Capital One Venture X Business Card Review: Powerful Earnings, Tons of Perks Capital One Venture X Business Card Review: Powerful Earnings, Tons of Perks

Capital One Venture X Business Card Review: Powerful Earnings, Tons of Perks

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The Capital One Venture X Business recently became available to the general public. This business card features tons of perks that come with a hefty annual fee — though it's comparatively less than what other premium credit cards and premium business cards charge for similar benefits.

As a charge card, you'll have no preset spending limit. However, you'll need to pay your balance in full each month. Let's take a look at the Venture X Business, the benefits it offers, and whether it's worth having in your wallet.

Capital One Venture X Business
Capital One Venture X Business
Annual Fee$395
Welcome Bonus 150,000 Miles once you spend $30,000 in the first 3 months from account opening.
  • 10X miles per $1 on hotels and rental cars booked via Capital One Travel
  • 5X miles per $1 on flights booked via Capital One Travel
  • 2X miles per $1 on other eligible purchases

Venture X Business Pros

  • Earn at least 2X miles per $1 spent on all purchases
  • 150,000-mile welcome bonus
  • $300 annual travel credit
  • Miles are transferable to 18 airline and hotel partners

Venture X Business Cons

  • Expensive $395 annual fee
  • Huge spending requirement to earn the sign-up bonus
  • Balance must be paid in full each month

Venture X Business Welcome Offer

New applicants can receive a 150,000-mile sign-up bonus after spending $30,000 in the first three months.

While that's a huge number to hit in just three months, the bonus is incredibly valuable. Recent AwardWallet user redemptions peg the average value of a Capital One mile at 2.66¢ each when transferring miles to hotel and airline partners, making this bonus worth $3,990. On top of that, you'll earn at least $1,596 worth of miles from the spending required to earn the bonus.

While touting the value of the welcome bonus, we must admit that this spending requirement is out of reach for many freelancers, contractors, or small businesses that normally might be interested in a business credit card. However, businesses with this type of purchasing power will love the value this bonus can provide.

an unseen person inserts a credit card into a card reader to pay for a latte at a coffee shop
Credit: Clay Banks/Unsplash

Venture X Business Benefits

The Venture X Business shares many benefits with the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, a personal (consumer) credit card. Let's look at the wide variety of benefits.

$300 annual travel credit

The Venture X Business comes with an annual $300 travel credit, which can be used on bookings made through the Capital One Travel portal. This applies to hotels, flights, and rental cars booked through the platform. The credit works as a discount at the time of booking, and you can choose whether to apply it to eligible bookings or save it for later.

Note that while hotels and rental cars don't generally recognize elite status or award elite credit on booking made through third parties (such as the Capital One Travel portal), airlines usually do.

10,000-mile anniversary bonus

Every year after your first anniversary, you'll receive a 10,000-mile bonus, which is worth over $250 in recent AwardWallet user redemptions.

Transferable miles

Perhaps the most valuable thing about Capital One miles is the fact that they're transferable. This means you'll be able to convert your miles over to 18 different hotel and airline partners for redemptions. This is where your miles can provide the most value.

Front entrance to the IAD Capital One Lounge
Entrance to the Capital One Lounge at Washington-Dulles. Credit: Ajay Jain/AwardWallet

Airport lounge access

The Venture X Business provides airport lounge access in three main ways. The first includes unlimited complimentary access for you and two guests to the high-end Capital One Lounges. Though there are only a few locations for these so far, they're much more exclusive than many other airport lounges and feature better amenities. You'll get two complimentary guests on each visit, as well.

The card also includes a Priority Pass Select membership, providing airport lounge access at more than 1,400 locations. Although there are quite a few premium travel cards that feature these memberships, the Venture X Business‘s membership also includes restaurant and spa access, which most others don't.

Although you'll need to enroll in Priority Pass to take advantage of this benefit, you'll have unlimited complimentary access for yourself and two guests. And you'll also get complimentary access plus up to two guests when visiting Plaza Premium Lounges.

