Capital One Venture X vs. Capital One Venture: Which Popular Travel Credit Card Packs More Value?
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Written by
Jason Steele
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card are among the best Capital One credit cards, offering generous rewards and travel perks. The Venture Card, with its $95 annual fee, is an entry-level travel rewards card that offers double miles on most purchases and features the ability to transfer rewards to airline miles or hotel points.
The newer Venture X has similar redemption options, but adds access to airport lounges and more travel protections. While it has a higher $395 annual fee, this card is my choice because it also features an annual $300 Capital One Travel credit that makes up the difference, leaving you with some super perks for the same net out-of-pocket cost.
Let’s take a closer look at the differences between the Venture Card and Venture X to help you decide which card offers the best value for your situation.
How The Cards Compare: Capital One Venture X vs Venture
Side By Side Comparison
Annual Fee
Purchase and Balance Transfer APR
Welcome Bonus
Ongoing Rewards
Earn unlimited 2X miles on all other purchases.
Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day.
Pros & Cons
- Earn bonus miles with a new cardmember offer
- 10,000 bonus miles each account anniversary
- Lounge access
PROS
- High annual fee
- No intro APR period on purchases or balance transfers
- No bonus categories outside of travel
CONS
- No foreign transaction fee
- Double miles earned on every purchase
- Travel perks like Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® Credit
PROS
- No introductory APR offer
- Limited hotel transfer partners
CONS
Learn More
Welcome Bonuses
I always try to maximize my credit card rewards, and one of the easiest ways to do so is to look for a generous welcome bonus.
Capital One Venture X Welcome Bonus
The Venture X offers new applicants 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening. That’s worth $750 toward travel booked with your card or through Capital One Travel, or potentially even more when transferred to Capital One’s airline and hotel partners.
Capital One Venture Welcome Bonus
The Venture Card also offers 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on new purchases within the first three months of account opening.
CardCritics™ Opinion
While these two cards often offer identical welcome bonuses, that’s not always the case.
Earning Rewards
One major reason to have rewards credit cards like the Venture Card and the Venture X is to earn miles to use for travel. Both of these cards offer similar reward-earning structures. There are no limits on how much you can earn, and your miles won’t expire as long as your account is open and in good standing.
How To Earn Rewards With Capital One Venture X
The Capital One Venture X offers double miles on all purchases, with higher rates for Capital One Travel bookings:
- 10x miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- 5x miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Travel
- 2x miles on all other purchases
How To Earn Rewards With Capital One Venture
The Capital One Venture Card also offers double miles on all purchases, with certain Capital One travel bookings earning more:
- 5x miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- 2x miles on all other purchases
CardCritics™ Opinion
The Venture X is superior for Capital One Travel hotel, flight and rental car bookings. Many people prefer to book directly with the travel provider, rather than going through an online travel agency. But given the extra points offered, it could be worth it to use Capital One Travel.
Redeeming Rewards
Both of these cards earn Capital One miles that you can easily redeem in a variety of ways. Both cards have the same redemption options.
How To Redeem Rewards With Capital One Venture X and Venture
The two easiest ways to redeem Capital One miles are to erase eligible travel purchases from your statement, and to book flights, hotels, rental cars and vacation rentals through Capital One Travel. However, I find the most value in transferring my miles to airline and hotel partners to book award flights and stays.
Capital One also lets you redeem miles for gift cards, cash back, event tickets and PayPal or Amazon purchases, but you won’t get as much value from your rewards when you use them this way.
- Transfer to travel partners: Capital One offers over a dozen airline and hotel transfer partners, including Air Canada Aeroplan, British Airways Club, Air France-KLM Flying Blue and Virgin Red. I’m also a big fan of the Wyndham Rewards program, as its points can be used for hotels and vacation rentals.
- Purchase travel: Capital One miles are worth 1 cent each as a statement credit to erase eligible travel purchases made with your card in the last 90 days. You can use your card to purchase travel directly from any travel provider, and then credit your miles to that purchase. Similarly, your miles are worth 1 cent apiece toward Capital One Travel booking.
- Gift cards: You can redeem your miles for gift cards from major retailers, and you typically receive about 1 cent in value per mile redeemed.
- Amazon or PayPal purchases. You can redeem your Capital One miles when making purchases from Amazon or PayPal, but you’ll only receive 0.8 cents per mile. To do so, you have to first link your Amazon or PayPal account to your Capital One account.
- Statement credit/cash back: While you have the option of redeeming your miles for a check or a statement credit, I wouldn’t recommend it, as it only offers 0.5 cents in value per mile. This is half of the value that you’d receive for travel statement credits.
Card Benefits
After rewards, cardholder benefits are the next most valuable feature of these travel rewards cards. The Venture Card offers some strong benefits, but the Venture X really goes all out to deliver plenty of premium travel perks.
Capital One Venture Benefits
Capital One Venture Card benefits are competitive for a card in this price range. They include:
- TSA PreCheck/Global Entry credit: Cardholders receive up to a $120 statement credit every four years toward the Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee.
