The Capital One Venture X Business is Capital One’s premium business card, and I’d argue that this is one of the best business cards on the market. The card offers a great return on spending, valuable perks that justify the annual fee (including airport lounge access), a huge bonus, and more.
In this post, I’d like to take a detailed look at the card, as this is a good time to apply — let’s analyze the welcome bonus, annual fee, rewards structure, perks, and more.
Link: Learn more about the Capital One Venture X Business with 150K bonus miles
Capital One Venture X Business summary & key details
Before I get into my Capital One Venture X Business review, here’s a brief summary of the key details of the card:
- Annual fee: $395
- Welcome offer: 150,000 Capital One miles after spending $30,000 within the first three months
- Rewards earn rate: 2x Capital One miles on everyday spending, 5-10x Capital One miles on Capital One Travel spending
- Airport lounge access: Access to Capital One Lounges and Capital One Landings, as well as a Priority Pass membership
- Perks & credits: $300 annual Capital One Travel credit, 10,000 anniversary bonus miles, Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit once every four years
- Foreign transaction fees: None
- Best for: Business owners who want a straightforward with a great return on spending, and who value airport lounge access and other perks that can help offset the annual fee
Below are what I consider to be the pros and cons of the Capital One Venture X Business.
Venture X Business pros | Venture X Business cons |
|---|---|
Big welcome bonus with lots of miles | No exciting bonus categories for spending |
A simple, lucrative rewards structure | Big spending requirement for welcome offer |
Credits and anniversary miles that offset the annual fee |
Capital One Venture X Business 150K miles bonus
The Capital One Venture X Business is offering a welcome bonus where you can earn 150,000 bonus Capital One miles after spending $30,000 within the first three months. For what it’s worth, I value Capital One miles at 1.7 cents each. So to me, 150,000 miles are worth $2,550, which is an excellent bonus.
Admittedly the spending requirement is big, but if you have a business with a good amount of spending, this shouldn’t be too hard to unlock. Keep in mind that the card ordinarily earns 2x Capital One miles per dollar spent, so upon spending $30,000, you’d earn a total of 210,000 miles.
Venture X Business welcome bonus eligibility rules
If you’re going to apply for the Capital One Venture X Business, Capital One’s general application restrictions apply. Note that you’re not eligible for the welcome bonus on this card if you currently have the Capital One Spark Cash Plus (learn more). However, you are potentially eligible if you have any other Capital One card, including a different kind of Spark or Venture product.
For what it’s worth, if you’re concerned about staying under the Chase 5/24 limit, applying for the Venture X Business shouldn’t count as a further card toward that limit.
Read my guide to getting approved for the Venture X Business.
Capital One Venture X Business $395 annual fee
The Capital One Venture X Business has a $395 annual fee, which applies to the primary cardmember.
While that annual fee might sound significant, everyone 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.
Venture X Business $0 authorized user fee
Aside from the fee for the primary cardmember, the Capital One Venture X Business has no fee to add authorized users. This allows you to rack up rewards for the spending of everyone on your account, and that can be really lucrative, given the card’s great rewards structure. The card also have tools to make it easier to manage that spending, including an itemized spending reports feature.
The thing to understand is that if you add authorized users at no extra cost, they don’t receive lounge access. However, if you do want lounge access for authorized users, you have to pay a fee of $125 per user, for up to four users.
Capital One Venture X Business rewards structure & spending ability
The Capital One Venture X Business has a lucrative rewards structure, and offers 2-10x Capital One miles per dollar spent. On top of that, the card has no preset spending limit and no foreign transaction fees. Let’s go over the details of each of these points.
Venture X Business 5-10x miles with Capital One Travel
The Capital One Venture X Business offers bonus rewards for travel booked through Capital One Business Travel. Specifically, you can earn 10x miles on hotels and rental cars, and 5x miles on flights and vacation rentals booked via Capital One Business 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 Business Travel to earn those rewards, but there’s often an opportunity cost to using a portal.
Venture X Business 2x miles on all other purchases
One of the greatest things about the Capital One Venture X Business 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 business card for everyday spending, since you won’t find a better return on any other business card.
While some other cards may have lucrative bonus categories, it’s hard to beat the ease and general value of earning 2x miles on all purchases.
Venture X Business no preset spending limit
The Capital One Venture X Business has no preset spending limit. This means that the card adapts to your spending needs over time based on spending behavior, payment history, credit profile, and other factors.
While this doesn’t mean that you can necessarily make a purchase of any amount on the card, this is a useful feature for businesses that frequently make large purchases that might not be covered by a traditional credit line.
Venture X Business no foreign transaction fees
The Capital One Venture X Business 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.
Venture X Business travel & purchase protection
The Capital One Venture X Business offers a variety of purchase and travel protection benefits, including emergency medical protection, lost luggage reimbursement, trip delay reimbursement, extended warranty, purchase protection, and rideshare protection.
