Move over American Express Platinum, the Venture X Credit Card is aiming for your customer base, and there are some interesting perks to switching over (or getting started).
If you’re a traveler and love to rack up points, the Venture X credit card may help you get there faster. If you’re intrigued, read on and learn more about it!
The Venture X Credit Card
Venture X is by Capital One, and it aims to deliver all the travel perks to travel-hungry post-pandemic passengers.
What is it about this card that makes it so unique, and why is it giving American Express a run for its money?
First, it offers 10x miles on travel purchases, including hotels and rental cars; you get 5x miles for flights and 2x miles on everything else, including everyday purchases. You gain the maximum number of miles by booking through the Capital One travel site.
Current Sign-On Bonus Offer
Their current offer is a generous 75,000 bonus miles if you spend $4000 in the first three months. For frequent travelers, this should be easy to accomplish. In addition, they will give you 10,000 bonus miles (equal to $100 travel credit) starting on the first anniversary of getting the card. I don’t think any other card offers this.
If you get the card and love it, be sure to refer your family and friends. Each completed referral earns you 100,000 bonus miles.
Card Perks
What else do you get? In addition to massive mile collection capability, there are:
- No foreign transaction fees.
- The Venture X credit card also provides $300 in travel credit on your statement on qualifying purchases. An example of this credit is earning a $100 experience credit when staying at certain hotels.
- Access to Capital One Lounges and partner lounges at international airports.
- A $100 reimbursem*nt towards TSA precheck or Global entry.
- Snag hard-to-get reservations at some exclusive restaurants.
There are rental car benefits as well. The Venture X credit card gives you access to the Hertz President’s Circle status, which allows you to skip waiting in line and qualify for upgrades. If you like or prefer renting through Turo, you’ll earn 10x miles for Turo rentals.
In addition, when booking through Capital One, they recommend when to make your purchases based on historical price trends. If you follow their recommendation and find a lower price within ten days, they will reimburse you $50 in travel credit. You’ll also receive a refund for the price difference.
If you’re an absent-minded traveler who tends to lose their phone, Capital One has you covered. You’ll qualify for their phone protection plan when you pay your cell phone bill with this card. If you lose your phone or it gets stolen, you’ll receive reimbursem*nt of up to $800.
How Are Awards Miles Redeemed?
There are two ways to do this. First, you can redeem your credits toward past travel purchases, which must be done within 90 days of the transaction.
Another is to use your miles towards future travels. When booking through Capital One, you will apply your credits at checkout. Alternatively, you can transfer miles to their partner companies and use your credits there by booking directly on those company websites.
However, be aware that the ability to transfer to a preferred airline may not be there. John Dealbreuin from Financial Freedom Countdown says,” travel rewards credit cards offer an outsized value when transferring directly to airlines for booking travel redemptions. Unfortunately, the current list of travel airline partners for the Venture X card does not include any U.S. airlines. “
Of course, you can redeem your credits for things other than travel, should you wish. These other things include gift cards or a statement credit.
What Is The Exchange Rate For Redeeming Miles?
The exchange rate is 100 miles per dollar. You can flip this around and multiply the purchase price of your travel by 100 to calculate how many miles you’d need to cover the total purchase cost.
For instance, if a flight is $300, you would need 300×100 or 30,000 points to pay via miles in full.
For non-travel redemption, the exchange rate may differ depending on what you want to exchange miles for.
What’s The Catch
A $395 annual fee is associated with having and using the card. However, this price is much less compared, for example, to American Express Plantium’s now $695 cost. If you fully utilize the $300 annual statement credit you can earn, the net cost of using Venture X is only $95.
In addition, approval for Venture X requires an excellent credit rating.
Pros and Cons of Switching to Venture X
Pros
For any avid traveler, earning and using miles or points quickly is a huge bonus. Travel can be expensive, and booking travel services through miles can help you stick within your travel budget.
In addition, earning 2x on everyday purchases is more than most other travel credit cards allow in the same category.
The flexibility in redeeming options is also a pro of the card. Melanie Allen, the owner of financial & travel resource Partners in FIRE, states, “those who aren’t interested in travel can use their points for gift cards, amazon shopping, events, or redeem for cash. Keep in mind you’ll get less when you redeem for cash than if you use the card to cover travel expenses.”
When you do the math, the annual fee on the Venture X credit card becomes very affordable if you use the full travel credit.
In addition to its own lounges, Capital One has partnered with Plaza Premium Lounges (over 100+ locations worldwide) and Priority Pass. The lounges offer free food and drinks, with some providing massage services and other fun ways to relax. As a Venture X cardholder, you are allowed two complimentary guests to accompany you to any of these lounges.
Cons
Like most travel credit cards, fully earning and using miles or points is accomplished by booking services on the credit card travel website. While this is convenient, finding the best deals may be more difficult when using a credit card’s travel portal, even with their recommendations.
Since there are no U.S.-based partner airlines for miles transfer, this perk may not be of benefit unless you primarily travel on the airlines with which they do have partnerships.
While the annual fee is less than most competitors, it is still worth taking it into consideration. It becomes more expensive if you don’t use the entire statement credit allowed.
Finally, given how new the Venture X credit card is, lounge availability in the U.S. is limited. While it’s likely they will continue to grow their airport footprint, they are not there yet, so this perk is of limited use here at home unless you regularly fly through their current airports.
Is It Worth It?
Overall, the Venture X credit card is the new kid on the block and offers some enticing perks. 10x miles for hotels is very generous, and as a frequent traveler, you will likely accumulate miles quickly. On the other side, because the card is so new, there will be some delay in receiving the full benefits the card promises (re: only a few airport lounges in the States).
Given the partnerships with non-U.S. airlines and international lounges, those traveling long-term, working and living abroad, or embarking on a digital nomad lifestyle may benefit the most from the Venture X credit card.
When you take all of this information into account, the Venture X credit card may be worth trying for frequent, U.S.-based travelers as well. If you have some big travel plans coming up, using this card will allow you to quickly recoup the money spent, and you’ll likely qualify for the 75k bonus after the first three months. Then you can plan your next trip and see if the card truly works for your travel and lifestyle.
Final Thoughts
Traveling the world and experiencing everything it has to offer is highly recommended but can get very expensive. Having a good travel credit card can be a game changer to help you earn, save and travel comfortably. Having multiple good travel credit cards can help you travel hack your way across the world. With all of the options available today, the only way to know which card(s) is best for you and your travel style is to perform your due diligence and give them a try.
Venture X appears to offer great benefits at a lower cost compared to its competitors. Check it out and see if it’s something you’d like to add to your travel wallets!
This article originally appeared on Savoteur.
Sanjana Vig
