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When it comes to travel rewards credit cards, Capital One offers two standout options: the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card and the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. Both provide lucrative earning rates, valuable travel perks, and flexible redemption options. However, the differences in annual fees and premium travel perks will determine which Capital One card adds the most value to your wallet.
If you’re looking for a premium travel card with lounge access, travel credits, and enhanced earning rates, the Capital One Venture X could be a great fit. On the other hand, if you prefer a lower annual fee while still earning solid rewards, the Capital One Venture might be the better choice.
In this guide, we’ll compare the key similarities and differences between these two cards, helping you decide which one offers the most value for your wallet.
Page Contents
- Current Capital One Venture and Capital One Venture X Welcome Bonuses
- What Similarities Do the Capital One Venture and Capital One Venture X Offer?
- Key Differences Between the Capital One Venture and Capital One Venture X
- Should You Get the Capital One Venture X or the Capital One Venture?
- Am I Eligible for a Capital One Venture or Capital One Venture X Card?
- Final Thoughts
Current Capital One Venture and Capital One Venture X Welcome Bonuses
Both Venture-branded cards offer generous welcome bonuses:
- Capital One Venture – 75,000 Miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening.
- Capital One Venture X – Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- 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
- 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
What Similarities Do the Capital One Venture and Capital One Venture X Offer?
Earning and redeeming points
Both Venture cards earn unlimited 2X miles on everyday purchases. These miles can be redeemed directly in the Capital One Travel Portal at a value of 1¢ each. Unlike other credit card companies' travel portals, the Capital One Travel Portal allows you to book airline tickets with a wide variety of low-cost carriers and mainline carriers that typically offer their tickets on third-party travel websites like Expedia. Moreover, there's no guessing what your miles are worth in the portal, unlike Amex's travel portal, which makes points worth more or less depending on what you're booking.
Capital One miles also can be transferred to 19 different airline and hotel partners, with most transferring at a 1:1 ratio. Some airline partners offer better value for your Capital One miles than others, so we recommend reading the pros and cons of Capital One's airline transfer partners before transferring miles.
If you don't want the hassle of finding award availability and transferring miles to an airline or hotel partner, you can redeem miles for past travel purchases made in the last 90 days — no matter where you made the purchase. This benefit is what makes Capital One different from its competition.
Most card issuers only let you use miles to cover travel purchases on their respective travel portals, making you subject to the prices and offerings found through the bank's travel portal rather than booking the best available deal. In addition, booking via a third party means forfeiting elite benefits and earning rewards with hotels. With Capital One, you can shop around for the best price and buy directly.
Travel perks
Both Venture cards offer statement credits for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck. And both cards give cardholders the ability to book hotel stays in Capital One's Lifestyle Collection.
In summary, both of these cards earn miles at similar rates on everyday spending and redeem them similarly across the redemption options. Both cards offer a couple of standard travel perks. That means the card that delivers the most value comes down to three factors:
- The current sign-up bonus.
- The annual fee you pay.
- The benefits you can utilize.
- Earn 75,000 Miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening
- 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- 2X miles on all other purchase
- Fee credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre✔® (up to $120)
- No foreign transaction fees
- $95 annual fee
- 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
Key Differences Between the Capital One Venture and Capital One Venture X
Annual fee
The annual fee is the primary difference between the Capital One Venture and Capital One Venture X cards. The Capital One Venture sits right in the sweet spot for a mid-tier rewards card, charging an affordable $95 per year. On the other hand, the Capital One Venture X is the cheapest premium travel card on the market, with an annual fee of $395 per year.
While that's a significant $300 difference in annual fees, the Capital One Venture X more than makes up for it in travel perks.
Earning rates
Both Venture cards earn the exact unlimited 2X miles on everyday purchases. But, when it comes to travel purchases, the Capital One Venture X earns significantly more miles than the Capital One Venture if you're booking through the portal.
The Capital One Venture earns 5X miles on hotel stays, vacation rentals, and rental cars purchased in the Capital One Travel Portal; all other purchases earn unlimited 2X miles. On the other hand, the Capital One Venture X earns 10X on hotel stays and rental cars and 5X on flights made through the Capital One Travel Portal.
