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The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is a premium travel credit card designed for nearly every kind of traveler. Although it has a higher-than-average annual fee, it also provides significant benefits to cardholders — including an annual travel credit, airport lounge access, 10,000 bonus anniversary miles, and more.
Let's break down the different facets of the Capital One Venture X Rewards card, its earnings rates, and the substantial perks you can enjoy if you choose to apply.
- 10X miles per $1 on hotels and rental cars booked via Capital One Travel
- 5X miles per $1 on purchases through Capital One Entertainment (through 12/31/2025)
- 5X miles per $1 on flights when booking via Capital One Travel
- 5X miles per $1 on vacation rentals booked via Capital One Travel
- 2X miles per $1 on all other eligible purchases
Capital One Venture X Overview
Card issuers have done their best in recent years to tempt high-spending travelers with premium card offerings. You can see this with American Express, where The Platinum Card® from American Express still reigns supreme. Chase’s response — the Chase Sapphire Reserve® — was one of the most highly anticipated credit cards to ever debut.
Capital One joined the bandwagon in late 2021, adding to its Venture Card lineup with the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card. Like its competitors, the Capital One Venture X card provides luxury benefits in exchange for its $395 annual fee. But do the benefits outweigh the cost of this card? Let's take a look.
Capital One Venture X Sign-Up Bonus
The Capital One Venture X card currently offers a hefty sign-up bonus of 75,000 miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
In recent AwardWallet user redemptions, Capital One miles provide an average of 2¢ each. That means that a 75,000-mile bonus is worth around $2,000 — and that’s before including the 8,000 (minimum) additional miles you'll earn by meeting your spending requirement.
Pros and Cons of the Capital One Venture X
If you're in a hurry, here's a quick summary of the card's pros and cons.
Pros
- Large sign-up bonus.
- $300 annual travel credit.
- 10,000-mile anniversary bonus.
- Big rewards on travel spend through Capital One Travel Portal.
- Earn 2x miles on all other purchases.
- Offers airport lounge access via Priority Pass and Capital One Lounges.
- Provides rental car elite status.
- Up to four free authorized users.
- No foreign transaction fees.
Cons
- High annual fee.
- Only available to those with “Excellent” credit.
- Limited opportunities to earn more than 2x miles.
- Can't access many airport lounges in the United States.
Benefits of Capital One Venture X
Capital One did a great job making sure its flagship card delivers above and beyond its cost for frequent travelers.
Annual travel credit
Probably the biggest benefit of the Capital One Venture X card is that it provides cardholders with a $300 travel credit each year. If utilized, you essentially knock the annual fee down to just $95. This matches the annual fee on the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card—which lacks the other benefits of the Venture X card.
However, the Venture X travel credit isn't especially flexible. In order to utilize it, you'll need to make a booking via the Capital One travel portal. Flights, hotels, and rental cars all qualify for the credit. Our recommendation is to use it for flights because airlines don't penalize you in the same way as hotels and rental car companies do for third-party bookings. Plus, Capital One also has a handy price guarantee tool that'll refund you if your flight price drops.
Airport lounge access
The Capital One Venture X card comes with a Priority Pass Select membership, which allows cardholders to access more than 1,000 airport lounges worldwide. As a cardholder, you and up to two guests can enjoy unlimited complimentary access to Priority Pass lounges whenever you fly. These lounges can provide an oasis away from crowded terminals and usually offer complimentary food, drinks, and outlets. You'll also see showers, sleeping pods, and more, depending on where you're visiting.
You can add Capital One Venture X authorized users for free. Each of these users is then entitled to their own Priority Pass Select membership with up to 2 guests at a time. This makes it an excellent option for those in groups or families traveling together.
Along with Priority Pass lounge access, cardholders are entitled to unlimited complimentary access for themselves and up to two guests to Capital One lounges. So far, Capital One lounges are open in Denver (DEN), Dallas–Fort Worth (DFW), and Washington D.C. (IAD), plus a newer Capital One Landing Lounge at Washington National Airport (DCA). And there are more in the works.
10,000-mile anniversary bonus
Starting on your first anniversary, cardholders will receive a 10,000-mile bonus per year. When redeemed for statement credits against travel purchases, these points are worth $100.
However, savvy travelers can get much more value from these points by redeeming through Capital One transfer partners. AwardWallet users have averaged 2¢ cents per Capital One mile in recent redemptions with partners.
