Should I buy Venture X?

In November 2021, Capital One launched its new premium credit card Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card. It includes all the perks you would expect from a premium card, including travel rewards, annual credits, lounge access and a massive welcome bonus. And, as with other premium cards, it all comes with a hefty annual fee.

Capital One Venture X is now one of several premium travel credit cards on the market, meaning cardholders will have to decide whether or not to add this card to their collection. To help you decide if this card is right for you, we break down the benefits and costs associated with this card, and how to find out if it’s right for you.

Premium travel card from Capital One

When you sign up with Capital One Venture X, you will receive 75,000 bonus miles if you spend $4,000 within the first three months of opening an account. Its welcome bonus and spending threshold is similar to American Express’s Platinum Card®, another premium travel card that offers a 100,000 points bonus if you spend $6,000 within the first six months with an Amex card.

In addition to the 75,000 Points welcome bonus, Venture X also offers cardholders 10,000 miles as an annual bonus each year, worth $100 if used for travel.

Next, let’s talk about some of the perks of travel cards. Venture X is a premium travel card, which means that many of its benefits are related to travel. First, the card offers increased rewards for purchases while traveling. You’ll earn 10x miles on hotels and car rentals and 5x miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel. You’ll also earn 2x miles on all other purchases, which is double the total reward rate of other popular premium travel cards such as the Amex Platinum Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve.

Venture X also offers many other travel benefits:

• Up to $300 annual travel credit when booked through Capital One Travel
• Up to $200 vacation rental credit deducted from your account in the first year
• Unlimited access to the Capital One Lounge for you and two guests
• Priority Pass with unlimited access for you and your guests to over 1300 participating VIP lounges in over 600 cities.
• Up to $100 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck when paying with Venture X
• Redeem miles with over 15 different flight, hotel and rental loyalty programs
• No fees for foreign transactions
• Mobile phone protection up to $800 if your phone is stolen or damaged
• Hertz President’s Circle status so you can skip the counter and choose from a wider selection of rental cars with guaranteed upgrades.

Luxury card cost

Now that we’ve talked about the perks that come with the Capital One Venture X Rewards card, we also need to discuss the price and what it takes to break even.

Like other premium travel credit cards, Venture X has a high annual fee. You will pay $395 per year. While that’s a lot for a regular credit card, it’s actually significantly lower than American Express Platinum and Chase Sapphire Reserve, which have fees of $695 and $550, respectively.

In your first year with Venture X, you’ll easily pay off if you earn a $75,000 welcome bonus, which is equivalent to $750 to spend on a trip (don’t forget to put $4,000 on your card in the first three months). . But what about future years?

Each year, you will receive a $300 annual credit for any trip booked through Capital One Travel, plus 10,000 bonus miles, equivalent to $100 per trip, every year starting on your first anniversary. Only with the annual bonus you come out ahead of the annual fee – as long as you use your benefits.

Throw in a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit and mobile phone protection (which you hopefully won’t have to use) and you’re long past the annual fee in value terms and you haven’t even started earning your regular rewards. travel and general expenses. Plus, Priority Pass and access to the Capital One Lounge makes flying more enjoyable, with no privilege fees if you use your Venture X to get in.

As long as you are traveling (which is the purpose of this card), you will easily get more value from this card than you pay for the annual fee.

Is the Venture X card right for you?

Many premium travel credit cards on the market are associated with a specific airline or hotel chain. The Capital One Venture X Rewards card complements the relatively small number of premium cards that can be used on a wider range of travel experiences.

The two cards the Venture X compares most closely to, as we mentioned, are American Express Platinum and Chase Sapphire Reserve. Venture X has a significantly lower annual fee than any of these cards, which cardholders will love.

On the other hand, it comes with fewer annual benefits, especially when compared to American Express Platinum, which gives you over $1,000 a year, not to mention other travel perks.

So is Venture X worth it? We think this travel credit card might be great for those who are ready to upgrade to a premium card but are worried about the annual fees for the more expensive American Express Platinum or Chase Sapphire Reserve cards.

You still get many of the same important travel perks, but at a lower annual fee. Plus, if you use the Venture X for travel all the time, the card more than pays for itself, making it a great addition to any traveler’s wallet.

bottom line

Capital One Venture X is the newest premium travel credit card on the market, offering an impressive signup bonus, high spending rewards, and a host of other travel perks. Whether the Venture X card is right for you depends on your spending and travel habits, as well as what other credit cards you already have in your collection.