I’ve had my Capital One Venture X card for almost three years. When I signed up, it seemed like such a good deal that my wife got her own card.
Now that the $395 renewal fee for another year is approaching, I’m having second thoughts. I know things now that I didn’t before, which is causing me to reevaluate the Venture X cards. Are they worth keeping for the long run?
Every bank has its peculiarities. You know them when you apply for a card and decide if the reward is worth the hassles. Chase has the 5/24 rule. American Express has several things that will keep you from earning a signup bonus or, even worse, getting your accounts shut down.
Before signing up for Venture X, I didn’t have an account with Capital One. In the past, Capital One didn’t approve accounts for individuals who had multiple other cards and consistently paid them off on time, irrespective of their credit score.
Capital One changed the rules for the Venture X card, and many people, including myself, who had never had a card before are now cardholders. However, several incidents over the past few years since the card launched have made me question whether I want to keep the card.
Hotels Are More Expensive When Using The Travel Portal
I found this one when looking for a way to use the $300 annual travel credit. You have to book through Capital One Travel to redeem the credit, so I looked for a hotel room. I found that Capital One’s website was charging over 10% more than the same room on the hotel’s website.
This limits the credit’s usefulness since I have to use it for airfare or rental cars instead of overpaying for a hotel. There have been reports of cardholders submitting a price match request when the Capital One Travel website price is higher, but that’s an additional hoop to jump through,
Dropping Priority Pass Restaurant Benefit
At the end of 2022, Capital One announced that Venture X cardholders would no longer have access to the Priority Pass Select restaurant benefit. This isn’t a dealbreaker, but it further decreases the card’s value.
Sending Out Tax Forms For Global Entry/TSA Precheck Rebate
Like many cards, the Venture X provides a rebate for the Global Entry and TSA Precheck fees. Cardholders didn’t know until this year that if you get a 1099 tax form from Capital One (usually for earning over $600 in referral credits), they’ll count the $100 rebate as income.
Once again, it’s not a huge issue but another negative thing we didn’t know before.
Point Transfer Portal Was Down (AND Still No Explanation Why)
This is potentially the biggest reason I’m reconsidering our Venture X cards. I have cards that earn transferrable points because of their flexibility. I can keep my points until I have a use for them and then transfer them as needed. Therefore, it’s a problem when I’m unable to transfer points, but that’s exactly what happened with Capital One.
The Capital One point transfer portal was unavailable for two weeks in October 2022. During those two weeks, people who wanted to transfer points could not.
Then, in October 2023, the ability to transfer points between Capital One accounts temporarily stopped. Again, Capital One did not explain why this happened.
What Should I Do?
Knowing all of these things, is the Venture X card worth keeping? I think so for several reasons:
For the $395 annual fee, you get a $300 travel credit and 10,000 points. I can use the credit to pay for any revenue flight, and the points are worth at least $100, so I can erase any travel expense I put on the card. Just with that, I’m breaking even.
Earning 2X points on all purchases makes this card ideal for Sharon, as she doesn’t like remembering which card to use at the supermarket versus at a gas station.
In addition, I get access to Plaza Premium Lounges, Hertz President’s Circle status, primary rental car coverage and an excellent suite of travel insurance coverages.
Final Thoughts
Despite the negative changes in the past year, the Venture X card still has value. I know the ropes better than before and where these rewards fit into my portfolio.
I’ll take my chances that the point transfer debacle was a one-time event, but I won’t depend on Capital One points if I’m working toward an aspirational award. As always, my opinion is subject to change as we learn more about Capital One and the Venture X card.
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8 comments
I heard that Presidents Circle status is also going away.
In the past, Capital One didn’t approve accounts for individuals who had multiple other cards and consistently paid them off on time, irrespective of their credit score. –
Does this mean that they only wanted people who ran a balance? and paid interest charges + fees
or does it mean they wanted to be the only cc in a wallet?
I think it was more of the first one, they prefer customers who carry a balance and pay interest.
If I remember correctly the business version of the card still works for priority pass restaurants. The C1 lounges are also nice. I visited the one in D.C. last month for the first time and I loved the decor and the food was good too.
As far as the comment got in the hotel. That applies to almost all the credit cards and it’s not consistent. Sometimes it’s cheaper on the portal sometimes it’s the same price sometimes it’s more expensive. It just varies from hotel to hotel. So it’s not fair to make a blanket statement like that.
I’ve been looking at flights on the portal and the ones I was interested in are more expensive (20-30% more) than similar flights on Google Flights, bookable directly with the airline. So it’s not just the hotels and it reduces the benefit of the $300 travel credit.
It offers nothing :I need and I don’t need another high AF card even with the travel rebate.
as for the hotel booking, I think you can price match, no? Never tried their hotels because I am always able to use it for flights, which are priced equally, though I did have to price match a couple of times over the phone.
In terms of the bank itself, it is a cheap bank that has taken advantage of people with no choice or low credit scores. They are entering the premium market but the bank still has the old culture. I don’t think it will go away but the sad part is that the bloggers constantly promoting it because of their referral bonus, and very silent about its nasty culture. I didn’t know about this until I had one incident with them, which was further enforced when I recommended it to two friends, who said never Capital one because both of them had their credit scores screwed by C1 when they started their credit journey in the US. In general, you can tell from the interaction w/the customer service agents. Very different from Chase.