Capital One Venture X vs. Capital One Venture Card – Which is Better in 2024?

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card and the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card are two of the best travel credit cards for flexible point redemption options. Both cards also offer several travel perks, including airport lounge access, with a reasonable annual fee.

This comparison can help you choose the best Capital One credit card for travel rewards.

Benefits At A Glance

Here is an overview of each card’s main benefits and fees.

	Capital One Venture X Rewards	Capital One Venture Rewards
Annual Fee	$395	$95
Authorized User Fee	$0	$0
Signup Bonus	75,000 Venture miles after spending $4,000 in 3 months ($750 value)	60,000 Venture miles after spending $3,000 in 3 months ($600 value)
Purchase Rewards	10x on hotels and car rentals through Capital One Travel 5x on flights through Capital One Travel 2x on remaining purchases	5x on hotels and car rentals through Capital One Travel 2x on remaining purchases
Airport Lounge Perks	Complimentary Priority Pass Select Unlimited Capital One Lounge visits	2 Capital One Lounge visits per year
Notable Benefits	$100 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck $300 annual Capital One Travel statement credit 10,000 miles anniversary bonus First-year $200 vacation rental credit Hertz President’s Circle status  1:1 point transfers	$100 credit for  Global Entry or TSA PreCheck Hertz Five Star status 1:1 point transfers

Read our Capital One Venture X Rewards and Capital One Venture Rewards guides to dig deeper.

Annual Fee

Your annual fee is $395 for the Capital One Venture X Rewards and $95 for the Capital One Venture Rewards.

Additional cards are free for both cards.

While the Venture X Rewards annual fee is higher than the Venture Rewards, it’s cheaper than the competition – Chase Sapphire Reserve ($550) and the American Express Platinum Card ($695). 

Both Venture products can be an excellent fit for frequent flyers. However, you must decide if the Venture X Rewards premium perks are worth the extra cost.

Signup Bonus

Both cards are offering new cardholders bonus Capital One Venture miles. The bonus miles are most valuable when you redeem them for award travel.

Capital One Venture X Rewards

The Capital One Venture X Rewards spending offer is 75,000 miles after spending $4,000 in the first three months. Its redemption value is $750. Previously, the Venture X’s welcome bonus was 100,000 miles after spending $10,000 in the first six months.

This bonus is more valuable but you must accomplish the higher minimum spend.

Capital One Venture Rewards

You can earn 60,000 bonus miles after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months. The bonus is worth $600 in award travel.

Earning Venture Miles

You can earn bonus miles with either card when purchasing travel through the Capital One Travel booking portal. 

Both cards also award 2x miles on non-bonus purchases. This earn rate is double the typical 1 point per $1 for rewards credit cards.

Unfortunately, neither card earns bonus miles when you book travel directly from the carrier. Instead, you must pay for flights, hotels, and car rentals through Capital One Travel. 

While you might be apprehensive of using a credit card travel portal to book pricey trips as you lack certain negotiation tools if your trip gets canceled or delayed, the booking portal includes these protections:

• Free price drop protection (receive a partial refund if future fares are cheaper)
• Best price guarantee for hotels
• 24/7 price prediction tools

Capital One Venture X Rewards

Your Venture X Rewards categories are the following:

• 10x on hotel and car rental bookings through Capital One Travel
• 5x on flight purchases through Capital One Travel
• 2x on all remaining purchases

The Venture X Rewards can earn more miles on travel purchases. However, the better reason to consider this card is for its premium travel benefits.

Capital One Venture Rewards

The Venture Rewards can also earn bonus miles on qualifying travel purchases:

• 5x on hotels and car rentals through Capital One Travel
• 2x on all remaining purchases

Redeeming Venture Miles

Your redemption options are identical for both cards. Here is the redemption value for each reward option:

• Travel statement credits: 1 cent
• Upcoming trips through Capital One Travel: 1 cent
• Airline and hotel point transfers: Varies
• Gift cards: 0.8 cents
• Amazon and PayPal credits: 0.8 cents
• Cash back: 0.5 cents

Travel statement credits are usually the most valuable redemption way to redeem Capital One miles. The primary reason is that you earn miles when you pay for your purchase giving you more to redeem.

