Capital One unveils new travel portal with money-saving features

Starting Aug. 26, 2021, the Capital One Travel portal stopped working for new reservations, only staying functional for those with existing travel credits and reservations.

Fortunately, this is not a permanent change. In fact, Capital One is set to debut its all-new travel portal in partnership with Hopper.

The issuer hasn’t announced the opening date for the new portal but said it will launch this fall. Capital One has also promised exciting new benefits for cardholders using the relaunched portal, such as price protection tools and flexible trip cancellation.

What we know about the new Capital One Travel portal

Previously, eligible Capital One cardholders were able to use Capital One Travel to redeem their rewards for trips, including hotels, flights and rental cars.

These will all be available in the revamped portal as well, in addition to new price protection and trip cancellation benefits.

Courtesy of Capital One

The new portal will be rolling out to Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card, Capital One Spark Miles for Business or Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business* and Capital One Walmart Rewards® Mastercard® holders in the coming weeks.

New price protection tools and coverage

Thanks to a new partnership with popular travel app Hopper, the new portal’s AI-powered pricing technology will scan airfare prices and alert cardholders when it’s the best time to book.

Courtesy of Capital One

Additionally, Capital One is set to demonstrate its dedication to offering the best prices with price drop protection and price match guarantee.

With price drop protection, customers who purchase flights based on Capital One’s recommendation can get a refund if the price drops after booking. Price match guarantee, in turn, allows cardholders who find a better price for a flight, hotel or rental car on another site within 24 hours of booking get a refund for the difference.

Finally, Capital One will allow customers to “freeze the price” of a flight in case they find a good deal but aren’t ready to book. If the price increases after such a freeze, the issuer will cover any increase (up to a refund limit). Even better, if the price goes down, the customer will pay the lower price.

Flexible flight cancellation

The pandemic has made travel harder to plan, and with that has come the need for booking flexibility.

The new Capital One Travel will offer the option to cancel flights for any reason up to 24 hours before the first scheduled departure and receive most of the airfare cost back. According to the issuer, this option will be available for a small upfront fee.

Competing with other issuer travel portals

Other travel credit card issuers with popular travel portals include American Express and Chase.

Amex and Chase incentivize booking through their portals by offering bonus rewards and extra benefits, such as discounts and statement credits.

Capital One travel cardholders, however, can spend their miles to cover the cost of travel booked on any website at the same value, meaning there’s been no benefit to purchasing from the travel portal.

The relaunched portal will offer unique features providing opportunities to save while staying flexible with planning. This will make Capital One Travel more competitive in the travel portal space.

In the light of recently announced new travel partners and Capital One airport lounges set to open in 2022, it’s fair to assume the issuer is determined to continue improving its offerings in the travel card market.

What should cardholders do during the transition to the new portal?

If you have an eligible Capital One card, you may be wondering how booking with Capital One will work during the transition period.

If you have an existing reservation, you can still manage or view your trip on your My Trips page. Alternatively, you can call the number in your confirmation email. However, due to how busy call centers currently are, this might be a more time-consuming option.

If you have a flight credit for a canceled flight issued due to the pandemic, you can also use My Trips to book a new flight with any of the following airlines:

• Air Canada
• Alaska Airlines
• American Airlines
• Delta Air Lines
• Hawaiian Airlines
• United Airlines

If your flight cancellation isn’t related to COVID-19, you can use your credit to book a flight online for any airline, excluding Aer Lingus and Turkish Airlines. If you have issues booking using the My Trips page, Capital One Travel suggests reaching out to them at 844-527-6779.

If you need to book a trip soon and don’t have flight credits, you can simply book through another travel site using your eligible Capital One card and redeem your rewards for any travel purchase.

Bottom line

If you have an eligible Capital One credit card or are looking into getting one, the changes coming to Capital One Travel are exciting news for you.

The addition of robust price protection tools and the option to recover most of your airfare’s price in case of cancellation provide excellent value to cardholders who seek flexibility and aim to get the best deal.

*All information about the Capital One Spark Miles Select for Business has been collected independently by CreditCards.com and has not been reviewed by the issuer.