Just keep in mind some benefits are provided through the card being a Visa Infinite, so you’ll need to see the Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.
Capital One Venture X Business airport lounge access
The Capital One Venture X Business offers a robust airport lounge access program, including access to Capital One Lounges and Capital One Landings, as well as a Priority Pass membership. These benefits apply for the primary cardmember, as well as to authorized users if you pay the $125 lounge access fee for them.
Venture X Business Capital One Lounge access
The Capital One Venture X Business offers the primary card member access to Capital One Lounges. These lounges feature grab & go food, cold brew on tap, and delicious food and drinks to enjoy in the lounge.
When it comes to guesting, you’re not allowed to bring guests into the lounge as a standard. However, if you spend $75,000 per calendar year on the card, then you can bring two guests into lounges. That benefit applies for the calendar year in which you complete the spending, plus the following year.
If you fly out of DFW, IAD, DEN, LAS, or JFK with any frequency, there’s big value to having access to a Capital One Lounge, in my opinion. In terms of future locations, there’s also a Capital One Lounge coming to CLT.
When it comes to authorized user Capital One Lounge access, you can pay $125 per authorized user per year (for up to four authorized users) for them to receive the same lounge access perks as the primary cardmember. The guesting privileges would be the same, and would be based on $75,000 of spending on the overall account.
Venture X Business Capital One Landing access
The Capital One Venture X Business offers the primary card member access to Capital One Landings. So far, Capital One has locations in Washington (DCA) and New York (LGA).
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.
Primary card members on the Capital One Venture X Business receive unlimited visits to Capital One Landings, and you’re not allowed to bring guests into these facilities as a standard. However, if you spend $75,000 per calendar year on the card, then you can bring one guest into Capital One Landing locations. That benefit applies for the calendar year in which you complete the spending, plus the following year. Guests otherwise cost $45 each.
When it comes to authorized user Capital One Landing access, you can pay $125 per authorized user per year (for up to four authorized users) for them to receive the same lounge access perks as the primary cardmember, including the same guesting privileges, based on whether there’s $75,000 in spending on the account.
Venture X Business Priority Pass™ membership
The Capital One Venture X Business offers the primary card member a Priority Pass™ membership. A Priority Pass™ membership offers 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. There’s no requirement for $75,000 in spending to unlock that.
When it comes to authorized user Priority Pass access, you can pay $125 per authorized user per year (for up to four authorized users) for them to receive the same lounge access perks as the primary cardmember, including the same guesting privileges.
Venture X Business authorized user lounge access
I explained this above, but just to be abundantly clear about how Capital One Venture X Business authorized user lounge access works:
- Authorized users only get lounge access if you pay the $125 per person lounge access fee, which is possible for up to four authorized users; if you don’t pay that fee, there’s no lounge access
- If you do pay the $125 lounge access fee, then lounge access perks are identical for authorized users and the primary cardmember, so they’d receive access to Capital One Lounges and Capital One Landings, plus a Priority Pass membership
- Priority Pass allows two guests, while being able to bring guests into Capital One Lounges or Capital One Landings is based on spending $75,000 on the card per year
Venture X Business $75,000 lounge access guests rule
While the Priority Pass membership issued through the Capital One Venture X Business offers guesting privileges, being able to bring guests into Capital One Lounges or Capital One Landings requires spending $75,000 per year:
- That spending requirement is per calendar year, and not per account anniversary year
- The spending requirement is across the card account, so both primary user and authorized user spending would count toward it
- If you reach that $75,000 spending threshold, you unlock the lounge accessing guesting for the remainder of the current calendar year, plus the entire following calendar year
- As a reminder, this allows two guests in Capital One Lounges, and one guest in Capital One Landings, and it applies to both the primary cardmember and authorized users who pay the $125 lounge fee
Instead, only the card member as such receives access. The exception is if you spend $75,000 per year across the card account, in which case you continue to enjoy the same guesting privileges. This includes two guests at Capital One Lounges, and one guest at Capital One Landings.
Capital One Venture X Business benefits & credits
The Capital One Venture X Business really shines when it comes to the perks that it offers. Beyond the airport lounge access above, I’d argue that the additional perks help completely offset the annual fee, including the $300 annual Capital One Business Travel credit, 10,000 Venture anniversary bonus miles, and more. Let’s go over the details of each of these.
Venture X Business $300 annual Capital One Travel credit
The Capital One Venture X Business offers a $300 annual credit that can be used through Capital One Business Travel, starting your first year. You can apply this to a $300 purchase through Capital One Business 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 Business 10,000 miles anniversary bonus
The Capital One Venture X Business 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 Business Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit
The Capital One Venture X Business 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 Premier Collection & Lifestyle Collection
Capital One has a collection of hotels where you can receive extra perks when booking through Capital One Travel, and having the Capital One Venture X Business gives you access to this.