In addition, the statement credit applies to virtually any travel-related purchase in the last 90 days. As a result, you can enjoy the benefits of booking directly from the airline, hotel, or car rental agency. Then, you get the maximum redemption value.

Capital One Travel Partners

Your miles are worth 1 cent for award travel redemptions. However, you might be able to get more mileage by transferring your miles to an airline or hotel travel partner.

Here is the current list of transfer partners and the transfer ratio.

Loyalty Program	Transfer Ratio
Aeromexico Club Premier	1:1
Aeroplan	1:1
ALL- Accor Live Limitless	2:1
Asia Miles	1:1
Avianca LifeMiles	1:1
British Airways Executive Club	1:1
Choice Privileges	1:1
Emirates Skywards	1:1
Etihad Guest	1:1
EVA Air Infinity MileageLands	2:1.5
Finnair Plus	1:1
Flying Blue (Air France-KLM)	1:1
Qantas Frequent Flyer	1:1
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer	1:1
TAP Miles&Go	1:1
Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles	1:1
Virgin Red	1:1
Wyndham Rewards	1:1

These transfer partners are best for booking international flights. The Choice Privileges and Wyndham Rewards hotel transfer partners are also worth exploring for easy domestic trips.

Travel Benefits

The head-to-head comparison of each card’s travel perks will help you choose the winner for your travel needs.

Capital One Venture X Rewards

Let’s start with the Venture X Rewards Card as it offers the most features.

$300 Annual Travel Credit

You will receive up to $300 in statement credits on your first Capital One Travel purchases for the year. These purchases also earn 5x or 10x rewards miles.

10,000 Anniversary Miles

You get 10,000 anniversary miles on every card renewal when you pay your annual fee. This bonus is worth $100 in travel rewards.

Unlimited Capital One Lounge Visits

Primary and secondary members and up to two guests can visit the Capital One Lounge location free of charge. Additional guests can enter for $45 each and children under age two are free. 

Each visit normally costs $65 for non-cardholders wishing to visit instead of the more ubiquitous Priority Pass oasis.

This airport lounge network just launched in 2021 with a location in Dallas-Ft.Worth (DFW). Lounges will also open in Denver (DEN) and Dulles (IAD) during 2022.

In comparison, the Capital One Venture Rewards only provides two one-time passes each year.

Priority Pass Select and Plaza Premium Lounges

You can also enjoy complimentary Priority Pass Select access along with two additional guests. This is a standard airport lounge benefit for premium cards but you can get it cheaper than competing rewards cards. Additionally, cardmembers now have access to 100+ Plaza Premium Lounges worldwide.

Free Global Entry or TSA PreCheck

You’re eligible for up to $100 in Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credits every four years.

Hertz President’s Circle Status

Enjoy automatic Hertz President’s Circle Status through December 31, 2024. This is the highest loyalty tier for Hertz. 

Some of the benefits include a free additional driver, the widest selection of car rentals, and earning 1.5x Hertz points on rentals.

Cell Phone Protection

The Venture X Rewards is a Visa Infinite product and offers Visa-provided benefits as well. One such perk is cell phone protection of up to $800 when your phone is lost or stolen after paying the $50 deductible.

Capital One Venture Rewards

Here are the Capital One Venture Rewards travel benefits. There are fewer than the Venture X Rewards but there are still several to enjoy for frequent flyers.

Two Capital One Lounge Visits

You will receive two passes to the Capital One Lounge network each year. After that, each visit costs $65 per person.

This card doesn’t offer Priority Pass lounge access like the Venture X Rewards.

Global Entry or TSA PreCheck Fee Credit

You will receive up to $100 in application fee credits every four years for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck status.

Hertz Five Star Status

You will receive Hertz Five Star loyalty status through December 31, 2024. This is the mid-tier loyalty tier.

