Capital One Venture X Card Review: The No-Brainer Premium Card

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

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is a card that’s in a league of its own. I’d say this card is almost too good to be true, thanks to all the amazing benefits it offers for a reasonable fee. The Venture X has a big welcome bonus, a great return on everyday spending, lounge access, lots of valuable travel perks, and unrivaled authorized user benefits.

Let’s take a look at all aspects of the card, including the welcome bonus, annual fee, rewards structure, perks, and more.

Capital One Venture X 75K miles welcome bonus

The Capital One Venture X is offering a welcome bonus of 75,000 miles after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first three months. Personally, I value Capital One miles at 1.7 cents each, so to me, the 75,000 miles are worth ~$1,275. This is one of the best credit card bonuses out there.

Note that you’re eligible for this card (including the bonus) even if you have the standard Venture product, so you can apply outright. While there may be opportunities to product change, you won’t receive the new card member bonus if you go that route.

Capital One Venture X approval tips & strategies

Capital One can be a quirky card issuer when it comes to getting approved for cards. Anecdotal reports suggest that a lot of people are having luck with approvals for the Capital One Venture X, which is great. A few things to note:

• Yes, you are eligible for the Capital One Venture X (including the bonus) even if you have the Capital One Venture, but you need to apply outright; product changing doesn’t qualify for the bonus
• If you’re added as an authorized user on the Capital One Venture X (or any other Capital One card), you are eligible to apply for the card yourself in the future, and receive the bonus
• Capital One doesn’t seem to have any consistent rules when it comes to getting approved, at least not like Amex and Chase; people with all kinds of credit profiles are reporting approvals
• Capital One pulls your credit from all three bureaus when you apply, though personally I don’t consider that to be a big deal

Learn more about getting approved for the Capital One Venture X.

Capital One Venture X $395 annual fee

The Capital One Venture X has a $395 annual fee. Note that this annual fee is for the primary card member, and then you can add up to four authorized user cards at no extra cost. Not only can you rack up rewards for their spending, but you can also get them some awesome perks.

While that annual fee might sound significant, everyone who considers this card should be able to get outsized value from that fee, and holding onto the card should end up costing you very little. I’ll talk about that in more detail below, but the card offers two annual benefits that more than offset the annual fee, in my opinion.

Capital One Venture X rewards structure

The Capital One Venture X has a lucrative rewards structure, and offers 2-10x Capital One miles per dollar spent, all with no foreign transaction fees. Let’s go over the details of each of these points.

Venture X 5-10x miles with Capital One Travel

The Capital One Venture X offers bonus rewards for travel booked through the Capital One Travel portal. Specifically, you can earn 10x miles on hotels and rental cars booked via Capital One Travel, and 5x miles on flights booked via Capital One Travel.

Based on my valuation of 1.7 cents per Capital One mile, that’s like a 17% return on hotels and rental cars, and an 8.5% return on flights. Some people might find it to be worthwhile to book through Capital One Travel to earn those rewards, but there’s often an opportunity cost to using a portal.

Venture X 2x miles on all other purchases

One of the greatest things about the Capital One Venture X is that it offers a minimum of 2x Capital One miles on all purchases. That makes this one of the best cards for everyday spending, as I value that at a 3.4% return on spending. I’d highly recommend using this card as your personal card for everyday spending, since you won’t find a better return on any other card, in my opinion.

While some other cards may have lucrative bonus categories, you can’t beat the ease and general value of earning 2x miles on all purchases.

Venture X no foreign transaction fees

The Capital One Venture X has no foreign transaction fees, making it a great card for purchases abroad. Not only can you avoid foreign transaction fees (which can be around 3% on some other cards), but you can earn rewards abroad as well.

Capital One Venture X perks & rewards

The Capital One Venture X really stands out when it comes to the perks offered by the card. This includes everything from a $300 annual Capital One Travel credit, to 10,000 Venture anniversary bonus miles, to lounge access, and much, much more.

What’s especially noteworthy about the card — and truly unprecedented — is the number of perks that authorized users also receive. Let’s go over the details of each of these points.

