Capital One Venture X Guide: Benefits and Review

 

 

Venture X Card Details

Annual Fee – $395

The annual fee is $395 a year. If you’ve never had a card with a high annual fee, this may seem crazy! But thanks to just two of the annual benefits (the $300 travel credit and 10k anniversary miles), it is really easy for many people to get more than $395 value from this card.

That’s not even taking into account all the other benefits!

You can also add 4 authorized users for free to share some of the benefits.

Annual Travel Credit – $300

The $300 annual travel credit is per cardmember year. That means if you apply for the card in June 2023, you have through May 2024 to use the credit.

This credit is only for bookings made through Capital One Travel. You can book flights, hotels, or car rentals.

New as of September 2023: your credit will be offered to you to use during the booking process. Essentially it now works like a $300 coupon.

Previously this credit was applied as a statement credit after booking.

Account Anniversary Bonus – 10,000 miles

Every year on your account anniversary, you will also receive 10,000 bonus miles. At the minimum, you can redeem this for $100 in travel credit.

Earning rates

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  • 10x Venture miles on hotels and rental cars booked via Capital One Travel

• • 5x Venture miles on flights and vacation rentals booked via Capital One Travel

• • 2x Venture miles on all other purchases

Application Tips

Capital One can be finicky with approvals. There isn’t a clear formula to follow to know you’ll get an approval — in fact sometimes it seems like people with higher credit scores have a hard time getting approved!

One question that you’ll see on the application is different than other banks. It will ask you if you typically carry a balance on your credit card. This question is optional and non-binding. It seems like (though we don’t have confirmed data, only anecdotes) that if you check that you WILL carry a balance, you may be more likely to be approved.  

Even if you already have a Venture X, you could apply for a Venture card as well! You’d then be able to combine the miles if you decide to only keep one card long term. 

One myth floating around is that you can only have 2 Capital One cards — fine print actually shows you could hold five. 

Freeze Experian Credit Report

It seems like you’ll have your best chance if you have relatively few new credit cards in the past 6 months. That’s one reason we recommend in our Three Year Plan that a Venture X (or Venture) be one of the very first cards you get. 

You can also help your chances by freezing one of your three credit reports. Capital One will always pull your credit from all three credit bureaus. They will still approve an application even if you have your Experian report frozen.

Data points seem to show that a lot of people get approved with the Experian report frozen. This doesn’t seem to be true for having the TransUnion report frozen.

This is especially helpful if you have a number of inquires for business cards that ultimately didn’t hit your credit report as new cards, just as inquiries. 

You can freeze your Experian report here. Just note that every time you log in, they will try to upsell you on a premium membership. Be sure to decline. 

 

Don’t get this!

Then at the bottom of the page, you can find this link to Freeze your credit for free

I recommend you leave your reports frozen as the default anyway for better identity production.

$1500 of Perks?

 

 

 

Favorite Benefit: Lounge Access

This is hands down my favorite perks of the card. It is especially valuable because you can add 4 authorized users for free and they all get their own lounge access for themselves and guests. You get access to lounges with 3 different lounge networks: Capital One Lounges, Priority Pass, and Plaza Premium.

Which lounges can I go into?

You get access to Capital One Lounges, Plaza Premium Lounges, and Priority Pass lounges. Guest policy differs depending on the network. The best way to see which lounges you can access is on Capital One’s Partner Lounge website. Scroll down to find the search bar.

UPDATE as of March 1, 2025 – this card no longer provides access to Plaza Premium lounges.

Authorized User Access to Lounges

The ability to add Authorized Users for free is what sets this card apart and makes it the best overall credit card for families who want lounge access. You can add 4 authorized users for free and they all get their own lounge access for themselves and guests.

Capital One Lounges

Capital One lounges are some of the nicest lounges in the US! Only a few airports have them but if you’re lucky enough to pass through one of these, you’ll love it.

Sometimes these lounges have a waitlist.

WATCH: Here’s how to get on the lounge waitlist before you arrive

Each cardmember can bring two guests with them into these Capital One lounges.

To access the lounge, just show your Venture X card.

Plaza Premium Lounges

Capital One Venture X cards also give you access to select Plaza Premium Lounges. As of March 1, 2025, this card will no longer provide this access.