Rental car elite status
Cardholders and any authorized users are entitled to Hertz Gold Plus President’s Circle status. This status grants you complimentary upgrades and the ability to skip the line at the counter. To take advantage of this perk, you'll need to register with Hertz through the Gold Plus Rewards enrollment process. Then, sign in to Capital One and navigate to the “benefits” tab to request your upgraded status.
Related: How to get rental car elite status for free
TSA PreCheck/Global Entry credit
Tons of travel credit cards offer a TSA PreCheck/Global Entry credit, so it's no surprise that the Capital One Venture X card does as well. To be eligible, you simply need to apply for membership and use your card to pay. A few days later, you’ll get a statement credit reimbursing you for the charges.
Cardholders can utilize this credit once every four years. Both TSA PreCheck and Global Entry memberships are both valid for five years, but you can renew up to one year in advance.
Travel insurance
As a Visa Infinite card, the Capital One Venture X card comes with its own suite of complimentary travel insurance. This includes:
- Rental car insurance.
- Trip cancellation insurance.
- Trip interruption insurance.
- Lost luggage reimbursement.
- Trip delay reimbursement.
- Travel accident insurance.
In order to be eligible for these insurances, you'll need to pay for the travel with your card. For flights, this means charging the airfare (or award taxes and fees) to your card. For rental cars, this means using your card to pay and declining the rental car company's collision damage waiver option.
Shopping insurance
Along with travel insurance, the Capital One Venture X also offers protections for items that you've purchased:
- Purchase protection.
- Return protection.
- Cell phone insurance.
- Extended warranty.
Premier Collection hotels
Have you heard of the American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts® program? Or perhaps its competitor, the Chase Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection? These programs give eligible customers the ability to book high-end hotels with luxury perks such as a $100 food and beverage credit, room upgrades, early check-in, late check-out, and complimentary breakfast.
Capital One has its own program, the Premier Collection, offering elevated perks on hotel stays.
Related: How to receive elite hotel benefits without elite status
Other cardmember perks and memberships
- PRIOR: Capital One Venture X cardholders receive a complimentary annual PRIOR magazine membership.
- The Cultivist grants members entrance to over 100 museums worldwide; cardholders receive 50% off an Enthusiast membership ($220 instead of $440 for a 1-year membership).
- Gravity Haus is a social club providing access to accommodations, gear, co-working space, and more. Cardholders receive $300 each year towards a Gravity Haus membership.
How To Maximize Rewards With Capital One Venture X
Earning rewards
Capital One's Mile-earning cards are some of the best out there — especially if you like to keep things simple with a strong earning rate on most purchases. The Capital One Venture X card is no different:
- 10x on hotels and rental cars booked through the Capital One travel portal.
- 5x on flights booked through the Capital One travel portal.
- 2x on everything else.
The card’s earning structure is simple. However, it falls a little behind when it comes to competitors and miles earned on travel expenses. Sure, cardholders can earn up to 10x on travel, but in order to do so, you'll need to book your travel through Capital One's travel portal.
The downside of that is that hotels and rental car agencies don't like it when you use other websites to book their products. This includes online travel agencies (OTAs) such as Priceline, Expedia, and the Capital One travel portal. In order to disincentivize you from doing so, they penalize third-party bookings by removing any benefits or credits associated with elite status.
This unfortunate requirement to book through the Capital One Travel portal to earn maximum rewards hampers the Capital One Venture X card compared to its competitors. For example, the Sapphire Reserve rewards cardholders with 3x points for all eligible travel purchases.
However, the Capital One Venture X card does truly shine when it comes to the baseline earning rate on everyday spending. Only a few cards earn 2x for all eligible purchases. Most competitors either have spending caps or offer less valuable rewards. Capital One has no caps on its 2x earning rate and offers highly competitive redemption options.
Learn more: Best credit cards for everyday purchases
Redeeming rewards
Capital One Venture X cardholders have quite a few different ways to redeem Capital One miles. The simplest way to redeem Capital One miles is for a statement credit to offset travel purchases made with your card. You’ll get 1 cent per Capital One mile redeemed this way.
Although that’s not the best redemption rate, the ability to offset any travel purchase means you can use Capital One miles to avoid paying out-of-pocket for award taxes/fees, ground transportation, and other travel costs that you typically can’t redeem points and miles for.
