capital one aspire travel world elite benefits

Capital One Aspire Travel World Elite MasterCard Review

The Capital One Aspire Travel World Elite MasterCard offers arguably the best value for everyday travellers. The flagship credit card from Capital One has been one of the top travel rewards cards in Canada for many years, and a recent facelift made it even better.

I’ve been using the Aspire Travel World Elite MasterCard for several years now and this latest update – which removed the tiered redemption structure and made it incredibly simple to redeem miles – further cemented its claim as the go-to rewards credit card for all of my spending, including when I travel.

Capital One Aspire Travel World Elite MasterCard

What’s so special about the Capital One Aspire Travel World Elite MasterCard? For starters, new sign-up’s get a 40,000 reward mile bonus when they spend $1,000 in the first 3 months. That’s worth $400 in travel rewards! Cardholders also get 2 reward miles for every $1 spent – regardless of spending category. That means your points will continue to add up quickly even after the early-spend bonus becomes a distant memory.

What about redeeming your reward miles? Most travel rewards programs are inflexible when it comes to redemptions; forcing members to book through a specific travel provider, putting up restrictions on when and where you can book, and then adding fuel surcharges and taxes onto your bill.

With Capital One’s Aspire Travel program you can use your card to book with any airline or hotel and then simply redeem your miles online afterwards. There are no tiers – for example if you redeem a charge for $149 it will cost you 14,900, and if you redeem a charge for $550 it will cost you 55,000.

Don’t have enough reward miles to erase that $550 travel charge? No problem! Just make a partial redemption against that charge with the miles that you have. In this case, you might only have 39,500 miles, which means you can make a partial redemption of $395 and apply against the $550 charge.

That’s why I’ve declared the Capital One Aspire Travel World Elite MasterCard to be the best value for everyday travellers today and why I now funnel all of my spending onto this card to reap the juicy rewards.

Capital One Aspire Travel World Elite MasterCard benefits

Here’s what this best in class travel rewards credit card has to offer:

• Early-spend bonus: 40,000 points = $400 in travel rewards once you spend $1,000 within the first 3 months • Earn rate: 2 reward miles for every $1 spent = 2% back in travel rewards • Booking travel: Book your own trip – including the hotel, airline or rental car of your choice • Points redemption: Redeem your miles to cover any travel expenses with no minimum requirements. 100 points = $1 in travel. • Partial redemption: Redeem on a portion of a transaction – for example, redeem half of an overseas flight. • Annual fee: $150

Apply for this card here and earn $400 in bonus travel rewards

• Interest rate: 19.8% interest on card purchases • Additional card fee: $0 additional card fee • Insurance: 22-day travel emergency medical coverage, trip cancellation, trip Interruption, flight delay, baggage loss, baggage delay, purchase assurance, extended warranty, and car rental • Eligibility: $70,000 personal annual income OR $120,000 annual household income

How much can you earn with the Capital One Aspire Travel World Elite MasterCard?

• Spend $2,000 on your card each month • Earn $480 in travel rewards each year • Add $400 travel rewards early-spend bonus in the first year • = $880 travel rewards this year

Final thoughts

Many of the top travel rewards credit cards offer a generous sign-up bonus but the everyday value of the program, combined with the hassle and difficulty of redeeming points, fails to live up to the early hype.

With the Capital One Aspire Travel World Elite MasterCard, you get the best of both worlds. A generous early-spend bonus, plus a healthy 2% earn rate on everyday spending that keeps points accruing quickly. The best part is how easy it is to redeem points. After all, there’s not much point to earning reward miles if you can’t use them when, where, and how you want to.

Does Capital Qne still give an annual 80000 point bonus, some what offsetting the $150 annual fee????

Hi james, Cap1 has never given an 80,000 point bonus. The old Cap1 Aspire Travel World MasterCard gave 10,000 miles each year on your card anniversary, and that bonus was grandfathered to the new card for existing cardholders.

The new Aspire Travel World Elite MasterCard does NOT come with an annual bonus – just the early spend bonus.

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What Benefits Come With a World Elite Mastercard?

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"World Elite" is the highest of the three levels of Mastercard benefits . It includes all the benefits of the lower two tiers — "Standard" and "World" — plus a few of its own, including concierge service and benefits at specific merchants.

The benefits listed here are offered by Mastercard, but individual card issuers have some discretion in which benefits are actually included on a specific card. Plus, issuers often offer benefits beyond those provided by Mastercard. The Mastercard benefits website warns: "Additional terms, conditions and exclusions apply. Contact your issuing financial institution for complete coverage terms and conditions."

