The Capital One Venture X is a premium card focused on travel and everyday spending. It has an annual fee and it can be difficult to optimize rewards, so it’s not for everyone. Still, Venture X does have plenty of perks, aiming to compete with cards like the Chase Reserve Sapphire. It’s worth a look for anyone who travels at least once or twice a year. And as a general-spending card, it’s much better than the lower-tier Venture and VentureOne cards from Capital One. Venture X is a newer Visa Infinite card and was released in early November 2021.
FEATURES AT A GLANCE
- $395 annual fee
- Zero foreign transaction fees
- 10x points on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- 5x points on flights booked through Capital One Travel
- 2x points on everything else
- $300 annual credit for travel booked through Capital One Travel (per cardmember year)
- $100 credit towards Global Entry or TSA PreCheck (once every 4 years)
- Metal card
SIGN UP BONUS
As of September 2023, the Venture X offers 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 in 3 months. The bonus is generally valued at $750, but could be less or more, depending on how miles are redeemed. This is a 18.75% RoS (Return on Spend) without using any of Capital One’s transfer partners for greater value.
From 11/9/21 (launch date) to 3/15/22, the card had 100,000 bonus miles after spending $10,000 in 6 months (about $1,700 per month) plus a $200 vacation credit. This was a 12% RoS. Taking into account the annual fee, you’d spend $10,395 to get $1,700+ of credits/bonuses/cash back for a minimum 16.35% return. At 1.5 cpp ($0.015 per point) then it’s 22+% RoS instead. We wouldn’t expect this sign-up bonus to return. The Chase Sapphire Reserve, for instance, had a similar cycle. The Reserve was launched with a 100,000 point bonus, eventually decreasing to an all-time-low of 50,000 points. It’s reasonable to speculate that Capital One will use similar strategies.
OTHER BENEFITS OF THE VENTURE X CARD
- Visa Infinite benefits, including:
- Extended Warranty, Purchase Security, and Return Protection
- Trip Cancellation, Interruption, and Delay Insurance with Lost Luggage Insurance
- Travel Accident Insurance (Note: Capital One doesn’t cover the cost of some related services)
- Zero Fraud Liability
- 24/7 Visa Infinite concierge
- 10,000 bonus miles on each account anniversary (worth $100 toward travel)
- Priority Pass Select (including authorized users and up to 2 guests) plus access to Plaza Premium Group lounges and Capital One lounges
- Car rental insurance (primary coverage) and Hertz President’s Circle status
- Free authorized users (additional cardholders at no cost)
- Cell Phone Protection ($50 deductible and $800 limit per claim)
- Price Match Guarantee on Capital One Travel
- Event/Experience Access in Capital One Entertainment (Venture X cardholders may get extras compared to other cardholders, and this seems to combine with Cultivist and PRIOR memberships)
- Capital One Dining reservations and events
- The Premier Collection for hotel perks (similar to Chase‘s Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection and AMEX‘s Hotel Collection)
- Free PRIOR subscription (normally $149) for travel guides and more. Prior also offers trips to different locations that can booked through Capital One Entertainment (use a SavorOne card for 8% cash back). Note: the subscription is good for at least a year or two, but seems to be perpetual as long as your Venture X account remains open.
- Free 6-month Enthusiast membership with The Cultivist (normally $220) with up to 3 guests (Benefits include free access to 50+ museums in Europe and the USA, and virtual studio visits.) Note: They previously offered access to 100+ museums, so the list of partner museums is apparently subject to changes at any time.
- Free 6-month Vinous subscription (normally $70-105) (also available on other Capital One cards—offer expires 12/31/2023)
- $300 discount on any annual Gravity Haus membership (normally $100-400 per month, depending on plan choice; the cheapest annual cost is $1,020 with sale pricing)
- Capital One Offers
Venture X cardholders are eligible for free visits at the Capital One airport lounge in Dallas Fort Worth Airport (DFW). More Capital One lounges are opening in Denver (DEN) and Washington DC (IAD) “soon.” We don’t know yet if there will be more than 3 lounges total. The full price of lounge admission, for people who don’t have eligible Capital One cards, is listed as $65.
RESTRICTIONS AND CREDIT SCORE
Recommended credit score: 740+
Capital One has a limit to how many cards you can have open with them, but the limit is high enough to be irrelevant for most people. More importantly, you can only apply for a Capital One card once every 6 months. This is sometimes called the “1/6 rule.” Capital One can also be inconsistent with approvals. If you’re unsure whether you can get approved, use Capital One’s pre-approval page to double-check your odds. Venture X doesn’t appear there (as of 2022) but the Venture does, which may be a helpful indicator (if you don’t qualify for the Venture, you wouldn’t qualify for the Venture X).