$100 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit

Every four years, you'll be able to receive up to a $100 credit for either Global Entry or TSA PreCheck. This credit will offset your application fee to either program.

Access to two hotel collections

Like Amex's Fine Hotels + Resorts program, the Premier Collection allows you to book high-end hotels with a variety of benefits. This includes complimentary breakfast, a $100 experience credit, and “if available” perks like late checkout and room upgrades. Only Capital One Venture X and Venture X Business cardholders have access to Premier Collection hotel bookings.

Related: How To Receive Elite Hotel Benefits Without Elite Status

Capital One also offers the Lifestyle Collection. This hotel portfolio offers a $50 experience credit, complimentary Wi-Fi, and two perks you may receive if available at check-in. These are room upgrades and early check-in/late checkout privileges. The Lifestyle Collection is available to additional cardholders, but you'll have access to both programs with the Venture X Business.

No preset spending limit

This card adapts to you. Rather than a traditional credit card that may come with a predefined spending limit (such as a $10,000 credit limit), the Venture X Business adapts to your spending habits. While this doesn't mean you're guaranteed unlimited spending power, your spending power will learn your purchasing and payment habits to help you make purchases when you need to.

Cellphone protection

You'll enjoy cell phone protection of up to $800 per claim (with a $50 deductible). There's a maximum of $1,000 and two claims per 12-month period.

No foreign transaction fees

The Venture X Business doesn't charge any foreign transaction fees.

Venture X Business Earning Rates

The earning structure for the Venture X Business is fairly simple. You'll earn a flat 2X Capital One miles on all purchases, with no limit. This is in line with most other Venture card offerings, though there are a few exceptions to the rule.

Purchases made through the Capital One travel portal earn additional bonus miles:

  • 5X miles per $1 spent on flights
  • 10X miles per $1 spent on hotels and rental cars

Earning 2 miles per $1 spent on purchases that don't fall into any bonus categories makes this one of the best credit cards for everyday spending.

friends have a fire on the beach at sunset
Credit: Kimson Doan/Unsplash

Redeeming Miles With the Venture X Business

There are four different ways to redeem the miles that you earn with the Venture X Business, though some of them bring a lot more value than others.

Gift cards

Capital One allows you to redeem points for gift cards, though the value for this tends to be lower than other options.

Statement credit

It's also possible to redeem your miles for statement credits against recent travel purchases. You'll get a value of 1 cent per mile when doing so, but this can be helpful if you have fixed travel requirements and can't find other reward redemptions.

It's also possible to redeem miles for cash (not related to recent travel purchases). These redemptions are worth half a cent per mile — poor value compared to your other options.

Capital One Travel portal

The Capital One Travel portal allows you to redeem your miles at a rate of 1 cent each, which is less than half of the average value users get when transferring miles (which we'll discuss next). Miles can be used for anything you book, including rental cars, hotels, and flights.

However, we don't recommend doing this. You're much better off paying for your travel bookings, earning 10x or 5x (depending on what you book) and then redeeming miles as a statement credit. You'll come out with more miles through this approach.

Related: Why You Should Never Redeem Capital One Miles Through Capital One Travel

Transfer miles

The last — and best — way to redeem your points is by taking advantage of Capital One's transfer partners. To date, Capital One has 18 different travel partners. There are 15 airline partners, including British Airways Executive Club, Air France–KLM Flying Blue, and Air Canada Aeroplan.

The three hotel partners are Accor Live Limitless, Choice Privileges, and Wyndham Rewards.