Venture X $300 annual Capital One Travel credit

The Capital One Venture X offers a $300 annual credit that can be used through Capital One Travel, starting your first year. You can apply this to a $300 purchase through Capital One Travel, and can use it toward a flight, hotel, or rental car. This is quite straightforward to use — my preferred method is to simply book a $300+ flight, and get $300 off that purchase amount.

I’d consider that credit to more or less be worth face value, so to me that is the equivalent of a roughly 75% rebate on the card’s $395 annual fee.

Venture X 10,000 miles anniversary bonus

The Capital One Venture X offers 10,000 Capital One miles on your account anniversary every year, starting on your first anniversary. At a minimum, you can redeem those 10,000 miles for one cent each toward a travel purchase, so that’s worth a minimum of $100. However, if you’re a savvy points redeemer, you can get even more value out of that perk.

Venture X Priority Pass membership

The Capital One Venture X offers both the primary card member and up to four authorized users a Priority Pass membership. A Priority Pass membership provides access to 1,300+ lounges around the world. With the Priority Pass membership issued through the card, you can bring two guests into lounges with you at no extra cost.

Venture X Capital One Lounge access

The Capital One Venture X offers both the primary card member and up to four authorized users access to Capital One Lounges. So far, Capital One has lounges in Dallas (DFW), Washington (IAD), and Denver (DEN), and these are excellent, much better than your typical Priority Pass lounge. They feature grab & go food, cold brew on tap, and delicious food and drinks to enjoy in the lounge.

Capital One Venture X card members receive unlimited visits to Capital One Lounges, and can bring two guests with them. If you fly out of DFW, IAD, or DEN with any frequency, there’s big value to having access to a Capital One Lounge, in my opinion.

Venture X Capital One Landing access

The Capital One Venture X offers both the primary card member and up to four authorized users access to Capital One Landings. So far, Capital One has a location in Washington (DCA), but a second one is expected to open in New York (LGA) in 2025.

Think of Capital One Landings as essentially being top notch airport restaurants, with menus designed by Chef José Andrés. It’s really a great twist on the traditional lounge concept, since it’s a place to get great food and drinks before your flight, without actually visiting a traditional lounge.

Capital One Venture X card members receive unlimited visits to Capital One Landings, and can bring one guest with them at no additional cost (extra guests cost $45 each).

Venture X Plaza Premium Lounge access

The Capital One Venture X offers access to Plaza Premium Lounges for both the primary card member and up to four authorized users. You can bring up two guests into these lounges.

Nowadays many Plaza Premium Lounges also participate in Priority Pass, so you can access many of these lounges in two ways. However, there are some lounges that participate exclusively in Priority Pass, or that have better terms when accessing through a card directly offering Plaza Premium access.

Venture X Hertz President’s Circle elite status

The Capital One Venture X offers Hertz President’s Circle status for the primary card member and authorized users. This status with Hertz offers perks like being able to skip the counter, guaranteed upgrades, free additional drivers, and more. If you rent from Hertz with any frequency, this should be worth quite a bit.

Venture X Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit

The Capital One Venture X offers a TSA PreCheck or Global Entry fee credit once every four years. You just have to charge the application fee to your card, and it will automatically be reimbursed. Both of these programs offer a lot of value if you’re a frequent flyer. I recommend signing up for Global Entry, since that comes with TSA PreCheck, while the inverse isn’t true.

Capital One Venture X authorized user perks

Something that really sets the Capital One Venture X apart from all other premium cards is the authorized user perks. In my opinion this makes this the single best card for families. You can add up to four authorized users on the personal version of the Venture X, and they receive most of the same perks, including:

• A Priority Pass membership
• Capital One Lounge access
• Hertz President’s Circle status

The main things authorized users aren’t getting are an incremental $300 Capital One Travel credit, 10,000 anniversary bonus miles, and a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit. This is quite literally the most lucrative card for authorized users, and you can’t beat this kind of a setup for families.

