We’ve had a Capital One Venture X card for nearly two years now, and as I approach my cardholder anniversary, I want to make sure that I have utilized all the benefits that come with it. One such benefit that the Venture X card from Capital One offers is an annual $300 travel credit.
Many banks offer travel credits to their customers, but these benefits can vary based on how easy they are to use. For example, Chase’s credit on the Sapphire Reserve is considered the easiest to use, while AMEX’s Air Travel Credit is the most difficult. Capital One’s benefit falls somewhere in between. With Capital One, you can receive a $300 credit that can be used for airfare, hotels, or rental cars. However, it’s important to note that you need to book your travel through Capital One Travel to be eligible for the credit.
The Capital One travel portal isn’t bad and is similar to many online travel agencies, which isn’t surprising as the website is powered by Hopper. I’ve booked hotels with Capital One Travel but their prices were higher than I could find on my own. Flights are a better deal, as you’ll find similar prices to the airline websites and you’ll still get miles for your trip.
I had booked everything for an upcoming trip through Capital One Travel, except for a rental car. I didn’t book it earlier because the Capital One portal doesn’t allow adding a frequent renter number to the reservation. As a result, you have to wait in the rental car line at the airport instead of going directly to the lot. This can significantly increase the travel time depending on the airport.
In addition, you have to go through the dance of denying the CDW, pre-paid fuel, Sirius XM radio, and whatever upgrades they try to sell at the counter.
I had no other option but to use my expiring $300 credit, and renting a car seemed like the best way to utilize it. Though I had to pay a little extra compared to what I would have paid using my corporate code with Hertz, I didn’t want to lose my $300 credit that was due to expire. Even though there are other ways to spend the credit, I preferred to use it properly instead of risking any issues with the bank.
I rented a car from Sixt Car Rental. We’ve used them before and were satisfied with the experience. In addition, they’re a lesser-known company so I’m betting there won’t be a long line at the airport counter.
Shortly after confirming my rental on Capital One Travel, I received an email from Capital One with my rental information. In addition, I received an email from Sixt asking for my rental information.
I decided to take a chance and went to Sixt’s website. I logged into my account, which still has Platinum status thanks to our World Elite MasterCard. I entered the rental information from Capital One Travel and the rental showed up on my account.
I’m not expecting any upgrades for a booking through Capital One but it was nice to see that Sixt was able to find the reservation in their system. I can also take advantage of Mobile Check-In to save time at the airport counter.
This might be a one-off situation when dealing with Sixt instead of a company like Dollar or Alamo. It was still a nice surprise to add my frequent renter number to my reservation.
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