Standard benefits included in World Elite

These benefits are included on all Mastercard credit cards, at all levels:

Zero fraud liability.

Mastercard Global Service, a worldwide hotline for emergency assistance.

Identity theft protection, which monitors your credit for suspicious activity.

World benefits included in World Elite

The biggest jump in value occurs when you move from the Standard level to World level. These benefits are included on middle-tier World Mastercard cards, and they roll up to the World Elite level:

Cell phone insurance. (World Elite cardholders get a bigger claim limit than World cardholders. See below.)

"Mastercard Travel & Lifestyle Services," a suite of benefits that includes trip planning assistance, a lowest hotel rate guarantee, a hotel satisfaction guarantee, luxury hotel benefits and an airport concierge service.

Discounts and memberships, including for Shoprunner, Onefinestay and "exclusive golf offers and experiences."

World Elite-only benefits

Cell phone insurance. Pay your monthly cell bill with your card and get coverage against damage or theft for up to $800 per claim (maximum $1,000 per year). There's a $50 deductible. (At the World level, the per-claim limit is $600.)

Concierge service. Help with getting tickets, making dinner reservations and other tasks is available by phone. This benefit used to be offered at the World level but has been kicked up to World Elite.

Fandango. Get $5 off future movie tickets or at-home purchases for every two movie tickets you buy.

Lyft. Earn a $10 Lyft credit when you take at least five Lyft rides in a calendar month and pay with your card. The credit expires after 30 days and is good only for future rides. (It's not a credit for past rides.)

Boxed. Earn 5% "cash rewards" on purchases from this online wholesale club. Rewards apply only to the price of goods, not taxes, fees, shipping and handling. Rewards can be used for future Boxed purchases.

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Capital One ® Aspire Travel™ Platinum Mastercard ® Review

• Rates & Fees

1x Earn 1 Reward Mile for every $1 spent.

$0 Annual Fee Add an authorized user for $0.

21.90% Purchase APR

21.90% Cash Advance APR

21.90% Balance Transfer Rate

Fair Recommended Credit Score

By Money.ca

Play article   

(    mins)

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Capital One ® Aspire Travel™ Platinum Mastercard ® rewards Structure

Rewards miles come at a steady and unrestricted rate of 1 for every $1 spent. With no ambiguous purchase eligibility, cardholders can be confident that they’re earning rewards miles every time they use their card. The miles themselves are some of the most flexible travel rewards we’ve seen, and can be used retroactively to cover travel-related purchases that show up on a monthly statement. Travel can therefore be booked everywhere, and cardholders won’t be limited by in-house booking sites, seating restrictions, or blackout dates.

Miles can also be redeemed in other ways, like gift cards and cash back against the card’s statement. For more information on the nuances of Capital One miles, check out our  Loyalty Rewards Bible .

Pros and cons

Earn 1 mile per $1 with no purchase ambiguity

Flexible miles for retroactive travel purchases

• $0 annual fee

Price protection for marked-down items

Basic travel insurance coverage

Redeem miles for gift cards and cash back

Basic travel insurance compared to some competitors

$100/item limit on price protection

Limited features for high-end travel benefits

No specific travel perks or elite status

May not suit high-spenders seeking premium rewards

Feature breakdown

• Earn 1 mile for every $1 spent on purchases
• Book your own travel, pay with rewards miles
• Price protection services
• Solid array of insurance benefits

The peripheral benefits of the Aspire Travel Platinum card include  Price Protection  and insurance perks, both of which help cardholders save money. Price Protection is rather unusual among travel credit cards, and it allows cardholders to get reimbursed if they discover that something they purchased is later marked down. With Capital One ® cards there’s a $100 limit per item and collective $500 limit per year, and cardholders can only use the feature on items that were marked down within 60 days of their initial purchase. For example, if a cardholder were to buy a $500 item and then find the same item listed for $400 a month later, they could claim the difference (and still have $400 left to claim against other purchases for the remainder of the year).

The Aspire Travel card comes with basic travel insurance as well, though the key word here is ‘basic’: it’s missing some of the more valuable travel coverage that is provided by some competing travel cards. Capital One ® provides coverage for common carrier travel accidents, car rental collisions and damage, baggage delay, and travel assistance. While it’s logical that a no-fee card would only have the most basic  insurance options , some other no-fee travel cards have managed to raise the bar a bit. The Rogers World Elite Mastercard, for instance, offers a different travel insurance package that some travellers might prefer, including out-of-province/out-of-country medical coverage.

Who’s the card for?