Capital One Travel’s “price drop protection” does have restrictions. In one booking that we made, the protection was only valid for 10 days with a maximum refund of $50 (awarded as a credit toward future travel). Additionally, their “price match guarantee” is valid for just 24 hours.
MAXIMIZING REWARDS WITH THE VENTURE X CARD
The $300 travel credit is fairly easy to use, since it applies to all travel bookings made through Capital One Travel. It used to be the case that you’d earn points on this, with the credit awarded as a statement credit after your booking. As of September 2023, this credit is now a coupon which decreases the cost of bookings. You can no longer earn 5x or 10x points on your first $300 of travel spend, similar to premium cards like the Sapphire Reserve. Another downside of the credit is that it’s only for Capital One Travel (can’t apply to direct bookings) and it’s per cardmember year instead of per calendar year. Any unused portion also expires; you can’t get more than $300 per year.
Venture X points are awarded immediately. You don’t have to wait for each statement close date to use your points. Venture also rounds to the nearest whole number. For example, a $28.06 purchase will earn 56 miles instead of 56.12 miles, and $4.31 earns 9 miles instead of 8.62 miles. Miles (points) can be redeemed against travel purchases as a statement credit, for $0.01 (1 cpp) each. Capital One calls it “Purchase Eraser.” Using miles to buy gift cards or book trips is usually 1 cpp too (YMMV). Redeeming miles for cash is the worst option because points are worth less. Stick to travel expenses with the Venture X.
Venture X is fee-free if you spend at least $300-400 annually on hotels, car rentals, or airfare. Let’s say you pay the $395 fee then book one trip for $400—you can use your 10,000 anniversary miles to “erase” the remaining $100 that you paid. You easily come out ahead by $5. Or if you only spend the minimum of $300, you can use the anniversary miles to offset another purchase in the future. Points don’t expire so you could also save them up to offset a bigger future trip, or transfer them for potentially greater value.
The best option is usually to transfer your miles to one of Capital One’s travel partners. This can get complicated because miles aren’t always transferable at a 1:1 ratio. People looking to maximize the Venture need to do some math. Fortunately, Capital One did streamline this twice in 2021. Only Accor and EVA aren’t 1:1 transfers (2:1 and 2:1.5, respectively). Just remember to transfer points before you try to book a flight or room, since points may not transfer instantly. Some partners take 1-5 days to process a transfer.
There are 14 airline and 3 hotel transfer partners as of February 2022:
- Accor Live Limitless – Points are typically worth 2 cpp
- Aeromexico (Club Premier) – Points are typically worth 0.68 cpp
- Air France KLM (Flying Blue) – Points are typically worth 1.2 cpp
- Air Canada (Aeroplan) – Points are typically worth 1.5 cpp
- Asia Miles / Cathay Pacific – Points are typically worth 1.3 cpp
- Avianca LifeMiles – Points are typically worth 1.7 cpp
- British Airways (Avios) – Points are typically worth 1.5 cpp
- Choice Hotels – Points are typically worth 0.6 cpp
- Emirates Skywards – Points are typically worth 1.2 cpp
- Etihad Airways – Points are typically worth 1.4 cpp
- EVA Air (Infinity MileageLands) – Points are typically worth 1 to 3 cpp
- Finnair – Points are typically worth 0.7 to 2 cpp
- Qantas – Points are typically worth 0.7 to 1.6 cpp
- Singapore Airlines (KrisFlyer) – Points are typically worth 1.3 cpp
- TAP Air Portugal (Miles&Go) – Points are typically worth 1 cpp or less (varies widely)
- Turkish Airlines (Miles&Smiles) – Points are typically worth 1.3 cpp
- Wyndham – Points are typically worth 1.1 cpp
JetBlue used to be a transfer partner, but they left the program in October 2021. Cardholders may be able to transfer points for use with another partner. For example, Avianca is part of the Star Alliance, so it may be possible to book United Airlines flights with LifeMiles. Or British Airways Avios can be used for flights at Iberia, Aer Lingus, or Vueling, among other options. The Capital One Venture X can be as complicated as ruthless deal-seekers want it to be. Keep an eye out for fuel surcharges or other fees.
