Is the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card worth it?
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While new credit cards come on the market all the time, Capital One shocked everyone when they released a new premium travel credit card in November 2021. This rewards credit card, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, intends to compete with other premium travel credit cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and The Platinum Card® from American Express. Due to its generous welcome offer, broad airport lounge access benefit, flexible travel credits and $395 annual fee, we believe it’s poised to do just that.
But is the Capital One Venture X card “worth it” in a traditional sense? If you travel at all, you should easily get a lot more than $395 in value during the first year. If you’re on the fence about this card and wondering whether you can justify the annual fee, read on to learn more.
Capital One Venture X details and benefits
The Capital One Venture X makes it easy to rack up a ton of points on travel purchases and everyday spending. Specifically, signing up for this card gives you the chance to earn:
- 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases within three months of account opening and up to $200 in statement credits for vacation rentals within the first year
- 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- 5X miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel
- 2X miles on all other purchases
- 10,000 bonus miles when you renew your card on your account anniversary
Up to $300 in annual travel credits
Cardholders also receive up to $300 back as statement credits toward travel bookings they make with their card through Capital One Travel. This credit should be easy to use since this travel portal lets you choose from a similar selection of flights, hotels and car rentals you would find elsewhere online.
Like other travel portals, Capital One Travel lets you search for travel based on your destination and dates so you can compare all of your options in one place. Plus, this credit can apply to multiple bookings.
Up to $200 vacation rental credit
For a limited time, new cardholders can also receive a statement credit of up to $200 for qualifying vacation rental bookings. Once again, you can use this credit for multiple bookings until it’s gone, or you can exhaust it with one single booking of over $200.
According to Capital One, eligible vacation rental merchants include Airbnb, Turnkey, Vacasa and VRBO.
Priority Pass Select and Capital One airport lounge membership
The Capital One Venture X card comes with Priority Pass Select membership, which lets you enter more than 1,300 airport lounges worldwide. However, cardholders can also enter Capital One’s new airport lounges. Currently, only one location is open at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, but two more are planned to open in 2022 at Denver International Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C.
Cardmembers can bring up to two guests for free into Priority Pass or Capital One lounges. Additional guests can also be brought into Capital One lounges by cardholders for an additional fee of $45 each.
Up to $100 in Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credits
Like many other premium travel credit cards, the Capital One Venture X gives cardholders up to $100 in credits toward Global Entry or TSA PreCheck membership. Since joining Global Entry also gets you TSA PreCheck, joining this program is a better deal. This credit can be used every four years, and it can be used for anyone, not just the cardholder.
Access to Capital One transfer partners
Like credit cards that earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points, Citi ThankYou points and American Express Membership Rewards points, the Capital One Venture X offers you the chance to transfer your points to airline and hotel partners.
Here’s a full list of Capital One transfer partners and their current ratios, accurate as of March 2022:
| Transfer partner | Transfer ratio (Capital One miles to new program) |
|---|---|
| Accor | 2:1 |
| Aeromexico | 1:1 |
| Aeroplan | 1:1 |
| Air France / Flying Blue | 1:1 |
| Avianca LifeMiles | 1:1 |
| British Airways | 1:1 |
| Cathay Pacific | 1:1 |
| Choice Privileges | 1:1 |
| Emirates | 1:1 |
| Etihad Guest | 1:1 |
| EVA Infinity MileageLands | 2:1.5 |
| Finnair | 1:1 |
| Qantas | 1:1 |
| Singapore Airlines | 1:1 |
| TAP Air Portugal | 1:1 |
| Turkish Airlines | 1:1 |
| Wyndham Rewards | 1:1 |
It’s also worth noting that the Capital One Venture X card offers the same flexible redemption options as the regular Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, including the option to redeem Capital One miles for travel at a rate of 1 cent each. Cardholders can also use their rewards for cash back, statement credits, gift cards, merchandise and more.
Cellphone protection
This card also comes with cellphone protection, which can be worth up to $800 when your phone is damaged or stolen. You’ll need to pay your cellphone bill with your Capital One Venture X Credit Card for this coverage to apply.
Hertz President’s Circle status
Finally, individuals get the highest tier of elite status with Hertz just for being a cardholder. This tier of membership lets you skip the rental counter and choose from the largest selection of available vehicles.
Is the Capital One Venture X worth its annual fee?
