Capital One launched its first luxury hotel program — the Premier Collection — in January, joining the ranks of well-established hotel programs by American Express, Chase and Citi.
Now, another new hotel program from Capital One Travel has gone live: the Lifestyle Collection. This new collection is open to a broader range of cardholders than the Premier Collection, allowing more people to book boutique hotels using their Capital One miles and enjoy benefits typically reserved for those with hotel status.
But should this program change the way you choose a hotel? Here’s what you need to know.
What is the Capital One Lifestyle Collection?
The Lifestyle Collection is “a curated selection of hotels hand-picked by Capital One’s team of experts,” according to Capital One. It includes boutique properties in popular locations, incorporating modern design and highlighting local art and culture. These properties also feature quality dining and access to unique entertainment.
The Lifestyle Collection includes some known brands such as Virgin Hotels, The Standard, Design Hotels and The Line, as well as smaller boutique hotels like The Ludlow in New York City and The Lyle in Washington, D.C. However, many properties from major hotel brands like Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott and IHG are missing from the collection.
Related: Best Capital One credit cards
Which credit cards include Lifestyle Collection access?
The Lifestyle Collection is available to the following cardholders:
The information for the Capital One Venture X Business Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
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While the Lifestyle Collection comes with a less impressive list of benefits than the Premier Collection, it offers hotel program access to some cardholders who may not be able to justify shelling out the higher annual fee for the Venture X or Venture X Business.
Related: Is the Capital One Venture X worth the $395 annual fee?
What are the benefits of the Lifestyle Collection?
When you book a Lifestyle Collection hotel through Capital One Travel, you’ll earn bonus miles on your purchase. Venture X and Venture X Business cardholders earn 10 miles per dollar spent, while Venture and Spark Miles cardholders earn 5 points per dollar spent.
In addition to earning bonus miles, you’ll get these perks with the Lifestyle Collection:
- A $50 experience credit to use toward rooftop drinks, signature hotel restaurants, room service or other activities
- Complimentary Wi-Fi
- Room upgrades, when available
- Early check-in and late checkout, when available
Plus, there is no minimum stay requirement to book a Lifestyle Collection hotel, a notable difference from Amex’s The Hotel Collection, which requires staying at least two nights.
Free Wi-Fi and a (non-guaranteed) chance for early check-in probably won’t sway your decision when selecting a hotel for your next trip. Still, the $50 experience credit and ability to earn bonus miles on a boutique hotel stay could make booking via the Lifestyle Collection a better option than booking your stay directly through the hotel website.
Related: A comparison of luxury hotel programs from credit card issuers: Amex, Capital One, Chase and Citi
How to book Lifestyle Collection hotel stays
To book a hotel with the Lifestyle Collection, you must book through Capital One Travel.
Once logged in, you can either click on the “Premium Stays” tab on the top right, or “Hotels” to see both Lifestyle Collection and non-Lifestyle Collection accommodation options.
Search for your intended destination as you normally would.
If you’ve chosen the “Hotels” tab, you can filter for hotels that are part of the Lifestyle Collection.
Scroll through the list to see highlights of the hotels, such as available amenities and pricing. Clicking on a hotel provides details about its offerings and location.
When making a paid reservation with these cards, you will earn 5-10 Capital One miles per dollar. TPG values these miles at 1.85 cents apiece, meaning you would earn a healthy 9.25%-18.5% return on spending.
Finally, you have the option to pay cash or redeem your miles at 1 cent apiece to pay. (We recommend paying in cash as you can get better value for your Capital One miles on other redemptions.)
Can I pay for the Lifestyle Collection with my Capital One miles?
Yes. Since the Lifestyle Collection is through the Capital One portal, you can redeem your miles at a rate of 1 cent per mile.
This is a lower redemption value than TPG’s valuation of 1.85 cents that you could get by transferring your miles to transfer partners, but it’s a good option if you have a lot of miles or if this is a better fit for your plans than other options.
Related: Tips and tricks to get maximum value from your Capital One miles
Is the Lifestyle Collection worth it?
Since the available hotels aren’t exclusive to the Lifestyle Collection, you’ll want to do some research and compare prices before booking. You might be able to find a better price directly through the hotel’s site or via another third-party booking agency like Hotels.com.
Additionally, your hotel status may not be recognized, so you could sacrifice any additional earning potential and perks associated with your status.
Still, Venture X and Venture X Business cardholders can apply their $300 credit to a property in the Lifestyle Collection, so combining this credit and the Lifestyle Collection perks could make this a better option than booking anywhere else.
Bottom line
The Capital One Lifestyle Collection is accessible to a wider range of cardholders than its Premier Collection but offers fewer perks. It can be a good way to enjoy some hotel benefits if you don’t want to pay a higher annual fee for a premium credit card and don’t have hotel status.
Related: 9 things to consider when choosing to book via a portal vs. booking directly
Additional reporting by Ryan Wilcox.
