Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card Review
The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is on of the newest premium credit cards on the block. 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 credit card review we will answer that question and go over all of the card details.
Venture X Welcome Offer
The current welcome offer on the Capital One Venture X is as follows:
- Earn 75,000 miles after spending $4,000 in 3 months.
- The card has a $395 annual fee which is NOT waived.
Capital One Application Rules
Here are the Capital One applications rules you should be aware of from our guide on all bank’s 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 credit card 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 booked through Capital One Travel
- 2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day.
Card Benefits
The Venture X 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 up to 4 authorized users at no charge.
- $100 credit towards TSA PreCheck or Global Entry
- Hertz Gold Plus Rewards President’s Circle® status.
- 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 Venture X 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 points 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. 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 Venture X 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 Venture X 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 etc. then maybe the $95 Capital One Venture Rewards credit card would be a better fit for you.
What is your take on the Capital One Venture X card? Do you plan to apply for one? Share your thoughts on our Facebook group!
