What credit score do you need to get the Capital One Venture Rewards card?
At TPG, we devote a significant amount of time to talking about how credit scores work, how you can improve yours and how you can keep it in shape.
We know that scores in the mid-700s and above will likely be enough to get you approved for most cards, but having a lower score doesn't necessarily mean you can't get those cards.
There isn't a magic number that guarantees approval for a specific card, but we can analyze public data points to help you gauge your odds.
We've previously uncovered the unpublished (and perhaps unofficial) credit score requirements for cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and the Citi Double Cash® Card (see rates and fees). Today, we'll turn our attention to the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card.
Overview of the Capital One Venture Card
The Capital One Venture card is one of the best rewards credit cards on the market and is especially attractive for those just starting out in the world of points and miles.
It comes with a 75,000-mile welcome bonus (worth $1,388 based on TPG valuations and not provided by the issuer) after you spend $4,000 in the first three months of account opening. The card also offers 2 miles per dollar spent on all purchases, and you'll pay no foreign transaction fees when using the card outside the U.S. It even includes an up to $100 application-fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, a relative rarity for a card with a reasonable $95 annual fee.
Once you've earned the sign-up bonus, you can redeem your miles for a fixed value on travel purchases or transfer them to an airline or hotel partner to potentially get even more value.
Read more: Tips and tricks to get maximum value from your Capital One miles
What credit score do you need to get the Capital One Venture Rewards card?
Reports suggest that you'll need a score of at least 700 to get approved for the Capital One Venture card, though people with lower scores have been approved.
According to data from LendingTree, the average score to get approved for the card is 738. The typical low score is 664. These scores are considered "good" to "very good" and are comparable to the score you need to get the Chase Sapphire Preferred.
However, Capital One's own application page indicates that "excellent" credit is required, which it defines as follows:
"I've never declared bankruptcy or defaulted on a loan; I haven't been more than 60 days late on any credit card, medical bill, or loan in the last year; I've had a loan or credit card for 3 years or more with a credit limit above $5,000."
If you're worried about being rejected, Capital One has a pre-qualification tool on its website that allows you to see if you have a good chance of being approved before you fill out an application.
How to check your credit score
You should never shell out cash to check your credit score.
Most credit cards come with a free FICO score calculator. This makes it easy to see where your score is on the scale from good to bad and keep up to date on how you're doing in terms of each of the categories listed below.
In addition, you can also easily open free accounts on third-party sites to keep track of your credit information. In fact, Capital One has its own platform for doing so: CreditWise. It's free for anyone to join and can help you identify any information on your score that isn't accurate or appears to be fraudulent. Sites like CreditWise also provide regular, automatic updates when your score changes, as well as alerts any time a new inquiry is added to your credit report.
Other approval factors
In addition to a good score, you should be aware of Capital One's additional credit card application restrictions.
First, the issuer limits you to having two Capital One personal credit cards at a time. So, if you already have the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card and the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card, for instance, Capital One will automatically reject your application for the Capital One Venture card.
However, this rule typically doesn't count Capital One cobranded cards and small-business cards like the Capital One Spark Miles for Business.
You'll also only be approved for one Capital One-issued card every six months.
New credit is also an important factor in the case of Capital One. Although there's no official policy on this, Capital One has rejected many people with excellent credit scores simply because they have too many recent inquiries on their credit reports.
So, if you're the type of person who likes to apply for credit cards in batches of two or three at a time, you should prioritize your application for the Capital One Venture card to minimize the number of recent inquiries on your report.
The information for the Capital One Savor has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Finally, Capital One might be hesitant to approve you for a new line of credit if you have any delinquencies or bankruptcies showing on your credit report, even if your score is otherwise near-perfect. It's important to remember that your credit profile is more than just a number, it's a collection of information given to the issuer to analyze your creditworthiness.
Related: How to check your credit score for free
What to do if you get rejected
Do not give up if your application for the card gets denied. If you receive a rejection letter, the first thing you should do is look at the reasons given for your rejection. By law, card issuers are required to send you a written or electronic communication explaining what factors prevented you from being approved.
Next, call Capital One's application services line at 800-625-7866 (unlike some issuers, Capital One doesn't have a dedicated reconsideration line). Tell the person on the phone that you recently applied for the Capital One Venture card and "I was surprised to see that my application was rejected and I would like to speak to someone about getting that decision reconsidered." From there, it's up to you to build a case and convince the agent on the phone why you deserve the credit card.
If you were rejected because your credit history is too short, for example, you can point to your stellar record of on-time payments. If you were rejected for missed payments, you can explain that those were a long time ago and your record since then has been perfect.
There's no guarantee that this strategy will work, but there are many reports of rejections being reversed on reconsideration, so it can't hurt to try. Just know that Capital One will not reconsider your application until you've formally received a letter on the status of your application — so don't call right away simply because you weren't automatically approved.
Bottom line
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card comes with a great welcome bonus and valuable perks, but before you apply, you need to familiarize yourself with the ins and outs of the application process and think about whether your credit score is high enough to get approved.
It's important to have a good score, but there are also other factors and rules specific to Capital One that you need to be aware of, such as not having more than two personal cards with the issuer.
Learn More: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Further reading:
- Capital One Venture Rewards card hub
- What credit score do you need to get the Chase Sapphire Preferred card?
- What credit score do you need to get the Southwest Premier Credit Card?
- What is a good credit score?
- 5 lesser-known things that affect your credit score
New to the points and miles game? Check out our beginner's guide for everything you need to know to get started!