Is the Capital One Venture X Card worth it? - Nerd Wallet (2023)

TheCapital One Venture X Rewards Credit Cardis the bank's first foray intoPremium travel cardspace, and offers fresh benefits you won't find anywhere else. It's definitely the new on the market, but it's the effortlessly cool new.

It comes with one395 $Annual fee that is lower than many competitors. Still, it offers the usual perks you'd probably expect from premium travel cards. Think: lounge access, TSA PreCheck or Global Entry travel credits and refunds.

We discuss the benefits of the card and how it compares to cards in a similar price range. You can read more about the new cardHere.

signup bonus

Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 in purchases in the first three months of account opening, equivalent to $750 in travel costs.

It's not himThe highest signup bonusWe've never seen it on a travel map, but it's respectable. The bonus alone makes it easy to justify the card in your first year as a cardholder, but you should also consider the ongoing benefits.

Premium Rate (value depends on your spending habits)

TheCapital One Venture X Rewards Credit Cardit has a mileage accrual system similar to the other cards in the Venture family. 2 points for every dollar you spend.

You can earn even more miles when you book cash travel through Capital One Travel:

TSA PreCheck/Global Entry Statement Credit (up to $100)

Lounge access (price varies by usage)

Here we start with some premium benefits. TheCapital One Venture X Rewards Credit Cardgives you unlimited access toPriority pass, Capital One Lounge and more than 100 Plaza Premium Lounges, including select Virgin Atlantic Clubhouses.

Capital One lounges are the bank's answerDie Centurion Lounges from AmEx, which are more expensive to access. Few Capital One lounges are open to date, but the quality of the lounges is generally in line with what AmEx has to offer.

The first lounge opened at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in late 2021. Two other lounges at Denver and Washington-Dulles airports are also slated to open at some point.

These new lounges are smartly designed to cater to the diverse needs of travellers. The Dallas-Fort Worth location has a grab-and-go area for people stopping by for a snack or coffee before their next flight. There is a separate area for people who want to spend a few hours there during a layover.

Unique amenities include a yoga and cycling room with Peloton bikes and two meditation rooms with sleep pods.

It's hard to put a price on the value of an airport lounge visit, since Capital One hasn't disclosed the price of a day pass. Priority Pass charges $32 per visit in addition to the membership fee, but many credit cards will cover the unlimited visit fee ($429 value). You need to consider how often you use lounge access to assess how much this benefit is worth to you.

Anniversary Bonus ($100 value)

Every year when you renew the card you will receive a bonus of 10,000 miles credited to your account. This benefit could help justify the annual fee, effectively saving $100 off of it395 $each year.

Credit for bookings made through Capital One Travel (up to $300)

Along with the anniversary bonus, the settlement credit on Capital One Travel bookings could offset the balance of the annual fee. Each year, you can receive up to $300 in settlement credit for travel booked with Capital One.

This benefit is equivalent to the $300 annual travel creditChase Sapphire Reserve®. The only difference is that the credits appear on the statementCapital One Venture X Rewards Credit Cardvalid only for bookings made through the Capital One Travel portal duringChase Sapphire Reserve®The credit applies to almost all journeys charged to the card.

Gravity Haus Annual Membership Statement Credit (up to $300)

You're eligible for up to $300 in movement credit when you purchase an annual membership to Gravity Haus, a membership-based social club with locations primarily in popular ski areas such as Breckenridge, Vail and Winter Park in Colorado, as well as a location in Truckee, California, near Lake Tahoe.

Gravity Haus amenities vary by location, but you can expect hotel rooms, equipment rentals, a coffee shop, a gym, group fitness classes, a spa, and co-working spaces. It's a kind of country club for the modern winter sports crowd, where you can also sleep and work.

If you are a Gravity House member for the first time, you can register using itCapital One-Landingpageto receive $300 off the regular, non-discounted price of a 12-month membership for any Gravity Haus membership level. These are:

The discount is only applied during the first subscription period, so with a 12-month subscription you get $25 off the regular monthly price with no discount each month.

Even with the statement credit, you'll have to pay at least $540 for the lowest membership level, so most cardholders are unlikely to take advantage of it. However, if you frequently travel to mountain towns where Gravity Haus operates, membership may be a worthwhile proposition, especially considering the Capital One credits.

This offer is only available until January 19, 2024.

Transfer partner

In fact, Capital One miles are more flexible than you might think. The publisher recently added transfer partners and improved the ratios so that there are now 15 partners with a 1:1 transfer ratio.

If you transfer your Capital One miles to some of these international airlines to take advantage of the sweet spots, you may be able to get more than the 1 cent per mile value you would get on Capital One Travel.

Let's say you get a $500 one-way flight to Hawaii with only 10,000 miles on Turkish Airlines (one of them).). That's a whopping 5 cents per mile, and the value of your flight is already more than the annual fee you've paid this year.

Take a closer look at the premium travel cards competing for your business, such asChase Sapphire Reserve®,Die Platinum Card® von American Expressthat tooU.S. Bank Altitude™ Reserve Visa Infinite® Karte.

Here is a summary of our findings:

especially theCapital One Venture X Rewards Credit Cardoffers almost everything you'd expect from a premium travel credit card and the lowest annual fee of all.

Most other premium travel cards have annual fees in excess of $450395 $it's a good price. It also offers enough annual benefits ($300 in Capital One Travel bookings and $100 in anniversary bonus points) to fully offset the annual fee with relative ease.

Your problem is that you need to make some travel bookings through the Capital One Travel portal in order to maximize your account balance and the number of miles you've earned. The portal may limit your options a bit.

Carrier partners are also a good option for redemptions, but the lack of hotel and domestic airline partners may make this card less attractive to first-time and/or domestic travelers.

For people willing to take the risk of a growing travel rewards program, this is itCapital One Venture X Rewards Credit Cardcould be a good way to get into the premium travel credit card space at a cheaper price.