo. It earns 2x miles for every dollar spent, making it an excellent choice for everyday purchases. You can use these miles to offset travel costs or transfer them to hotel and airline partners. Depending on the partner, transfers can occur at ratios of 1:1, 2:1.5, or 2:1. Recently, Capital One has added several new transfer partners as well.

Alternatively, you can redeem miles for paid travel expenses or gift cards at a rate of 1 cent per mile.

This card comes without foreign transaction fees, provides a credit for application fees for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck (up to $100), and has a modest annual fee of $95, among other benefits. Additionally, you can earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 within the first three months of opening your account. This bonus is valued between $750 and $1,388 when used for paid travel, according to TPG valuations (not provided by the issuer), but you can achieve even greater value by transferring Capital One miles to its partners.

Overall, the Capital One Venture card stands out as a reliable, straightforward travel card. There are no bonus categories to manage, giving you complete freedom in how you redeem your rewards.

Funding a road trip with the Capital One Venture card

Thanks to its flexibility, there are numerous creative ways to use your Capital One miles to cover typical road trip expenses. Here's a brief overview of your options.

Use Capital One miles to cover hotel costs

You can utilize Capital One miles to cover any hotel, Airbnb, or similar accommodation. Simply book your stay and use your miles to offset the cost at a rate of 1 cent per mile. For instance, if a one-night stay at the JW Marriott Chicago costs $248 after taxes, you would need 24,800 miles to cover that expense, leaving you with nothing to pay out of pocket.

We suggest booking directly with hotels to earn points or enjoy elite status benefits during your visit. Alternatively, consider using platforms like Hotels.com or Rocketmiles to earn rewards, but be sure to compare prices with direct bookings. Regardless, as long as the purchase qualifies as travel, you can use Capital One miles to cover your accommodation.

Transfer to Wyndham Rewards or Choice Privileges for high-cost stays

Planning to book a Wyndham hotel? You can transfer your Capital One miles to Wyndham Rewards at a 1:1 ratio. This is a great option for booking pricier Wyndham hotels, as you might achieve a better redemption value using Wyndham's award chart. The hotel chain has three redemption tiers costing 7,500, 15,000, and 30,000 points per night. Generally, it's advisable to only transfer miles to Wyndham for hotels that cost more points if you have already booked a cash stay and paid with Capital One miles directly.

For instance, a night at the Wyndham Santa Monica — At The Pier can be around $460 during certain holiday weekends. This means you would need to use 46,000 Capital One miles if you paid with your Capital One Venture card and opted to cover the expense with miles. Conversely, you can transfer 30,000 miles to obtain 30,000 Wyndham Rewards points to book the same hotel. This approach saves you 16,000 Capital One miles while ensuring you still pay nothing out of pocket for the stay.

Later this year, Capital One will also add Choice Privileges as a transfer partner. In certain situations, it might be more beneficial to transfer points for costly hotel stays rather than offsetting a charge. However, always compare the cash payment price (along with using miles) before deciding to transfer miles.

Use miles to pay for rental cars

You can utilize Capital One miles to secure your next rental car. Make your reservation through the Capital One travel portal or directly with the rental agency.

If you want to earn rental car loyalty points, booking directly is essential. Similar to hotels, loyalty points and elite status perks are only available when reserving directly with the rental car company. Fortunately, using miles to cover these expenses is straightforward—simply book as usual and then apply your miles to offset the cost within 90 days of the purchase.

Additionally, the Capital One Venture card provides a rental car collision damage waiver* for all rentals charged to your card. While this isn't primary coverage like what the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card offers, it serves as primary coverage if you lack your own car insurance.

To benefit from this, just pay for your rental using your Capital One Venture card and decline the damage waiver offered by the rental company. If any damage occurs to the rental car, you'll be reimbursed for any associated charges. Just be sure that the vehicle you rent is not on the prohibited list, which includes luxury vehicles, camper vans, and others.

Apply miles to cover parking fees and tolls

This option can be unpredictable, but many major tolls and parking fees are categorized as travel expenses. For instance, my monthly parking in New York is coded this way. If you're willing to take the chance, charge these road trip costs to your Capital One Venture card and check how they are classified. If they are coded as travel, you can utilize your Capital One miles to offset these charges, making it a smart way to minimize small expenses while driving.

If you're parking at a hotel, add your parking fees to your room charge. This approach allows you to earn hotel points on your parking fee and ensures that you can use Capital One miles to pay for it. The parking charge will be included in your hotel bill, allowing you to use your Capital One miles to "erase" the room rate, parking, and any other expenses charged to your room.

Similarly, the parking reservation app SpotHero typically categorizes parking fees as travel purchases. The app provides excellent parking deals in cities across the U.S. and allows you to use Capital One miles to cover your parking costs during your road trip.

Utilize roadside assistance if you encounter any issues

Cardholders of the Capital One Venture card can access roadside assistance. Whether you're using your personal vehicle or a rental, if you encounter any issues, simply call the number located on the back of your card to reach Capital One's roadside assistance team.

Most services come with a flat fee, and at just $69.95 per incident, it's often much cheaper than contacting a random towing service. The assistance includes towing, fuel delivery, tire changes, and standard winching. Enrollment in this benefit is not required.

Bottom line

The Capital One Venture card stands out as one of the most versatile travel credit cards available. For those planning road trips, it allows you to use your miles for expenses ranging from rental cars to Airbnb accommodations. This feature can make your upcoming road trip much more budget-friendly, so think about applying for the card before you hit the road. Drive safely!

For the Capital One products mentioned on this page, some of the benefits listed are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may differ by product. Please refer to the specific Guide to Benefits for further details, as terms and exclusions may apply.