Cardholders can alternatively redeem Capital One miles through the travel portal — but we recommend against doing so. Instead, it’s better to make a purchase through the travel portal using your card, earn miles on the purchase, and then offset those purchases later.
Both of those options only provide one cent per mile redemption rate. However, advanced points and miles collectors can do much better than that by taking advantage of the Capital One transfer partners to really maximize the value of your points. Capital One currently has three different hotel partners and 16 Capital One airline partners:
| Loyalty Program | Transfer Ratio | Miles/Points per 1,000 Capital One Miles Transferred |
|---|---|---|
| Aeromexico (Club Premier) | 1:1 | 1,000 |
| Air Canada (Aeroplan) | 1:1 | 1,000 |
| Air France-KLM (Flying Blue) | 1:1 | 1,000 |
| Avianca (LifeMiles) | 1:1 | 1,000 |
| British Airways (Executive Club) | 1:1 | 1,000 |
| Cathay Pacific (Asia Miles) | 1:1 | 1,000 |
| Emirates (Skywards) | 1:1 | 1,000 |
| Etihad (Etihad Guest) | 1:1 | 1,000 |
| EVA Air (Infinity MileageLands) | 2:1.5 | 750 |
| Finnair (Finnair Plus) | 1:1 | 1,000 |
| JetBlue (TrueBlue) | 5:3 | 1,000 |
| Qantas (Frequent Flyer) | 1:1 | 1,000 |
| Singapore (KrisFlyer) | 1:1 | 1,000 |
| TAP Portugal (Miles & Go) | 1:1 | 1,000 |
| Turkish Airlines (Miles & Smiles) | 1:1 | 1,000 |
| Virgin Red (includes Virgin Atlantic Flying Club) | 1:1 | 1,000 |
| Accor (Accor Live Limitless) | 2:1 | 500 |
| Choice Hotels (Choice Privileges) | 1:1 | 1,000 |
| Wyndham (Wyndham Rewards) | 1:1 | 1,000 |
You probably spy a few familiar names in there — including Air France, Choice, and Wyndham. But don’t overlook the lesser-known programs.
For example, one of our particular favorites is Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles, whose regional award chart leads to some pretty interesting redemptions. This includes the ability to book United award flights from the continental United States over to Hawaii for just 10,000 miles — making it one of the best points and miles options to Hawaii:
Cardholders can use Capital One domestic sweet spots to book flights on United from 6,000 miles and American, Alaska, or Delta from 7,500 miles — even though none of these U.S. airlines are transfer partners.
Related: Capital One's Best Transfer Partners
Capital One Venture X vs. Capital One Venture
When comparing the Capital One Venture vs. Capital One Venture X, both earn 2x miles on everyday spending and bonus miles on travel purchased through Capital One Travel.
- 10X miles per $1 on hotels and rental cars booked via Capital One Travel
- 5X miles per $1 on purchases through Capital One Entertainment (through 12/31/2025)
- 5X miles per $1 on flights when booking via Capital One Travel
- 5X miles per $1 on vacation rentals booked via Capital One Travel
- 2X miles per $1 on all other eligible purchases
- 5X miles per dollar on purchases through Capital One Entertainment (through 12/31/2025)
- 5X miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- 2X miles per dollar on all other purchases
The best Venture Card for you really boils down to two factors:
- Would you utilize the Venture X’s $300 annual travel credit on travel you’d purchase anyway?
- Are you okay with paying a $395 annual fee up front?
If the answer to both is yes, the Capital One Venture X is the obvious choice. Not only does the $300 annual travel credit effectively lower the annual fee to $95, but the 10,000-mile bonus offsets the remainder of the annual fee, even if miles are redeemed at just one cent each. All of the many other Capital One Venture X benefits — 5X miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel, lounge access, and rental car elite status— are just gravy on top.
Capital One Venture X vs. Other Travel Credit Cards
We've brought up a few other cards throughout this article, but here's a handy chart to check out the major differences between the Capital One Venture X and some of its major competitors.
- 10X miles per $1 on hotels and rental cars booked via Capital One Travel
- 5X miles per $1 on purchases through Capital One Entertainment (through 12/31/2025)
- 5X miles per $1 on flights when booking via Capital One Travel
- 5X miles per $1 on vacation rentals booked via Capital One Travel
- 2X miles per $1 on all other eligible purchases
- 10X points on hotels and car rentals purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 10X points on Chase Dining (including prepaid reservations and prepaid takeout purchased through Chase)
- 5X points on airfare purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3X points on all other travel
- 3X points on dining at restaurants
- 1X points on all other purchases
(Terms apply)
- Earn 5X points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel® (up to $500,000 in purchases per calendar year).
