A few years back, Capital One threw its hat into the premium travel credit card ring with the launch of the *venture x*. It's essentially a souped-up version of the longtime favorite *capital one venture card*, with premium travel perks like lounge access, annual travel credits, and more.
So naturally, that's led many to wonder which Capital One travel card is best. The answer largely depends on what you're looking for.
If you want travel benefits at a reasonable price, you can't beat the Venture X. At $395 a year, its annual fee isn't exactly cheap … but it's far less expensive than other premium travel cards from the likes of American Express or Chase. Still, there's no denying the Venture Rewards Card would make a valuable addition to any traveler's wallet, especially beginners.
From annual fees to welcome bonuses to lounge access and more, there are plenty of differences (and similarities) to dissect between Capital One's top travel cards. So keep reading for a full breakdown of the Capital One Venture vs. Venture X.
Capital One Venture vs Venture X: Similarities & Differences
No matter which version of the card you choose, you can't go wrong with either the Capital One Venture X or Capital One Venture Card.
Both cards earn 2x Capital One Miles on every purchase, everywhere. That makes it a perfect card to earn miles on your everyday purchases without wondering: “Wait, which card should I use at this store?”
You can earn even more miles if you book travel through the Capital One Travel portal. You'll earn 10x miles on hotels and rental cars, and 5x on flights when using the Venture X Card. With the regular Venture Card, you'll earn 5x miles on hotels and rental cars through the Capital One Travel portal, but won't earn any additional rewards for booking flights.
With both the Venture X and Venture Card, you can redeem miles through the Capital One Travel portal: Every mile gets you 1 cent toward travel. But if you'd prefer to book your travel directly with the airline or hotel, you can simply charge the purchase to your Capital One card then go back and erase it from your statement – again, getting 1 cent toward travel with every mile. It's one of the easiest ways to book travel using credit card rewards.
Additionally, both cards allow you to transfer miles to one of the 15-plus Capital One transfer partners. With travel partners like Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France/KLM Flying Blue, and Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles, this is the best way to get outsized value from your miles.
Here's a breakdown of what you get with each card:
| Benefit | Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card | Capital One Venture X Credit Card |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome Offer | bonus_miles_full | bonus_miles_full |
| Everyday Rewards Earning Rate | Unlimited 2x Venture Miles per dollar on every purchase | Unlimited 2x Venture Miles per dollar on every purchase |
| Travel Rewards Earning Rate | Unlimited 5x Venture Miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel | Unlimited 10x Venture Miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars and 5x Venture Miles for flights booked through Capital One Travel |
| Annual Credits | None | $300 Capital One Travel Credit and a 10,000-mile anniversary bonus |
| Global Entry or TSA PreCheck Credit | Up to $100 statement credit every four years | Up to $100 statement credit every four years |
| Lounge Access | Two complimentary visits per year to Capital One Lounges or partner lounge network locations. (This benefit is going away effective Jan. 1, 2025) | Unlimited complimentary visits for cardholder and two guests to Capital One Lounges or partner lounge network locations. Also includes complimentary Priority Pass Select membership. |
| Foreign Transaction Fees | None | None |
| Annual Fee | $95 | $395 |
As you can see, these two cards have quite a bit in common. But a few key differences could be enough to make one of them a better fit than the other, depending on your personal situation.
Capital One Venture vs Venture X: Welcome Offer
When you sign up for a travel credit card, it’s all about the welcome offer. Comparing the welcome offers on the Capital One Venture X and Venture might look similar – but one card comes with a sweetener that makes it far and away the better choice.
Capital One Venture
Capital One just rolled out a new, limited time offer on the Capital One Venture Card. Here's what's at stake: Earn a 75,000-mile bonus once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening, plus receive a one-time $250 Capital One Travel credit in your first cardholder year.
Considering Capital One Miles can be used to cover most any travel purchase at a rate of 1 cent per mile, this bonus offer is worth at least $1,000 when redeemed for travel. However, if you are game to take advantage of Capital One's slew of travel partners, you can probably do even better (more on that later).
Capital One Venture X
With the Capital One Venture X Card, you’ll earn 75,000 Capital One Miles after spending $4,000 in the first three months of card membership.
Winner: Which Card has the Better Welcome Offer?
While both cards come with the same 75,000-mile bonus, the Venture Rewards card includes a one-time $250 Capital One Travel credit to use in your first cardholder year – giving it a clear edge in this category. And best of all, you get that travel credit right away – no spending required.