- Hertz Five Star Status*: This elite status allows you to skip the lines and choose from a wider variety of rental cars.
- Hotel experience credit: Cardholders receive a $50 experience credit on every booking made through Capital One’s Lifestyle Collection of upscale hotels.
- Auto rental collision damage waiver: This allows you to decline the expensive supplemental policies that are often aggressively sold by rental car companies. I’d never rent a car without using a credit card that offers rental car insurance.
- Extended warranty coverage. This coverage adds an additional year to the manufacturer’s warranty on eligible purchases.
Capital One Venture X Benefits
The Venture X includes similar benefits to the Venture Card, plus several other premium perks, including an annual travel credit and airport lounge access. Here are some key additional benefits of the Capital One Venture X:
- Annual travel credit: Each year, you receive a credit of $300 toward bookings made through Capital One Travel. If you travel at least once a year, this credit can be as good as cash.
- Access to airport lounges: This card comes with access to Capital One Lounges at Denver (DEN), Washington Dulles (IAD) and Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), and a Capital One Landing at Washington Reagan National (DCA). You can often find me and my family enjoying a pre-flight meal at the Capital One Lounge in Denver, and I’ve even had the privilege of dining at the Capital One Landing in Washington, D.C., which was the finest meal I’ve ever eaten in an airport. This card also offers a Priority Pass lounge membership, with access to over 1,300 locations at airports around the world. Enrollment required.
- Anniversary bonus: Cardholders receive 10,000 bonus miles each year on their account anniversary, worth $100 in travel statement credits.
- Travel protections: A credit card with travel insurance is a must for frequent travelers, and the Venture X provides premium coverage that includes primary car rental insurance, trip cancellation and interruption insurance, trip delay reimbursement and lost luggage reimbursement.
CardCritics™ Opinion
The Venture X has a far more robust set of benefits than the Venture Card, as you would expect with its higher price tag. But if you can use the $300 annual travel credit, then you’ll eliminate the price difference and be left with the airport lounge access and the 10,000-mile anniversary bonus at no additional expense.
Fees and Costs
There’s no question that the Venture X is superior to the Venture Card in almost every way, except when it comes to the annual fee.
Capital One Venture X Fees and Costs
The Capital One Venture X annual fee is substantial, but it can be well worth it if you take advantage of the card’s perks. Here’s a list of the key rates and fees:
- Annual fee: $395
- APR: 19.99% - 29.24% (Variable)
- Balance transfer fee: 4% of the amount of each transferred balance that posts to your account at a promotional APR Capital One may offer you; none for balances transferred at the transfer APR
- Cash advance fee: $5 or 5% of each advance (whichever is greater)
- Foreign transaction fee: None
- Late payment fee: Up to $40
Capital One Venture Fees and Costs
Except for the Capital One Venture Card’s annual fee, the same rates and fees are similar to the Venture X:
- Annual fee: $95
- APR: 19.99% - 29.24% (Variable)
- Balance transfer fee: 4% of the amount of each transferred balance that posts to your account at a promotional APR Capital One may offer you; none for balances transferred at the transfer APR
- Cash advance fee: $5 or 5% of each advance (whichever is greater)
- Foreign transaction fee: None
- Late payment fee: Up to $40
How To Choose Between Capital One Venture X and Venture
With the Venture X offering superior rewards and benefits to the Venture Card, the deciding factor comes down to the annual fee. The thought of spending $395 on a credit card’s annual fee is a deal-breaker to many. However, the $300 annual Capital One Travel credit can offset most of that, leaving you with the 10,000 anniversary points (worth $100 in travel) and valuable airport lounge access. Because I’m lucky to live in a city with a Capital One lounge, I’ve saved hundreds of dollars on meals at the airport.
That said, the Venture Card is a competitive, entry-level travel rewards card, so if paying a hefty annual fee upfront doesn’t appeal, it’s a good alternative. It’s also a solid option if you rarely travel through airports with airport lounges, and don’t think you’d use the $300 annual travel credit either.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Capital One Venture vs. Venture X
What’s the difference between Capital One Venture Card and Venture X?
The Venture X offers similar features and benefits to the Venture Card, but includes a $300 annual Capital One Travel credit, airport lounge access and an annual 10,000-mile bonus. It also has a $395 annual fee versus the Venture Card’s $95 annual fee.
What are the downsides of Capital One Venture X?
The biggest downside of the Venture X is its $395 annual fee. Although the card’s perks make the fee easy to justify, it’s still an upfront cost.
Should I upgrade from Capital One Venture to Venture X?
If you think you’ll be able to maximize rewards and benefits with the Venture X, it’s worth asking Capital One if you’re eligible to upgrade from the Venture Card.
Why is Capital One Venture X so hard to get?
The Venture X is a premium travel rewards card that’s designed for those with excellent credit, which can make it challenging to be approved. Capital One will also look at other factors, including your overall financial picture, when considering your application.
