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Capital One Venture X

No one expected the Capital One Venture X to be so disruptive. It’s simple, easy, and provides immense benefits and value in excess of the annual fee.

Capital One didn’t follow Chase or Amex down the rabbit hole of higher fees with more and more statement credits you have to track to justify paying those higher annual fees. Instead they debuted a card with the lowest annual fee ( $395 ) of any ultra premium card and the easiest roadmap for recouping those fees.

You’ll get unlimited 2x points, travel bonus categories, a $300 annual travel credit, and 10k miles every year after your anniversary.

Long story short. It’s an absolute home-run of a credit card.

You can use the $300 annual travel credit on hotels like the Peninsula Bangkok which you can’t accrue elite nights or status.

Capital One Venture X offer and benefits:

The current offer:

• 75k welcome offer after spending $4k in 3 months

Benefits and fee:

• $395 Annual Fee
• 2x on every single purchase without limit
  • 10x hotels and rentals cars in Capital One Travel Portal
  • 5x flights in Capital One Travel Portal
• $300 Annual Travel Credit within the Capital One Travel Portal
• 10k bonus miles after each anniversary
• 10x on Turo through 5/16/23
• Lounge Access
  • Capital One Lounge Access
    • 2 guests allowed and $45 for every guest after that
    • Authorized Users get access as well
  • Priority Pass Select access
• $100 TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credit
• Complimentary Cell Phone Insurance
• Hertz President’s Circle Status
• No fee for up to 4 authorized users

75k Miles after $4k spend in 6 months

How can you use 75k Miles?

• $750 within Capital One Travel
• Offset any travel purchase at 1 penny per point
• Transfer to partners

3 months is industry standard for spend requirements + you’re earning a minimum of 2x on every single purchase. At the very least you’ll walk away with 83k Capital One Miles which you could use in Cap1 travel for a minimum of $830. You know I’m a transfer freak, so this isn’t where I’d throw them, but that’s the bare minimum value.

You could transfer Cap1 Miles into the following partners to fly Swiss Business Class

• Avianca LifeMiles – 63 Miles
• Aeroplan – 70k Miles
• Singapore – 72k Miles

Capital One Venture X

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Capital One lounge Access + Priority Pass with restaurant access

Not only do you get lounge access at the brand spanking new Capital One lounge network ( currently at DFW and in 2022 Washington D.C. Dulles and Denver ) but you can bring in 2 guests AND add 4 Authorized Users who all get the access as well.

You can read our full review here, but if you’re in Dallas, it’s fantastic.

Priority Pass

• Cardholder or Authorized User + 2 guests
• At restaurants $28 per person

It doesn’t stop there. You also get a Priority Pass membership that includes restaurant access. This is similar to the priority pass that Chase and Citi offer with the Reserve and Prestige, but they both charge for authorized users. Typically, you get $28 per person credit when visiting a Priority Pass member restaurant, since the card allows two guests, you could have 3 people spend up to $84 and not pay a penny. Just make sure you tip your server.

Unlimited 2x on every single purchase you make

This is where Capital One X really stands out in comparison to other premium cards. You will earn 2x points, without limit, on every single purchase you make.

$100 Global Entry or TSAPre credit

You can receive up to a $100 credit, every 4 years, to put towards membership in either program. Quick tip, membership in Global Entry gets you TSAPre as a part of the program, so you’re better off going that route since its a 2 for 1.

$300 Travel Credit and up to 10x with Capital One Travel Portal Bonus Categories

As long as you book your travel through the Cap1 travel portal, you’ll earn a $300 travel credit every year you keep the card. You’ll also get big time bonuses on the following categories

• 10x on hotels + rental cars
• 5x on airlines

How long does it take for the credit to clear?

It took my account about 4 days. You can see below, charge hit my account on the 4th and was removed on the 8th

Do you earn points on the travel credit purchase?

Yep!

