Capital One VentureOne Rewards

VentureOne is the entry point to Capital One miles: 1.25x on every purchase with no annual fee and no foreign transaction fee, which makes it a low-commitment way to hold a miles balance and use it abroad. The 20,000 mile bonus needs only $500 of spend in the first three months, one of the easier thresholds around, and there are 15 months of 0% intro APR on purchases if you have something to finance. The tradeoff is the earn rate: 1.25x is well below the 2x on Capital One's fee-charging Venture cards, so this is the version you carry when you don't want to pay $95 rather than the one that maximizes miles. Only hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel break that pattern, at 5x. Note that the intro APR covers purchases only, not balance transfers, so it isn't a debt-payoff card.