Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card vs REI Co-op® Mastercard®: Which Card Wins for Your Spending?

Which earns more for you?

Monthly spending. We rank on rewards minus the full annual fee, so statement credits and perks are listed separately and never counted for you.

Choosing between the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card ($95/yr) and the REI Co-op® Mastercard® (no annual fee) comes down to where you spend most. Both cards can deliver real value. Let’s break it down, then run your numbers to find the winner.

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Meet the Contenders

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

2x miles on every purchase, 5x on hotels and rentals through Capital One Travel. Earns a solid 2.0% on everything else.

Annual fee: $95 Sign-up bonus: 75,000 miles after $4,000 spend in 3 months Foreign fees: 0%

Perfect if: You're comfortable booking through the issuer's own site for the best rate.

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REI Co-op Mastercard

5% back at REI and rei.com, 1.5% on everything else, with no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees. Earns a solid 1.5% on everything else.

Annual fee: None Sign-up bonus: $100 after $1 spend in 2 months Foreign fees: 0%

Perfect if: You want solid rewards without paying an annual fee.

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Head-to-Head Comparison

Feature Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card REI Co-op Mastercard
Annual Fee $95 $0
Sign-Up Bonus 75,000 miles after $4,000 spend in 3 months $100 after $1 spend in 2 months
Foreign Transaction Fee 0% 0%
Base Reward Rate 2.0% 1.5%
Rates with conditions
not counted in the rows above
5% through Capital One Travel
Earns 5% only on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, Capital One's own booking site. Travel booked anywhere else earns the flat 2%.
None
Key Benefits 2x miles on every purchase, 5x on hotels and rentals through Capital One Travel. 5% back at REI and rei.com, 1.5% on everything else, with no annual fee and no foreign transaction fees.

The Verdict

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card pulls ahead for travel, dining, groceries, gas spending.

The $95/year fee difference means Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card needs to earn about that much more in rewards to justify its cost.

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card carries $170/year in credits (mostly tied to specific merchants or bookings). Those only count if you’d actually use them. Worth checking against your own habits before treating them as a discount on the fee.

Not sure which fits your life? Enter your spending below and we’ll do the math. The calculator ranks purely on rewards minus the full annual fee, so credits and perks are yours to judge.