Originally Posted by lkar

I just got the venture one card because of the 100k point promo. I admit it's pretty darned flexible. It's basically a 2 percent cash back card, for someone that has a lot of travel, and as others have noted, you're double dipping because you get the miles on the flight.

I think a concrete example helps, at least it helps me. Say you need a ticket for a 4,000 mile flight that costs $1,000. With the Venture card, you'd need to have had $50,000 in spending to get that flight for free. So, to get a comparison, ask yourself what you'd get with $50,000 in spend on another card. For a card that gives 1:1 miles, this would be 50,000 frequent flier miles in a particular program. I think most here would value 50k miles in their favorite frequent flier program as worth $1,000. But when you redeem those miles for a ticket, you generally don't get frequent flier miles for the trip. So, in this example, using the capital one venture card gets you an additional 4,000 miles (plus whatever bonus you get in your airline if you have status), which count as equity qualifying miles too. In addition, and this is relatively minor, don't forget that when you purchased the $1,000 ticket, you got another 2,000 points on your venture one card. In other words, you're getting miles even for the expenses that you're paying with points. That's pretty good and something that doesn't happen when you use miles for the same trip. Also, if you're preferred on an airline that does status upgrades, you can upgrade on a ticket you bought with the cap one card and paid for in points, because as far as the airline is concerned, it's a revenue ticket. If you just use miles for coach, you usually can't get a status upgrade.

The conclusion for me is that I need to feel I'm getting in excess of 2 miles per $1 spend -- and maybe closer to 2.5 cents -- in order to justify using a rewards card different from the venture one card. Another advantage to the venture one card is that other cards are tied to some specific program. Even the very flexibile cards, like the MR Amex and the Starwood Card, do not allow you to transfer to every airline. Capital one permits you to redeem for any travel expenses, not just airfare and is very flexible. Also, if you do not think you'll be spending enough to get enough miles on an airline for a reward, the venture card is still useable because even a $50 expense can be paid for with a $2500 spend/5,000 points.

Advantages to other cards is that often you can do better than 2:1. For example, many cards have 2x or 3x points for certain types of spending. If you do lots of that type of spending, those cards would be better. Also, some cards give additional travel benefits for reaching certain spend levels -- for example, the SPG Amex gives you gold status if you meet a certain spend. Some cards give you free baggage or priority boarding. Some cards give you preferred miles for spending requirements.

But I think the main decision is whether you can do better than getting 2.5 cents of value out of your miles. I prefer the SPG Amex for most spending. First, points transfer to most of the airlines that I like at a rate of 1.25:1. Second, I find SPG points very beneficial for both stays and miles. And, I can usually do better than 2.5/1. All that said, the venutre one card is not to be overlooked and certainly can make an awful lot of sense.