Capital One’s Journey portal, launched in 2021, has considerably improved since its beta launch. It now permits Capital One cardholders, together with these with cash-back playing cards, to instantly use their rewards for journey purchases. The portal additionally options up to date flight search capabilities and the issuer’s resort packages: the Premier Assortment and the Way of life Assortment.
On this information, we’ll cowl all it’s worthwhile to know in regards to the Capital One Journey portal.
What’s the Capital One Journey portal?
Many bank card issuers supply journey portals the place cardholders can guide journey with factors and earn bonus rewards on paid bookings. The Capital One portal is analogous, providing bonus miles on lodges, rental vehicles and typically flights — although the incomes price varies relying on which card you maintain. Or you possibly can pay for journey by means of the portal along with your Capital One miles at a price of 1 cent per mile.
The Capital One portal differentiates itself by integrating expertise from Hopper, a trusted app for predicting the bottom costs for flights and lodges. The portal provides a number of free customer-friendly options like value alerts, value matching and value drop safety, in addition to paid add-on options like value freeze safety, flight disruption help and cancel-for-any-reason (CFAR) protection (extra on these in a bit).
This is an inventory of some prime Capital One playing cards that provide entry to Capital One Journey:
You may entry the portal by means of this hyperlink.
Associated: What I’ve discovered from a number of automotive leases with the Capital One Journey portal
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How you can guide flights by means of the Capital One Journey portal
To guide airfare utilizing the Capital One Journey portal, log into your account and click on the “Flights” tab.
In case your dates are versatile, you possibly can reap the benefits of Capital One’s useful calendar characteristic. It brings in Hopper’s acquainted color-coded interface, permitting you to see which dates supply the bottom costs in financial system class.
When you select your dates, you will see Capital One’s reserving suggestion and flight choices on the following display screen. You may then slender the parameters by:
- Fare class (cabin)
- Variety of stops
- Airline
- Departure or arrival time
- Worth
- Flight length
And you may kind your outcomes by:
- Beneficial
- Worth (low to excessive)
- Stops (least to most)
- Period (shortest to longest)
- Arrival time (earliest to newest)
- Departure time (earliest to newest)
There are a number of different attention-grabbing options price mentioning. Above all of the flight choices, you possibly can see the worth prediction software come into impact with clear messaging on whether or not or not it is a good time to guide. You may click on “View value prediction” to see when and by how a lot costs are predicted to fluctuate.
If the location’s algorithms advise you to guide, that may set off free value drop safety. In the event you guide now and the worth drops inside the subsequent 10 days, you will be refunded as much as $50 of the distinction as a future journey credit score. Or, in case you discover a higher value elsewhere inside 24 hours of reserving, you possibly can reap the benefits of Capital One’s value match assure to get the distinction within the type of a journey credit score.
In the event you’re not able to guide, you possibly can press “Watch this journey” to be notified by electronic mail when a greater value turns into out there. Sadly, this characteristic applies to the route and dates you have chosen, not a particular flight, airline or fare class — although you possibly can select to exclude fundamental financial system and connecting flights.
Or, if the worth is engaging however you want slightly extra time, you will have the choice to freeze it for a small price. While you click on “Freeze value,” you’ll select the precise flight you wish to freeze. It’s also possible to freeze the worth for wherever from 12 hours to 14 days. If the worth will increase in that timeframe, CapitalOne will cowl the distinction as much as $500. If the worth decreases, you will get to guide on the new, cheaper price.
Take note of the fare class when reserving flights, as facilities range tremendously between airways. For instance, United Airways doesn’t enable full-size carry-on luggage on fundamental financial system fares, however Delta Air Strains does. Moreover, cancellation insurance policies range throughout fare lessons.
Capital One has tried to standardize fare lessons throughout all airways on its platform, making it simpler for customers. When looking by means of Capital One Journey, you will see the next labels:
- Fundamental: The very best-priced choices with restrictive insurance policies and few facilities.
- Commonplace: Usually essential and financial system fares that embody facilities like carry-on luggage and seat choice.
- Enhanced: Seats with further legroom, precedence boarding and free drinks and snacks.
- Premium: Cradled or reclining seats that include precedence boarding and premium snacks and drinks.
- Luxurious: Usually enterprise or first-class fares that includes reclining seats, personalised providers, premium meals and precedence boarding.
