Capital One is traditionally known for issuing credit cards that focus on simplicity. While the issuer has consistently offered a respectable collection of cards, you historically wouldn’t find the bells and whistles of lounge access, complicated bonus-category earning structures, or a long list of statement credits for specific purchases.
But fast forward to today and you’ll find Capital One’s product refreshing, exciting, and much more robust. But will the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card dethrone the popular Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card?
Read along as we find out. We’ll need to look closely at the earning potential of each card, your options at redemption time, and any features or benefits that may add additional value for a cardholder.
Let’s jump right in and look at how the 2 cards compare in all the key categories.
The Value of a Welcome Bonus
Here’s a snapshot of the current welcome bonuses on each of our featured cards.
Bottom Line: Meet minimum spending requirements within the required period after card approval to qualify for a generous welcome bonus on either of our featured cards.
Earning Potential
Every purchase you make with your card will earn at least 2x Capital One miles per dollar spent. Image Credit: Gorodenkoff via Adobe StockNo need to keep track of complicated earning structures when you have a Capital One card. The CapOne Venture card and the CapOne Venture X card both follow a simple earning format with flat-rate rewards on every purchase you make.
However, there is an exception. If you’re using your CapOne Venture card or CapOne Venture X card for travel purchases, you’ll want to use Capital One Travel, as the earnings can be exceptional.
Here’s how the 2 cards compare when we look at earning potential:
| Earning Category | CapOne Venture Card | CapOne Venture X Card |
| Travel | - 5x miles on hotels and rental cars purchased via Capital One Travel
- 2x miles per dollar spent on all other travel
| - 10x miles on hotels and rental cars purchased via Capital One Travel
- 5x miles on flights purchased via Capital One Travel
- 2x miles on all other travel
|
| All Other Purchases | 2x miles per dollar spent |
| Additional Earnings | | - 10,000 bonus miles each card anniversary
|
When we look at just the earning potential of both cards, the key difference is the 10x earnings on hotels/rental cars and 5x earnings on flights via Capital One Travel on the CapOne Venture X card. The anniversary bonus on the card is also an edge over the CapOne Venture card.
But earning potential is just 1 factor to consider. Let’s look at how redemption options and other tangible benefits play a role in determining the ultimate value of each card.
Bottom Line: The CapOne Venture X card demonstrates its true advantage as a travel rewards card by offering elevated earnings of up to 10x on travel purchased via Capital One Travel. Both the CapOne Venture card and CapOne Venture X card, however, earn 2 miles per dollar spent on all other purchases. If you won’t be using Capital One Travel, the CapOne Venture X card’s 10,000-mile anniversary bonus would be the only key earning edge.
Redemption Options
You’ll have several flexible options for redeeming your Capital One miles. Image Credit: Capital OneHere are the redemption options for the miles earned on either card:
| Redemption Option | CapOne Venture Card | CapOne Venture X Card |
| Travel | - Redeem for travel via Capital One Travel at a value of 1 cent per mile
- Transfer to airline or hotel partners to redeem for award flights or free hotel nights
- Redeem miles for 1 cent each as a statement credit for previous travel purchases (within 90 days)
|
| Additional Redemption Options | - Statement credits, cash, gift cards, Amazon, and PayPal
|
One of the best redemption options is to transfer miles to airline partners and purchase award flights. This method can result in the greatest potential value for your miles.
Some additional redemption options result in receiving a value of less than 1 cent per mile and are not recommended.
Bottom Line: The CapOne Venture card and CapOne Venture X card have the same flexible redemption options, of which transferring miles to airline partners can result in the best potential value for your miles.
Travel Benefits and Protections
Both of our featured cards offer Capital One Lounge access, including the new Capital One Lounge at DFW. Image Credit: Capital OneThe CapOne Venture card and CapOne Venture X card offer several useful travel benefits and protections.
Here are the key offerings that come on both of our featured cards:
- Global Entry/TSA PreCheck Fee Reimbursement — Pay for your application or renewal fee with your card and receive reimbursement, up to $100.
- Capital One Lounge and Plaza Premium Lounge Access — While the CapOne Venture X card offers unlimited free access for the cardholder and up to 2 guests, you’ll receive 2 free annual one-time passes with the CapOne Venture card. Additional visits for CapOne Venture cardholders are $45 each.
