The basics
Is the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card worth it?
Yes! If you travel frequently, the Venture X card is definitely worth it. With perks like airport lounge access, a $300 annual travel credit, and a TSA PreCheck fee credit, this card has a ton of value to offset the $395 annual fee. Unlike some travel credit cards with a ton of complicated bonus categories, Venture X prioritizes simplicity, with high-value rewards on travel purchases and flat-rate rewards on everything else.
To sweeten the deal even more, this card is ideal for traveling with family since you can bring two guests with you for no added cost when you enter one of Venture X’s included airport lounges.
Essential info
Most of this information is in the card tile at the top of this page, but in case you missed it, here’s the gist of what you should know about the Venture X Card (we’ll also go into greater detail on these points further down):
Sign-up bonus:
- Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel.
Rewards:
- Earn 2 miles per dollar spent on all purchases
- Earn 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Travel
- Earn 10X miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
Rates and fees:
- Annual fee: $395
- APR: 19.99% - 29.74% (Variable)
- Foreign transaction fee: None
What we like
$300 annual travel credit
Starting strong, the Venture X Card boasts a $300 flexible annual travel credit to use for bookings through Capital One Travel. This is available via statement credits through the portal. When booking your travel accommodations, you can select whether you want to apply the travel credit to your purchase. This benefit offsets almost the entire annual fee, so make sure you use it all!
Each credit is only available for a year, beginning and expiring on your account anniversary date rather than in line with the calendar year.
In line with this perk, you’ll also get 10,000 bonus miles on every account anniversary. Miles are worth one cent each for travel, making this an extra $100 in your pocket yearly.
Airport lounge access
With Venture X, you can get a complimentary Priority Pass Select membership, offering access to over 1,300 airport lounges worldwide. You’ll also gain access to Capital One Lounges and Plaza Premium Lounges. Priority Pass lounges are hit-or-miss, but the Capital One Lounges are exceptional.
Even better— You can take two guests with you every time for no fee. Authorized users also receive access to both types of lounges.
TSA PreCheck® or Global Entry fee credits
Outside airport lounge access, you can get up to a $120 fee credit to reimburse you for your Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® application every four years. Hopefully expediting the process of going through security lines, these Trusted Traveler Programs have the potential to save you a lot of time and hassle while at the airport.
Hotel perks
Any time you book a vacation rental or hotel in Capital One’s Premier Collection, you’ll get a $100 experience credit, daily breakfast for two, room upgrades (when available), and complimentary WiFi access. The hotels in this collection are, for lack of a better term, very fancy. There aren’t a ton of them on the list, but this benefit could help push you to try out one of these swanky hotels or resorts.
Simple reward structure
Some travel credit cards have many bonus categories to keep track of, and some even have spending caps to be wary of. Venture X has neither, offering simple, unlimited, high-value rewards. You can earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals through Capital One Travel. Any purchases outside those categories earn 2X miles.
Sign-up bonus
You can boost your rewards quickly with Venture X’s generous welcome bonus of 75,000 miles after spending $4,000 in the first three months after account opening. Frequent travelers should have no problem meeting that spending requirement, but you can likely also meet it by using the card for everyday purchases. At the standard rate of one cent per mile for travel, this bonus is worth $750. Transferring miles to select partners can net an even higher value.
Other benefits
▶︎ Learn more: Capital One Venture X benefits guide
Venture X boasts various other benefits, including but not limited to:
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Travel insurance. This includes travel accident insurance, trip cancellation protection, trip delay coverage, and coverage for lost or stolen luggage.
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No foreign transaction fees. Venture X has no foreign transaction fees, so you can take that second honeymoon to Rome without worrying about incurring extra charges.
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Cell phone protection. If your phone is lost or stolen, Capital One will reimburse you up to $800, provided you use your Venture X to pay the cell phone bill.
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Consumer protections. Extended warranty coverage, purchase protection, return protection.
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Complimentary Hertz President’s Circle status. Benefits include guaranteed vehicle upgrades, a dedicated customer service texting number, access to a large selection of vehicles, and more.
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Additional authorized users. Add up to four authorized users to your Capital One Venture X account without paying a fee. Each user gets some of the same benefits you do, including their own Priority Pass membership.
- Visa Infinite benefits.
Note on the Hertz benefit: Upon enrollment, accessible through the Capital One website or mobile app, eligible cardholders will remain at upgraded status level through December 31, 2024. Please note, enrolling through the normal Hertz Gold Plus Rewards enrollment process (e.g. at Hertz.com) will not automatically detect a cardholder as being eligible for the program and cardholders will not be automatically upgraded to the applicable status tier. Additional terms apply.
What we don’t like
High annual fee
At $395 per year, Venture X’s annual fee is on the steep side. For the average American, it may be difficult to find enough value out of the card to justify this expense. However, if you travel frequently, the $300 annual travel credit offsets most of the fee by itself. If you can utilize additional perks like airport lounge access and statement credits, it has plenty of value.
Limited bonus categories
While the simple rewards of Venture X can be a benefit of the card, they can also make it more difficult to rack up miles. Some cards offer bonus points/miles on dining purchases, grocery purchases, etc., making it easier to accumulate rewards during your everyday life. However, the flat rate rewards on all other purchases roll in at a higher rate than many cards, so it may level itself out.