Travellers who want the simplicity of earning a flat rate of travel rewards on all their purchases, want to book their arrangements wherever they like, and dislike annual fees are well-suited to the Capital One ® Aspire Travel™ Platinum Mastercard ® . Those who appreciate flexibility will also enjoy the opportunity to spend their miles on cash back and gift cards as well.

Read: Best Capital One credit cards in Canada

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Foreign transaction fees: What you need to know

August 10, 2023 | 8 min read

Getting ready to travel abroad? There’s a lot to take care of before you leave. Plane tickets? Already bought. Travel insurance ? Got it. Planning for foreign transaction and currency conversion fees on your trip? Wait, what?

It’s true. With some credit cards, debit cards and even prepaid cards , fees may be added when you make transactions abroad or online with foreign merchants. Keep reading to learn about foreign transaction and currency conversion fees—and how you might be able to avoid them.

Key takeaways

• A foreign transaction fee is a surcharge on credit card purchases made outside of the U.S. They might also apply to purchases made with debit and prepaid cards. 
• Fees can vary, depending on the card issuer, card network and product but typically range from 1% to 3% of the transaction.
• Some credit card issuers offer cards that don’t charge any foreign transaction fees.
• Card payment processors or ATM networks can charge fees for converting foreign purchases into U.S. dollars. These currency conversion fees are different from foreign transaction fees.

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What is a foreign transaction fee?

A foreign transaction fee is an additional charge added to credit, debit and prepaid card transactions made outside of the U.S. If you plan to use a credit, debit or prepaid card while shopping abroad , it’s helpful to know if your card charges foreign transaction fees. 

Say you buy a new camera while out shopping in Tokyo. If you pay with a credit, debit or prepaid card, it might cost more than what the price tag says. 

When you use your card in a foreign country, you may have to pay a foreign transaction fee for any of your transactions there. If your card charges one, it can also be tacked on to your online transactions with merchants based outside of the U.S. 

The fee can be made up of smaller charges by the card network —like American Express®, Discover®, Visa® or Mastercard®—as well as the bank or credit card issuer.

Some cards—like Capital One’s U.S.-issued credit cards and debit cards —don’t charge foreign transaction fees. View important rates and disclosures . But if your card does, the actual cost can vary depending on which credit, debit or prepaid card you use. The fees may generally be in the area of 1% to 3% of your purchase, though. You should check your card’s terms and conditions to see what they are.

How much do foreign transaction fees cost?

The cost of foreign transaction fees—sometimes listed as foreign purchase transaction fees or international transaction fees—can vary from one card to another. 

Foreign transaction fees typically range from 1% to 3% of each transaction. So if someone has a card with a 3% foreign transaction fee, they could pay an additional $3 for every $100 they spend. If a traveler uses their card to make a large international purchase—or several smaller purchases—these fees could add up quickly. 

If you use a credit, debit or prepaid card to shop outside of the U.S., understanding your card’s foreign transaction fees could help you estimate some of your travel costs . You can review the terms and conditions to learn how foreign transaction fees apply to your card.

Currency conversion fees vs. foreign transaction fees

Currency conversion fees can be included in foreign transaction fees, but there’s a slight technical difference. With foreign transaction fees, the card issuer charges a fee for purchases made abroad or online from foreign merchants. A currency conversion fee, meanwhile, is charged by the credit card or debit card payment network or ATM network for converting one currency to another.

Capital One doesn’t charge a currency conversion fee, but other issuers might. View important rates and disclosures . If you’re charged a currency conversion fee, you might find that it’s 1% of the purchase with both fees combined and referred to as the foreign transaction fee.

Dynamic currency conversion fee example

Remember that great new camera you bought in Tokyo? If it costs 345,199 yen, how much is that in U.S. dollars? Not many people can do that math in real time. 

That’s why foreign merchants sometimes offer to perform a dynamic currency conversion (DCC). This optional service converts the foreign price to your home currency, giving you a better idea of what cost to expect. 

But merchants don’t usually provide this service for free. A DCC could cost you more, but the good news is you’re not required to use and pay for it. It’s helpful to talk to your card issuer and research your intended travel destinations before visiting.

If I pay a DCC fee, will I still pay a foreign transaction fee?

If you request a DCC, you’ll likely be paying that fee on top of your foreign transaction fee—if your card has one. 

DCC fees can cause your travel or online shopping expenses to increase. However, merchants typically aren’t allowed to perform a DCC without cardholder consent, so you can decide whether you’d like to pay for it.

Additionally, you may want to look for other ways to determine the price in your home currency, like currency conversion apps you can download onto your phone.

