Capital One introduced a new luxury credit card, called Venture X, in November 2021. It’s an upgraded version of the existing Venture line of travel rewards cards that offers more features for a higher annual fee. Since its launch, there’ve been some changes to the benefits, both good and bad. Therefore, I’m interested in finding out whether Venture X is still one of the most valuable luxury travel cards available.
Capital One Venture X
Annual Fee
$395 per year. Four additional cardholders can be added at no additional charge.
Sign Up Benefits
This card currently has a 75,000-point bonus if you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
We’d appreciate it if you use our referral link for the Venture X card if you are interested in applying. If you’re approved, we’ll get a referral bonus.
Spending Bonus Categories
Venture X’s bonus categories mainly focus on travel bookings made through the Capital One Travel website. Capital One refers to its rewards as “miles,” but the program is not distance-based for earning or redemptions. A more accurate term is that you earn points in the program:
- 10X on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- 5X on flights booked through Capital One Travel
- 2X on all other purchases
While the payouts for travel booked with the Capital One Travel website are significant, one disclaimer is that you’re ineligible for perks and earning points at hotels by booking with a third party.
Capital One Points
The points you earn with your Venture X card can be used in several ways:
- You can use points to erase travel expenses charged to the card at the value of 1 cent per point. Purchases made from airlines, hotels, rail lines, car rental agencies, limousine services, bus lines, cruise lines, taxi cabs, travel agents and time shares are generally considered to be travel purchases and availability for redemption is based on the merchant category code assigned to them by the merchant.
- You can book directly through Capital One Travel using your points at the value of 1 cent per point.
- You can redeem for cash or statement credit at the value of 0.5 cent per point (PLEASE DON’T DO THIS! It’s a horrible value)
Besides the above ways to book or pay for travel with your points, there’s another option. Transferring points to partners is, by far, the best way to get the most value for your points. Capital One currently has 18 travel partners:
- Aeromexico Club Premier
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- ALL – Accor Live Limitless
- Asia Miles
- Avianca LifeMiles
- British Airways Executive Club
- Choice Privileges
- Emirates Skywards
- Etihad Guest
- EVA Air – Infinity MileageLands
- Finnair Plus
- Flying Blue (Air France KLM)
- Qantas Frequent Flyer
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- TAP Miles&Go
- Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
- Virgin Red
- Wyndham Rewards
All transfers are 1:1 except for EVA Air, which is 750 miles per 1,000 Capital One points. Of these partners, TAP, Finnair and Accor are exclusive to Capital One.
$300 Annual Travel Credit
Venture X cardholders will receive a $300 annual travel credit based on the cardholder’s anniversary date, not the calendar year. Eligible travel needs to be booked through Capital One Travel.
Anniversary Bonus
Cardholders will receive 10,000 bonus points yearly, starting on their first anniversary.
No Foreign Transaction Fees
As you would hope a card marketed to travelers would, the Venture X doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees.
$100 Global Entry or TSA Pre✓® credit
Every four years you can get up to a $100 statement credit for the application fee for Global Entry or an $85 credit for TSA Pre✓®.
Lounge Access
You can access three groups of lounges with the Venture X card.
- Capital One Lounges – Currently, there are only three Capital One Lounges; they’re at DFW, IAD and DEN. More are in the pipeline, with LAS being the likely next location. Venture X card members can bring two guests with them for no charge.
- Priority Pass – As a Capital One cardholder, you are entitled to a Priority Pass Select card which allows you and two guests to access network lounges. It’s important to note that this card does not include non-lounge benefits, such as the airport restaurant credit.
- Plaza Premium – Cardholders can enter Plaza Premium lounges, like the one in MCO’s Terminal C.
Hertz President’s Circle
The Capital One Venture X card provides complimentary Hertz President’s Circle status. This is Hertz’s top-tier status and usually requires 15 rentals or spending $3000. You need to link your Hertz account to Capital One, and it takes a while for the status to show on your rentals.
Primary Rental Car Coverage
The Venture X is one of the few cards that provide primary rental car CDW coverage. This means you don’t have to file a claim with your coverage. US rentals for up to 15 days are covered for cars valued up to $75,000. International rentals are covered for up to 31 days. This coverage is almost as good as what you’ll get with the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
Trip Protections
Since it’s a Visa Infinite, the Venture X card has good travel protection insurance. You’ll have coverage for lost luggage, trip cancellation/interruption and trip delays. Unlike most other delay coverages, this one kicks in at 6 hours or overnight. The one coverage missing is for luggage delay.
Exclusive Hotel Discounts and Perks
When booking through Capital One Travel, Venture X cardholders get special perks at high-end hotels. For the most exclusive “Premier Collection” hotels, bookings include a $100 experience credit, breakfast for 2, room upgrade and early check-in and late checkout when available. For the less expensive “Lifestyle Collection” hotels, cardholders get a $50 experience credit, room upgrade, early check-in and late checkout when available, and free Wi-Fi.
Cell Phone Insurance
If you pay your cell phone bill with your card, you’ll receive $800 in coverage for damage to or theft of your phone. There’s a $50 deductible and a max of 2 claims per year. You have to decide if it’s worth using the coverage from a credit card or paying for insurance.
Shopping Protection
You’ll have peace of mind knowing that the Venture X card provides purchase security/protection, extended warranty and return protection.
Travel Related Memberships
Capital One Venture X cardholders get a complimentary PRIOR subscription, which is a service that helps with trip planning, itineraries, and unique experiences. They also get a 6-month membership with The Cultivist, which provides the member and a guest complimentary access to 60 museums around the globe.
Final Thoughts
When Capital One walked into the luxury travel card space, they knew they’d only have one chance to indicate they were serious. With the Venture X card, they put their best foot forward. At a lower price than the other players, the Venture X is a well-rounded card that earns transferrable points and provides all of the perks you’d expect from a luxury travel card.
In addition, it has some things that set it apart, like earning 10X points when booking through Capital One Travel, Hertz President’s Circle and access to their branded lounges plus Plaza Premium locations. Since the launch, Capital One has added premium hotel perks to the travel portal and museum and tour booking discounts. The main thing cardholders have lost is the ability to visit Priority Pass restaurant locations.
If you have other premium travel cards, you need to consider getting the Venture X card. It might make some of your other cards look less attractive in comparison. Remember to please use our referral link for the Venture X card if you’re interested in applying. If you’re approved, we’ll get a referral bonus.
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
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