Capital One Venture X purchase protection (rental cars, travel, cell phones)

One thing that many people look for in premium credit cards is great purchase protection. The Capital One Venture X is a Visa Infinite Card, and as a result, it offers some valuable peace of mind:

• For rental cars, the Venture X offers primary rental car coverage; just decline the collision damage waiver offered by the car rental company, and pay for the full price of the rental with your card
• For cell phones, the Venture X offers cell phone protection; just pay your monthly bill with the card, and you’ll be protected with a $50 deductible
• For flights, the Venture X offers trip delay reimbursement; pay for your airline ticket with the card, and if you’re delayed by more than six hours or have an overnight stay, you can be reimbursed up to $500 for reasonable expenses incurred because of the delay
• For luggage, the Venture X offers lost luggage reimbursement; pay for your airline ticket with the card, and if your bag is lost, you can be reimbursed

Of course, you’ll want to consult the card member agreement for all the terms, since there are always some restrictions associated with this coverage. But this is incredibly well-rounded coverage, and what I look for in a premium card.

How to redeem Capital One miles

As you can see above, the Capital One Venture X earns Capital One miles, and you earn a minimum of 2x miles per dollar spent on purchases. How can you actually redeem those miles, though? There are a couple of ways to most efficiently redeem Capital One miles:

• Miles can be redeemed for one cent each toward the cost of a travel purchase
• Miles can be transferred to Capital One’s airline and hotel partners, typically at a 1:1 ratio

Let’s briefly talk about both of those redemption methods.

Redeem Capital One miles toward travel costs

One way to redeem Capital One miles is at the rate of one cent per mile toward the cost of a travel purchase. This means you’re earning two cents per dollar spent toward travel, since the card offers unlimited 2x miles.

If you want to redeem your miles toward the cost of a travel purchase, the best way to do so is with covering travel purchases. With this, you can make an eligible travel purchase using your card, and then you can go online after the fact and use your miles to pay for the purchase within 90 days of the date of purchase. Your credit will then be applied within two to three days.

Eligible travel purchases using your Capital One miles include purchases made from airlines, hotels, rail lines, car rental agencies, limousine services, bus lines, cruise lines, taxi cabs, travel agents, and timeshares.

It’s so nice to have the flexibility to make your travel purchase however you’d like, and then have the purchase reimbursed after the fact. Alternatively, you can book through the Capital One Travel Portal, and pay for your purchase directly with miles.

I can’t emphasize enough how lucrative it is to at least get a return of two cents on the dollar on all your business spending. A vast majority of people using travel rewards cards for everyday spending aren’t getting that level of return.

Convert Capital One miles into airline or hotel points

Personally my preferred way to redeem Capital One miles is to transfer them to Capital One’s airline and hotel partners. Capital One has nearly 20 travel partners, ranging from Air Canada Aeroplan, to Air France-KLM Flying Blue, to British Airways Executive Club, to Emirates Skywards, to Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles.

If you put some effort into learning how to redeem miles & points, you can get way outsized value this way. For example, a one-way Air France business class award across the Atlantic starts at just 50,000 miles one-way. That’s how I recently flew Air France’s amazing new A350 business class from New York to Paris.

If paying cash, that ticket would cost have thousands of dollars. Meanwhile I booked it for just 50,000 miles, the equivalent of $500 worth of travel. Not bad, eh?

Is the Capital One Venture X worth it?

The Capital One Venture X is jaw-droppingly generous, and that’s not even accounting for the card’s welcome bonus. The card has a $395 annual fee, which is lower than the fees of other premium credit cards. But the card shouldn’t be costing anyone nearly that much, between the $300 annual Capital One Travel credit, and the 10,000 anniversary bonus miles. To me you’re coming out ahead without even using the card for everyday spending.

That doesn’t even factor in that the card has huge value beyond that — the Capital One Venture X offers an industry-leading 2x miles per dollar spent, and most significantly, offers access to Capital One Lounges and Capital One Landings, plus a Priority Pass membership, for both the primary card member and the (free) authorized users.

Applying for this card is an absolute no-brainer, in my opinion. While there are lower annual fee versions of the Capital One Venture, the math adds up here.

How does the Capital One Venture X Business compare?

