Capital One Venture Vs. Venture X: Should You Upgrade?

Link: Apply now for the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (this is the best publicly available offer for the card, and we appreciate your support if you use our link)

We recently saw the introduction of the new Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, which is Capital One’s new premium credit card. This card builds on the basics of the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card (review), which has long been Capital One’s flagship travel credit card.

Understandably, a lot of Capital One Venture cardmembers have been trying to make sense of the Capital One Venture X — which card is better, are you eligible for the Venture X if you have the Venture, etc.? I wanted to specifically address that topic in this post.

Why the Venture X is better than the Venture

I’d argue that under almost all circumstances, the Capital One Venture X is a more compelling card than the Capital One Venture.

Let’s start with the main things that the cards have in common:

• They both offer 2x Venture miles per dollar spent with no foreign transaction fees, making these the best cards for everyday spending
• They both offer a TSA Pre-Check or Global Entry fee credit once every four years

Why do I think the Venture X is such a no-brainer over the Venture? The card’s annual fee is $300 higher ($395 vs. $95), but for that you’re getting:

• A welcome bonus of 100,000 Venture miles plus a $200 vacation rental credit upon completing minimum spending, rather than a bonus of 60,000 Venture miles
• A $300 credit valid through Capital One Travel every cardmember year, which you can apply towards flights, hotels, and rental cars
• 10,000 Venture bonus miles on your account anniversary every year, which you can transfer to Capital One’s airline and hotel partners, or can be redeemed for one cent each towards a travel purchase
• A Priority Pass membership plus Capital One Lounge access (the DFW lounge is amazing); these benefits apply not only to the primary cardmembers, but also to up to four authorized users, which you can add to your card at no cost
• Hertz President’s Circle status, which will score you upgrades and more when renting with Hertz
• A variety of protection benefits on account of this being a Visa Infinite Card, including cell phone protection
• 10x miles on hotel and rental car purchases through Capital One Travel, and 5x miles on flight purchases through Capital One Travel

The math simply works out very favorably here. For the Venture X you’re paying an extra $300 per year over the Venture, and the $300 Capital One Travel credit should cover that. Then you’re receiving endless incremental perks, like the anniversary bonus miles, lounge access for you and up to four authorized users, and so much more.

How should you acquire the Venture X if you have the Venture?

Say you have the Capital One Venture, and you decide that you want to pick up the Capital One Venture X. What’s the best way to go about it? You have two options — you can either apply outright, or you can potentially upgrade your card. Let’s go over the details, as well as the pros and cons, of each of these options.

Apply outright for the Venture X and receive the bonus

Even if you have the Capital One Venture, you can still apply for the Capital One Venture X, and be eligible for the welcome bonus. This is no doubt the most lucrative path to getting the card:

• You’d be eligible for the welcome bonus of 100,000 Venture miles plus a $200 vacation rental credit
• You don’t have to pick up the phone, as you can apply for the card directly online
• The downside to this method is that this would be like any other credit card application, so your credit would be pulled, and you’d have to be approved for the card; that being said, there are lots of reports of instant approvals on the card, and you may even end up with a significantly higher credit line than you have on the Venture

Product change & upgrade to the Venture X

Most credit card issuers will let you product change between cards in the same “family,” assuming you’ve had a card for at least 12 months (generally product changing isn’t possible within the first year). This will be an option for many, but generally isn’t as lucrative:

• You don’t receive the welcome bonus if you product change or upgrade from the Venture to the Venture X
• Some Venture cardmembers are being targeted for an upgrade offer of 50,000 miles if upgrading from the Venture to the Venture X; however, this is targeted (so check your email or online account), and for that matter that’s still a far cry from the standard welcome bonus of 100,000 miles plus a $200 vacation rental credit
• The benefit of this option is that there’s generally no credit pull when product changing (though you’ll want to officially verify when you make the request, based on your situation); so this could be useful if you don’t think you’d be approved, or if you’re trying to stay under Chase’s 5/24 limit

The strategy I’d take for acquiring the Venture X

If it were me, I’d try to apply outright for the Capital One Venture X, given the exceptional welcome bonus being offered. Unless you have a specific reason that this would be problematic, that seems like the best bet. Personally I value Capital One miles at 1.7 cents each, so that welcome bonus is worth around $1,900 to me, which is massive.

So I would apply outright, even if I had the Venture Card. However, in the event that you get denied or have issues with approval, you can always later try to product change from the Venture to the Venture X. Even if you get rejected for the application, that wouldn’t impact your odds of being able to product change to the card in the future.

Bottom line

The new Capital One Venture X is incredibly lucrative. In my opinion it’s a no-brainer to get this card over the Capital One Venture. While the annual fee is $300 higher, there are so many incremental perks that should prove worthwhile for anyone who travels with any frequency.

For those who already have the Venture, there are a couple of ways you could acquire the Venture X. You could apply outright, which is what I would do, since you’re eligible for the massive bonus on the card. Alternatively, you may also be able to product change. The catch is that you won’t be eligible for the full bonus — you may be targeted for some sort of an upgrade offer, but it will be at most 50,000 Venture miles.

If you have the Capital One Venture, are you getting the Capital One Venture X? If so, what approach are you taking?