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Someone should contact Chase’s Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection and American Express’ Fine Hotels + Resorts and The Hotel Collection and tell them a new competitor is coming to town.
Capital One is adding its own luxury hotel program with the Premier Collection, set to launch before the end of this year. Many of the benefits in this program will sound familiar. Cardholders with access to this program will get perks at boutique and luxury hotels, such as free breakfast, room upgrades and on-property credits to use for free experiences or free food.
Let’s take a look at the new Capital One Premier Collection to see what it is, who has access and how to make bookings.
What is the Capital One Premier Collection?
The Premier Collection is a selection of unique luxury hotels and resorts that a Capital One spokesperson says are “hand-picked for exceptional quality.” Hotel properties include those belonging to brands like Six Senses, The Leading Hotels of the World, 1 Hotels, Proper Hotels and Small Luxury Hotels of the World.
Hotels that are part of the Premier Collection include The Ned NoMad in New York, 1 Hotel South Beach in Florida, La Reserve Paris Hotel and Spa, Como Castello Del Nero in Italy, Euphoria Retreat in Greece, The Carlin Hotel in New Zealand and The Plettenberg in South Africa. And while we know some of the hotels that will be part of the Premier Collection, bookings are not yet live. That will happen by year’s end, according to the spokesperson.
When booking a hotel through the Capital One Premier Collection, you will receive benefits like complimentary breakfast for two people each day during your stay, complimentary Wi-Fi at the hotel, room upgrades, early check-in, late checkout and an experience credit of $100. This credit can be used for on-property experiences like events or visits to the spa but can also be used at on-property restaurants. Note that the credit will be issued in the local currency but should be equal to $100.
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Options for using your on-property credit will vary by hotel, and you will need to charge these items to your room to take advantage of your $100 credit.
The Capital One Premier Collection’s benefits are similar to what you’ll get when booking with the Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection from Chase or when booking with American Express’ Fine Hotels + Resorts and The Hotel Collection. All three of these programs tout room upgrades at check-in, based on availability, and both LHRC and FHR bookings guarantee that you’ll have free Wi-Fi during your hotel stay. However, this benefit is typically included for THC stays, as well. All three of these programs (LHRC, FHR and THC) include on-property experiences or on-property credits that should be valued at up to $100. Additionally, LHRC and FHR bookings promise early check-in and late checkout benefits.
One major difference among these programs is that bookings with The Hotel Collection require a minimum stay of two nights. LHRC and FHR bookings have no minimum stay requirements. A spokesperson for Capital One confirmed that there are no mandatory stay requirements within the Premier Collection, but individual hotels may mandate their own policies for a minimum number of nights at their properties. This could come into play during peak travel periods or around holidays.
Who has access to the Premier Collection?
Cardholders of two Capital One credit cards will have access to the Premier Collection. Access to the Premier Collection is limited to those with the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card and the Capital One Spark Travel Elite card (currently available only for those with a business relationship manager at Capital One).
The information for the Spark Travel Elite 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.
Those with the Venture X or Spark Travel Elite card will see the additional tab for the Premier Collection when logged in to their accounts and visiting the Capital One Travel portal. Access to the Premier Collection will not be possible for those who don’t have these cards.
The Ned NoMad in New York. ERIC ROSEN/THE POINTS GUY
As stated above, you can book these hotels directly or through your favorite travel website. These hotels are available for reservations outside the Premier Collection, but Venture X and Spark Travel Elite cardholders will have additional perks like a $100 on-property credit and room upgrades when booking through the Premier Collection.
Cardholders will also earn miles on Premier Collection bookings. Venture X and Spark Travel Elite cardholders earn 10 miles per dollar spent on hotels and rental cars booked with Capital One Travel, 5 miles per dollar on flights booked with Capital One Travel and 2 miles per dollar on all other purchases. Venture X cardholders also earn 10 miles per dollar on Turo bookings through May 16, 2023.
For reference, Venture X is a personal credit card, while Spark Travel Elite is a small-business card.
Related: Capital One Venture X credit card review
How to book with the Premier Collection
Bookings for the Premier Collection will be done exclusively through the Capital One Travel portal. You can find a preview of these bookings and participating hotels by visiting capitalonetravel.com/premier-collection. CAPITAL ONE
Once Premier Collection bookings go live later this year, you’ll find the landing page within the Capital One Travel portal when logged in to your Capital One account. After clicking on the Premier Collection tab at the top, you will be able to search by destination and intended travel dates. There is also an option to choose the number of guests included in your reservation.
While booking these hotels outside of the Capital One Premier Collection is possible, you will only get the benefits described above if you book through the Premier Collection’s website.
After searching for a hotel and finding one you like, you will book your hotel as you normally would. This includes providing your personal information, confirming the details of your stay and choosing a payment method. As with other bookings made through Capital One Travel, you’ll have the option to pay with your credit card or redeem your miles to pay for your booking.
The Six Senses Shaharut in Israel. CLINT HENDERSON/THE POINTS GUY
An interesting distinction for bookings with the Premier Collection is that a spokesperson for Capital One guaranteed integration with the rewards programs of any participating hotels. For example, if you book a Six Senses property that participates in IHG One Rewards, you should be able to add your loyalty number to this booking and receive appropriate benefits like bonus points on your stay or suite upgrades, depending on what status level you hold. The spokesperson also promised you would receive stay credit with these hotel programs on bookings made through the Premier Collection.
If this works as promised, it will be truly unique. While we have seen examples of hotel guests with elite status receiving stay credit or status recognition when booking through Fine Hotels + Resorts or the Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection, this is not guaranteed. Hotels are not obligated to recognize your status on bookings in those programs, as they are considered third-party reservations. For many people, not receiving your elite status benefits or stay credits in a hotel program is one of the main deterrents to booking a hotel through a travel portal.
Related: 9 things to consider when choosing to book via a portal vs. booking directly
Bottom line
The Capital One Premier Collection will offer familiar-sounding perks on boutique and luxury hotel bookings. These benefits include room upgrades, early check-in, late checkout and a $100 on-property credit. These perks sound very similar to what we are used to with hotel programs from Chase and American Express, but a unique twist is that Capital One has promised integration with hotel loyalty programs, recognizing your status and providing stay credits in these programs. Time will tell if that plays out as expected.
Booking through the Premier Collection is available only for Venture X and Spark Travel Elite cardholders. Bookings for the Premier Collection will go live by Dec. 31, and we will provide updates once a specific date is available.