Do all credit cards have foreign transaction fees?

Not all card issuers charge foreign transaction fees. Capital One’s U.S.-issued credit cards, for example, don’t charge fees for foreign currency transactions.  View important rates and disclosures .

That being said, foreign transaction fees can vary by card issuer and product. Other types of cards—like debit cards or prepaid travel cards—could also charge these fees. That’s why it’s a good idea to review your card’s specific terms and conditions.

How can I avoid paying foreign transaction fees?

Don’t let foreign transaction fees rain on your travel parade. There are several options to explore when it comes to avoiding these types of fees.

Use travel credit cards

Some travel rewards credit cards are designed with international travel in mind. They may have additional benefits too, like rewards miles. For example, Capital One’s travel and miles rewards credit cards allow you to earn unlimited miles per dollar on every purchase you make and even more rewards for travel-related bookings. 

While some travel rewards credit cards charge an annual fee , the perks can make it worthwhile. For instance, the Capital One Venture X card has an annual fee, but it doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees. View important rates and disclosures . And it also offers an early spend bonus, an anniversary bonus, an annual travel credit and more. 

If you decide to apply for a new card for international travel , make sure you leave enough time for the card to arrive .

Consider a debit card without foreign transaction fees

Using your debit card to withdraw cash while abroad could be a way to avoid foreign transaction fees if your card doesn’t charge them.

But you might be charged international ATM fees with some types of bank accounts. For example, Capital One doesn’t charge any additional international ATM withdrawal fees when you use 360 Checking and MONEY products abroad. But you could be charged a fee by the ATM operator. And there may be fees for non-360 products —like Total Control Checking, Essential Checking and other products—when you use an ATM outside of the U.S. and its territories.

According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, some banks don’t charge their customers ATM withdrawal fees or debit card foreign transaction fees. But they might charge you if you’re not a customer—and that could be in addition to a fee charged by the ATM operator. 

Before you leave the country, you might want to check whether your current card charges these fees. If so, you may want to find out if there’s a branch location or partner bank where you’re headed. You might be able to make free cash withdrawals from those locations.

Pay in the local currency

Wondering about whether to use cash or a card when traveling ? Having local currency on hand can be a convenient way to avoid foreign transaction fees if you don’t mind carrying cash. But remember, there could be other fees for using a foreign ATM. Currency exchange kiosks may be available at the airport but might charge higher conversion rates than your bank or credit card. 

So consider researching the exchange rate and exchanging currencies before you start traveling, especially if you’re unfamiliar with the country you’re traveling to.

How to calculate a foreign transaction fee

Generally, the foreign transaction fee is a percentage of the total purchase. So, you’ll need to find out the percentage a card charges and multiply that by your total purchase. For example, if you purchase a $100 item and the foreign transaction fee is 3%, you will pay an additional $3 on top of the cost of your item.

Foreign transaction fees in a nutshell

Foreign transaction fees don’t have to put a dent in your travel plans . These fees can add up quickly, but there are some steps you could take to possibly avoid them. Using local currency is one option. You could also consider applying for a credit card—or using a debit or prepaid card—that doesn’t charge fees for foreign transactions. 

If you’re a frequent traveler, you might consider Capital One’s Venture X card. It has no foreign transaction fees and comes with plenty of other elevated travel rewards designed to take you further.  View important rates and disclosures .

Other ways to maximize your travel benefits

Who wouldn’t want to get the most out of their credit card? Here are some things to know about Capital One travel rewards credit cards: 

Get a one-time 75,000-mile bonus with the Capital One Venture X card and receive an additional 10,000 bonus miles every year, starting on your first anniversary. ( View important rates and disclosures .)

Earn unlimited 2X miles per dollar on every purchase, every day and get 75,000 bonus miles upon signup with the Capital One Venture card . ( View important rates and disclosures .)

Earn unlimited 1.25X miles with no annual fee with the Venture One card from Capital One . ( View important rates and disclosures .) 

Explore travel rewards card options by comparing Capital One Venture cards . 

Learn how Venture X cardholders can get access to a worldwide network of airport lounges thanks to a complimentary Priority Pass membership .

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Moscow-City: 7 surprising facts about the Russian capital’s business center

1. Guinness World Record in highlining

The record was set in 2019 by a team of seven athletes from Russia, Germany, France and Canada. They did it on September 8, on which the ‘Moscow-City Day’ is celebrated. The cord was stretched at the height of 350 m between the ‘OKO’ (“Eye”) and ‘Neva Towers’ skyscrapers. The distance between them is 245 m. The first of the athletes to cross was Friede Kuhne from Germany. The athletes didn't just walk, but also performed some daredevil tricks. Their record is 103 meters higher than the previous one set in Mexico City in December 2016.