Learn more about the *capital one venture card*
Capital One Venture vs Venture X: Earning More Miles
You'll be hard pressed to find a simpler, more valuable card for earning miles than either the Venture X or the Venture Card.
Sure, there are other travel cards on the market that earn better rewards in specific categories. But earning an unlimited 2x Capital One Miles everywhere is tough to beat.
Capital One Venture
With the Regular Venture Card, you'll earn an unlimited 2x Capital One Miles on every dollar you spend. You'll also get 5x Capital One Miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. Unlike the Venture X, there is no additional incentive to book flights through the portal.
Capital One Venture X
With the Capital One Venture X, you'll earn an unlimited 2x Capital One Miles on every dollar you spend.
In addition to earning 2x everywhere, you'll also get a whopping 10x miles per dollar spent on hotels and rental cars booked through the Capital One Travel portal. Booking flights with Capital One Travel will also earn you 5x miles – a boost from booking direct with the airline.
Winner: Which Card Earns More Miles?
This one is close, but the slight edge goes to Venture X – thanks to the extra miles you earn booking travel through the Capital One Travel portal.
Learn more about the *venture x*.
Capital One Venture vs Venture X: Annual Fee
On paper, this one couldn’t be any easier.
The annual fee on the Capital One Venture card is far less than that of the Venture X. But does that really tell the full story?
Capital One Venture
The Venture Card from Capital One comes with a manageable $95 annual fee. That alone could make this question a no-brainer for many travelers who can't stomach the thought of paying more than $100 in annual fees.
Capital One Venture X
The annual fee on the Capital One Venture X is $395. That might immediately make it a non-starter for some. But it's actually quite a bit cheaper than the other premium travel rewards cards that it competes with … especially for everything you get for that $395 annual fee.
For starters, you get a $300 annual credit to use in the Capital One Travel portal each year, automatically making the annual fee more like $95 a year. Plus, you'll get a 10,000-mile anniversary bonus each year you renew your card.
If you use both of the anniversary miles and travel credit to full value, it's almost as if Capital One is paying you to have this card. In fact, it seems like such a good deal that it recently got us thinking about whether or not a rate hike might be on the horizon. Time will tell, but for now $395 seems like a bargain for this travel rewards credit card.
Winner: Which Card Wins on Fees?
The Capital One Venture Card is the clear winner in terms of out-of-pocket cost. Yet paying more for the Venture X might actually be the better deal, as it offers far more benefits – including easy ways to recoup the entire annual fee (and then some).
But if we're simply comparing the cost to hold the card, there is a winner in this category and it's the Venture Card.
Learn more about the *capital one venture card*
Capital One Venture vs Venture X: Credits
This is a big one.
Using the perks and annual travel credits that come with a credit card is essential to justifying paying an annual fee. Both of these cards include credits for travel related purchases.
But one packs quite a bit more punch than the other…
Capital One Venture
Global Entry or TSA PreCheck Credit
The Venture Card is one of the cheapest travel credit cards on the market that gives you a credit of up to $100 that covers the cost of Global Entry or TSA PreCheck every four years.
This benefit might seem a bit redundant, as a lot of travel credit cards offer a credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck these days. But even if you're already enrolled in one of these trusted traveler programs, it could still be useful when it comes time to renew. Or you could even pay the application fee for a friend or family member and make their next airport experience a little less stressful.
Here's how it works: Just pay the application fee with your card and poof – the credit kicks in to automatically cover the cost. Once enrolled, membership lasts for five years – that means as long as you keep either card open, you’re set to keep your enrollment up to date with either program.
Can’t decide? Go for Global Entry, as that also comes with TSA PreCheck benefits as well as getting you into a designated customs and immigration line when returning to the U.S. from abroad.
Capital One Venture X Card
$300 Annual Travel Credit
If you hold the Capital One Venture X Card, you'll get a $300 travel credit each and every year you hold the card redeemable towards flights, hotels, and rental cars booked through the Capital One Travel portal. While the credit isn't as lucrative and easy to use as the $300 travel credit you'll get with the Chase Sapphire Reserve, it should be valued near $300, so long as you plan to spend that much on flights, hotels, or rental cars each and every year.