When booking eligible properties belonging to the Premier Collection, you can receive extra perks including a $100 property credit per stay, daily breakfast for two, room upgrades when available, early check-in and late check-out, and more. Meanwhile with the Lifestyle Collection, you can receive extra perks that include a $50 property credit per stay.
Ultimately this is worth being aware of, but don’t get too excited, as there are lots of hotel programs nowadays that offer these kinds of perks, and they don’t require having a credit card.
How to redeem Capital One miles
As you can see above, the Capital One Venture X Business 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 is by “covering travel purchases” through the rewards dashboard on your card. 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 Capital One Business Travel, 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 around 20 travel partners, ranging from Air Canada Aeroplan, to Air France-KLM Flying Blue, to British Airways Club, 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, with Air France-KLM Flying Blue being a transfer partner, you can redeem just 60,000 miles for a one-way business class ticket between the United States and Europe. This is potentially an incredible deal.
If paying cash, that ticket would have cost thousands of dollars. Meanwhile I booked it for just 60,000 miles, the equivalent of $600 worth of travel. Not bad, eh?
Is the Capital One Venture X Business worth it?
The Capital One Venture X Business has a great value proposition, and I think this might now be one of the most well rounded business cards out there. A few key points:
- While the Venture X Business has a $395 annual fee, for mental accounting purposes, I consider the $300 Capital One Travel credit plus the 10,000 anniversary bonus miles to offset that on an ongoing basis
- The Venture X Business has an excellent return on spending, that’s better than most people will get on other cards; earning 2x miles on everyday spending is awesome, and these rewards give you flexibility to redeem as cash toward a travel purchase, or to transfer to travel partners
- The Venture X Business has a huge welcome offer that’s very lucrative, and absolutely worth taking advantage of, if you’re able to
- The icing on the cake is the lounge access offered by the card, including a Priority Pass™ membership, Capital One Lounge access, and Capital One Landing access
Before I finish up this review, I’d just like to provide a few comparison to other cards that people may be considering either in lieu of or in addition to the Venture X Business.
How does the personal Capital One Venture X compare?
The Capital One Venture X Business is based on the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (learn more), so how do the two cards compare? Truth be told, there are a lot more similarities than differences between the cards:
- Both cards have the same $95 annual fee, and that’s easily offset by the $300 travel credit and 10,000 anniversary bonus miles
- Both cards offer lounge access, though the major difference is that the Priority Pass membership on the personal card doesn’t come with guesting privileges, no matter how much you spend, while the business version of the card does
- The major differences are that the cards have different welcome offers, and that the Venture X Business has no preset spending limit, while the Venture X is a traditional credit card
All-in-all, I’d say the business card is slightly more lucrative, given that Priority Pass distinction. However, there’s potentially merit to having both cards.
How does the Capital One Venture Business compare?
If you don’t love the idea of having to pay the annual fee on the Capital One Venture X Business, it’s worth considering the Capital One Venture Business (learn more), which is the more basic version of the card. The card also offers an excellent welcome bonus, so how does it compare?
- Both cards earn 2x Capital One miles on everyday spending, as a minimum return
- The Capital One Venture Business has a $95 annual fee, while the Venture X Business has a $395 annual fee
- I’d say there’s big incremental value to the Venture X Business, including no preset spending limit, a $300 annual Capital One Travel credit, 10,000 Venture anniversary bonus miles, a Priority Pass™ membership, and unlimited access to Capital One Lounges and Capital One Landings
Between the two cards, I think the Venture X Business is the better value at this point. However, I understand that many people just aren’t willing to pay such a high annual fee on a card (even if the value is potentially there), so it’s worth being aware of the lower cost option.
What other business credit cards should you consider?
Every business card has its pros and cons, so let me just share some other premium business cards that people may want to consider:
- The Capital One Spark Cash Plus (learn more) is essentially the cashback equivalent of the Venture X Business, as it has a $150, and offers a minimum of 2% cash back on all spending; I’d consider this to be a better card if you have a business that spends a lot and want to earn cash back rather than travel rewards
- The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (learn more) is one of the most well rounded and reasonably priced business cards, as it has a $95 annual fee, and has lucrative 3x points categories, though it doesn’t offer airport lounge access
- The Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ (learn more) is Chase’s most premium business card with a $795 annual fee, but it offers strong perks, including airport lounge access, credits, and more
- The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (learn more) is Amex’s popular premium card with a $895 (Rates & Fees), and it has a very robust lounge access perk, along with a large number of credits
Capital One Venture X Business FAQs
Bottom line
The Capital One Venture X Business is Capital One’s premium business card, and it offers an excellent value proposition.
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, and a great return on spending, all with no preset spending limit.
The icing on the cake for this card is the huge bonus. If you’re eligible for this card, I’d highly recommend applying. I picked up the card when it launched, and it has gotten quite a bit of my spending over time…
If you want to learn more about the Venture X Business or want to apply, follow this link.
The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: The Business Platinum® Card from American Express (Rates & Fees).
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