Discover it^® Miles vs. Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card [2024]: Key Differences

Discover it Miles vs. Capital One Venture

Both the Discover it Miles and the Capital One Venture Rewards Card provide a solid value proposition to cardholders. Here’s how they stack up.

	Discover it® Miles	Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
FinanceBuzz star ratings	4.0 FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.	4.7 FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.
FinanceBuzz value calculation	Year 1: $1,275 Year 2: $638	Year 1: $1,521 Year 2: $771
Annual fee	$0	$95
Welcome bonus	Discover will match all the Miles you’ve earned at the end of your first year.	Earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening
Redemption methods	Statement credit Bank account deposit Cover past travel purchases Pay with miles at select merchants (Amazon and PayPal)	Travel through Capital One Travel Cover past travel purchases Transfer miles to travel partners Account credits Mailed checks Gift cards Paying for Amazon purchases Making eligible purchases with PayPal
Statement credits	None	Up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck once every four years
Intro APR	0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases (then 18.49% - 27.49% Variable *Rates as of December 12, 2024) 0% intro APR for 15 months on balance transfers (then 18.49% - 27.49% Variable *Rates as of December 12, 2024)	None
Foreign transaction fee	0%	None
Credit needed	Excellent, Good	Excellent, Good
	Read full review	Read full review

When to go with the Discover it Miles

• You want a $0 annual fee card
• You want to take advantage of intro APR offers
• You can maximize the welcome offer

Annual fees

The Discover it Miles has a $0 annual fee, while the Capital One Venture has a $95 annual fee. On annual costs alone, the Discover it Miles is the better option.

Introductory APR offers

Like many other Discover credit cards, the Discover it Miles offers an intro APR on purchases and balance transfers.

• Intro APR on purchases: 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases (then 18.49% - 27.49% Variable *Rates as of December 12, 2024)
• Intro APR on balance transfers: 0% intro APR for 15 months on balance transfers (then 18.49% - 27.49% Variable *Rates as of December 12, 2024) (3% intro balance transfer fee, up to 5% fee on future balance transfers (see terms)*).

The Capital One Venture Rewards doesn’t provide intro APR offers, so if you’re looking to pay off a big purchase over time or work on paying off debt, the Discover it Miles would be the better choice.

Earning cash back

With the Discover it Miles, you can automatically earn unlimited 1.5x Miles on every dollar of every purchase. Although you’re technically earning miles and not cash back, you can only redeem your miles as a statement credit for travel purchases, as cash back, or at checkout on Amazon.com or PayPal. Your miles have a value of 1 cent per point, and there isn’t any way to maximize your value.

So, you’re effectively earning cash back on your purchases. This can be an excellent option for someone who is not interested in transferring miles to travel partners and wants a simple redemption method.

When to go with the Capital One Venture

• You have excellent credit
• You want a better rewards rate and more travel benefits
• You want to transfer your points to travel partners

Travel benefits

The Capital One Venture is the better option if you want more travel benefits. Cardholders get up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck once every four years, two complimentary visits to Capital One Lounges or Plaza Premium Lounges (benefit no longer available starting January 1, 2025), Hertz Five Star status, and a variety of travel protections.

Card protections

The Discover it Miles provides very few protections — it basically only provides online privacy protection. With the Capital One Venture, you get the following protection and insurance benefits:

• Auto rental collision damage waiver
• Travel accident insurance
• Extended warranty
• 24-hour travel assistance services¹ <p class="">For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits may be provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.<br></p>

Earning a flexible point currency

The Capital One Venture provides 2 miles per dollar on every purchase, every day, 5 miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 5 miles per dollar on Capital One Entertainment purchases through 12/31/25. With a higher earning rate, especially on travel booked through Capital One Travel, you get more value by making the same purchases. The Capital One Venture Rewards also provides much more flexibility with its rewards program because you can choose from various redemption options. The Discover it Miles has a decent rewards structure but can’t quite match the Capital One Venture for redeeming miles toward travel.

To get the most value out of your Capital One miles, you have the option of transferring your miles to hotel and travel partners, most at a 1:1 ratio.

• Aeromexico Club Premier
• Air Canada ‒ Aeroplan®
• Cathay Pacific ‒ Asia Miles
• Avianca LifeMiles
• British Airways Executive Club
• Choice Privileges®2
• Emirates Skywards
• Etihad Guest
• Finnair Plus
• Flying Blue
• Qantas Frequent Flyer
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
• TAP Miles&Go
• Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
• Virgin Red
• Wyndham Rewards
• EVA Air Infinity MileageLands (1.5:1)
• ALL (Accor Live Limitless) (2:1)

A closer look at the welcome bonuses

The Discover it Miles doesn’t have a traditional welcome offer. In lieu of an offer where you get a certain number of miles after meeting a specific spending requirement, Discover will match all the Miles you’ve earned at the end of your first year. If you spend $2,000 on your card each month, you’ll earn 36,000 miles in one year. With the Discover match, you’ll earn another 36,000 miles, giving you a grand total of 72,000 miles. There’s no limit to how much you can earn, so the more you use your card, the higher the value of your welcome offer.

The Capital One Venture Rewards has a more traditional offer—new cardholders earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening. Although the Discover it Miles has unlimited potential, you’d have to spend a lot to get the same value as the Venture Rewards welcome offer.

FAQs

Bottom line

We recommend the Capital One Venture Rewards over the Discover it Miles as it has more earning potential and additional travel benefits. However, the Discover it Miles is a solid option if you prefer a $0 annual fee and intro APR offers. Your spending habits, financial goals, and travel plans will influence the decision between these cards.

Earn 2 Times the Miles in Your 1st Year

Discover it^® Miles

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FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.

Discover it^® Miles

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Rates and fees

Current Offer

Discover will match all the Miles you’ve earned at the end of your first year.

Annual Fee

$0

Rewards Rate

Automatically earn unlimited 1.5x Miles on every dollar of every purchase

Benefits and Drawbacks

Benefits

• Simple, flat-rate Miles make it easy to know how much you’re earning in rewards
• Discover will forgive your first late payment (late payment fee of None the first time you pay late. After that, up to $41. if you miss a subsequent payment)
• No foreign transaction fees

Drawbacks

• No bonus categories
• No travel perks

Card Details

• UNLIMITED BONUS: Unlimited Mile-for-Mile match for all new cardmembers—only from Discover. Discover gives you an unlimited match of all the Miles you’ve earned at the end of your first year. You could turn 35,000 Miles to 70,000 Miles. There’s no signing up, no minimum spending or maximum rewards. Just a Miles-for-Miles match.
• Automatically earn unlimited 1.5x Miles on every dollar of every purchase
• No annual fee
• Turn Miles into cash. Or redeem as a statement credit for your travel purchases like airfare, hotels, rideshares, gas stations, restaurants and more.
• 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases. Then 18.49% - 27.49% Standard Variable Purchase APR will apply. Rates as of December 12, 2024.
• Discover could help you reduce exposure of your personal information online by helping you remove it from select people-search sites that could sell your data. It’s free, activate with the mobile app.
• Discover is accepted nationwide by 99% of the places that take credit cards.
• Terms and conditions apply.