Simply head to the Capital One Travel portal in your online Capital One account and make a booking. Generally speaking, pricing should match what you find on Google Flights or directly with hotels and rental car agencies. Once you make a selection and go through the booking process, you'll have the option to apply your $300 travel credit at checkout as a discount off the purchase price.
This benefit alone can make the Venture X card worth its annual fee. So long as you can use it, it brings your effective annual fee down to $95 ($395 annual fee minus the $300 travel credit) – right on par with what the regular Venture card charges.
The regular Venture Card's limited, one-time $250 credit can be redeemed the same way as this ongoing, $300 travel credit on the Venture X card.
10,000-Mile Anniversary Bonus
In addition to the annual $300 travel credit, Venture X cardholders will get 10,000 Capital One Miles when they renew their card for another year, starting in their second year. Considering Capital One miles are worth a minimum of one cent each, these miles are worth at least $100. These two benefits alone can easily justify your $395 annual fee.
This anniversary bonus is only available to Venture X cardholders.
Global Entry or TSA PreCheck Credit
Much like its cheaper cousin, the Venture X Card also offers a credit of up to $100 to cover the cost of Global Entry or TSA PreCheck every four years.
Just pay the application fee with your card and poof – the credit kicks in to automatically cover the cost. Once enrolled, membership lasts for five years.
Can’t decide? Go for Global Entry, as that also comes with TSA PreCheck benefits as well as getting you into a designated customs and immigration line when returning to the U.S. from abroad.
Winner: Which Card Provides the Best Travel Credits?
The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is the clear winner in this category with its annual $300 Capital One Travel credit and 10,000-mile anniversary bonus leading the way.
Learn more about the *venture x*.
Capital One Venture Card vs Venture X: Lounge Access
If it's lounge access you want, this one is easy.
With the Capital One Venture X Card, you'll get access to the new Capital One Lounges in Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), Denver (DEN), and Washington, D.C.-Dulles (IAD). These are truly incredible spaces – easily among the best airport lounges in the U.S., period. Each lounge is a bit different, but they've all got a great design, fun amenities, and absolutely outstanding food and drinks.
Venture X cardholders and two guests can get in for free.
The company also has dining spaces in the works at New York City-LaGuardia (LGA) and Washington, D.C.-Reagan (DCA) called Capital One Landings.
Take a look inside the Capital One DFW Lounge!
In addition to Capital One Lounge access, Venture X cardholders get a Priority Pass Select membership, opening the doors of 1,200-plus airport lounges in cities big and small across the globe. However, earlier this year Capital One stripped access to Priority Pass restaurants for Venture X cardholders – putting this Priority Pass Select membership on par with the ones that come from American Express.
Capital One also gives access to Plaza Premium Lounges, opening the doors to dozens more lounges abroad and at home. The Plaza Premium name also includes Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse lounges in four U.S. airports like New York City (JFK) and Washington, D.C.-Dulles (IAD); several lounges at the Cancún (CUN) airport; and Avianca lounges throughout Colombia. Here’s the full list of Plaza Premium Lounges accessible with the Venture X Card.
Want to bring in guests? You're in luck. Not only can primary Venture X cardholders bring in an unlimited amount of guests for free, but they can also add up to four authorized users to their accounts at no additional cost. Those Venture X authorized users will also get the same lounge memberships – with the ability to bring in an unlimited amount of their own guests on each and every visit.
With the regular Capital One Venture Card, you can currently get two free annual passes to visit the new Capital One Lounges or the 100-plus locations through their partner lounge network. But not for much longer: Capital One is cutting this benefit as of January 2025 in favor of paid access.
That means Capital One Venture cardholders have until the end of 2024 to put those lounge passes to use. And unlike Capital One Venture X cardholders, guests are not free. That’ll cost $45 each. One exception: Capital One has confirmed that Venture cardholders can use one of two free annual lounge passes to bring a guest with them.
Once cardholders have used up those free passes, they can still get a discounted entry rate of $45 per visit (the standard entry fee is $65 per visit). This discounted rate will continue to be offered to cardholders in 2025 after the free pass benefit is cut.
Related reading: As Airport Lounges Overflow With Travelers, Capital One Gets It Right
Winner: Which Card Offers the Best Lounge Access?
If having airport lounge access is important, it's not even a contest – the Capital One Venture X is the clear winner in this category.
Learn more about the *venture x*.
