Cutting Through the Noise: What Do You REALLY Need to Know About the New Venture X Card?

The Venture X Card from Capital One is one of the best credit card offerings ever. It actually pays for itself, and by “paying for itself” I mean after the first year anniversary. Because in the first year it’s at least a $1,000 moneymaker – and that’s conservatively speaking. Very conservatively!

Direct link: Venture X Rewards from Capital One

This card reminds me of Citi Prestige, Chase Sapphire Reserve and Chase Ritz Carlton (remember that gem?) at the time each of them just got out. And just like those cards, the level of benefits offered by Venture X is definitely non-sustainable, especially for a $395 annual fee – comparatively low for an ultra-premium card. You can “safely” expect the welcome bonus and benefits to tone down a bit after a few months of festivities. 🙂

I’ve been approved

I have a 800 FICO score, give or take, and a 4/24 “Chase score.” 🙂 I haven’t gotten a Capital One approval in almost a decade. I also checked the pre-approved Capital One page, and this card wasn’t there. They had pre-approved me for two crappy cards I had no interest in getting.

Still, I went ahead and applied. And what do you know — instant approval with a $30,000 credit line!

I’d recommend to get this card now if you can!

And yes, that’s a big “if”! It’s Capital One we’re talking about. I still can’t believe they’ve approved me.

I’ve killed a precious Chase 5/24 spot for this card (although I have one more falling off in December). It’s better be worth it, and I believe it is.

​Most important benefits of the Venture X card from Capital One

• 100,000 bonus miles after spending $10,000 on purchases within the first 6 months.
• Statement credit for up to $300 in purchases made through Capital One Travel.
• Statement credit for up to $200 in qualifying vacation rental purchases via Airbnb, Turnkey, Vacasa and VRBO (limited time).
• Upgrade to the Hertz President’s Circle status (works for authorized users, too).
• Unlimited Priority Pass membership that includes restaurants (works for authorized users, too).
• Access to Capital One lounges (currently only one at DFW, but there are plans for Denver and Dulles, too).
• Up to $100 Global Entry or TSA Pre✔ application fee statement credit.
• 10,000 bonus miles (equal to $100 toward travel) after your first account anniversary.
• No foreign transaction fee

​Capital One Venture X Earnings

• 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through the Capital One Travel portal.
• 5X miles on flights booked through the Capital One Travel portal.
• 2X on all other purchases.

​Notable Visa Infinite benefits

Travel

• Primary Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver (works for authorized users too).
• Trip Delay Reimbursement covers up to $500.00 per ticket, for a 6+ hours delay (most policies only pay after a 12-hour delay).
• Lost Luggage Reimbursement up to $3,000.00 per trip, per bag (up to $2,000 for New York residents).
• Trip Cancellation and Interruption up to $2,000.00 per Insured Person (doesn’t cover pre-existing conditions).
• Visa Infinite Concierge.

Shopping

• Cellular Telephone protection up to $800.
• Purchase security for 90 days.
• Return protection for 90 days.
• Extended Warranty Protection for one additional year (includes refurbished items).

​How to redeem Capital One miles for travel

Past travel purchases

This is the easiest way, and you don’t have to use the Capital One portal. You can book your travel any way you want, online or offline, then come back to your online account and use Cover Your Travel Purchases to erase your purchase with miles. That gives you a 100:1 value (100 points for $1).

Book your travel on the Capital One portal

This one is self-explanatory. Use Capital One miles to book your flight, hotel or car rental on the Capital One portal for the same 100:1 value.

Transfer your miles to travel partners programs

This option really gives you a chance to get outsized value for your miles. Capital One has 16 travel partners (Choice Hotels will reportedly join too by the end of the year) and it’s recently increased the transfer value by bringing the 1:1 transfer ratio to almost all of them.

Here are all 1:1 Capital One ratio partners:

• Aeromexico Club Premier
• Air Canada Aeroplan
• Air France-KLM Flying Blue
• Avianca LifeMiles
• British Airways Avios
• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
• Emirates Skywards
• Etihad Guest
• Finnair Plus
• Qantas Frequent Flyer
• Singapore KrisFlyer
• TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go
• Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
• Wyndham Rewards

There are only two partners left with a less than 1:1 ratio:

• Accor Live Limitless 2:1
• EVA Infinity MileageLands 2:1.5

​So what’s the Venture X real value?

Let’s start with the tangible benefits.

You’ll earn 120,000 points after spending $10,000 (2x on everything) in the first six months. I conservatively value Capital One miles at 1.5X per, although it can be more than that and less than that. It can be much more if you transfer Capital One miles to airline or hotel programs that in turn get you an expensive flight or room. But they can only be worth 1X if you redeem miles on Capital One Travel or by paying for past travel purchases. There is no right or wrong way of doing it, it’s all about achieving your travel goals.

Then you get a $300 credit for booking travel on the Capital One portal and another $200 for booking a vacation rental.

Do these credits amount to another $500? No, they’re not cash. Besides, I’ve never tried the Capital One portal, so I don’t know if it’s easy to use or if their prices are fair. But they do have a price-match program, so it shouldn’t be too bad.

Still, let’s say you’ll lose 20% of your cash value. $400 sounds realistic to me.

So the bonus and these two credits amount to at least $1,600 in travel money, but there is that $395 annual fee.

Safe to say that this card gets you at least $1,205, and that’s before we turn to intangible benefits like Priority Pass access, Hertz President’s Circle status and other perks.

You might argue that you could spend $10,000 elsewhere. A 2.5% or 3% cashback credit card would earn you $250 and $300 respectively. But keep in mind that my $1,205 estimate is the floor. In all likelihood, you’ll earn considerably more by transferring your miles to airline and hotel programs.

What are your approval chances?

OK, let’s address that elephant in the room.

Reading these Reddit threads leaves an impression of an issuer who decides your fate almost randomly. I mean these approval and denial reports are all over the place.

There is even some anecdotal evidence that people with lower income and credit scores (bankruptcy even!) have been more successful in getting this card. It doesn’t make any sense to me whatsoever, but check the above threads for yourself.

Some comments have suggested that saying “yes” to optional questions about whether or not you’re planning to carry a balance and if you want cash advance checks can improve your chances. Can it be true? I have no idea.

So, that’s all she wrote, I guess. 🙂

​To recap

Capital One has introduced the new Venture X card with an exceptional 100,000 welcome points, two travel credits equaling $500, unlimited Priority Pass access and a slew of other perks and benefits that make the sizable $395 annual fee look small. And while the $10,000 spending requirement that’s needed to earn the 100,000-point welcome bonus is nowhere near small, you have a whole six months to complete the spend.

I believe this is a great card, and I’m 99% positive it will be devalued very soon, so I recommend getting it now if you can. That can be easier said than done, though, since Capital One has long been one of the trickiest issuers to get approval from.

What’s your story? Have you applied for Venture X or going to?