2. Domination of Europe's top-10 highest skyscrapers

7 out of 10 Europe’s highest skyscrapers are located in Moscow-City. Earlier, the  ‘Federation Tower’ complex’s ‘Vostok’ (“East”) skyscraper was the considered the tallest in Europe.

Left to right: the lower of the ‘Neva Towers’ (296 m), Commerzbank Tower in Frankfurt (300 m), Gorod Stolits (“City of Capitals”) Moscow tower (302 m), Eurasia tower (309 m), The Shard’ skyscraper in London (310 m), Mercury City Tower (339 m), Neva Towers (345 m).

However, in 2018, the construction of the 462 meter tall ‘Lakhta Center’ in Saint-Petersburg was completed, pushing ‘Vostok’ (374 m) into 2nd place. The 3rd place is taken by OKO’s southern tower (354 m).

3. The unrealized ‘Rossiya’ tower

If all the building plans of Moscow-City were realized, the ‘Lakhta Center’ in St. Petersburg wouldn't have a chance to be Europe's highest skyscraper. Boris Tkhor, the architect who designed the concept of Moscow-City, had planned for the ‘Rossiya’ tower to be the tallest. In his project, it was a 600 meter tall golden cylindrical skyscraper ending with a spire that was inspired by traditional Russian bell towers. Then, the project was reinvented by famous British architect Sir Norman Foster. He had designed ‘Rossiya’ as a pyramid ending with a spire. The skyscraper itself would have been 612 meters tall, and the height including the spire would have reached 744,5 meters (for comparison, the ‘Burj Khalifa’ in Dubai, UAE, would have been just 83,5 meters taller). Unfortunately, the investors faced a lot of economic problems, due to the 2008 financial crisis, so the ‘Rossiya’ skyscraper was never built. A shopping mall and the ‘Neva Towers’ complex was constructed at its place in 2019.

4. Changed appearance of ‘Federation Tower’

In its first project, the ‘Federation Tower’ was designed to resemble a ship with a mast and two sails. The mast was to be represented by a tall glass spire with passages between the towers. It was planned to make a high-speed lift in it. The top of the spire was going to be turned into an observation deck. But the ship lost its mast in the middle of its construction. Experts at the Moscow-city Museum based in the ‘Imperia’ (“Empire”) tower say, that the construction of the spire was stopped, firstly, due to fire safety reasons and secondly, because it posed a threat to helicopter flights – the flickering glass of the spire could potentially blind the pilots. So, the half-built construction was disassembled. However, an observation deck was opened in the ‘Vostok’ tower.

5. Open windows of ‘Federation Tower’

We all know that the windows of the upper floors in different buildings don’t usually open. Experts say that it’s not actually for people’s safety. Falling from a big height is likely to be fatal in any building. The actual reason is the ventilation system. In a skyscraper, it’s managed with a mechanical system, and the building has its own climate. But in the ‘Zapad’ (“West”) tower of the ‘Federation Tower’ complex, the windows can open. The 62nd and last floor of the tower are taken up by a restaurant called ‘Sixty’. There, the windows are equipped with a special hydraulic system. They open for a short period of time accompanied by classical music, so the guests can take breathtaking photos of Moscow.

6. Broken glass units of ‘Federation Tower’

The guests of the ‘Sixty’ restaurant at the top of the ‘Zapad’ tower can be surprised to see cracked glass window panes. It is particularly strange, if we take into consideration the special type of this glass. It is extremely solid and can’t be broken once installed. For example, during experiments people threw all sorts of heavy items at the windows, but the glass wouldn’t break. The broken glass units of ‘Zapad’ were already damaged during shipment . As each of them is curved in its own way to make the tower’s curvature smooth, making a new set of window panes and bringing them to Russia was deemed too expensive . Moreover, the investors had financial problems (again, due to the 2008 financial crisis), so the ‘Vostok’ tower even stood unfinished for several years. Eventually, the cracked window panes were installed in their place.

7. The highest restaurant in Europe

‘Birds’, another restaurant in Moscow-City, is remarkable for its location. It was opened at the end of 2019 on the 84th floor of the ‘OKO’ complex’s southern tower. Guests at the restaurant can enjoy an amazing panoramic view at a height of 336 meters. On January 28, the experts of ‘Kniga Recordov Rossii’ (“Russian Records Book”) declared ‘Birds’ the highest restaurant in Europe, a step toward an application for a Guinness World Record.

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