Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card: 6 Things To Know in 2024

card_name is a strong option in the travel credit card market. But is it right for you in 2024?

This card is in money expert Clark Howard’s wallet thanks to a generous welcome offer and the value that it brings him as a frequent traveler.

But before you rush to submit your application and join him, let’s dig a little deeper. Team Clark has collected all the pertinent information to help you make an informed decision.

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card: The Basics

card_name Annual Fee: $395 Foreign Transaction Fee: None Rewards Program Details: 2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day. 10 Miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. 5 Miles per dollar on flights booked through Capital One Travel. Card Description: Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel Receive a $300 annual credit for bookings through Capital One Travel, where you’ll get Capital One’s best prices on thousands of trip options Get 10,000 bonus miles (equal to $100 towards travel) every year, starting on your first anniversary

This card carries a $395 annual fee and does not offer a promotion 0% APR period on new purchases or balance transfers. However, it has a welcome offer worth up to $750 and a couple of revolving cardholder perks that can be worth $400 each year.

Rewards Structure

Capital One rewards spending with this card through the accumulation of miles. You can earn these miles per dollar on everyday purchases.

As for redemption of the miles, you’ll have a few options. Venture X does not lock customers into a specific loyalty program.

Capital One says: “Customers can use miles to book via Capital One Travel, they can transfer miles to 15 top-tier, travel loyalty programs, or they can redeem rewards for any recent travel purchase, including on purchases such as vacation rentals, flights, hotels, rideshares, cruises, and more.”

Venture X Card: 6 Things to Know

If the basic premise of this card has you intrigued, here are some more things you should know as you consider it for your wallet.

1. This Is the Most Expensive Annual Fee for a Venture Card, But Still Cheaper Than Other Premium Travel Cards

Capital One, which is typically known for no or “low” annual fee credit cards, is dipping its toes into the premium card market with this latest addition to its credit card menu.

And while $395 is a lot for an annual fee, it’s still comfortably below the “high end” offering from major competitors like the card_name ($550) and card_name ($695) (see rates and fees).

Keep in mind that picking this card over those two popular travel cards may require some concessions in the premium perks that you receive, but some people may find it is a worthwhile tradeoff to minimize the annual obligation to the credit card company.

For example, the Platinum Card touts more than $1,400 in annual benefits for cardholders. But if you don’t use the credits and benefits, are you really losing out by going with this lower cost card instead?

As you read on, we’ll take a deeper look at what this card offers to help you make the decision between it and another premium travel card.

2. You Can Easily Cover the Cost of the Annual Fee With Key Recurring Benefits

The $395 annual fee is more than we typically recommend for most credit card consumers.

But if you’re a high-volume traveler looking for a premium credit card, this one could be easily justifiable based on a few key benefits that help wash away the annual fee.

You can qualify for a $300 credit annually for bookings made on Capital One Travel. Your bookings will have to go through the Capital One ecosystem, but this benefit alone can account for more than 75% of the annual fee if you are going to be booking that type of travel. More details on Capital One Travel can be found here.

Cardholders also will receive an annual bonus of 10,000 miles every account anniversary. Capital One values these at $100 when applied toward travel in their ecosystem. If you’re able to successfully apply these bonus miles to travel each year, this is how you cover that final 25% of your annual fee with rewards each year. You will begin receiving this bonus on your first-year anniversary, so you’ll have to wait a year to take advantage of this one.

3. The Welcome Offer on This Card Is Worth Up to $750 in Travel

If you’re ready to hit the ground running with spending on your new credit card, there’s a pretty solid welcome offer available.

New cardholders can earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Using Capital One’s valuation of $1 per 100 miles applied toward travel, that bonus could be worth up to $750 in travel booked through Capital One.

Of course, you’ll need to average spending $1,333 per month for the first three months to clear that bonus threshold. So be ready to swipe!

For reference, the Amex Platinum card is currently asking for a $8,000 spend on purchases in six months to earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® Points and the Chase Sapphire Reserve has a Welcome Offer of 60,000 bonus points if you spend $4,000 within three months. Terms apply.

4. You Can Transfer Your Miles to Other Rewards Programs

Capital One has transfer partners that will allow for a “one for one” exchange of the miles that you accumulate with your Venture X credit card to be applied to the rewards platform of your desired airline or hotel chain.

Some of the Capital One transfer partners include British Airways Avios, Choice Hotels Choice Privileges and Wyndham Rewards. In total, there are 15 transfer partners that card members could access.

This can be useful if you get additional benefits for booking your travel through a specific business, or if you’re trying to combine your existing miles or points that you’ve earned with that partner business with your credit card miles to pay for a trip.

5. You’ll Get Lounge Access With This Card While Traveling

As a part of card membership, you’ll get unlimited access for yourself and two guests to more than 1,300 lounges, which include Capital One Lounges and the Partner Lounge Network.

The Capital One Lounges are a relatively new creation, with lounge services reportedly either just opened or on the slate for debut in the months ahead.

In the meantime, you’ll have to lean on the Priority Pass lounge access to take advantage of this perk for most of your destinations. Priority Pass has 1,300 lounges available in 600 cities across 138 countries, so there’s a good chance you could get some use out of this perk.

It’s hard to put a dollar value on the unlimited access here, but keep in mind that a daily charge for a Priority Pass lounge visit is $32 per visitor.

If lounge access is an important travel benefit for you, this may be a spot that makes it worth looking into the Amex card instead. The Platinum Card from American Express grants you access to the well-regarded Centurion® Network, which includes 40+ Centurion Lounge and Studio locations worldwide.

6. You Can Get A $100 Statement Credit for Travel Screening Passes

Venture X offers up to a $100 credit for TSA PreCheck® or Global Entry.

The TSA PreCheck fee is $80 for a five-year application and $70 for a renewal. Meanwhile, Global Entry is $100 for a five-year membership.

So, either way, you’re covered for the full cost of one of these if you use your Venture X card to pay for it.

Pros and Cons: Venture X

Are you considering adding the card_name to your wallet? Let’s review some of the major pros and cons of the card before you make your final decision:

Bottom Line: There is definitely a place for this card in the travel rewards credit card market.

The annual fee requires a certain level of commitment to travel, but the annual credits received with membership make it fairly easy to wash away that fee with a minimal amount of travel.

I could see this card being an option for travelers who want more than what a no-annual-fee card in the space offers, but don’t want to commit to a card like the Chase Sapphire Reserve or The Platinum Card from American Express due to the steep annual fees involved.

Are you going to join Clark by applying for this card? Let us know what you think in the Clark.com community.

To see the rates and fees for the American Express cards featured, please visit the following links: The Platinum Card® from American Express: See Rates and Fees