UPDATES:
  • You can now track the progress of your Capital One Venture X Credit Card $300 travel statement credit. 
  • Some card members are targeted for $100 off any hotel booking via the Capital One Travel site. You can stack this with the annual $300 travel credit. See below.

Capital One Venture X Credit Card
offers an annual $300 travel statement credit. This benefit lowers the card's annual fee from $395 to only $95. 
 
There are a few things to know about how the Venture X card's $300 travel credit works and how you can earn extra Capital One mile and save money on top of that travel credit.

How to Use and Maximize Capital One Venture X Card's $300 Travel Credit in 2021
Photo Credit: Capital One Travel
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    How Capital One Venture X Card's $300 Travel Credit Works

    First of all, it helps to understand how the $300 Capital One travel credit works:
    • Enrollment for this travel credit benefit is not required. 
    • You will receive up to $300 travel credit in the form of statement credits after your qualifying purchases, and it is not a discount during travel bookings. 
    • The benefit is per account (card membership) anniversary year (when you open the card), not calendar year (Jan-Dec). 
    • You do not have to spend $300 at once, and it can be multiple trans, and you'll be reimbursed for each transaction until $300 is reached. 
    • You will receive the statement credits in your account within 1-7 business days after qualifying purchases. 
    • You must book through Capital One Travel to receive the travel credits. 
    • If you cancel your purchases, Capital One will take back the issued statement credit but will re-issue after your new qualifying travel purchases. 

    Capital One Travel $100 Discount Offer

    Capital One Travel portal targets some cardholders a $100 off any hotel booking through December 31, 2022, and you can stack this offer with the annual $300 travel statement credit on the Capital One Venture X Credit Card.

    This is a targeted offer, so hopefully, it will be available to more card members. The steps to see if your account is targeted:
    • Use your mobile phone to sign into https://travel.capitalone.com/
    • If your account is targeted, you should see a popup of the offer. See the screenshot below.

    How to Use and Maximize Capital One $300 Travel Statement Credit With the Venture X Credit Card
    Photo Credit: Capital One

    Use the Travel Credit and Earn 5X to 10X Bonus Capital One Miles on Travel Bookings.

    Your Capital One Venture X Credit Card earns quite impressive bonus miles per dollar spent on travel bookings through Capital One Travel:
    • You earn unlimited 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through the Capital One travel site.
    • You earn 5x miles on flights booked through the Capital One travel site. 


    Use the Travel Credit to Save Money With Hopper Through Capital One Travel

    If you are unfamiliar with Hopper, Capital One Travel integrates with the Hopper travel booking platform. It is an intelligent airfare search tool that can predict when you should book a flight with up to 95% accuracy. Hopper offers the following features through the Capital One Travel site:
    • Provides comprehensive airfare analysis and forecast so that you can decide whether to book now or wait until the price drops. 
    • Monitors price changes in real time. 
    • Shows you which dates the airfare are cheapest. See the screenshot below. 
    • Notifies you when the price changes when you set alerts to watch certain flights. 
    Hopper Airfare Prediction 95% Accurate

    By utilizing Hopper's features, you will get a clear picture of how airfare fluctuates over time, and thus you get to save money in return. This potentially gives your $300 Capital One travel credit more value for flight bookings. 

    But that's not all! Booking through Capital One Travel will also receive a price drop protection and a price match guarantee. 
    • If Capital One recommends you to "book now" based on the price prediction tool Hopper, Capital One will keep monitoring the flight price. If the price drops, Capital One will refund you up to the maximum amount specified when you booked. 
    • Within 24 hours of booking, if you find a better price for travel purchases through Capital One Travel, such as flights, hotels, or rental cars, Capital One will match that price and give you the difference once the claim is approved. 

    How to Use and Maximize Capital One $300 Travel Statement Credit With the Venture X Credit Card
    Capital One Hotels Price Match

    Here's how to book your flight with Hopper through the Capital One Travel portal site:
    • Go to the official Capital One Travel site. 
    • Sign in to your Capital One account on the top. 
    • Search for the flight. 
    • You'll be presented with price predictions and recommendations on buying the ticket immediately or waiting. You can also set alerts for the price watch. 
    • If you decide to book, ensure you pay with your Capital One Venture X Credit Card to use the $300 travel credit. 

    It is worth mentioning that you can earn frequent flyer miles when you book with Capital One Travel as you were to book directly with the airlines. Just make sure you provide your frequent flyer number when you make your booking. 

    Use the Travel Credit With the Combination of Capital One Rewards For Redemption

    You can redeem Capital One miles rewards for any trips you book there via the Capital One Travel site. Redeeming rewards plus cash options are also possible. When booking, you can use a combination of Capital One rewards and your Capital One travel credit on your Venture X credit card.

    Remember that Capital One miles can be worth much more when transferring them to loyalty programs. With the Capital One Venture X Credit Card, you earn unlimited 2x bonus miles on all non-bonus category purchases making these flexible earning Capital One rewards very valuable. But everyone's situation is different, so if you are going to redeem Capital One miles plus cash for any trip booked through Capital One Travel, be sure to pay the cash portion with your Venture X credit card to use up the $300 travel statement credits. 

    Use the Travel Credit For Hotels

    Capital One Travel offers more than just flights, and you can also use the $300 Capital One travel credit for hotel bookings through the Capital One travel site. 

    Booking hotels through Capital One is considered a third-party or online travel agency (OTA)'s booking. Therefore you will not earn any hotel points or have your hotel's elite status recognized. However, from time to time, you may find yourself in a destination that does not have the main hotel chains that offer rewards programs, so it may make sense to book an independently-owned hotel or resort and use up your $300 Capital One travel credits, or you simply just want to save $300 on accommodations and use that $300 for other things to enjoy on your vacation!

    Use the Travel Credit For Rental Cars

    In addition to flight and hotel bookings, Capital One Travel also offers rental car bookings. 

    From my few sample searches, booking rental cars via the Capital One Travel site also offers a free cancellation policy. However, you must pre-pay for the rental charges immediately instead of at the car rental agency. This is fine because you need to have the charge posted to your Capital One Venture X Credit Card through the Capital One Travel site to receive the $300 travel credit. 

    If you decide to cancel the reservation later on within the cancellation window, you will receive a refund back. 

    What Happens to Travel Cancellations and Refunds?

    Suppose you receive the Capital One travel credits, and later you have to cancel that credited travel purchase. In that case, Capital One clarifies that the issued statement credits will be removed from your account, but they can be issued again. See below:

    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. Your Venture X card account must be open and in good standing at the time of statement credit fulfillment.

    How to Keep Track of Capital One Venture X $300 Travel Credit?

    Capital One allows you to track your progress towards the Capital One Venture X Credit Card $300 travel statement credit and let you know when the benefit renews. To do so:
    • Log into your Capital One account online. 
    • Click on the View Rewards. 
    • Click on the Benefits.
    • Click on the Annual Travel Credit.
    • A popup shows your $300 travel statement credit progress, including when the benefit renews. See the screenshot below.

    How to Use and Maximize Capital One $300 Travel Statement Credit With the Venture X Credit Card
    Photo Credit: Capital One