Capital One Venture vs Venture X: Using Miles to Book Travel
When it comes to using your Capital One Miles, you have three options: You can use them to book travel through the Capital One Travel portal (but you shouldn't), you can use them to remove travel charges directly from your statement, or you can transfer them to one of Capital One's stable of transfer partners.
Regardless of which card you hold, you transfer miles all the same. Here's a look at what's available.
| Program | Type | Ratio | Transfer Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aeromexico | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| Air France/KLM | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| Avianca LifeMiles | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| British Airways | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| Cathay Pacific AsiaMiles | Airline | 1:1 | Up to five business days |
| Emirates | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| Etihad | Airline | 1:1 | Up to 1 day |
| EVA Air | Airline | 2:1.5 | Up to five business days |
| Finnair | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| Qantas | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| Singapore | Airline | 1:1 | Instant |
| TAP Air Portugal | Airline | 1:1 | Same day |
| Turkish Airlines | Airline | 1:1 | Same day |
| Virgin Red | Other | 1:1 | Same day |
| Accor | Hotel | 2:1 | Up to two business days |
| Wyndham | Hotel | 1:1 | Same day |
| Choice Hotels | Hotel | 1:1 | Same day |
Capital One Venture
Unlike how Chase handles bookings through their travel portal – where Sapphire Reserve cardholders get 1.5 cents each towards travel as opposed to only 1.25 cents each for Sapphire Preferred cardholders – each Venture Mile is worth the same regardless of which card you hold.
That means when you use your miles to cover recent travel purchases or even use them through the Capital One Travel Portal, they will be worth a flat 1 cent each. That means you can use 50,000 miles to book a $500 flight.
Additionally, you can transfer miles to any of Capital One's travel partners in order to complete an award booking.
Capital One Venture X
With the Venture X Card, you have all the same redemption options at your disposal as with the Venture – there's no bonus for the Venture X.
Miles can be redeemed through the Capital One Travel portal or used to remove travel charges directly from your statement at a rate of one cent per mile. Alternatively, they can be transferred to any of Capital One's travel partners for award bookings.
Winner: Which Card's Miles are More Valuable?
This one is a toss-up, as both cards come with the same redemption options.
Capital One Venture vs Venture X: Travel Insurance
The best travel credit cards help protect you when things go wrong and help you avoid paying more for add-on coverage.
Both of these cards offer protection for certain travel related mishaps, but you'll see that one card is clearly in a league of its own.
Capital One Venture
The regular Venture Card offers some rental car coverage … but for rentals in the U.S., it's secondary coverage – not nearly as strong as you might expect. If you're renting a car abroad, the coverage you get with the Venture Card is primary.
Secondary coverage means you’d have to file a claim with your personal insurance policy before turning to your credit card for help. That means you’ll have to pay your deductible – and your auto insurance premiums will likely go up, too.
Outside of this secondary rental car coverage, the Venture Card provides additional protection if you're in an accident while traveling and you're covered if the airline loses your luggage. But only if they lose it – this benefit won't work if your luggage is delayed by a day or two which is a huge bummer.
Capital One Venture X
The Venture X offers cardholders travel protections when booking flights by automatically including things like trip interruption and delay insurance and also providing coverage for lost luggage.
Additionally, thanks to Venture X being a Visa Infinite card, the rental car insurance you get when charging your car rental to your Venture X is some of the best coverage you’ll find among top-tier credit cards.
Here's what you can expect if your trip goes awry.
Trip Delay Coverage
While you'll be on the hook to cover the expenses upfront, you may be eligible for reimbursement.
- As long as your airfare was booked at least in part with your Venture X Card, you are eligible for up to $500 if your travel is delayed by six or more hours – or forces an overnight stay.
- You, your spouse, and your dependent children under 22 years of age are automatically covered if they are traveling with you.
- You must also be traveling outside of your home city to be eligible.
Trip Cancellation and Interruption Coverage
If something goes seriously wrong on your trip like an accident, illness, or death that forces you to cancel or cut it short, you’re covered for up to $2,000 per person in expenses – and you, a spouse, and any dependent children are all eligible.
The following situations qualify:
- The death, accidental bodily injury, disease, or physical illness of you or an immediate family member of the cardholder. The death, accidental injury, disease, or physical illness must be verified by a physician and must prevent you from traveling on the trip.
- Default of the common carrier resulting from financial insolvency.
Again, the kicker here is that the trip must have been paid for with the Capital One Venture X Card.
