Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card review

Put simply, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is a game-changer.

The first luxury travel card from Capital One, the Venture X stands out not only for its impressive roster of travel perks – including annual benefits that can easily justify the card’s cost on their own – but also for its generous rewards scheme, which gets you bonus miles on all eligible purchases, not just travel spending.

Add in a massive sign-up bonus and an annual fee that’s lower than most of the card’s luxury competition at $395 (See rates and Fees) and it’s safe to say the Venture X stands as not only one of the best credit cards on the market, but perhaps the best travel credit card out there.

That said, since its key perks, annual bonuses and most valuable redemptions are centered squarely around travel, the Venture X card may not be the best option for occasional travelers. Plus, though the Venture X can easily offer more value than a lower-cost travel card, you may not be comfortable with such a high annual fee – no matter how much value you can squeeze out of the card.

See related: How to pick a travel credit card

Why you might want the Capital One Venture X card

If you’re a frequent traveler who doesn’t mind putting up an annual fee in exchange for competitive rewards rates and useful perks like travel credits and airport lounge access, the Venture X card should be one of your first stops.

Along with a big sign-up bonus and several valuable benefits that make it easy to offset the card’s cost, the Venture X comes with a versatile rewards program that gives you the flexibility to redeem miles for travel with the issuer or to cover outside travel purchases.

Terrific rewards rate on both travel and non-travel purchases

One of the most unique and appealing aspects of the Venture X card is its generous rewards rate not only on travel purchases like airline and hotel bookings – a feature common among luxury travel cards – but also on everyday spending.

Along with the 10 miles per dollar you’ll earn on hotel and rental car bookings made via the Capital One Travel portal and the 5 miles per dollar you’ll earn on flights and vacation rentals booked through the portal, you’ll get 2 miles per dollar on general purchases.

While other luxury travel cards may match the Venture X card’s rewards rate on hotel and airline bookings, almost none can compete with its boosted rate on general purchases. Comparable cards that earn 2 to 5 points per dollar in categories like travel, dining and groceries tend to only earn just 1 point per dollar on general purchases. Meanwhile, though plenty of flat-rate rewards cards offer 1.5 or 2 points per dollar on all eligible purchases, they don’t carry bonus rewards rates in any specific spending categories. This makes the Venture X card’s rewards program truly unique and potentially very lucrative, especially for big spenders and frequent travelers.

To get a sense of how much you can earn via card spend with the Venture X, let’s say you take 10 round-trip flights per year at an average cost of around $350, for a total of $3,500 in spending on airfare. If you booked those flights through the Capital One Travel portal, you’d earn 17,500 miles (at a rate of 5 miles per dollar). Add in $2,000 in spending on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One (at a rate of 10 miles per dollar) and $1,500 per month in general spending (at a rate of 2 miles per dollar) and you’d earn another 56,000 miles per year, giving you a total of 73,500 miles, worth $735 when redeemed for travel.

Even if you subtracted the card’s $395 annual fee (See rates and Fees) from that total, you’d be up $340.

Compare this with the same spending breakdown on one of the Venture X card’s main competitors, The Platinum Card® from American Express. Setting aside both cards’ valuable perks and credits, you’ll see just how much of a difference the Venture X card’s boosted rate on general purchases makes when it comes to earning rewards via card spend:

Perks and annual bonuses alone easily cover annual fee

The Venture X card’s steep annual fee may make you nervous, but rest assured that the fee is easily worth it if you take advantage of the card’s generous benefits. In fact, you can completely cover the card’s cost by maximizing just two of its key perks – the account anniversary bonus and the annual credit for bookings through Capital One Travel – which together offer up to $400 in annual value.

You’ll get 10,000 bonus miles each year on your account anniversary, worth $100 when you redeem for travel through Capital One or use it to cover outside travel purchases. You’ll also get a $300 Capital One travel credit each year for booking through Capital One Travel.

This means that if you already spend at least $400 per year on travel – the cost of one or two round-trip domestic flights – it essentially costs you nothing to keep the Venture X card in your wallet: For a $395 annual fee (See rates and Fees), you’ll automatically get $100 worth of travel rewards added to your account each year, and if you purchase travel through the Capital One Travel portal, your first $300 in spending will be covered by the travel credit.

The card’s other major perks also add value but may be more suited to especially frequent travelers, including an up to $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck every four years and a complimentary Priority Pass Select membership, which gets you access to over 1,300 lounges around the world. You’ll also get unlimited access to the brand-new Capital One Lounge and two complimentary guest passes per year. Considering a Priority Pass Standard Plus membership costs $299, the value of these lounge access benefits alone could make up a big chunk of the card’s annual fee.