The Capital One Venture X Business (review) is the business version of the Capital One Venture X. While I think there’s something to be said for having both cards, how do the two cards compare?

• What the cards have in common is that they have the same annual fees, same rewards structure, and they both offer a $300 annual travel credit, 10,000 anniversary bonus miles, a Priority Pass membership, Capital One Lounge access, and Capital One Landing access.
• The personal version of the card has the advantage of offering lounge access for authorized users, Hertz President’s Circle status, and cell phone protection
• The business version of the card has the advantage of offering a much bigger bonus (though also with a bigger spending requirement), and of having no preset spending limit

I’d say both cards are incredibly lucrative. The personal version of the card is perhaps more of a slam dunk in terms of value, and almost falls into the “too good to be true” category. Like I said, given that there’s almost no cost to holding onto these cards (due to the perks), I think there’s merit to having both cards. That’s the situation I’m in.

Capital One Venture X FAQs

There are some questions I’ve received over and over about the Capital One Venture X, so I figured I’d answer those in a consolidated way in the form of some frequently asked questions. If there are any questions I haven’t answered in this post, please let me know in the comments, and I’ll be sure to incorporate that as well. In no particular order…

Are you eligible for the Venture X if you have the Venture?

Yep, you sure are. You can just apply outright, and you’re eligible for the card, including the bonus. While there might be opportunities to product change, you generally won’t receive a bonus for product changing.

Can you product change to the Venture X?

If you have another personal Capital One travel rewards card, like the Venture, you may be able to product change to the Venture X. You’ll have to phone up Capital One to see what options are available to you. However, note that you aren’t eligible for the welcome bonus if you product change.

How many authorized users can you add to the Venture X?

You can add up to four authorized users to the Venture X at no extra cost, and they all receive Capital One Lounge access, a Priority Pass membership, and more (Rates & Fees).

What lounge access does the Venture X offer?

The Venture X offers a Priority Pass membership, getting you access to 1,300+ lounges around the world, with the ability to take up to two guests. Additionally, it offers access to Plaza Premium Lounges, with the ability to take up to two guests. You can access Capital One Lounges (with two guests) and Capital One Landings (with one guest). These perks apply both to the primary card member and authorized users.

What credit score do you need to be approved for the Venture X?

There’s not a specific credit score you need to be approved for the Venture X, though the card is generally intended for those with good to excellent credit. Capital One has fairly few consistent rules about approvals otherwise, and reports suggest that a lot of people are successfully being approved for the card.

When does the Venture X welcome bonus end?

The Venture X is offering a bonus of 75,000 miles after meeting minimum spend requirements. I have no indication of if/when this bonus will change.

Is the Venture X card made of metal?

Yep, the Capital One Venture X is indeed made of metal.

How can you redeem the Venture X $300 travel credit?

The Venture X $300 travel credit is issued each anniversary year (including the first year), and can be used toward any purchase in the Capital One Travel portal. This includes purchasing flights, hotels, rental cars, etc. For most people this should be more or less good as cash toward travel.

How does the Venture X 10K anniversary bonus miles work?

The Venture X offers an automatic 10,000 bonus miles on the account anniversary every year. This couldn’t be more straightforward, as the miles will automatically post to your account. You can redeem them whenever you’d like, however you’d like. 10,000 miles could get you $100 worth of travel, or alternatively could get you up to 10,000 bonus miles with one of Capital One’s airline partners.

Is the Venture X a Mastercard or Visa?

The Venture X is a Visa Infinite Card, which is Visa’s most premium type of credit card.

Bottom line

The Capital One Venture X is Capital One’s premium personal travel card, and I’d argue it’s the single most lucrative card on the market.

While the card has a $395 annual fee, that’s easy to justify thanks to the $300 annual Capital One Travel credit and 10,000 anniversary bonus miles. On top of that, the card offers a Priority Pass membership, Capital One Lounge access, Capital One Landing access, a great return on spending, all kinds of other perks, and even the best authorized user perks in the industry.

If you don’t yet have this card, you’re really missing out.

If you want to learn more about the Venture X or want to apply, follow this link.

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.

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.