- Earn 5X points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel®.
In the showdown between premium travel cards, there isn’t one winner. Instead, it’s about finding the best card for your travel style — and budget. Of these three marquis cards, the Capital One Venture X has a much lower $395 annual fee vs. $695 for Amex Platinum (Rates & Fees) and $550 for Chase Sapphire Reserve®.
For its much higher annual fee, the Amex Platinum offers additional perks like a $200 annual hotel credit (The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay), monthly Uber Cash credits, a digital entertainment credit, and more. Plus, the American Express Global Lounge Collection® is a notch above the Capital One lounge offerings. However, you’ll have to figure out for yourself if these perks are worth the extra annual fee. Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits.
The Sapphire Reserve offers a more flexible $300 travel credit that can be used for any travel purchase, a higher 3x earning rate on travel and dining, plus partner perks with Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart, GoPuff, and more. But you’ll have to value each of these perks to figure out if they’re worth the additional annual fee.
Who Should Get the Capital One Venture X?
The only time we wouldn't recommend this card is if you already have a boatload of credit cards, including the Capital One Venture card.
For example, let's say that you have both the Capital One Venture and the Sapphire Reserve. Between these two you have the great multiplier for non-bonuses spending, a more flexible travel credit, and better Priority Pass lounge access. In this case, the Capital One Venture X card would be fairly redundant unless you really needed multiple Priority Pass memberships.
The only other situation in which you may not want to sign up for the card is if you're especially sensitive to annual fees. Plenty of casual travelers balk at the $95 annual fee charged by mid-tier travel cards, which would make the $395 for the Capital One Venture X card look positively exorbitant — even if the card easily pays for itself over the year.
Related: Do Capital One Miles Expire?
How To Apply for Capital One Venture X
If you're sold on the Capital One Venture X, there are a few things to know before you apply. The card is marketed to consumers with “Excellent” credit. Although Capital One doesn't provide specific credit score guidelines, we'd recommend a FICO score of at least 740 to maximize your chances of approval. It's also important that you have a well-established credit history with at least a few years of data. Here's our guide to building healthy credit.
Unlike most card issuers, Capital One will pull your credit report from all three credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion). Be sure to review your credit file with each bureau to ensure there are no errors that might hurt your chances of approval.
Lastly, you need to be aware that Capital One will only accept one credit card application every six months—a limit that applies to both business and consumer cards issued by the bank. If you've applied for a different Capital One card more recently, you'll need to wait before applying.
- 10X miles per $1 on hotels and rental cars booked via Capital One Travel
- 5X miles per $1 on purchases through Capital One Entertainment (through 12/31/2025)
- 5X miles per $1 on flights when booking via Capital One Travel
- 5X miles per $1 on vacation rentals booked via Capital One Travel
- 2X miles per $1 on all other eligible purchases
Our Take: Is the Capital One Venture X Worth It?
The Capital One Venture X card has a lot going for it, especially if you can make use of its benefits. However, the pricey $395 annual fee can put off a lot of potential customers, especially if they're not used to the high-dollar pricing that comes along with premium travel credit cards.
That being said, it's pretty easy to justify this card. If you're able to use up the $300 travel credit and 10,000-mile anniversary bonus, the card itself is more than paid for. That, plus the ability to earn an uncapped 2x on all eligible purchases, makes this a worthy contender for any wallet.
Besides this, the ability to earn Capital One Miles, which can be transferred to 19 different hotel and airline partners, is incredibly valuable. Hotel and airline cards have their place, but nothing beats a flexible point currency.
Pairing this with cards that earn American Express Membership Rewards, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou points, or Bilt Rewards can strengthen your portfolio. This gives you the best flexibility when it actually comes time to redeem your rewards.
Final Thoughts
The Capital One Venture X card is a premium travel credit card made to compete with the likes of Amex Platinum and Sapphire Reserve. It does that in spectacular fashion, offering hundreds of dollars per year in value while still managing to charge a much lower annual fee.
