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The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is a popular travel rewards card that offers a limited-time signup bonus of $250 Capital One Travel Credit, plus the ability to earn 75,000 miles (after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months), at least 2x miles on all purchases, multiple benefits, and no foreign transaction fees!
According to Capital One, the average credit score of approved applicants for the Venture Rewards card is 738. This means that you’ll need a credit score of at least 700 to have a good chance of being approved. However, there are other factors that Capital One considers when approving applicants, such as your income and your credit history.
If you’re not sure if you have a good enough credit score to be approved for the Venture Rewards card, you can check your credit score for free. Here’s how hard it is to get the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card.
How Hard Is It to Get the Capital One Venture Rewards Card?
If you’re approved for the Venture Rewards card, you’ll be able to earn 2x miles on all purchases, which includes travel, dining, and shopping. You’ll also earn 5x miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. These miles can be redeemed for travel expenses, gift cards, or merchandise.
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is a great option for travelers who want to earn rewards on their everyday purchases. However, it’s important to have a good credit score in order to be approved for the card.
It shouldn’t be hard to get approved for the Capital One Venture. A good credit score is one of the Capital One Venture credit score requirements needed for approval.
Capital One recommends having “excellent credit” before applying for the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. There are a few different definitions for what exactly is excellent.
What Counts As Excellent Credit
Basic Capital One guidelines for excellent credit include:
- Never declaring bankruptcy or defaulting on a loan
- Not 60+ days late on any credit card, medical bill, or loan in the last year
- Had a loan or credit card for 3 or more years with a minimum $5,000 credit limit
A previous bankruptcy or loan default doesn’t instantly disqualify you from getting the Venture Card. But, these events usually stay on your credit report for up to seven years. You may need to wait for the event to fall off your credit history before your score returns to the mid-700s.
The most basic definition is having a 750 credit score (Venture Rewards is one of the best credit cards for a 750 credit score). In most cases, you won’t have a recent bankruptcy or default and still have excellent credit. This score is in the lower range of what the credit bureaus consider excellent credit.
What happens if your credit score is lower than 750 or you’ve declared bankruptcy before? You can still have good approval odds with a score below 750. Although beerknurd doesn’t mention their credit score at the time of approval, they state: “I am less than 2 years post Chapter 7 bankruptcy and was approved for a 10k limit” as of April 10, 2019.
Capital One Venture Requirements: Qualify With a Good Credit Score
Our research shows that you have high approval odds for the Capital One Venture with a 700 credit score. Some current Venture Rewards owners were approved with a credit score in the high 600s.
Creditsoldier on October 1, 2018, reports having a 691 credit score and being approved for a $6,000 credit limit.
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is a Mastercard® product. This means the lowest possible credit limit is $5,000. Having a score closer to 750 or above means you are more likely to get a credit limit that’s at least $10,000.
95cabover has this to say about their Venture Card application (from September 14, 2018): “I’ve been with Capital One for 10 years. They were the only company to give me a card after my BQ in 08. Today I’m 10 years removed from the BQ, my FICO is 782, Transunion is 760, Equifax 789, (and have an) annual income of $150k….once again Capital One is happy to do business with me with a Venture card with a $20k limit!.”
If your score is below 750, you will have better approval odds if you are a current Capital One customer (check out some of the best Capital One credit card options for ideas). Having a higher annual income or owning an existing credit card for several years will be helpful in meeting the Capital One Venture requirements.
Capital One Application Rules
Maybe you are undecided between the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card vs Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, two highly sought-after travel credit cards (compare the Chase Sapphire Preferred vs Capital One Venture for more details). Before you try for either, make sure you don’t have too many new credit cards.
Both Capital One and Chase have their own specific churning rules. Even with near-perfect credit, too many new credit card accounts mean automatic rejection. Keep in mind that no bank publishes its exact approval formula. The information below is gathered from data points provided by people sharing their credit card application history.
Although Chase has a variety of options when it comes to credit cards, Chase’s “5/24 rule” is the most well-known policy. It might be the main reason you’re considering the Venture Card. If you have opened or named an authorized user for 5 or more credit cards in the last 24 months, Chase will most likely decline your application.
Capital One Rules
Capital One seems to be more flexible. It appears Capital One has a 1/6 rule where you can’t apply for more than 1 Capital One credit card within a 6-month period. Even if your first Capital One card is a business credit card, applicants report their personal card application is declined if they don’t wait six months.
It’s usually a good idea to wait at least 3 and 6 months before applying for your next credit card. If you’re unsure how many applications you have, you can easily get your free credit report.
Another option is to see if Capital One lets you prequalify for the Capital One Venture Rewards. Prequalification doesn’t guarantee you will be approved. If Capital One denies your credit application, applicants report the failed application doesn’t show as a hard inquiry on their credit report. This means your credit score shouldn’t drop several points as a temporary penalty.
Applying for the Capital One Venture
If your credit score is at least 670 and you haven’t applied for another Capital One credit card in the last 6 months, your approvals should be very high.
