Capital One Venture X vs. Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Capital One has been working hard to offer competitive travel credit cards. It started with the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card, which offers 2X miles on all purchases, which yout can redeem for travel statement credits or transferred to airlines and hotel partners.

And more recently, it introduced its premium Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, which features airport lounge access and valuable credits toward travel purchases. Let’s take a look at these two cards and see which one is right for you.

Capital One Venture X vs. Venture Rewards Credit Card

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card	Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Rewards rate 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel 5X miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel 2X miles on all other purchases	Rewards rate 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel 2X miles on general purchases
Sign-up bonus 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening (equal to $750 in travel)	Sign-up bonus 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months
Annual fee $395	Annual fee $95
Notable features Up to $300 in annual statement credits for Capital One Travel purchases 10,000 bonus miles each year on your first anniversary Capital One Lounge access Priority Pass Select membership TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credits No foreign transaction fees	Notable features TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credits No foreign transaction fees Visa Signature benefits

Earning miles

Regular rewards

Both the Venture X and Venture Rewards earn Capital One miles and offer 2 miles per dollar on all non-category purchases (as well as rewards on hotel and rental car bookings). However, the Capital One Venture X offers 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, while the Venture Rewards Card offers 5X miles in this category. Additionally, the Venture X offers 5X miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel.

Sign-up bonus

The Venture X offers a high welcome bonus and a fairly high spending goal as well. New cardholders can earn 75,000 bonus miles after using their cards to spend $4,000 on purchases within three months of account opening. The Venture Rewards Card’s sign-up was recently updated so that it’s the same as the Venture X. If you love a good deal, now’s the time to apply for the Venture Rewards Card.

Redeeming miles

You can redeem Capital One miles earned with the Venture Rewards and Venture X for a variety of options, including:

• Travel
• Airline and hotel transfer partner travel
• Statement credits toward travel purchases made within the past 90 days
• Gift cards
• Cash back
• Amazon or PayPal purchases

In many cases, transferring your miles to a partner airline or hotel will yield the most value. According to The Points Guy’s monthly valuations, doing so can boost your rewards value up to 1.85 cents apiece, in some cases.

Here’s a look at Capital One’s transfer partners. You can transfer your miles to these airline and hotel partners at a 1:1 ratio, unless noted otherwise:

• Aeromexico
• Aeroplan (Air Canada)
• Asia Miles
• Avianca
• British Airways
• Emirates
• Etihad
• EVA Air (2:1.5 ratio)
• Finnair
• Flying Blue (Air France, KLM)
• Qantas
• Singapore Airlines (KrisFlyer)
• TAP Air Portugal
• Turkish Airlines
• Accor Live Limitless (2:1)
• Wyndham Rewards

Annual fee

As the more premium travel credit card, the Venture X charges a $395 annual fee. The Venture Rewards, on the other hand, charges a $95 annual fee. While the Venture X’s high annual fee may deter some potential cardholders, its variety of perks more than makes up for the yearly charge.

Yet, for those who travel less frequently and are looking for an easy-to-use, no-fuss travel card, the Venture Rewards Card might be the better option.

Travel benefits and statement credits

Both of these Capital One credit cards offer notable perks, but the breadth of the Venture X benefits makes it easy to see why it’s considered a premium travel credit card.

Both cards come with:

• Access to premier culinary experiences, music events and big-time sporting events
• No foreign transaction fees
• Up to $100 in statement credits toward the application fees for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck

Venture Rewards benefits include:

• Visa Signature benefits
• Virtual card numbers for online shopping
• $250,000 of travel accident insurance

The Venture X Rewards offers:

• All Visa Signature benefits, plus Visa Infinite benefits
• Up to $300 in annual statement credits for travel bookings through Capital One Travel
• 10,000 bonus anniversary miles each year
• Priority Pass Select membership, giving you access to 1,300+ lounges across the globe
• Free access to Capital One Lounges (including two guest passes per year)
• Complimentary Hertz President’s Circle status

Venture X: Best for frequent travelers and big spenders

If you’re a frequent traveler and can snag the 75,000-point welcome bonus (after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months), the Venture X is probably the right choice for you.

Globe-trotters will certainly appreciate the Venture X’s lounge access, various travel-related statement credits and heightened Visa benefits. And cardholders will easily be able to make up for that $395 annual fee by taking advantage of the various statement credits.

Venture Rewards Credit Card: Best for modest spenders and infrequent travelers

Some use travel credit cards to slowly earn rewards toward an occasional vacation. If this sounds like you, then you might be better off with the standard Venture Rewards Card.

The Venture Rewards Card can also be a better choice when you can’t regularly utilize benefits like the airport lounge access. Its lower annual fee than the Venture X’s is also an added perk, considering that right now the two cards’ sign-up bonuses give the same 75,000 points. If you’ve been eyeing the Venture Rewards for a while, now is as good a time as any to apply.

Bottom line

Both the Venture and Venture X offer travel-related value, but the right option for you depends on your spending style, travel frequency and attitude toward annual fees.

The Capital One Venture X may be worth it for cardholders looking to level up their travel game with heightened rewards and luxury perks, whereas the Venture Rewards is more worth it for the casual, every-once-in-a-while traveler.