Travel perks
The Capital One Venture offers the following benefits:
- Up to $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck (available every four years)
- Ability to book hotel stays in Capital One's Lifestyle Collection
- Core travel protection perks include travel and emergency assistance services, trip cancelation and interruption insurance, trip delay reimbursement, extended warranty, rental car insurance, and return protection
- Hertz Five Star elite status
While these are some solid perks for a card with just a $95 annual fee, the loss of lounge access in 2024 dealt a significant blow to the Capital One Venture in comparison to the Capital One Venture X.
In comparison, the Capital One Venture X delivers significantly more benefits, including:
- The same up to $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck every four years
- $300 annual travel credit
- 10,000-mile anniversary bonus each year you keep the card
- Unlimited access for the primary cardholder and up to two guests to Capital One-branded lounges,
- Access to Priority Pass and Plaza Premium (through March 1, 2025) lounges
- Ability to book hotel stays in both Capital One's Premier Collection and Lifestyle Collection
- Up to four complimentary authorized users (who can each get their own lounge access)
- Core travel protection perks, with the addition of cell phone protection
- Hertz President's Circle status
The additional annual fee on the Capital One Venture X comes with much more comprehensive benefits that not only exceed what the Capital One Venture offers but also are better than several other premium travel cards. However, you need to ensure you will take advantage of those benefits year after year to justify holding this card over the long term.
- 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
Should You Get the Capital One Venture X or the Capital One Venture?
The Capital One Venture X is a better long-term option if you can afford the annual fee upfront. While nearly every other premium rewards card has eventually increased its annual fee, trimmed perks, or both, the main benefits of the Capital One Venture X have barely changed since the card was introduced in 2021.
The Capital One Venture X offers two benefits that quickly cover the $395 annual fee.
- $300 annual travel credit: Applied as a travel coupon on a purchase or purchases in the Capital One Travel Portal
- $100+ in miles after each anniversary: The 10,000-anniversary miles can be redeemed as 1¢ each toward recent travel purchases, but you can also use them for a much higher value.
If you take advantage of both of these benefits — both of which should be incredibly simple to use — Capital One is paying you (at least) $5 per year to keep the card. Once you break even using the travel credit and anniversary miles, the other Capital One Venture X benefits listed in the above section provide an additional profit.
With that said, if you can't front the annual fee, the Capital One Venture is still an excellent option. And it's a perfect time to get the Capital One Venture as Capital One has sweetened the sign-up bonus with a $250 Capital One Travel credit.
If you've read this far and don't travel often — or just prefer earning cash back — we recommend applying for a different credit card than either of these.
Related: The Best Credit Cards for Cash Back
Am I Eligible for a Capital One Venture or Capital One Venture X Card?
Capital One's application restrictions are relatively easy to navigate — unlike other card issuers we've covered.
The first rule is that you can only hold two Capital One personal credit cards at the same time. However, Capital One co-branded cards and Spark business cards don't factor into this limitation.
Capital One also caps the number of cards you'll be approved for each year, limiting new accountholders to one new card every six months. If you've had either of these cards in the past, it's important to note that Capital One includes the following language on its application page for these cards:
“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.”
Thus, if you have either card right now, you can't apply for it again. You also won't be eligible for the bonus on the same card if you've earned it within the past 48 months. However, that doesn't mean you can't earn the bonus on the other card.
Related: Understanding Rewards Credit Card Application Rules and Restrictions
Final Thoughts
The Venture cards are fabulous travel rewards cards that hold up well in their respective categories. Overall, the Capital One Venture X is an excellent choice for frequent travelers willing to pay a higher annual fee ($395) in exchange for more robust travel benefits.
If you take advantage of just the $300 annual travel credit, you are effectively dropping the annual fee to the same $95 you'll pay to hold the Capital One Venture. And you will get a ton of additional perks that you can utilize when traveling. Factor in the 10,000-mile anniversary bonus (worth a minimum of $100), and you come out even further ahead with the Capital One Venture X and essentially get paid $5 a year by Capital One just for holding this card.
If you are chasing a card that charges a lower annual fee straight out of the gate and still allows you to take advantage of great earning and redemption options, the Capital One Venture is one of the best mid-tier cards available across any rewards program, and it provides value year after year that you hold this card.
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