Show your Venture X card to get access to the lounges for yourself and two guests.

Priority Pass Lounges

Priority Pass is the largest lounge network this card provides access to. Each cardmember is able to enroll in a Priority Pass membership. Enter in your home airport or airports you are traveling to on the Priority Pass website to browse some options.

According to the Capital One website you get unlimited guests for Priority Pass lounges, “Unlimited complimentary access for your guests traveling with you.”

When you receive your physical card, you can use the number to sign up here for Priority Pass Membership : https://prioritypass.com/capitalone

A few weeks after you sign up, you will receive your Priority Pass card in the mail. I recommend you download the app and use the digital membership card instead!

When you enter a Priority Pass location, you’ll typically need to show your membership card and your boarding pass for the day. They will process your card and add any guests you have with you. Be sure to check open and close times as well as guest policies for individual lounges.

Note: When the Venture X was first released, the Priority Pass membership was included access to non-lounge Priority Pass experiences, including select airport restaurants and spas. As of January 1, 2023, Priority Pass membership through the Venture X will exclude these non-lounge experiences. You will only be able to access places that are actual lounges.

Large Family Lounge Trick

When accessing Capital One or Plaza Premium lounges, you can bring in two guests for free. That means if you are a family of four or more, you will need two people to have cards in order to get everyone in.

Capital One lets you add kids of any age as authorized users. Not only will you help build their credit (assuming you use the card responsibly), that means you can get your whole family into a lounge if you have a larger family.

In our case, I added my son as an authorized user on my card. There are two extra benefits here, too! First, I didn’t have to add my husband to the card as an authorized user (so it doesn’t affect his 5/24 status for trying to open Chase cards). Second, it will help my son build credit.

If we want to access a Plaza Premium or Capital One lounge as a family — he and I will show our cards and our boarding passes.

More Capital One Venture X Benefits

You can find all the details and even more benefits in the Venture X’s benefits guide. Because the Venture X is a Visa Infinite card, you also get access to Visa Infinite perks. Here are some of my favorites.

LISTEN (Podcast Episode): All the benefits of the Venture X Card

Cell Phone Protection

If you pay your cell phone bill with the Venture X card, you will receive complimentary cell phone protection. It applies to all lines on the bill.

You get $800 of coverage (up to the value of your phone) if your cell phone is stolen or damaged. There is a $50 deductible per claim and you can use the benefit twice per 12 month period.

This includes accidental damage.

TSA Precheck / Global Entry Credit

If you pay for your TSA Precheck or Global Entry membership with the Venture X, you will get a statement credit for up to $120 (valid once every 4 years). You can use this benefit for yourself or use it to pay for another friend or family member.

Hertz President’s Circle status

The primary card member and authorized users can sign up for this status. Perks include being able to skip the counter, guaranteed upgrades, and free additional drivers. We love this benefit! We have been able to get free upgrades to SUVs every time and once even got a Tesla. This benefit was scheduled December 31, 2024 but Capital One seems to be extending it!

Read more about how to use this benefit in my complete guide.

Extended Warranty Protection

You can receive an additional year of warranty protection at no charge on eligible items that are purchased with your Venture X card.

Visa Infinite Concierge

Want a hand making the perfect dinner experience? A Visa Infinite concierge will help make the reservation and more, like line up live stage show, music or sporting event tickets.

Free Shipt Membership for 3 Years (Discontinued)

With your Venture X card, you are also entitled to a Free Shipt Membership for 3 years! This gives you free delivery on orders over $35.

Free Museum Membership (Discontinued)

This partnership with Cultivist is now discontinued

Venture X Travel Insurances

Trip Cancellation and Interruption Coverage

If you paid for a ticket with your Venture X, you can receive up to $2,000 per eligible person for the nonrefundable common carrier ticket.

“Eligible persons” include you (the cardholder), your spouse or domestic partner and your dependent children if you charged the entire cost of the trip to your card or redeemed your miles earned from the card.

The trip cancellation and interruption insurance on the Venture X will only cover you and your immediate family members in one of the following scenarios, but there are some excluded situations.

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  • Death, accidental bodily injury, disease or physical illness.

• • Default of the common carrier resulting from financial insolvency.

