Originally Posted by stonecali

I have read a number of reviews bashing Capital One and the "No Hassle Rewards" program, but few of them really spell out any true issues they have had with the Program vs. the bank itself. I was hoping to get more specific feedback on the negatives (and positives) of the No Hassle Program, as I am currently using the card heavily for business expenses that fall into one of the categories for which I earn 5 points per dollar.

To help shape the discussion (and I truly, honestly want folks to throw all of the legitimate negatives they can at me), I should say that I do all my credit card dealings online. I review statements, pay statements, confirm payments - pretty much everything online. I always pay off my balance at least once (and a couple times this year as many as four times) per month. The odds of returning anything I buy or initiating a chargeback are close to zero. One hassle I have noticed is they are really tight on their credit limits (I got $10K vs. $30-40K on other cards), and they take 7 days to process an online payment (unless you call and get them to lift the 7 day hold). But, I put these in the "minor inconvenience" category.

I am actually just curious about where folks' expectations of the No Hassle Rewards program have not matched what Capital One claims. On its surface, the program seems like a decent option when you can't find a saver fare on an itinerary you want, and the No Hassle rewards points supposedly also work for "free" cruises and rental cars. I know that they have the redemption table, and that often you are getting less then 1 penny per point redemption (ie 35,000 points for a $200 fair). But since you know the amount of the charge before you book, you could avoid those situations and hold onto your points for a better redemption utilization.

As an added bonus, since you are paying the airline/hotel/cruise line with a credit card (not an award ticket), you would get the added bonus of frequent flyer mile credit on that travel.

Of course, everything above is based on the program working in the way that I understand it to. In practice, is the actual utilization of the awards points not as easy as they claim it to be (since it seems like you just identify online the charge you want to use points on and the charge either disappears or a corresponding credit to your CC balance to zero out the travel charge).

Also, I know that many have been skeptical about point deflation, but I am curious if/when prior deflation to the program has occurred and what the net effect of this was. Since the No Hassle Rewards program is being pimped out pretty heavily everywhere lately, I think it could/would help alot of folks out there that are considering this card.

Thanks in advance for any insight, good or bad.