- Hertz Car Rental Perks — The CapOne Venture X card comes with Hertz Gold Plus President’s Club Elite status while the CapOne Venture card offers Five Star status.
- Rental Car Collision Damage Waiver Coverage — Pay for the entire rental with your CapOne Venture X card, decline the rental agency’s CDW/LDW option, and receive primary coverage for damage, theft, and loss-of-use. The CapOne Venture card states that coverage is secondary within your country of residence if other insurance applies.
- Lost Luggage Reimbursement — Pay for your entire common carrier ticket with your card and receive up to $3,000 if your luggage is lost or stolen.
- Visa Luxury Hotel Benefits — Receive VIP treatment, an upgraded room, late checkout (when available), onsite amenities, free Wi-Fi, and complimentary breakfast for 2 at Visa Luxury Hotel Collection properties.
- Gravity Haus Benefits — Cardholders receive a $300 discount toward a membership. This entitles you to discounted hotel stays near top ski resorts, exclusive events, and discounts on your ski or snowboarding gear. This partnership will last through January 19, 2024.
Note that coverages listed for the CapOne Venture card are applicable when your card is issued as a Visa Signature card.
Additional Travel Benefits and Protections — CapOne Venture X Card
The CapOne Venture X card, as a premium travel rewards card, offers several additional travel benefits/protections you won’t find on the CapOne Venture card.
- Priority Pass Select Membership — Enjoy access for the cardholder and up to 2 guests to over 1,300 properties worldwide with a complimentary membership.
- Up to $300 Capital One Travel Credit — Use your card to purchase travel via Capital One Travel and receive an up to $300 statement credit each calendar year.
- Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption — Receive up to $2,000 per covered person if your trip is canceled or interrupted for a covered reason.
- Trip Delay Coverage — If your trip is delayed for a covered reason for 6 hours or more, or overnight, you could receive up to $500 per purchased ticket.
Bottom Line: The CapOne Venture card and the CapOne Venture X card both offer several travel benefits and protections. However, the CapOne Venture X has the edge with the additional benefits of complimentary worldwide lounge access, hundreds of dollars in travel statement credits, and trip cancellation/interruption/delay coverage.
Shopping Benefits and Protections
When you shop, you’ll be earning 2x Capital One miles on every purchase you make with the CapOne Venture card and the CapOne Venture X card. You’ll also enjoy shopping benefits that can save you money, and protection for your purchase if something should go wrong.
Here are the shopping benefits and protections you’ll find on both featured cards:
- Capital One Shopping — Use the app (or browser extension) to receive coupons for shopping discounts, scan any barcode for price comparisons, and keep track of products you’ve purchased with your card.
- Purchase Security — Pay for an eligible item with your CapOne Venture X card and have protection for 90 days after purchase for damage or theft. A $10,000 limit applies per claim and there is a limit of $50,000 per cardholder. The CapOne Venture card limits each claim to $500, and a maximum of $50,000 per cardholder.
- Extended Warranty — For eligible items purchased with your card, the manufacturer’s warranty will be doubled, up to a maximum of 1 additional year for manufacturer’s warranties of 3 years or less. There is a maximum of $10,000 per claim, $50,000 per account.
Additional Shopping Benefits and Protections — CapOne Venture X Card
- Cell Phone Protection — Pay your monthly cell phone bill with your card and receive up to $800 if your phone is stolen or damaged. A $50 deductible applies per claim and there is a limit of 2 claims per calendar year.
- Return Protection — If a merchant will not accept a return of an eligible item purchased with your card within 90 days after the purchase date, you could receive up to $300 per item, a maximum of $1,000 per year.
Bottom Line: While both of our featured cards come with purchase security and extended warranty, the CapOne Venture X card also offers cell phone protection and return protection.
Annual Fees and Authorized Users
It’s always prudent to consider any annual fee charged on a rewards card to determine if you’re receiving bottom-line value. The same is true for any fees associated with adding additional users to your card.
Here’s how the CapOne Venture card and CapOne Venture X card compare in this area:
- Annual Fees — The CapOne Venture card charges an annual fee of $95 while the CapOne Venture X card charges $395. This isn’t an apples-to-apples comparison, however, as the CapOne Venture X card has additional benefits, that if you can utilize, could add significant value.
- Additional Authorized Users — There is no charge to add additional users to either card.
Bottom Line: The CapOne Venture X card has a much higher annual fee than the CapOne Venture card but offers a lot more tangible benefits. Neither card charges a fee to add authorized users.
