Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card Review

Capital One Venture X Review Summary

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is good for big-spenders who travel often enough to take full advantage of perks like airport lounge access, annual travel credits, and a TSA PreCheck/Global Entry application fee credit. The Capital One Venture X Card’s elite rewards also help make its $395 annual fee worthwhile. Cardholders earn 2 - 10 miles per $1 on purchases, plus a hefty initial bonus.

In addition to a high annual fee, the Capital One Venture X Card’s biggest weaknesses are its high interest rate and the fact that you need excellent for approval. I would think twice about applying if you don’t plan to pay the bill in full every month or if your credit score is below 750.

That’s what you need to know about Capital One Venture X at a high level. Below, I’ll explore the card’s pros, cons and notable competitors in more detail.

Capital One Venture X Review Highlights

Big initial bonus: 75,000 miles

The Capital One Venture X initial bonus is 75,000 miles for spending $4,000 in the first 3 months. The bonus miles are redeemable for $750 in travel – more than enough to cover the annual fee the first year or even a trip out of town. “I used my Capital One Venture X bonus for a warm weekend trip down to Florida,” WalletHub user Raquel Torres told me. “It was great to get away on Capital One’s dime.”

This bonus is larger than average for a rewards card right now. On average, new credit card offers have an initial bonus of just 31,338 miles. Furthermore, not too many cards have bonuses as big as what Venture X offers, even among the best signup bonus credit cards.

Bonus Rewards via Capital One Travel: up to 10 miles / $1

Cardholders earn 10 miles / $1 on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. The Capital One Venture X Card also gives 5 miles / $1 spent on flights booked through Capital One Travel. That’s the equivalent of 5% to 10% back if you also redeem the miles that you earn for travel, which I definitely recommend doing. You’ll get the most value that way.

If you’re not familiar with Capital One Travel, it is the travel-booking website that cardholders can access to easily arrange travel accommodations and pay with rewards, their cards or a combination. The site also offers a price-match guarantee if you find a better deal elsewhere. I recommend poking around the site for a while before you apply, to make sure it suits your travel preferences.

Above-Average Rewards on All Other Purchases: 2 miles / $1

At a minimum, you will earn 2 miles / $1 on purchases made with the Capital One Venture X Card. That’s higher than what the average miles card will give you: 1.23 miles per $1.

Annual Statement Credits: up to $300

The first $300 in Capital One Travel purchases that you charge to Capital One Venture X each year are on the house. You will receive statement credits to cover the cost. This effectively shrinks the cost of the card’s annual fee for anyone who can commit to booking travel through Capital One’s portal each year.

Account-Anniversary Bonus: 10,000 miles

After each account anniversary, when you’ve paid the next year’s annual fee, you get a 10,000-mile bonus as a reward. That is worth $100 toward travel and can be a big help in affording the card.

Airport Lounge Access: 1,300+ locations

Capital One Venture X gets you into 1,300+ Priority Pass airport lounges as well as roughly 100 Plaza Premium lounge locations around the world. It also unlocks the small but growing list of Capital One Lounge locations. Currently, the only open location is at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, and two more are planned for Denver International Airport and Dulles International Airport.

This is an excellent benefit, if you actually spend time in airport lounges. I see a lot of people gravitate to perks like this then hardly ever actually use them.

Global Entry/TSA PreCheck Benefit: up to $100

Capital One Venture X will credit you the cost of applying for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck if you pay the fee with your card. These programs get you faster airport screening when returning to the U.S. (Global Entry) or flying domestically (TSA PreCheck). It costs $100 to apply for Global Entry and $85 for TSA PreCheck.

Opting for Global Entry is the better value, especially if you’re going to be traveling internationally. Global Entry also gets you TSA PreCheck. Personally, I haven’t traveled frequently enough to justify signing up, but I hear good things.

Capital One Venture X Review Lowlights

High Annual Fee: $395

The Capital One Venture X Card’s $395 annual fee is its biggest shortcoming and something that’s likely to scare away a lot of potential applicants.

You really should think twice before applying for a card with such a high membership fee because if you don’t use the card as much as you assume you will, you may not get your money’s worth. That said, this card does give you a lot of opportunities to recoup your investment and then some. My recommendation is to make an honest assessment of your spending habits, estimate how much you are likely to save with this card, and then compare those potential savings to what you’d get from other cards.

High APR: 21.24% to 28.24% (V)

The exact APR you will be assigned if approved for the Capital One Venture X Card depends on your credit standing, but it will be somewhere in the range of 21.24% to 28.24% (V). As a result, I strongly suggest paying your bill in full every month because interest charges will erode your rewards earnings otherwise.

People with a credit score high enough to get approved for the Capital One Venture X Card should have no problem qualifying for a 0% APR credit card to use for purchases that will take months to repay. Similarly, if you currently have expensive debt, you should be able to transfer it to a good balance transfer credit card that will save you money.

Other Things to Consider About Capital One Venture X

No Foreign Transaction Fee

The Capital One Venture X Card’s $0 foreign transaction fee is a good thing – it’s just not unique. No Capital One credit cards charge foreign transaction fees, which is good news for cardholders planning to travel abroad or make purchases from foreign merchants online.

Excellent Credit Required for Approval

The Capital One Venture X credit score requirement is 750 or better, at least if you want to have good approval odds. You can check your credit score for free on WalletHub.

Capital One Venture X vs. the Competition