You can try for the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card online. In most cases, you will receive an instant decision.
Capital One will pull your report from all three credit bureaus—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. If you currently have a credit freeze with any of these bureaus, unfreeze your credit so you don’t jeopardize your approval odds.
Note that if you are a previous Venture Card owner, you may or may night qualify for a repeat signup bonus. Capital One only states, “The bonus may not be available for existing or previous account holders.” If you fall into this boat, it can be a good idea to contact Capital One before you apply to verify you can earn the bonus.
Is the Capital One Venture Worth it?
You can redeem your Capital One miles for travel statement credits or booking upcoming trips on the Orbitz-powered booking portal. Another redemption option is the ability to transfer Capital One miles to air and hotel travel partners, including JetBlue, Air France, and Singapore Airlines.
There are also new 1:1 transfer partners and Capital One airport lounges to enjoy.
For a limited time, new Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card cardholders can earn 75,000 miles once they spend $4,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening, plus they’ll receive a one-time $250 Capital One Travel credit their first cardholder year. Earning the entire bonus is equal to $1,000 in travel!
Having over 70k+ Capital One miles can be worth even more when you transfer them out to a Capital One Airlines partner.
Note there is a $95 annual fee.
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
If you’d prefer a card with a bit more to offer and plan to travel often, you might consider the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card instead. It earns:
- 10x miles on hotel and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- 5x miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel
- 2x miles on all remaining purchases
It also includes an annual $300 travel credit for bookings through Capital One Travel, airport lounge access, and 10,000 bonus miles on each card anniversary. Plus, enjoy a fee credit of up to $100 for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.
You can redeem miles for travel statement credits, travel through Capital One Travel, and airline and hotel mile transfers.
Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel, with the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card.
However, there is a $395 annual fee, which can be easily offset if you can use the perks.
Is the Capital One Venture a Good Card?
In conclusion, the Capital One Venture is a great card for those looking for a valuable everyday card and who like to travel. It’s possible to get the Capital One Venture with a credit score in the mid-600s. But, you may need to be a current Capital One member or have a high income to be approved with fair or good credit. For the best approval odds, you may wait until your score is at least 750. You should also get a higher credit limit, making it easier to keep your credit utilization ratio low.
$250 Capital One Travel Credit + the ability to earn 75,000 bonus miles: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Premium benefits: Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Related Articles:
- The Best Contactless Credit Cards for Your Wallet
- Can You Receive a Capital One Venture Bonus Twice?
- 9 Best Credit Cards for Excellent Credit
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All three bureau scores at 800+ with about $300k in available credit lines spread over 15 credit cards, including a Sapphire Reserve, some with $30k lines of credit and an overall 1% utilization rate (never carry a balance.) About to close on a cash-out refi for a new pool, yet… DENIED the Venture by Capital One!!! Tough crowd.
And the hard inquiry appears to have cost me an 11-12 point drop on each bureau. Ouch!
Bummer!
Just know that Capital One will very likely deny you, even (especially?) if you do have great credit, and even if you’re an existing customer. They will also pull all three major credit bureaus.
I was just approved for a Capitol One Venture card, with a $4,000 limit. My credit score – I believe it is the FICO 8, is 658. I already had a Capitol One Quick Silver, and a Capitol One Master Card – both with $500 limits. I have been using those and paying them off faithfully for a couple of years now, so maybe that is why I was approved with a lower credit score? Anyway, Credit Karma said my approval odds were very good for the Venture card so I went for it. Glad I did. Such a good feeling when you’ve worked hard to rebuild credit!
Awesome! Nice job!
my mom has an 800 fico – 10 years on the job- homeowner – less than $3000 in credit card debt (forgot to payoff a bill prior to statement) has probably $50000 in available credit throughout all cards – no missed payments etc. after reviewing in depth what card would better suit her (cap one venture or chase sapphire) we went with cap one – i was expecting a minimum of a $10k limit and they gave her the minimum of $5k – very disappointed as she has several large purchases she’s expecting and was going to payoff right away and cant even put them on the card – if they didnt have the good intro bonus we’d be rejecting their approval and closing the card out- ive always known cap one is stingy but 800 fico and u give a $5k limit thats kind of embarrassing
I have not personally had any issues with CapitalOne and getting approved for cards or limits. I recently got approved for the Venture Rewards card with a $30K limit; I had around a 780 credit score, $50K in total available credit across three cards, and salary of $100K. I’ve previously had a VentureOne card for three years that had a $14.5K limit but I stopped receiving credit limit increases so I went for the next one up.
I just applied three days ago & was approved for $20,000. I have a long standing credit history of 15+ yrs all while maintaining on average at minimum a 825 score, no late payments ets & have a $700 balance on one card. I honestly only expected them to give me maybe $5,000-$10,000 since currently my highest card was $10,000 & I currently have a regular card through them with a $500 limit that I only use about once a year because of the low limit. I requested a limit increase three different times & was never approved! I don’t understand their logic but I’m very happy I’m getting this card with amazing perks!