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

Link: Apply now for the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (review) is Capital One’s 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 may be 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 want 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 Capital One miles per dollar spent with no foreign transaction fees, making these among the best cards for everyday spending
• They both offer a TSA PreCheck or Global Entry fee credit once every four years
• They both have an excellent welcome bonus of 75,000 Capital One miles after spending $4,000 within three months, however, the offer on the Venture card is limited time and comes with $250 to enjoy on Capital One Travel in your first cardholder year

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 $300 credit valid through Capital One Travel every cardmember year, which you can apply toward 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 toward a travel purchase
• A Priority Pass membership, Plaza Premium Lounge access, Capital One Lounge access, and Capital One Landing access; 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
• Bonus miles for purchases through Capital One Travel, including 10x miles on hotel and rental cars, and 5x miles on flights

The math works out very favorably here. Annually, 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 receive substantial 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 75,000 Capital One miles after spending $4,000 within the first three months
• 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 cardmembers may be targeted for an upgrade offer if upgrading from the Venture to the Venture X; however, this is targeted (so check your email or online account), and for that matter, the bonus won’t be nearly as good as the bonus for new cardmembers
• 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 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 $1,275 to me, which is excellent.

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 shouldn’t impact your odds of being able to product change to the card in the future.

Bottom line

The 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 significantly 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 bonus on the card. Alternatively, you may also be able to product change. The catch is that you won’t be eligible for welcome bonus.

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

Upon enrollment, accessible through the Capital One website or mobile app, eligible cardholders will remain at that status level through the duration of the offer. 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.

For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.