There are many cases in which a Capital One Venture X card is the right option for you, even if you travel only once or twice per year. That being said, if you're averse to paying high annual fees or don't think you'll be able to take advantage of the $300 travel credit, this may not be the right fit. Instead, consider the less expensive but still strong Capital One Venture for similar benefits at a lower cost.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Venture X hard to get?
The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is one of the most difficult cards to get. It requires "Excellent" credit, which means you'll need to be in the high 700s before even thinking about applying. Capital One also maintains its own application rules: You can only get one card every six months with a maximum of two personal Capital One credit cards.
Capital One is also pretty strict when it comes to new card approvals. The issuer tends to look pretty heavily at recent inquiries and may deny you for having too many open accounts. You'll also want to note that Capital One pulls your credit from all three bureaus; this is uncommon, as most card issuers will only pull from one or two.
What is the Capital One Venture X credit limit?
There is no published maximum for the amount of the credit line you'll receive with Capital One, whether you're looking to apply for a Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card or a Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. Instead, the amount of credit that you'll get is going to depend on your creditworthiness.
Since you have to have an "Excellent" credit score to be approved for a Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card odds are that your limit will be high. However, before applying, you'll want to be sure that your score is going to be as polished as possible.
Factors that affect your credit score include recent inquiries, total available credit, on-time payments, credit utilization, length of credit, and types of credit.
Does Capital One Venture X do a hard pull?
Capital One will always do a hard pull when you're applying for new credit. Unlike other card issuers, Capital One pulls your credit from Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. This means you'll see a short-term ding to your credit across all three of these bureaus.
However, if you've too recently applied for a credit card from Capital One, either business or personal, you'll be automatically denied. You can get one new card every six months; applications beyond this are flagged as duplicates and denied.
How much is 75,000 Venture miles worth?
The value that you'll get out of your miles will depend on how you redeem them. With Capital One, there are a variety of redemptions you can make, including statement credits, gift cards, travel bookings, and more. However, these aren't the ideal methods for redemption, as the most value you'll ever get is 1 cent per point. That would make 75,000 Capital One Miles worth just $750.
Instead, take advantage of Capital One's hotel and airline transfer partners to extract greater value. In recent redemptions, AwardWallet users averaged 2¢ cents of value per mile for redemptions. This would mean your 75,000 miles are worth roughly $2,000. That's a big difference!
Is the Venture X card metal?
The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is a premium travel credit card. Like competitors American Express and Chase, Capital One sought to give the card a premium feel by making it out of metal. The card itself weighs approximately 17 grams, which is triple the weight of a standard plastic credit card.
Can you use Venture X right away?
Capital One does a great job with its website and mobile app, especially when it comes to online security. Once you're approved for the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, you're able to start making charges right away. This is thanks to the ability to create a digital credit card online.
However, you don't need to stop using a digital credit card once your physical card arrives. Digital credit cards can offer greater security than standard credit cards, since you can set limits and expiration dates per card. Consider using Capital One's digital card for free trials or for subscriptions that will otherwise be difficult to cancel.
How many credit cards is too many?
As long as you get value from a credit card after paying the annual fee, there's no such thing as too many credit cards. Just calculate the annual fees you're paying versus the value that you get out of each card. Some cards are considered 'sock drawer' cards and are only taken out every once in a while. These cards may provide more value than their annual fee simply by existing. Other cards may want to remain in heavy rotation, especially if you're trying to maximize every point you earn.
How soon can I get my Venture X card?
Most of the time when you apply for credit, you'll know almost immediately if you've been approved. If you are approved for the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, it'll be sent out to you immediately, and you'll receive it within days. However, you can find your Capital One card number without the card and opt to start using the card immediately thanks to the ability to use a virtual version of the card via the mobile app or the website.
What is the difference between Venture and Venture X?
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is like the younger sibling of the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card. It costs $95 per year rather than $395 per year and offers correspondingly fewer benefits. Meanwhile, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card provides a $300 annual travel credit, a 10,000-mile anniversary bonus, Priority Pass Select membership, and more, while the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card does not.
However, both cards earn an unlimited 2x per dollar spent on all purchases outside the Capital One travel portal, which can be especially good if you spend a lot at locations such as Amazon and Walmart.
Can I Transfer Capital One Miles to Family and Friends?
Yes, Capital One has one of the most generous transfer policies of any issuer. You can transfer Capital One miles to other accounts with almost no caps or restrictions. There are no fees to transfer your miles, and you can combine rewards from both personal and business accounts.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Rates & Fees), and The Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees)
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