The card also charges no foreign transaction fees (See rates and Fees) and no fee for the first four authorized users you add to the card (See rates and Fees). The Chase Sapphire Reserve®, meanwhile, charges $75 per authorized user).

This list of cardholder benefits is even more impressive considering the Venture X card’s relatively low cost compared to its luxury travel competitors. While a $395 annual fee (See rates and Fees) is certainly nothing to sneeze at, it pales in comparison to the $695 annual fee you’ll find on the Amex Platinum and the $550 annual fee on the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

Flexible travel redemptions

Like the original Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, the Venture X stands out for its impressive redemption flexibility. Unlike most travel rewards cards, which require you to redeem rewards through an issuer’s travel portal to enjoy full value, the Venture X lets you redeem miles for travel not only through the Capital One Travel portal, but also to cover outside travel purchases – such as bookings made directly with airlines and hotels or via third-party travel sites like Expedia. This is a huge advantage since it lets you shop around for the best deals on every aspect of your trip.

Capital One also offers a decent mix of travel transfer partners, the majority of which allow you to transfer miles at a 1:1 ratio, including British Airways, Air France-KLM, Avianca LifeMiles, Wyndham Rewards and more. Depending on the value of the transfer partner’s rewards currency, you may even get more bang for your buck by moving your Capital One miles around this way.

See related: Capital One travel partners

Terrific sign-up bonus

The Venture X card features one of the highest sign-up bonuses currently available on a travel rewards card, making now a great time to apply if you have a big trip on the horizon and are looking for an influx of rewards. Even though the current offer is a drop from the card’s original bonus of 100,000 miles after meeting the spending requirements in your first six months, it’s still quite valuable. You can earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 in your first three months – worth $750 when redeemed for travel, whether you book through the Capital One Travel portal or use miles to cover outside travel purchases.

Leaving aside all the card’s perks and rewards from ongoing spending, that could rival the bonus value offered by the card’s main competitors, the much pricier Amex Platinum ($695 annual fee) and Chase Sapphire Reserve ($550 annual fee):

Why another card might be a better fit

While the Venture X is no doubt one of the best travel rewards cards on the market thanks to its valuable bonuses and terrific rewards rate on both travel and general purchases, it may not be the best fit based on your goals and spending habits.

If you only travel occasionally or want the flexibility to redeem rewards for both cash back and travel without sacrificing rewards value, you may be better off with a lower-cost, more versatile rewards card.

A risky option for infrequent travelers

Despite its generous rewards rate on non-travel purchases and easy-to-use perks that help offset its cost, the Venture X card could still be too pricey for novice travelers.

To get the most value out of the card, you’ll need to take advantage of its boosted rewards rate on Capital One travel bookings and its $300 Capital One travel credit. If you don’t travel enough to make use of these features or don’t want to be stuck using the issuer’s portal to earn boosted rewards on travel bookings, the Venture X card’s annual fee may be tough to swallow.

Assuming you only use the card for general purchases and never make any travel bookings, you’ll need to spend at least $19,750 per year (just under $1,650 per month) to earn enough rewards to break even with the Venture X card. Compare this with the original Venture card, and you’d only need to spend $4,750 on general purchases per year (just over $395 per month) to cover the Venture card’s $95 annual fee (See rates and Fees) – around a fourth of the spending required to break even with the Venture X. This may be an extreme example, but it illustrates just how difficult it could be for modest spenders and infrequent travelers to justify the Venture X card’s cost.

Plus, since you’ll need to redeem miles for travel to get the most value out of your rewards, the Venture X won’t make much sense if you plan to use your rewards for cash back, gift cards, online shopping or other non-travel redemptions. Opting for a non-travel redemption with the Venture X typically means diluting the value of your miles, making it even more difficult to justify the card’s cost.

On this front, the Venture X card’s rewards program simply can’t match the versatility of a program like Chase Ultimate Rewards, which lets you redeem points for travel with Chase, cash back, gift cards and more at a minimum of 1-cent-per-point.

See related: Cash back vs. points

Limited non-travel perks

If you don’t place much value in perks like expedited security screening or airport lounge access, the Venture X card’s perks may be a disappointment. You won’t get many of the one-off extras that pop up on luxury cards, like complimentary food delivery service subscriptions or shopping and rideshare credits.

Compare this with the Amex Platinum, an elite card so packed with extra credits and discounts that some users have described the card as resembling a coupon book. Along with the sort of travel benefits you’ll find on the Venture X, the Amex Platinum would get you hundreds of dollars’ worth of perks, including credits for Saks Fifth Avenue credit digital entertainment and more.

