Why We Canceled Our Capital One Business Cards & What We’re Doing Next
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Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post..
Last year, while we were in the middle of building our house, I applied for the Capital One Venture X Business card.
Normally, I would never be able to meet the $30,000 spending requirement in three months, but with all the expenses that came with building a home, it was an easy opportunity to earn a big welcome bonus.
Around the same time, my husband also opened the Capital One Spark Cash Plus card, allowing us to earn even more rewards on our large purchases.
Fast forward to last week, and the annual fees on both cards came due:
- Capital One Venture X Business: $395
- Capital One Spark: $95
While we loved the perks of the Venture X Business card—especially Priority Pass lounge access and Capital One Lounge access for the whole family—we ultimately decided it wasn’t worth paying $395 for another year. Similarly, the $95 fee on the Spark Business card didn’t make sense for us either.
What We Did Before Closing the Cards
Since we had earned a lot of Capital One Miles from the welcome bonuses and everyday spending, we needed to make sure we didn’t lose them when closing the cards. My husband’s oldest line of credit is his Capital One Venture personal card, which he still keeps open. We called Capital One and combined all the miles from our business cards into his Venture card before closing the Venture X Business and Spark Business accounts.
How to Combine Capital One Miles:
- Call Capital One customer service.
- Request to comnine your miles from one Capital One card member to another.
- Make sure the destination card is one you plan to keep open long-term.
- Once the miles have been combined, you can safely close the cards without losing your rewards.
How We’re Using Our Points & Credits
We plan to use the points earned from these cards to book Air France flights from NYC to Nairobi for our upcoming trip.
Additionally, we took advantage of the $300 travel credit from the Venture X Business card to pay for our rental car during our trips to Lake Tahoe and Sedona. These redemptions made the card even more valuable for us before we decided to cancel it.
What’s Next for Us?
We still want lounge access when we travel, so one of us will likely open the Capital One Venture X Personal card this summer before our busiest travel season. This will allow us to earn another big welcome bonus while regaining access to Capital One Lounges, Priority Pass, and other premium travel perks.
Since Capital One can be finicky with approvals, I’m planning to freeze my Experian credit report before applying, as many people have had better success getting approved this way.
How to Freeze Your Experian Credit Report for Free:
- Go to the Experian Security Freeze Center at www.experian.com/freeze.
- Click on “Add a Security Freeze” and follow the prompts to create an account or log in.
- Select “Freeze my credit report” and confirm your request.
- You’ll receive a PIN or password to unfreeze it later when needed.
- Once frozen, Capital One will be unable to pull your Experian report, which may increase approval chances.
Takeaways for Travelers New to Points & Miles
- If you plan to close a card, always move your points first to an account you’ll keep open.
- Lounge access is valuable, but it only makes sense if you travel enough to justify the annual fee.
- Welcome bonuses are a great way to earn miles, especially if you have big expenses coming up.
- Plan your credit card applications strategically to maximize travel perks when you need them most.
- Freezing your Experian credit report may improve your chances of getting approved for a Capital One card.
Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.
I found out about points and miles accidentally.
I was researching index funds and happened upon the points and miles community through creators who also post about budgets, financial independence, and investing.
Points and miles allowed those people to travel and work toward financial independence simultaneously.
Thank goodness I got started when I did. The past almost two years of travel have been something we will never forget.
Earning points and miles through credit cards is only a good choice if you have the financial discipline to use them, like cash/debit cards.
Since we started traveling with points and miles, we have had more money going into our investment and savings accounts than ever.
Now I'm excited to teach you!
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