Here are all of Capital One's transfer partners, including data on average transfer times:

From
To
Transfer Ratio
Min.Transfer
Average Time
Accor Group (ALL - Accor Live Limitless)
100:50
1,000
1 hour
Aeromexico Rewards
100:100
1,000
Immediate
Air Canada (Aeroplan)
100:100
1,000
Immediate
Air France (Flying Blue)
100:100
1,000
Immediate
British Airways (Executive Club)
United States
100:100
1,000
Immediate
Cathay Pacific (Cathay)
100:100
1,000
3 hours
Choice Hotels (Choice Privileges)
1,000
Unknown
Emirates (Skywards & Business Rewards)
100:100
1,000
Immediate
Etihad Airways (Etihad Guest)
100:100
1,000
Immediate
Eva Air (Infinity MileageLands)
100:75
1,000
1 day
Finnair Plus
100:100
1,000
Immediate
Qantas (Frequent Flyer)
100:100
1,000
1 day
Singapore Airlines (KrisFlyer)
100:100
1,000
3 hours
TAP Portugal (Miles&Go)
100:100
1,000
Unknown
Turkish Airlines (Miles&Smiles)
100:100
1,000
Immediate
Virgin Red
100:100
1,000
Immediate
Wyndham Rewards (Days Inn, etc.)
100:100
1,000
Unknown

Application Restrictions and Strategy

Capital One is one of the strictest card issuers and maintains more rigid rules than American Express, Chase, and Citi. This applies to its business cards as well as its consumer cards.

an unseen person taps their phone to pay by mobile wallet
Credit: Nathan Dumlao/Unsplash

If you'd like to get the Venture X Business, your best bet is to hold off on applying for any new cards for at least a few months before you submit your application. This is because Capital One is especially sensitive to inquiries and new accounts it sees on your credit report.

There are a few other rules of which you'll want to be aware.

  • There is no limit to the number of business cards you can hold.
  • You can only have two consumer Capital One cards at any given time.
  • You can be approved for one new card every six months.
  • This card does not report to your personal credit report, unlike most Capital One business cards. This means it doesn't affect your Chase 5/24 count, though it can report to your personal credit report if your account becomes delinquint.
  • Capital One tends to pull your credit report from all three major bureaus when you apply.

Capital One also tends to approve only those who will qualify for the bonus. However, it has also included language noting that you'll only be able to get the bonus once:

“Existing or previous cardmembers are not eligible for this product if they have received a new cardmember bonus for this product in the past 48 months.”

Related: Understanding Rewards Credit Card Application Rules and Restrictions

Cards That Compete With the Venture X Business

Business credit cards are popular products, which means you'll find quite a few options available. Some will charge no annual fee while providing minimal perks, while others run more than $600 per year but provide a swathe of benefits.

  • If you're looking for more benefits, The Business Platinum Card® from American Express has some of the strongest travel perks of any card — business or personal. This includes airport lounge access, hotel elite status, rental car elite status, and statement credits. It also offers 5x American Express Membership Rewards on flights and booked directly with Amex Travel, plus this card also doesn't have a preset spending limit. More details are in our Business Platinum Card review.
  • If most of your spending is in business categories like shipping or advertising, the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card offers 3x points on $150,000 of these purchases each year, then 1x. And the card has just a $95 annual fee while giving access to 14 airline and hotel partners. Check out our Ink Preferred review to learn more.
  • If you want a lower annual fee, the Capital One Spark Miles for Business waives the annual fee during the first year, then charges just $95 per year thereafter. This card also earns 2x miles per $1 on every purchase, plus elevated 5x earnings in the travel portal, and you'll enjoy two passes per year to visit an airport lounge. Additional details are in our Spark Miles review.

Related: Top Small-Business Credit Card Offers

Final Thoughts

The Venture X Business is an excellent option for small business owners. As a premium travel charge card, it earns a minimum of 2X miles per $1 spent, which is excellent for those whose purchases don't fit into standard bonus categories. The benefits it provides also outweigh its annual fee. With a $300 travel credit, a 10,000-mile anniversary bonus, and airport lounge access, the value the card provides far exceeds the $395 it costs to keep the card in your wallet. And if your business has the spending capacity, the card's welcome offer can provide incredible value.

Capital One Venture X Business
Capital One Venture X Business
Annual Fee$395
Welcome Bonus 150,000 Miles once you spend $30,000 in the first 3 months from account opening.
  • 10X miles per $1 on hotels and rental cars booked via Capital One Travel
  • 5X miles per $1 on flights booked via Capital One Travel
  • 2X miles per $1 on other eligible purchases

5 / 5 - (1 vote)
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