Like any other premium travel credit card, the Capital One Venture X offers plenty of perks in exchange for a relatively high annual fee. Whether or not paying $395 for this card makes sense depends on whether you can actually use the benefits it offers.
That said, the Capital One Venture X was created to compete with other top-tier travel credit cards—this becomes evident when you compare options based on their annual fees. Whereas the Capital One Venture X will set you back $395 per year, the Chase Sapphire Reserve costs $550 per year and the Amex Platinum will set you back $695 per year.
If you’re hoping to acquire a premium travel credit card with the lowest possible out-of-pocket cost, the Capital One Venture X is easily the best option out there.
How to offset the Venture X’s annual fee
To offset the $395 annual fee, you just have to be able to travel at least a few times per year. For starters, cardholders can book hotels, flights or rental cars through the Capital One Travel portal. When they do, this card’s $300 travel statement credit will make up for the majority of the $395 annual fee.
From there, cardholders should reserve an eligible vacation rental booking of at least $200. The $200 statement credit you’ll receive provides another $200 in value right off and bat.
Last but not least, cardholders earn 75,000 points when they spend $4,000 on purchases within three months of account opening. These Venture X rewards are worth at least $750 in travel—potentially more if you transfer your miles to select partners, such as frequent flyer programs that partner with Capital One.
How does the Capital One Venture X compare to other premium travel cards?
We already mentioned how other premium travel credit cards charge much higher annual fees, but there are more differences to be aware of.
Capital One Venture X vs. Amex Platinum
The Amex Platinum comes with a broader airport lounge membership since you get Priority Pass Select membership, access to Amex Centurion lounges and access to Delta Sky Clubs when you fly with Delta. Not only that, but this American Express credit card comes with numerous statement credit offers including up to $200 in hotel credits for prepaid hotel bookings (which requires a minimum two-night stay), a digital entertainment credit worth up to $240, up to $200 in credits for airline incidentals, up to $155 in credits for an annual Walmart+ membership, up to $200 in Uber Cash, up to $189 in credits for a CLEAR® membership, up to $100 in credits toward Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, up to $300 back each year on select Equinox purchases and more.
These credits can more than make up for the Amex Platinum’s high annual fee, but the fact they’re so specific means they can be difficult to use. Also, note this card earns points in the American Express Membership Rewards program, which features different transfer partners altogether.
Meanwhile, the Amex Platinum features a much lower earning rate of 5X points on up to $500,000 spent on directly-booked airfare, flights and prepaid hotels booked through American Express Travel (per calendar year), 2X points on prepaid car rentals through American Express Travel and 1X points on all other purchases.
Capital One Venture X vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve
When you take a closer look at the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you’ll notice it comes with a $300 credit for any travel purchase. This credit is one of the easiest to use among all travel credit cards that offer one. Cardholders also receive a Priority Pass Select membership, a complimentary DoorDash DashPass subscription (must be activated by March 31, 2022), 12 months of a complimentary Lyft Pink membership (must be activated by March 31, 2022), up to $100 in credits toward Global Entry or TSA PreCheck and more.
This card’s earning rate is much more similar to the Capital One Venture X. With the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you’ll earn 3X points on general travel and restaurant purchases, 10X points on Lyft purchases (through March 31, 2022), 10X points on Chase Dining purchases through Ultimate Rewards, 10X points on hotel stays and car rentals through Ultimate Rewards, 5X points on air travel through Ultimate Rewards and 1X points on all other purchases. Note, you must first earn the $300 travel credit before earning rewards on travel purchases.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve also earns points that work in the Chase Ultimate Rewards universe. This program lets you redeem for cash back, statement credits, gift cards, merchandise, or travel through the Chase portal (which will get you 50 percent more value for your points). Chase points also transfer to Chase Ultimate Rewards partners, which include popular options like Southwest Rapid Rewards, United MileagePlus, World of Hyatt, Marriott Bonvoy and more.
The bottom line
The Capital One Venture X has been turning heads since before its launch, and it’s easy to see why. With a lower annual fee than the competition, up to $300 in travel credits the first year, a generous sign-up bonus and airport lounge membership, there’s not much to complain about.
Even so, you should take the time to compare this card to other top rewards cards, including other Capital One credit cards and travel credit cards. The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card can definitely be worth it, but you’ll need to do some research to know if it’s a good value for you.