While you click on on a specific fare class, a drop-down supplies an intensive overview of what to anticipate throughout your journey. This consists of detailed data on seat measurements, plane format and onboard facilities like energy retailers, recent meals choices and whether or not lounge entry is included. These complete particulars surpass what you usually discover on different journey portals and even when reserving instantly with airways.
The cost facet is fast and straightforward, too. When getting into traveler data, you’ll want to embody your frequent flyer quantity (so you will earn miles with the airline) and, if relevant, your Identified Traveler Quantity (as an example, your TSA PreCheck quantity).
As a holder of the Enterprise Rewards card (which is at the moment providing an elevated welcome bonus of 75,000 miles after spending $4,000 on purchases inside the first three months of account opening, plus a $250 Capital One Journey credit score within the first cardholder yr), I can apply my miles at a price of 1 cent every towards my flight. In the event you’d somewhat save your miles for later, press “Don’t apply my rewards.” You need to use your Capital One bank card to pay on your reservation as an alternative.
Word that whereas most Capital One playing cards solely earn bonus factors on lodges and rental vehicles booked by means of the portal, the Enterprise X card earns 5 miles per greenback spent on flights booked by means of the portal as properly.
While you try, you possibly can select so as to add flight disruption help (which features a speedy rebooking characteristic) or cancel-for-any-reason safety for an extra value. The price of these options varies, and you will have the choice to pay in money or miles.
Associated: Battle of the bank card journey portals: Which is one of the best for reserving flights?
How you can guide lodges by means of the Capital One Journey portal
There are fewer distinctive options when reserving your lodges by means of the Capital One Journey portal, however the course of is just like the one for flights detailed above. To discover a resort, head to the “Inns” tab and enter your vacation spot, dates and variety of vacationers.
You need to use the color-coded calendar to see which dates are most cost-effective. Some dates might not present a colour, however this doesn’t suggest they don’t seem to be out there — you possibly can nonetheless click on them.
After selecting your dates, you will see an inventory and map view of resort choices. You may filter your search by ranking, sure facilities or cancellation coverage, or click on “All Filters” to set a most value per evening or enter a particular property title. It’s also possible to kind the listings by really helpful, value (low to excessive) or star ranking (excessive to low).
The itemizing for every resort reveals the nightly value, in addition to the overall on your keep (together with taxes and costs) in each money and miles. Nonetheless, this value might change if you click on on the resort. As an illustration, the worth on the Warwick went down by over $100 once I clicked it. In the event you’re all for a resort, all the time click on it to double-check the worth. You will additionally be capable to see extra data on the resort and up to date buyer evaluations.
Then scroll all the way down to the “Select Room” part to see which room varieties can be found. You may see a room’s dimensions and facilities by clicking “View Particulars and Facilities.” Typically, every room may have a number of charges out there with completely different cancellation insurance policies.
The cost course of for reserving lodges is similar as for flights. You may redeem your Capital One miles for the journey or pay in money along with your Capital One card. The latter often is the higher choice right here, as a number of playing cards supply bonus rewards on lodges booked by means of Capital One Journey:
- Enterprise X and Enterprise X Enterprise: 10 miles per greenback spent
- Enterprise, VentureOne and Spark Miles: 5 miles per greenback spent
- SavorOne, Quicksilver and Spark Money Plus: 5% money again
Nonetheless, understand that in case you guide a resort in a significant loyalty program — like Marriott Bonvoy or Hilton Honors — by means of Capital One Journey, you doubtless will not obtain resort factors or get pleasure from any elite standing perks. That is as a result of Capital One Journey is basically an on-line journey company.
Some cardholders have entry to Capital One Journey’s boutique resort collections. The Premier Assortment, which is offered to Enterprise X and Enterprise X Enterprise cardholders, consists of advantages like an on-property expertise credit score of as much as $100, day by day breakfast for 2 individuals and complimentary Wi-Fi. The Way of life Assortment is offered to a broader group, together with members with the Enterprise X, Enterprise X Enterprise, Enterprise Rewards or Spark Miles playing cards.
Now that Capital One has added trip leases to each collections, cardholders may have much more choices for incomes and redeeming miles.
Associated: A comparability of luxurious resort packages from bank card issuers: Amex, Capital One, Chase and Citi
How you can guide rental vehicles by means of the Capital One Journey portal
The method for reserving rental vehicles is easy. Begin by clicking “Rental Vehicles” on the prime and getting into your search standards.
You will obtain an inventory of choices that may be filtered by automotive kind, value per day, rental automotive firm and different specs. Not like with lodges and flights, there is not any choice to kind the outcomes — however they are going to mechanically be proven from lowest to highest value.