Lost Luggage Coverage
Lost luggage reimbursement is something you typically don't think about until you need it. Did an airline lose or damage your luggage – or did it get stolen?
- As long as you paid for your airfare with your Venture X Card, you can get up to $3,000 to replace or repair the bag and its contents (or $2,000 per bag for New York residents).
- The cardholders and all immediate family members are covered.
While it's definitely a pain to replace all of your personal items, knowing that you've got some extra protection with the Venture X Card should help provide travelers with some additional peace of mind.
Rental Car Coverage
Where the travel protections really shine on the Venture X is with the card's rental car coverage.
Here's how it works: Charge your rental car to your Venture X Card and you get some of the strongest rental car insurance of any travel rewards credit card. When picking up your rental, simply decline the rental car agency’s policy and the Venture X's primary car rental insurance policy that will cover most damages or even the theft of the vehicle. It applies to rentals in the U.S. for as long as 15 days and in most foreign countries for up to 31 days.
Read more about the Capital One Venture X rental car insurance benefits!
In addition to car rental insurance coverage, Venture X cardholders will receive complimentary Hertz President’s Circle status … at least for now. Just like the Venture card's complimentary lounge visits, the Venture X's Hertz status perk is set to end this year.
As the highest level of elite status in their Gold Plus Rewards program, President’s Circle elite members who book an intermediate car or higher get guaranteed upgrades to the next available car class or the ability to choose a car from the President’s Circle Ultimate Choice aisle. Members can also skip the counter when renting a car, have access to a dedicated Hertz Rewards customer service line, and can add an additional driver at no cost.
Only time will tell if this perk gets extended or the bank comes up with something else to replace it.
Winner: Which Card Provides the Best Travel Insurance?
The primary rental car coverage that comes with the Venture X Card is huge. Having additional protections for a delayed or cancelled trip, as well as lost luggage is also really nice. All those benefits make the Venture X the clear winner in this category.
Learn more about the *venture x*.
Capital One Venture Card vs Venture X: Authorized Users
There are many reasons why adding an authorized user to your account makes good sense.
Perhaps you and a spouse share expenses and paying all your bills with one account is easiest for your bookkeeping. Or maybe you're trying to earn a big welcome offer and having someone else put their every day expenses on your account is the extra push you need.
One of the biggest, and best, reasons for adding authorized users to your account is to extend the many great travel benefits and perks that come with these cards to a friend or family member.
Capital One Venture
The regular Capital One Venture card also doesn't charge a fee for additional authorized users. But that's pretty commonplace among cards with a low (or no) annual fee and adding an authorized user doesn't pass along any noteworthy benefits.
Capital One Venture X
In a world where adding authorized users to a premium travel rewards card usually means forking over even more money on top of an already steep annual fee, Capital One broke the mold.
Shockingly, you can add up to four authorized users to your Venture X Card at no additional cost. Better yet, those authorized users will get their own lounge memberships to be used regardless of whether or not their traveling with the main cardholder.
That's simply unheard of in the world of premium travel credit cards.
Take, for example, *amex platinum* which has an annual fee of $695 each year (see rates & fees). But if you want to add an authorized user, that will set you back another $195 each year, per card.
Then there's also the *chase sapphire reserve* which has an annual fee of $550. If you want to add an authorized user, that will cost an additional $75 each year.
Being able to add up to four authorized users without paying a single cent more is a big reason why we feel that Venture X is the best card for traveling families.
Winner: Which Card is Best for Authorized Users?
Even though both cards waive authorized user fees, we're giving the edge to Venture X in this category as authorized users get far more benefits – including their own lounge memberships.
Learn more about the *venture x*.
Bottom Line
By the numbers, the Venture X card takes five categories, while the regular Venture Card takes two, and one ends in a draw.
But every traveler can – and should – weigh each of these categories differently. If you don't care about lounge access and think you might have a hard time using up the annual $300 travel credit on the Venture X, the regular Venture card might be a better option.
If your primary goal is to earn Capital One miles and use them through one of the many Capital One transfer partners, there's really no benefit to holding one card over the other. At the end of the day, both cards are really solid options and some of the best travel rewards credit cards available.
When comparing Capital One Venture Card vs the Venture X, there is a lot to unpack. While many of the benefit offerings are the same, there are some key differences that could sway you one way or another – especially if you're on the hunt for more travel perks like lounge access or annual travel credits.