Alliances for inter-airline bookings and transfers:
- Star Alliance: Air Canada Aeroplan, Singapore Airlines Krisflyer, Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles, Avianca LifeMiles, TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go, and 21 other airlines.
- oneworld: British Airways Executive Club, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Finnair Plus, Qantas Frequent Flyer, and 10 other airlines.
- SkyTeam: Air France KLM Flying Blue, Aeromexico Club Premier, and 17 other airlines.
Naturally, points should only be transferred when you’ll get at least 1 cpp ($0.01) in value. Note that purchases in cash can sometimes be a better deal. With each travel purchase, you’ll have to consider whether it’s better to transfer points or use Purchase Eraser.
Poor transfer options include EVA, Finnair, TAP Air Portugal, and Aeromexico. This is subject to change, since airlines and hotels can change up their loyalty programs without notice. The best transfer options are currently Air Canada Aeroplan, Avianca LifeMiles, Etihad, and Turkish Air.
ALTERNATIVES TO THE VENTURE X
A no-fee downgrade option is the VentureOne. It earns 1.25x miles without an annual fee and you can still transfer points to travel partners. The mid-tier option, the Venture, has a $95 annual fee and is notably worse than the Venture X. If you’re going to pick one of the Venture cards, starting with Venture X is best. You can always downgrade later.
For a general-use card, any of the best everyday cards will work. You’ll want to earn at least 2% cash back on all purchases. Also consider our list of the best no-fee travel cards. Venture X is a no-fee card for many spenders, so it’s a good general option for daily spending. If you spend at least $400 per year on travel, the Venture X is better than most everyday cards. Not to mention the Visa Infinite perks as mentioned above.
Premium cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve or American Express Platinum could be better for certain people. Bank of America Platinum Honors members might prefer BoA’s alternatives. Then for people with brand loyalties, specific airline or hotel credit cards could be best. The Venture’s value is different for each person.
Mid-tier cards like Citi Premier, in comparison, generally aren’t a good option for travel. For example, let’s say you spend $500 per year on one vacation with a week-long hotel stay. The Premier earns 3x points on hotels, and has a $100 annual credit if you get a $500 hotel booking through Citi’s website. You’d be at $-480 from this, basically a $20 discount on your hotel stay ($500 booking + $95 annual fee – $100 credit – $15 cash back = spending $595 to get $115). With the Venture X, you save an additional $5 ($500 booking + $395 annual fee – $300 travel coupon – $20 cash back (10x points on $500-300=200) – $100 anniversary credit = spending $895 to get $420). It’s not a big difference, but it’s still a difference, especially when Venture X has Visa Infinite benefits like travel accident insurance—compared to the Premier having zero additional travel perks. The difference also gets bigger as you spend more. For example, if you spend $5,000 per year on hotels, you’d get $150 cash back from the Premier vs $500 cash back with the Venture X.
CONCLUSION
The Capital One Venture X is a decent premium card, though its true value depends on your preferences. All 3 Venture-family cards are best suited for math enthusiasts who enjoy the points game. The Venture X is easiest to use: if you spend at least $400 on travel every year, the Venture X becomes an easy no-fee card. It takes almost no effort for this card to work in your favor. Capital One’s price match guarantee further ensures that people get a fair deal. The downside is needing to book through Capital One instead of directly with an airline or hotel.
The card is even better for travel maximalists who can squeeze extra value from the Venture line. If you regularly get 1.5 to 2 cpp transfers, Venture X earns at least 3-4% cash back on everything, up to 10% or 20%. The Venture is similar to the Chase Sapphire Reserve in terms of value (likely a deliberate choice on Capital One’s part). And we’d definitely recommend the Capital One Venture X over the Venture or VentureOne cards. Unfortunately, if you don’t use any of the brands available as transfer partners, the Venture lineup has questionable value compared to competitors.
The main downside is the Venture X earning 2 miles per dollar spent for all purchases not made through Capital One’s website. Other credit cards might give better cash back rates. Or buying gift cards at a discount, or using cash back portals while booking direct, etc. YMMV. Another downside of Capital One is that they pull credit reports from all three bureaus (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion). This can hurt your FICO score in the short term, since most card issuers aren’t involved with every bureau.
We rate the Venture X card 4 out of 5 stars. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
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Note: This review was last updated in September 2023. Details may have changed since then. Please do your own research where applicable, to ensure you’re getting the best deal. Or contact us directly to benefit from our personalized consulting services!