You may then reserve the automotive after a number of clicks utilizing both money or miles. Earlier than reserving, scroll all the way down to see extra data on the pickup and drop-off location, the cancellation coverage and different particulars.
With some businesses — Hertz, Thrifty and Greenback — you possibly can add your rental automotive rewards quantity to the reserving and sure benefit from the related advantages. The choice so as to add your loyalty quantity usually will not seem for different corporations.
That is notably interesting for Enterprise X cardholders, as you possibly can earn 10 miles per greenback spent on rental automotive bookings and nonetheless benefit from the complimentary Hertz President’s Circle standing* that is included on the cardboard — though this perk is slated to be discontinued on the finish of this yr.
Word that these automotive leases earn rewards on the similar price as lodges booked by means of Capital One Journey:
- Enterprise X and Enterprise X Enterprise: 10 miles per greenback spent
- Enterprise, VentureOne and Spark Miles: 5 miles per greenback spent
- SavorOne, Quicksilver and Spark Money Plus: 5% money again
*Upon enrollment eligible cardholders will keep Hertz President’s Circle standing by means of Dec. 31, 2024. Please notice that enrolling by means of the traditional Hertz Gold Plus Rewards enrollment course of (e.g., at Hertz.com) is not going to mechanically detect a cardholder as being eligible for this system, and cardholders is not going to be mechanically upgraded to the relevant standing tier. Further phrases apply.
Associated: Stacking rental automotive perks with Hertz and the Enterprise X
Additional issues to think about in regards to the Capital One Journey portal
Capital One Journey packs a punch for cardholders, however there are a number of further issues to recollect.
First, take into account checking different platforms like Google Flights for higher costs or alternate routings earlier than reserving by means of Capital One. Bank card portals typically have larger costs and do not all the time present all out there flight choices, so be sure to’re not paying extra for a similar itinerary. And if it’s worthwhile to change your flight, reserving your ticket instantly with the airline is commonly simpler.
In the event you’re planning to use your Enterprise miles or Spark miles at a price of 1 cent apiece, it’s best to all the time guide instantly with the journey supplier (whether or not it is an airline, resort or automotive rental firm) and use the miles to cowl that buy. Keep in mind, you possibly can offset the money value of journey purchases by redeeming your Capital One miles at a set worth. This ensures you get all the advantages of reserving instantly whereas utilizing your rewards at precisely the identical redemption worth.
Additionally, with over 15 switch companions, Capital One provides a variety of choices for transferring your miles at a 1:1 ratio. Earlier than reserving by means of the portal, examine costs towards the award charges of Capital One’s switch companions. As an illustration, a $150 United Airways flight will value 15,000 Capital One miles by means of the portal, otherwise you may be capable to get the identical flight for simply 7,500 Avianca LifeMiles (plus minimal taxes and costs). On this occasion, it makes extra sense to switch your Capital One miles to LifeMiles and guide by means of Avianca.
As famous, resort and automotive rental reservations by means of Capital One Journey doubtless will not be eligible for perks in a given loyalty program. If elite standing is necessary to you, it is advisable to guide instantly with main chain lodges and most automotive leases. Nonetheless, in case you’re reserving independently owned lodges or elite standing is not a priority, the Capital One Journey portal could also be a greater choice.
Lastly, do not forget that Enterprise X cardholders get pleasure from $300 in annual credit for bookings made by way of Capital One Journey. Not like the $300 credit score on the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, the credit score solely applies to purchases made by means of Capital One’s journey portal. Consequently, even in case you’d somewhat guide flights, lodges or automotive leases instantly with journey suppliers, it’s best to nonetheless spend at the least $300 in your Enterprise X by means of Capital One Journey every year. And for a restricted time, the Enterprise Rewards card is providing a $250 Capital One Journey credit score within the first yr as a part of its elevated welcome bonus.
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Backside line
Capital One has made important developments within the journey house, together with improved switch companions, the introduction of a premium card and the opening of a number of airport lounges.
Capital One Journey provides a user-friendly interface for reserving flights, lodges and rental vehicles, with useful options like a color-coded fare calendar to assist it stand out. With its detailed pricing and fare class data and extra options like value freeze and value drop safety, it is particularly helpful for reserving flights. It’s also possible to earn bonus rewards for a lot of Capital One Journey purchases throughout many of the issuer’s card portfolio, making it a terrific choice as you propose upcoming journeys.