Finding Your Capital One Offers
Find out if you have card offers available without a hard inquiry on your credit report. Image Credit: CardMatchIt’s possible to access credit card offers that may already be available to you, risk-free. Here are a couple of options to see if you have preapproved card offers, including those from Capital One.
Capital One and the CardMatch Tool
If you want to find out if you have card offers available to you without submitting an application, the CardMatch tool can offer a risk-free way to help you do just that. Capital One participates in CardMatch (as do several other card issuers), making it easy to find out if you have pending offers without having to incur a hard inquiry on your credit report.
Best of all, you only need to submit minimal information, including your basic personal information and the last 4 digits of your Social Security number, to receive results.
Capital One Preapproved Offers
An additional tool to help you find any preapproved card offers you might have is the Capital One preapproval tool. You’ll need to submit more information (including your full Social Security number) than with the CardMatch tool, but you will also not incur a hard inquiry on your credit report.
If you’re considering a Capital One card, you’ll want to utilize these tools to see if you’re prequalified. Keep in mind that being prequalified does not mean you’ll be approved, just that you are more likely to be approved for a particular card. You’ll still need to complete the credit card application.
For more information on preapproval tools for Capital One and other card issuers, check out our article on the topic.
Bottom Line: Before applying for a Capital One card, you can see if you have offers pending by utilizing the CardMatch tool or accessing the Capital One preapproval option. These tools are risk-free and do not involve a hard inquiry on your credit report.
CapOne Venture Card vs. CapOne Venture X Card — Summary
While you’ll find some similarities when comparing the CapOne Venture card to the CapOne Venture X card, there are some distinct and valuable differences.
Here’s how our featured cards compare side-by-side in all the key categories:
| Benefit | CapOne Venture Card | CapOne Venture X Card |
| Earning Potential | - 5x miles on hotels and rental cars purchased via Capital One Travel
- 2x miles on all other purchases
| - 10x miles on hotels and rental cars purchased via Capital One Travel
- 5x miles for flights purchased via Capital One Travel
- 2x miles on all other purchases
- 10,000 bonus miles each card anniversary
|
| Redemption Options | - Redeem miles for 1 cent each via Capital One Travel
- Transfer to airline or hotel partners to purchase award flights or free hotel nights
- Redeem miles for 1 cent each as a statement credit for previous travel purchases (within 90 days)
- General statement credits, cash, gift cards, Amazon, PayPal
|
| Travel Benefits and Protections | - No foreign transaction fees
- Global Entry/TSA PreCheck fee reimbursement
- Capital One Lounge and Plaza Premium Lounge access: 2 passes per year
- Rental car insurance, primary outside your country of residence or if no other insurance applies within your country of residence
- Lost luggage reimbursement
- Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection benefits
| - No foreign transaction fees
- Global Entry/TSA PreCheck fee reimbursement
- Capital One Lounge and Plaza Premium Lounge access
- Priority Pass Select membership
- Up to $300 Capital One Travel statement credit
- Primary rental car insurance
- Trip cancellation, trip interruption, trip delay
- Lost luggage reimbursement
- Visa Infinite Luxury Hotel Collection benefits
|
| Shopping Benefits and Protections | - Capital One Shopping
- Purchase security, extended warranty
| - Capital One Shopping
- Purchase protection, extended warranty, return protection
- Cell phone protection
|
| Annual Fees and Authorized Users | - $95 annual fee, no fee to add authorized users
| - $395 annual fee, no fee to add authorized users
|
Final Thoughts
If you can utilize Capital One Travel to make most of your travel purchases, you’ll come out ahead with the CapOne Venture X card. The up to $300 in travel credits add additional value with a statement credit. If you value lounge access at all, the total value you’ll receive from the card could far offset the annual fee.
If you won’t utilize Capital One Travel and don’t value having airport lounge access, you may find better value with the CapOne Venture card that offers 2x earnings on every purchase and a lower fee.
Finally, we like that Capital One has entered the premium travel card space and is offering the CapOne Venture X card with lounge access, travel statement credits, and bonus earnings for travel purchases.
Frequent travelers who value luxury travel rewards cards should also consider cards such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and The Platinum Card® from American Express.
While these cards do charge higher annual fees, you may find significant value if you’re looking for a luxury card with premium travel benefits.
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