Some of the featured benefits are a free additional driver, as-available upgrades, and earning 1.25x Hertz points on rentals.

Related: What Credit Score Do You Need to Get the Capital One Venture Rewards Card?

Travel and Purchase Protection

Both cards also offer various travel insurance and purchase protection benefits. There can be several distinct differences as the Venture Rewards is a Mastercard product and Visa issues the Venture X Rewards.

Here are the maximum coverage amounts:

	Capital One Venture X Rewards	Capital One Venture Rewards
Trip Cancellation and Interruption	$2,000 per person	$1,500 per person
Trip Delay	$500 per covered trip after 6 hours	N/A
Baggage Delay	N/A	$100 a day for 3 days after 4 hours
Lost Luggage Reimbursement	$3,000 per person ($2,000 for New York State residents)	$1,500 per passenger
Car Rental Insurance (Collision and Theft)	Primary coverage up to $75,000	Secondary coverage up to the actual cash value of the rental car
Purchase Protection	$10,000 per item and $50,000 annually for purchases within 60 days	$1,000 per item and up to $25,000 annually for purchases within 90 days
Extended Warranty	One additional year for warranties of 3 years or less	One additional year for warranties of 2 years or less

Both cards give you access to these additional Capital One purchase services:

• Capital One Shopping applies discount codes and can compare merchant prices
• Price protection monitoring at select merchants
• Virtual card numbers for additional card security

When to Apply for the Capital One Venture X Rewards

You should consider applying for the Capital One Venture X Rewards for these reasons:

• Will book trips through Capital One Travel: You will need to book your flights, hotels, and car rentals through Capital One Travel to earn bonus miles and redeem the annual $300 travel credit.
• Want airport lounge access: Complimentary access to the Priority Pass and Capital One Lounge networks can easily offset the card’s yearly fee after several visits.
• Can benefit from the premium travel benefits: It’s easier for frequent travelers to earn more rewards miles and enjoy other travel loyalty perks. You may encounter more out-of-pocket expenses with the Venture Rewards. 
• Anniversary bonus: The 10,000 miles anniversary and the annual Capital One Travel statement credit are worth $400. You break even after these two benefits and any additional rewards and benefits are pure profit.  
• You’re comfortable with the higher annual fee: The $395 annual fee is cheaper than most premium credit cards yet substantially more than the Venture Rewards at $95. Up to four free authorized users also makes this card relatively affordable for families.

Earning up to 10x miles on purchases, the airport lounge benefits, and additional perks are the most compelling reasons to consider this card. As a result, the Venture X Rewards is the clear winner if you can regularly use these benefits.

When to Apply for the Capital One Venture Rewards

While the Capital One Venture Rewards doesn’t offer as many benefits, you may prefer it for these reasons:

• Low annual fee: The $95 annual fee is competitive with most travel rewards cards and manageable for casual travelers. You still get several air travel benefits that can be more valuable than the annual fee.
• Booking travel from the carrier: If you primarily plan on booking your travel directly from the travel provider, this card can be better as the Venture X Rewards bonus categories won’t be beneficial. Both cards earn 2x miles on these purchases.
• Cannot use the premium benefits: The Venture X Rewards $300 annual travel credit, anniversary bonus, and unlimited lounge benefits are excellent. However, not every traveler is going to utilize these perks to justify the $395 annual fee.
• Capital One Lounge visits: This perk can be enough to enjoy a favorite travel benefit without the ongoing costs of a premium travel card.

The Vacationer’s Final Thoughts

Both cards make it easy to earn bonus miles on travel and redeem your miles for travel rewards. The better card depends on whether or not you can use the additional benefit.

If so, the Capital One Venture X Rewards is worth applying for first. It’s one of the most affordable premium travel credit cards. Even if you only travel a few times a year, the $300 Capital One Travel credit and 10,000 anniversary bonus miles recoup your annual fee.

The Capital One Venture Rewards doesn’t sport as many benefits but can be more appealing because of its lower annual fee. The lower fee comes in handy as you still have the same point redemption options and access to several air travel benefits.

Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.