Trip Delay Reimbursement

If you experience a flight delay of at least six hours or requiring an overnight stay, you can receive up to $500 per eligible person for reasonable expenses incurred such as hotel rooms, meals and more. Your period of travel also must not exceed more than 365 days.

Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver

Rent an eligible vehicle with your card and you could be covered for damage due to collision or theft. Learn more about rental car insurance.

My Take

This is my favorite card for all around benefits and easy to use miles.

I love that it is easy to make up your $395 annual fee. The $300 annual travel credit is fairly easy to use (and note my trick above for cashing it out for essentially any purchase).

This is the easiest and cheapest option for families who are looking to get airport lounge access. Even better, since you can add 4 authorized users for free (who get their own lounge access) it is so easy for a whole family to get in. Or add a friend/parent/sibling and gift them their own lounge access for Christmas!

The lounge access for families as well as the ability to easily get our annual fee value back means this is easily a card we will keep long term and the favorite in our wallet for benefits.

The transfer partners for Venture miles may seem a bit obscure, but there are some great options which I will outline below.

Great Uses of Venture X Miles

Here are some of my favorite family friendly uses for Venture X miles.

Use your miles to Cover any travel purchase — even Disney!

While this is not the way to get the max value from your miles — it is a very easy redemption option that still provides value! If you have 75,000 miles, you can use it to cover $750 of travel purchases.

This works for any expense that codes as a travel expense. You can cover Airbnbs, hotels, or cheap flights. This is also the easiest way to pay for Disney Vacations using miles.

You can even plan to use your miles this way before you have them.

Transfer to Wyndham Rewards and use the miles to book Vacasa Rental homes

Rental homes cost 15,000 Wyndham points per bedroom per night. This makes homes with lots of bedrooms very expensive but one bedrooms can be a great value. The pricing does not take into account if homes have lofts or basements with extra sleeping areas. Some one-bedroom homes actually sleep up to 8. Or you can book a 2 bedroom house for 30,000 points.

Read my full post on Booking Vacation Rentals with Points for all the details.

Transfer to British Airways for cheap flights to Dublin

This booking might seem more advanced if you’re new to miles and points, but I promise you can do it!

British Airways has different partner airlines and those are the ones you’d want to use miles to book on. British Airways charges very high taxes and surcharges on its own flights, so we avoid them.

The sweet spot here is direct flights. British Airways uses a distance-based calculation for award flights. It also charges per flight segment. This means it makes flights with connection very expensive.

One of the best deals is:

• • Fly on AerLingus for 26,000 miles round trip on direct flights from Chicago and farther east (if you fly off-peak). You will pay taxes and fees of $200ish per person.

Transfer to Choice Hotels for great stays in Europe

Venture miles transfer to Choice hotels at a 1:1 ratio. This isn’t as good as the Citi Premier® Card, which transfers at 1:2 — so if you like this option, I’d recommend you look at the Citi Premier card instead. But Choice has some fabulous hotels in Europe — like this one in Venice which is as low as 16,000 points per night.

It also has some great family options in the US with 1 bedroom suites or bigger.

Buy baseball tickets to a MLB game

Capital One has some exclusive tickets at baseball games — and sometimes you can get great seats for as little as 5,000 miles each. See Thrifty Traveler’s write up for all the details.

Transfer to Virgin Red for a luxury adults cruise — or for flights on Delta airlines!

Virgin Red has some sweet cruise deals that pop up with miles. Note that they are adults only. You can also use Virgin miles to book Delta flights — there are some great deals to Japan.

Capital One Transfer Partners

Looking for an option I didn’t list above? You can transfer your Capital One miles to all of the following airlines and hotels:

1:1 transfer ratio

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  • Aeromexico Club Premier

• • Air Canada – Aeroplan®

• • Cathay Pacific – Asia Miles

• • Avianca LifeMiles

• • British Airways Executive Club

• • Choice Privileges®²

• • Emirates Skywards

• • Etihad Guest

• • Finnair Plus

• • Flying Blue

• • Qantas Frequent Flyer

• • Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer

• • TAP Miles&Go

• • Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles

• • Virgin Red

• • Wyndham Rewards

2:1.5 transfer ratio

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  • EVA Air – Infinity MileageLands

2:1 transfer ratio

• • ALL – Accor Live Limitless

5:3 transfer ratio

• • JetBlue TrueBlue