Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card Review

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is Capital One's stab at the premium card market.  It is the first dive into the premium market by Capital One as well, but how does it stack up to the competition? In our Capital One Venture X Rewards review, we will answer that question and go over all of the card details.

Venture X Welcome Offer

The current public welcome offer on the Capital One Venture X Rewards is as follows:

• • Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
  • The card has a $395 annual fee which is NOT waived.

Capital One Application Rules

Here are the Capital One application rules you should be aware of from our guide to all banks' application rules.

Capital One generally will only approve you for one card every six months. This rule applies to both personal and business cards, meaning you cannot open a personal card and a business card within six months of each other.

Additionally, Capital One has a two-card maximum, regardless of personal or business. It is virtually impossible to hold more than 2 Capital One cards at a time.

We should also note that this card is best to get once you are over Chase 5/24.

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card Review: Earning Structure

The Capital One Venture X Rewards comes with the following earning structure:

• 10 Miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
• 5 Miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Travel
• 2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day.

Card Benefits

The Capital One Venture X Rewards comes with a ton of credit card benefits, as a premium card should, here are some of the more notable ones:

• $300 annual travel credit for bookings made through Capital One Travel.
• 10,000 bonus miles each year on their account anniversary.
• Capital One Lounge access
• Priority Pass membership
• Cardholders and authorized users may bring up to two guests per visit with either lounge network.
  • Cardholders may add authorized users at no charge.
• Up to $120 credit towards TSA PreCheck or Global Entry
• Hertz Gold Plus Rewards President’s Circle® status (may end 12/31/24)
• Premier Collection bookings with the card get a $100 experience credit, daily breakfast for 2 and complimentary WiFi on every booking, plus other premium benefits like room upgrades, early check-in and late checkout when available.

Venture X Review: ToP Analysis

The Capital One Venture X Rewards welcome offer is worth a minimum of $750, assuming you use it on statement credits to erase travel purchases. Capital One has greatly expanded their transfer partners recently, which makes the welcome offer even more valuable. Capital One now boasts 17 transfer partners, most of which have a 1:1 transfer ratio. Notably absent, however, is a United States domestic airline transfer partner.

Card Perks

After the first year, the card is essentially a no annual fee card. That is because you get 10,000 miles each anniversary worth at least $100 and a $300 travel credit. The downside to this is the travel credit needs to be used in the Capital One travel portal. That may be a deal breaker for some, as it adds complexity to bookings. It may be best used on a non-chain hotel booking, so you don't lose out on status perks or points, or car rentals. Be sure to check the portal's prices versus booking direct too.

The card perks are pretty good, especially since the free authorized user cards get some of them. Having lounge access for all cardholders puts the card at the head of the class. Hertz status could be useful for loyal members of that program as well (while this benefit lasts). Most people will be able to get some value from these perks that are hopefully “free” after maximizing the credits you get as a cardholder each year.

Stacking Up To The Competition

The earning structure of the Capital One Venture X Rewards is not the best, but most premium cards are not about earning points via spend, but instead for the card perks. Earning 2X on everything outside of Capital One Travel is solid but not great. It would be nice to have another multiplier somewhere else as well like the competitors do.

It should be noted that Capital One has been improving their award travel and transfer partner pool over the years but it still lags behind Chase, Amex and Citi.

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card Review: ToP Thoughts

It is nice to see a new player in the premium card space, competition only helps us, the user. The Capital One Venture X Rewards is kind of a lukewarm card overall though. It has some nice perks, and you should be able to offset the annual fee easier than some other premium cards, but there doesn't seem to be an area of massive value.  Capital One's transfer partners are lagging behind the competition as well. The card's earning structure is great for everyday spend but we would love to see a permanent multiplier somewhere outside of Capital One Travel.

The welcome offer is one of the better ones out there on the personal card side of things. And it may be worth getting once you are over Chase 5/24 and deciding if it is good for you long term or not. If you don't want to mess with the travel credits and other beneifts, then maybe the $95 annual fee Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is a better fit for you.

What is your take on the Capital One Venture X Rewards? Do you plan to apply for one? Share your thoughts on our Facebook group!