Who should (and shouldn’t) get the Capital One Venture X card?

One of the best and most popular credit cards on the market is the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card.

While its $395 annual fee (see rates and fees) is significant, the card offers a host of travel benefits — from a $300 annual credit on purchases made through Capital One Travel to lodging access to up to four authorized users — that can be easily waived. the full annual cost of the card (see rates and fees).

The card is a step up from the Capital One Venture Rewards credit card, a tried and true Capital One product that charges a $95 annual fee (see rates and fees) but still offers a taste of what its more expensive sibling offers.

Of course, the Venture X isn’t for everyone. Let’s dive in to see who should – and shouldn’t – apply for this card.

Read more: Capital One Venture X

Key benefits of Capital One Venture X

Capital One Venture X currently offers a sign-up bonus of 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 in purchases in the first three months from account opening.

Those 75,000 miles are worth at least $750 when used for direct travel with Capital One Travel or as a statement credit for other travel purchases. But their value has risen to $1,388, according to TPG’s January 2025 estimate, thanks to a strong set of hotel transfer partners.

While that may be attractive enough on its own, the card offers many other important, everyday benefits:

• Salary: Venture X earns 10 miles per dollar on hotels and car rentals booked through Capital One Travel, 5 miles per dollar on flights booked through Capital One Travel and unlimited 2 miles per dollar on everything else.
• Credit: $300 annual credit for bookings made through Capital One Travel
• Birthday bonus: 10,000 bonus miles every account year, starting on your first day (at least $100 worth of travel)
• To access the lounge: Easy access for cardholders, authorized users and up to two guests per visit to Capital One Lounges and up to two guests accompanying the cardholder or authorized user at more than 1,300 Priority Pass lounges worldwide.
• Authorized users: Up to four authorized users (see rates and fees) can be added for free, and receive the same guest access as a Capital One Lounge and Priority Pass cardholder.
• Global Entry or TSA PreCheck: Up to $120 in statement credits for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry
• Annual fee: $395 (see prices and fees)

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Who should get Venture X?

If you’re considering the Venture X, let’s break down why the card might be a better fit for you.

You want simplicity in a premium card

The Venture X credit card is a premium card that is easy to understand. Unlike other products with a series of confusing statements and third-party partners, Venture X keeps its benefits straight.

In fact, Venture X offers benefits that can be leveraged even by novice travelers, including a $300 annual credit through the travel portal (hotels, airfare and rental cars qualify). Venture X also offers a simple cash structure, accruing 2 miles per dollar on most charges, with higher earning rates for bookings made through Capital One Travel.

In addition, Venture X cardholders receive a bonus of 10,000 miles each account year. Those miles are worth $100 when redeemed through a travel portal or possibly even more when you transfer miles to an airline or hotel partner.

Simple math will show that between the annual travel credit and the bonus miles for each account year, you’re already breaking the $395 annual fee (see rates and fees). And that doesn’t include a variety of other benefits.

Related: Capital One Venture X credit card review: Convenience benefits with a reasonable annual fee

You want access to airport lounges

While more and more travel credit cards seem to offer airport lounge access these days, the Venture X still has a few features that set it apart.

Venture X cardholders have access to a growing network of Capital One Lounges, including at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), Dulles International Airport (IAD), Denver International Airport (DEN), and Capital One Landing at Reagan International Airport (DCA ). ). The rooms have a modern design, a premium dining experience and a strong take-out selection.

In addition, Venture X cardholders gain access to more than 1,300 Priority Pass lounges worldwide.

Looking for free authorized users

Venture X cardholders can add up to four authorized users at no charge.

That’s an excellent value proposition, considering that authorized users get unlimited access to Capital One Lounges with the same guest policies as the cardholder.

In addition, authorized users receive Hertz President’s Circle elite status. By signing up with your Capital One account, your authorized user can enjoy premium rates with Hertz car rentals.

Upon registration, accessible through Capital One’s website or mobile app, eligible cardholders will remain at that status level at the time of offer. Please note, registering through the standard Hertz Gold Plus Rewards registration process (eg at Hertz.com) will not automatically qualify the cardholder for the program and cardholders will not automatically be upgraded to an active tier. Additional terms apply

You are looking for some of the best travel insurance benefits

This Visa Infinite card offers some of the industry’s best travel and travel protection benefits.

That includes trip cancellation and interruption insurance, trip delay reimbursement, lost baggage reimbursement, mobile phone protection, rental car protection, purchase protection, extended warranty protection and return protection.

Who should not get Venture X?

While the Venture X is an impressive, high-end card, it’s not for everyone. Let’s take a closer look.

You are looking for a strong network of premium lounges right now

Venture X offers many travel options, but so far, it has only three open airport lounges and one restaurant concept.

Indeed, while Capital One has great ambitions with its network of lounges, Amex has a significant head start with Centurion Lounges in more than 20 airports, as well as the Global Lounge Collection, which includes Priority Pass and Delta Sky Clubs (when flying. per day same as Delta).

Therefore, some frequent flyers who use the lounge might like a card like this one American Express’s Platinum Card®.

You don’t travel a lot or plan to use transfer partners

To really maximize the Venture X card, you should consider using Capital One’s transfer program.

Capital One has made significant improvements to its mileage program over the past few years, including moving from fixed-rate redemptions to adding airline and hotel transfer partners and improving mileage transfer rates. If you don’t use transfer partners, the best you can do is a redemption rate of 1 cent per mile.

However, by using transfer partners, there are several opportunities to take advantage of sweet spots, allowing you to improve the value of your Venture X.

Bottom line

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is a great option for those in the market for a prepaid credit card with easy-to-digest benefits. However, for those looking for a card with better lounge access or who don’t need the flexibility of airline hotel transfer partners, there may be better options out there.

That said, we think the card is probably a no-brainer for travelers from the luxury-minded to the budget-conscious.

Read more in our full Venture X review.

Read more: Capital One Venture X

For the Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are offered by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the appropriate benefits guide for details, including applicable terms and exclusions.