Low redemption value outside of travel
If you like the flexibility of redeeming your rewards for travel or cash back, the Venture X falls short. Booking travel through Capital One Travel nets 1 cent per mile, with the potential of even more value through select transfer partners.
However, when redeeming miles for cash back, they’re only worth 0.5 cents apiece. You may be able to get more value for gift cards, but the best redemption value comes exclusively for travel. Since this is a travel card, that may not be a huge deal, but the limited flexibility takes this card down half a notch in our books.
Rewards
Earning rewards
With Venture X, you earn:
- 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Travel
- 2 miles per dollar on all other eligible purchases
Redeeming rewards
Although many cardholders use their miles for travel purchases, Capital One gives you seven easy ways to redeem your rewards:
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Pay for past travel purchases. You can use your miles to pay for previous travel expenses, provided you used Capital One Travel to book. Once you redeem your rewards, Capital One will issue a statement credit.
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Transfer miles to a Capital One partner. You can transfer your miles to any partner loyalty program, usually at a ratio of 1-to-1. That means 1,000 Venture X miles are worth 1,000 miles or points with the partner. There are a few exceptions, such as Accor, which has a 2-to-1 transfer ratio (1,000 Capital One miles turn into 500 Accor points). Hotel partners include Wyndham Rewards, Choice Privileges, and Accor Live Limitless.
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Make travel plans with Capital One Travel. If you use Capital One Travel, you don’t have to pay out of pocket and wait for Capital One to issue a credit. You can use your miles to make travel arrangements. The rewards rate is 1 cent per mile, which means you need 100,000 miles to cover $1,000 worth of expenses.
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Purchase gift cards. Use your miles to purchase gift cards from major brands, including iTunes and Best Buy.
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Exchange for cash. If you’d rather have cash in hand, redeem your miles for a check or statement credit.
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Enrich your life with Capital One Entertainment. With the Capital One Venture X card, you can use miles to pay for concert tickets, premium dining experiences, and more. You must use Capital One Entertainment to book these experiences.
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Share your miles. Capital One even allows you to transfer your miles to a loved one. For example, if a friend is 500 miles short of being able to cover a travel purchase, you can send them 500 of your miles.
▶︎ Learn more: Capital One Rewards Guide
Welcome offer
With the Venture X, you can earn 75,000 bonus miles if you spend $4,000 within three months of opening your account. Since miles are worth 1 cent apiece when redeemed for travel, this offer is worth $750!
You also get a 10,000-mile bonus for each card anniversary or approximately $100 in value. This makes the first year of membership worth at least $850 in benefits, which far outweighs the $395 annual fee.
The fine print
Fees
- Annual fee: $395
- Balance transfer fee: $0 at the transfer APR, 4% of the amount of each transferred balance that posts to your account at a promo APR that Capital One may offer to you
- Cash advance fee: $5 or 5% of the advance, whichever is higher
- Foreign transaction fee: $0
- Late payment fee: Up to $40
Interest rates
- Regular APR: 19.99% - 29.74% variable
- Purchase introductory APR: N/A
- Balance transfer introductory APR: N/A
- Cash advance APR: 29.74% (varies based on the Prime Rate)
Credit limit
The Venture X has a minimum credit limit of $10,000. Capital One doesn’t advertise a maximum limit.
Credit score requirement
Capital One doesn’t advertise a minimum score for the Venture X card, but it’s intended for users with excellent credit. While you may be able to qualify with a FICO score of around 670, we recommend having a score of at least 740 before applying for your best chance of approval.
However, Capital One evaluates more than just your credit score when considering your application so a high score doesn’t guarantee approval.
How Venture X compares
Capital One Venture X vs. Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card may be a better fit for a beginner travel credit card or if you’re not sure you can justify spending a $395 annual fee. The Venture Rewards Card has a reward rate of 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 2X miles on everything else. Although this rate is quite a bit lower than Venture X, the annual fee is significantly lower at $95 per year. You won’t get access to all the premium perks, but both cards offer a fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck and have no foreign transaction fees.
▶︎ Read more: Capital One Venture X vs. Capital One Venture
Capital One Venture X vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve®
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® comes with a higher annual fee ($550) and similar benefits to the Capital One Venture X— a $300 annual travel credit, airport lounge access, TSA PreCheck fee credit, and no foreign transaction fees.
Where the Sapphire Reserve shines more brightly is with its redemption rate of 1.5 cents per point when redeemed for travel through Chase Travel℠. Sapphire Reserve also comes with various additional partner benefits and more comprehensive travel insurance perks than the Venture X.
However, to get the best redemption rate on travel, you have to redeem points through Chase Travel, unlike Venture X where you can use your miles in or outside the portal.
▶︎ Read more: Capital One Venture X vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve
The bottom line
Should you get the Capital One Venture X Card?
The Capital One Venture X Rewards Card may be right for you if you travel frequently enough to earn more than $395, which would allow you to break even on the annual fee. It’s an even better pick if you’ll use it often enough to get more out of the card than you spend to keep it in your wallet.
