Consumers have long since loved the many travel rewards associated with the Capital One Venture Rewards Card and the perks of its other credit card offers. But is the company dropping the ball when it comes to customer service?
One of the Best Programs
Many insist the best travel rewards are found in the Capital One credit cards. And it’s true, it’s a great program. Earn 2% cash back card when miles are redeemed for any travel-related purchases charged on your card. This means that for every $10,000 charged, you gain an impressive 20,000 miles. These are quickly and easily converted into a $200 travel-related purchase. Impressive, right?
But recently, Capital One has come under fire for its less than ideal customer service. One consumer said that during a recent phone call to redeem miles for an airline ticket, the customer service representative seemed to fall woefully short. The customer wanted to redeem her rewards for a plane ticket to another country, but the representative was quite adamant in trying to convince the customer to settle for a statement credit. The trade-off would equate to about half of what the customer qualified for.
All or Nothing
Also, for those wishing to apply the total of their miles to a flight or hotel stay, there must be enough miles to cover the costs completely. For instance, if your miles covered 2/3 of what the total for your flight is, and you wish to pay in cash the remaining balance, you’re not able to do so.
After a bit of research, one can easily see the policies vary based on what a customer is seeking. As this customer said,
When you buy more than one plane ticket in a single transaction, miles can be redeemed for each ticket individually. However, the same cannot be said for hotel reservations. Even if you book multiple hotel nights or hotel rooms, when you book them at the same time, miles can only be applied to the purchase as a whole.
No Hassle Guarantee?
While we highlight one customer’s experiences, this isn’t uncommon. One consumer said it was similar to a series of “road blocks”. This begs the question: Why does Capital One insist on annihilating one of the best rewards programs on the market today? Especially considering its multi-million dollar ad campaigns that push their “hassle free service”, it boggles the mind as to why it opts for these confusing and frustrating policies.
Hopefully, someone that sits high on the Capital One pedestal will take note and seek to right this wrong – sooner rather than later. Every financial entity should have learned the power of the collective consumer following the disastrous policy changes some banks and credit card companies have recently made.