Capital One Venture X

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10k Miles every year

Starting in year two, you’ll get an 10k Venture Miles each year you keep the card as an anniversary bonus.  Those 10k miles can be redeemed for $100 towards travel or transfer into partners…which is how I’d go about using them.

Capital One Transfer Partners got really valuable in 2021 + they added Virgin in March 2022

A couple of years ago, Capital One decided to lace up their gloves and start throwing punches in the transferrable rewards ring. Some punches landed, but the program was too confusing with 4:3 transfer ratios and people just didn’t get it. That all changed this year. Bit by bit, Cap1 made nearly all of their partners 1:1. Meaning, you no longer need a calculator to understand how many Cap1 miles you’ll use for a redemption.

• The following partners are now 1:1
  • Aeromexico Club Premier
  • Air Canada Aeroplan
  • Avianca LifeMiles
  • Air France Flying Blue
  • British Airways Executive Club
  • Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
  • Choice Privileges
  • Etihad Guest
  • Emirates
  • Finnair Plus
  • Qantas Frequent Flyer
  • Singapore Airlines
  • TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go
  • Turkish Airlines Miles and Smiles
  • Virgin Red
  • Wyndham Rewards
• Accor transfer 2:1
• EVA transfers 2:1.5

Read this article to see the 50 best ways to use Capital One Miles

How does the $395 annual fee compare to other premium cards?

Let’s just quickly compare the face value on Annual Fees to other bank’s premium cards and the credits that they offer. What you’ll see is that the Capital One $300 annual travel credit is very straight forward. Spend $300 in the Capital One travel portal and you’ll get credit for it. While Amex has the most credits to offset the fee, its also the most complicated and specific on the fees. Chase Sapphire Reserve and Citi Thank You Prestige offer straight forward travel credits, but leave you paying a higher annual fee as well.

• $695 American Express Platinum (Rates and Fees).
  • $200 Airline Incidental Credit
  • $200 Hotel Credit ( Pre-paid Fine Hotels and Resorts or The Hotel Collection )
  • $200 Uber Credit
  • $179 Clear Credit
  • Other credits – $300 Soul Cycle, $200 Equinox, $240 Digital entertainment
• $550 Chase Sapphire Reserve
  • $300 Travel Credit
• $495 Citi Thank You Prestige
  • $250 Travel Credit
• $395 Capital One Venture X
  • $300 Travel Credit to be used in Capital One Travel Portal
  • 10k miles anniversary bonus starting in year 2, worth $100 in Capital One Travel or transferred out

Approval tips

• Capital One will only process one credit card per 6 months…so if you’ve already applied for one in that time frame, you’re going to have to wait.
  • This means both business and personal.
  • For instance, if you recently picked up their Spark Miles for Business card – you’ll need to wait until it’s been more than 6 months.
• Current Venture Cardholders are eligible

Can you combine your miles with other Capital One accounts? This is incredible.

Yes, you can combine your points into one account. This applies to accounts under your name, and also to ANYONE else that has a Venture or Spark account. Pretty awesome.

Earn points from referrals? You betcha, up to 100k every year.

Capital One will allow you to earn up to 100k points per year referring the card, 25k per referral. As soon as this becomes possible I will create a referral page where you can leave your links. I gotchuuuuuuu

• 100k Max
• 25k per referral

Overall: It’s plain and simple to see how you can earn your $395 annual fee back every single year.

I think Capital One absolutely NAILED the drop of their new premium card. This is a card I have in my wallet and use on every non-bonus purchase I make.

Pay $395 fee and get:

• $300 Travel Credit in the Capital One Portal
• 10k miles worth a minimum of $100

That’s without even taking into account the 2x miles, lounge access, welcome bonus, etc.

Over the past few years, Capital One has quietly been gaining traction on Chase and Amex. Not only do they have an incredible list of transfer partners, which puts them in the ring with the heavyweights, but they landed some serious body blows earlier this year when they dramatically improved their transfer ratio – the program is nearly all 1:1 now.