Is The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card Worth It?
TF TAKE: The annual fee is high, but the card’s benefits and rewards can easily cover that cost and then some. In fact, the total value can be well over $800. That’s why it holds a top spot on our best cards list and makes it worth it for most people.
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What’s the Current Welcome Offer?
Spending Categories
- Earn 10x on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- Earn 5x on flights and vacation rentals booked in the Capital One Travel portal
- Earn 2x everywhere else
Travel Perks
- $300 annual credit for bookings made via Capital One Travel
- Unlimited access for you and two guests to 1,300+ lounges, including Capital One Lounges and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment (Note: Starting February 1, 2026, Capital One Venture X cardholders will continue to enjoy unlimited lounge access for themselves, they must pay $125 annually per authorized user for access to Capital One Lounges, Landings, and Priority Pass lounges. Guest access to Capital One Lounges and Landings will cost $45 per person ($25 for children under 17, free under age 2), unless $75,000 is spent annually on the card. For Priority Pass lounges, Venture X cardholders must pay $35 per guest, per visit.)
- $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck
- Earn 10,000 bonus miles each account anniversary
Extra Benefits
- Add authorized users for no annual fee
- Complimentary Hertz President’s Circle status for primary cardholders and authorized users
- Because this is a Visa Infinite card, other benefits include primary auto rental insurance, trip cancellation/interruption reimbursement, travel accident insurance, lost luggage reimbursement, trip delay reimbursement, cell phone protection, and extended warranty protection
- Get rental car elite status with Avis, National, and Silvercar
Is the annual fee worth it?
The annual fee might seem scary if you’re a beginner. That said, we really encourage you to consider the numbers to make your decision easier.
Let’s break things down.
The welcome bonus is 75,000 miles, and because hitting that bonus requires $4,000 in spending, you’ll earn an extra 8,000 miles — for a total of up to 83,000 miles.
$830 welcome bonus value and minimum spend
+ $300 travel credit
+ $120 Global Entry / TSA PreCheck credit
–
$395 annual fee
=
$855 in first-year value (at a minimum!)
This doesn’t even include the value of all the card’s extras, like lounge access or primary auto rental insurance. Those perks can easily add $100s or even $1000+ in value if you use them regularly.
Here are 6 Reasons Why We Like the Venture X Card.
Note to intermediate and advanced users:
We know many of you will be excited about the miles that can be transferred to partners, including Air Canada, Avianca, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Etihad, Air France, Qantas, Singapore, and Turkish Airlines.
How does this travel rewards card stack up to others?
We find it most helpful to our readers to compare the Venture X to the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, our go-to beginner travel card, rather than other premium cards.
The Sapphire Preferred has a much lower annual fee and is an excellent all-around choice if you’re just getting started or want something more affordable. That said, we see both cards as great options. The right pick really depends on your spending habits and your travel plans.
Choose the Chase Sapphire Preferred if you want a lower annual fee, travel occasionally, and are looking for a simple, beginner-friendly card.
Choose the Venture X if you have upcoming travel, are comfortable with a higher annual fee, and want a more valuable welcome bonus and easy-to-use travel credits.
Choosing the Venture X becomes a no-brainer if you have a trip coming up in the next few months—or even a vacation rental or cruise deposit—you can put that expense on the card and then use miles to cover it. In many cases, that works out to up to $750 back toward travel, without needing to learn complicated rules.
Things to keep in mind
1. Know Capital One’s Application Rules. You won’t be approved if you’re not eligible under their guidelines.
- Welcome bonus rule: You won’t get a bonus if you’ve had the Venture X bonus in the past 48 months.
- Waiting period: You may need to wait up to 6 months after applying for any Capital One card before getting approved for another.
- Card limit: You can have only 2 personal Capital One cards at a time (co-branded cards don’t count).
2. Higher spend, more time.
The minimum spend is $4,000, and you get 3 months to meet it. Spending $4,000 in the first 3 months translates to about $1,400 per month. But please do NOT get sucked into more spending than usual in order to hit this bonus.
TF Tip: Use this card to pay taxes if you have a big quarterly tax payment due, or even your annual tax return in April.
3. Approval can be hit or miss.
Capital One can be unpredictable with premium cards, especially if you’ve opened several recently. Great credit doesn’t guarantee approval. But, anecdotally the average person with good to excellent credit has been approved and beginners or anyone who hasn’t opened many cards this year are generally in a great spot for the Venture X.
Zac’s Thoughts
Here’s what I think:
- Annual fee worries? Skip this card. It’s not worth the stress, and also not worth it if it will discourage you from getting other cards with annual fees.
- Already have the Chase Sapphire Preferred? Definitely take a close look at the Venture X. It could be a great addition to your wallet.
- Looking for just one “forever” card? This is a solid pick because it’s so easy to earn (2x on everything) and redeem miles.
How to make the most of your $300 travel credit
To get the most value from the $300 annual travel credit, most Capital One Venture X cardholders should book travel through the Capital One Travel Portal. That’s the approach I took, using the credit just one week after getting the card.
Here’s how the process worked:
- Log in to your Capital One account
Start by signing in and navigating to the Capital One Travel Portal by selecting “Book a Trip.”
2. Choose the type of travel you want to book
Since I was booking a hotel, I clicked on the “Hotels” tab to begin my search.
3. Search and select your hotel
I was impressed by how many hotel options were available.
4. Pay with your Venture X card.
5. Apply the $300 travel credit automatically
The hotel cost $312, which meant my $300 annual travel credit was applied in one purchase, leaving just a small out-of-pocket amount.
6. Earn bonus miles on the booking
The Venture X earns 10x miles on purchases made through the Capital One Travel Portal, so I earned 3,130 miles from this booking—worth about $30 toward future travel.
Bottom Line
The Capital One Venture X is one of the best premium travel cards you can get for the price. Lounge access, travel credits, and TSA/Global Entry reimbursement are all included, and the $395 annual fee is much lower than similar cards. Several Travel Freely team members have taken advantage of this sweet deal!
