Capital One Travel launches app for easier booking and reward redemption

Like American Express, Chase and Citi, Capital One has its personal journey ecosystem, which incorporates the Capital One Travel booking portal, premium rewards credit cards and airport lounges you possibly can enter with these playing cards.

As somebody who travels regularly, I used that ecosystem so much. I fly effectively over 200,000 miles a 12 months and regularly use bank card journey portals after they make sense. Over time, I’ve booked greater than 200 reservations by way of the Capital One Travel Portal, together with flights, motels and rental automobiles.

Until now, accessing the platform on cellular meant opening the Capital One banking app and navigating a number of menus to get to the journey portal. It labored, nevertheless it by no means actually felt like a devoted journey instrument.

Capital One’s new Capital One Travel app makes an attempt to vary that. Instead of treating journey as simply one other tab inside a banking app, the corporate has turned its travel rewards platform right into a standalone app designed particularly for planning journeys and managing journey whilst you’re on the street.

After spending time exploring the brand new app forward of launch, right here’s the place it stands out — and the place it nonetheless displays among the limitations that include booking journey by way of a bank card portal.

Capital One Travel is accessible to card holders throughout a number of private and enterprise bank cards. While the booking portal itself is free to make use of for eligible card holders, the worth can differ relying on which card you maintain, particularly in terms of bonus incomes charges and journey perks.

Here’s a listing of some prime Capital One playing cards that provide entry to Capital One’s journey booking web site:

These playing cards unlock entry to Capital One Travel’s booking instruments, rewards redemption and sure journey protections, whereas premium playing cards just like the Venture X additionally embrace further perks equivalent to airport lounge entry.

Learn how to apply for the Capital One Spark Cash Plus.

Learn how to apply for the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card.

Learn how to apply for the Capital One Spark Miles for Business.

Learn how to apply for the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card.

Learn how to apply for the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card.

Learn how to apply for the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card.

Learn how to apply for the Capital One Venture X Business.

One of essentially the most noticeable variations between the brand new app and the prevailing expertise contained in the Capital One banking app is the simplified house display screen.

The homepage focuses fully on journey planning. From the primary display screen, you possibly can instantly select what sort of journey you wish to e book, together with:

For individuals who already use the Capital One Travel Portal often, this format will really feel acquainted. The search instruments and booking expertise are largely the identical because the desktop model, simply organized right into a mobile-first interface.

Another main part of the app is the My Trips tab, which shows your upcoming reservations booked by way of Capital One Travel.

In principle, this acts as a centralized place to trace flights, resort stays and different reservations booked by way of the platform.

However, this part additionally illustrates one of many long-standing downsides of booking journey by way of third-party portals.

For instance, one in all my screenshots reveals an Alaska Airlines flight from New York JFK to San Francisco. In actuality, I had modified that reservation immediately with Alaska Airlines to fly to Palm Springs weeks in the past.

The airline up to date the ticket accurately, however that change didn’t mechanically seem within the Capital One Travel app.

That’s as a result of if you e book by way of Capital One Travel, Capital One basically acts as a intermediary, interposed between you and the airline or resort. If you make adjustments immediately with the airline later, these updates don’t at all times circulation again into the portal.

This isn’t distinctive to Capital One — it’s a standard difficulty throughout journey portals — nevertheless it’s a reminder that these instruments are sometimes finest for booking easy itineraries relatively than complicated journeys or journeys that may require adjustments.

The lounge part reveals the place you have got entry and how full Capital One lounges are

One of the extra attention-grabbing sections of the app is the Lounge Access characteristic, which reveals the airport lounges you possibly can entry based mostly in your Capital One card.

For instance, Venture X cardholders — like me — obtain entry to Capital One Lounges and Capital One Landings, together with Priority Pass membership, which supplies entry to greater than 1,000 airport lounges worldwide.

Inside the app, the lounge part helps you to:

Here’s a have a look at the lounges at Washington’s Dulles International Airport. In this case, Capital One breaks every lounge by location and entry technique.

The characteristic additionally consists of one thing comparatively new: a digital waitlist for Capital One lounges.

If a lounge is full, you possibly can be part of the waitlist immediately by way of the app relatively than strolling to the lounge desk and including your title there. At the time of writing, this solely works for Capital One Lounges — not Priority Pass lounges.

For instance, once I took my screenshots, I discovered the Capital One Lounge in Denver to be very busy. Had I really been on the Denver airport, I may’ve added myself to the waitlist for the lounge.

You can observe rewards balances and journey credit

Another part of the app supplies a fast overview of your Capital One rewards steadiness and obtainable journey credit.

This is very related for playing cards just like the Venture X and Venture X Business, which provide an annual journey credit score that should be used by way of the Capital One Travel Portal. This makes it easier to shortly see whether or not you have got credit obtainable earlier than booking a visit.

The ultimate part value noting is the Offers tab, which surfaces present journey promotions throughout the Capital One Travel platform.

These presents can embrace:

In apply, this part capabilities extra like a curated listing of offers relatively than a significant characteristic. It’s helpful to browse often, however most vacationers are prone to nonetheless search for flights or motels immediately relatively than planning a visit round one in all these presents.

The new Capital One Travel app doesn’t essentially change how the Capital One Travel Portal works. Instead, it repackages the platform right into a extra handy cellular expertise.

For card holders who already e book journey by way of Capital One, the largest benefit is having every little thing in a single place — booking instruments, lounge entry info, rewards balances and upcoming journeys.

At the identical time, the app additionally reveals among the realities of booking journey by way of a bank card portal. Because Capital One sits between you and the airline or resort, adjustments made immediately with journey suppliers don’t at all times sync completely again to the platform.

Still, should you already use Capital One Travel often, the brand new app makes the expertise easier to entry and navigate, particularly whilst you’re really touring.

NCS Underscored evaluates journey platforms, rewards applications and bank card perks based mostly on real-world usability, not simply the options firms promote. Our reporting combines hands-on testing with impartial editorial evaluation and experience in airfare, loyalty applications and journey rewards.

This article was written by journey editor and bank cards professional Kyle Olsen, who travels greater than 200,000 miles per 12 months and has booked greater than 200 reservations by way of the Capital One Travel Portal. His analysis displays firsthand expertise utilizing the platform to e book and handle journeys in actual journey situations.