How does the Venture X compare to other travel rewards cards?

The Venture X is no doubt a top-tier travel rewards card that more than holds its own against established competitors. However, depending on your spending and redemption habits, your appetite for annual fees and the other cards in your wallet, one of these alternatives may be a better fit:

Chase Sapphire Reserve®	The Platinum Card® from American Express	Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Rewards rate Earn 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Travel℠. Earn 5x total points on flights through Chase Travel℠. Earn 3x points on other travel and dining. Earn 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.	Rewards rate Earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year. Earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel. Earn 1X Membership Rewards® Points for all other purchases Terms apply	Rewards rate 5 Miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel 2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day
Welcome bonus Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.	Welcome bonus Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.	Welcome bonus 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening
Annual fee $550	Annual fee $695	Annual fee $95 (See rates and Fees)
Other things to know Pool points with other Chase Ultimate Rewards card Points are 50% more valuable when redeemed for travel with Chase	Other things to know Extensive airport lounge access, including Priority Pass and Centurion lounges Either a $120 statement credit every 4 years for a Global Entry application fee or a statement credit up to $85 every 4.5 years for a TSA PreCheck® Up to $200 in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection bookings with American Express Travel (when you pay with your Platinum Card; minimum two-night stay required)	Other things to know No foreign transaction fees (See rates and Fees) Redeem miles for any travel purchase (even those made on third-party sites)

Capital One Venture X vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve

One of the most popular luxury travel cards, the Chase Sapphire Reserve carries a much higher annual fee than the Venture X, but also has a clear edge when it comes to redemption value. Not only can you earn a higher rewards at a higher rate on general travel and restaurants (3 points per dollar), but you also get 50% more value out of your points when you redeem for travel with Chase (1.5 cents per point). You also maintain solid value when you opt for cash back and outside travel as you’ll always get a point value of at least 1 cent per point.

You can also take advantage of the Chase Trifecta to stack the Sapphire Reserve with no annual fee Ultimate Rewards cards that earn rewards in unique bonus categories, then pool your points to enjoy the higher travel redemption value. This gives the Sapphire Reserve a bit more flexibility compared to the Venture X.

You also won’t miss out on many of the Venture card’s best perks, as the Sapphire Reserve comes with its own $300 annual travel credit, Priority Pass Select membership and other valuable benefits.

Capital One Venture X vs. The Platinum Card from American Express

Another standout in the luxury travel space, the Amex Platinum is famous for its generous roster of cardholder perks, which could translate to thousands of dollars’ worth of value if you take full advantage. These extras can more than cover the card’s extremely high annual fee.

The Amex Platinum also offers broader lounge access and a more robust set of transfer partners than the Venture X, some of which could boost the value of your rewards to as much as 2 cents per point – double the standard value you’ll get out of miles redeemed through the Capital One Travel portal.

Though it certainly falls short of the Venture X when it comes to rewards earned via general spending, the Amex Platinum can be one of the most lucrative travel cards out there in the hands of the right cardholder.

Capital One Venture X vs. Capital One Venture

If you’re on the fence about whether you’re willing to put up the Venture X card’s steep annual fee, the original Venture card is well worth a look, especially if you want to earn travel rewards but don’t typically spend much on travel.

Offering the same base rewards rate at less than a fourth of the price, the Venture card could be a much safer choice for occasional travelers since you’ll only need to spend about $400 per month to offset its annual fee.

How to use the Venture X card

• Be sure to spend at least $300 per year on travel booked through the Capital One Travel portal to take advantage of the card’s $300 travel credit.
• To maximize your earnings on airline, vacation rental, hotel and rental car bookings, be sure to buy through the Capital One travel portal.
• Use the card for most of your general spending to take advantage of the card’s generous base rewards rate.
• Consider transferring your Capital One miles to a partner airline or hotel program if you need to top off a rewards balance or could squeeze more value out of a partner’s rewards currency.

Is the Capital One Venture X right for you?

If you travel frequently and are looking for a card to use for the majority of your travel and everyday spending, the Venture X card should offer remarkable value with few downsides.

The card’s perks alone should easily cover the annual fee and its best-in-class rewards rate on general purchases means it should offer solid ongoing value, even if your travel spending dips. However, if you aren’t sure you’ll spend hundreds of dollars on travel each year or if you want the option to redeem for cash back without sacrificing rewards value, a lower-cost, general rewards card may be a better fit.

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

*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.