Capital One Venture X Card: Visa Infinite for Personal & World Elite MaterCard for BUSINESS
Updated April 9, 2024.
The Facts
This review covers both the personal and business versions of Venture X Card.
Capital One Venture X Visa Infinite (Personal)
Capital One Venture X BUSINESS World Elite MasterCard
The Math
Earning 10x Miles on hotels and car rentals might seem a great deal on paper; however, the catch is that you need to book through the Capital One Travel (COT) portal: several hotel programs won't allow points earning or recognize your elite status if you book through a third party OTA, and you might not be able to apply certain coupons or promotions on car rentals as when you book directly with rental car companies. For these reasons, we won't consider hotels and car rentals as bonus categories in our analysis. On the other hand, we do consider 5x Miles on airfare through COT as an effective bonus category, because these bookings qualify for miles earning and elite status recognition as long as you provide your frequent flyer number during booking and the prices are generally the same as when booking directly with airlines.
Venture X's $395 annual fee aligns well with other high-end cards, and it does offer two great features to reduce the effective annual fee. To trigger the annual $300 travel credit, you need to book through COT, and for the reasons explained just above, you might treat it at face value if you use COT to book a flight at least once a year, but we think for most cardholders a 50% discount sounds reasonable to treat it as an annual fee reducer. The anniversary 10,000 Miles are worth about $150 based on our current valuation of C1 Miles. Thus, combining these two features, we consider the effective annual fee of Venture X as $95, exactly the same as the mid-tier Venture Card.
Venture X Card vs. Venture Card: with the same effective annual fees, Venture X is clear winner, because it provides not only an effective and powerful 5x bonus category for airfare but also a long list of additional perks (e.g., airport lounge programs, luxury hotel privileges, rental car elite status) and better travel/consumer protection.
While Venture X is already very good with the 5% and 2% cashback, what elevates it even further is definitely the frequent traveler miles/points transfer feature. Keep in mind that the transfer feature represents a very different redemption option with potentially higher rewards but also increased complexity. With our current valuation of C1 Miles at 1.5 cents a piece, Venture X returns an amazing 3% on general spending and 7.5% on airfare. Compared to other high returning cards for general spending with frequent traveler miles/points transfer feature - Citi Double Cash (no annual fee, 2x points = 3% rewards, requiring a premium ThankYou card, for example $95 Citi Premier, to activate the transfer feature), Amex EveryDay Preferred ($95 annual fee, 1.5x points = 2.25% rewards, requiring at least 30 transactions per month to achieve 1.5x), and Chase Freedom Unlimited (no annual fee, 1.5x points = 2.25% rewards, requiring a premium Ultimate Rewards card to activate the transfer feature), Venture X is very well positioned and could arguably be the best of the bunch. Throwing in the 7.5% rewards for airfare and all its high-end perks, Venture X is simply unmatched.
Venture X Card vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve: (1) First of all, Venture X is $155 cheaper in effective annual fees ($95 vs. $250), and also important is the fact that Chase charges $75 per authorized user while Capital One charges zero. (2) When it comes to rewards, Venture X offers 5x airfare and 2x everywhere else, and Sapphire Reserve offers 5x airfare, 3x dining & other travel, and 1x everywhere else. As our current valuation of both currencies happens to be the same at 1.5 cents a piece, as long as your spending in dining & other travel combined is less than 50% of your total spending, Venture X is better; however, keep in mind of their unique transfer partners (e.g., Chase has United, Southwest, JetBlue, and Hyatt, and Capital One has Air Canada, Avianca, Turkish, Cathay Pacific, and Qantas) and Sapphire Reserve's better fixed value travel redemption option (1.5 cents vs. 1 cent) when you make your decision. (3) Most travel perks provided by both cards are similar, with a few differences such as Capital One Lounges, Chase Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection, sbe hotel privileges by Chase, Hertz President's Circle by Capital One. (4) Sapphire Reserve has better travel/consumer protection in general, but lacking Capital One's cellphone protection. (5) Overall, when we crunched the numbers, Venture X clearly comes out ahead, but you might still do your own math to decide which one suits you better.
To see how Capital One Venture X competes with other cards with similar annual fees, please check out our featured review Comparing High-end Cards covering Amex Platinum Card, Amex Delta Reserve, Amex Hilton Aspire, Amex Marriott Brilliant, Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase United Club, Citi Prestige, Citi AA Executive, Capital One Venture X, U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve, CNB Crystal, HSBC Elite, and MasterCard Black Card.
The Conclusion
Capital One really surprised us in a good way with the launch of Venture X Visa Infinite Card, which easily unseated Chase Sapphire Reserve as the #1 Best Credit Card by Dr. Credit Card, thanks to its amazing signup bonus (top 10), rewards (#1), perks (top 10), and protection (top 20). We sincerely wish that Capital One won't devaluate this product or its Miles program in future to keep the competition going in the high-end market.
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The Facts
This review covers both the personal and business versions of Venture X Card.
Capital One Venture X Visa Infinite (Personal)
- Annual Fee: $395, free for authorized users.
- Signup Bonus: 75,000 Miles ($750 in fixed value travel rewards via Capital One OR 75,000 miles/points of Air Canada, Avianca, Turkish, Singapore, British, Cathay Pacific, Qantas, Flying Blue, Etihad, etc.) after spending $4,000 within 3 months of new account opening. This bonus is not available if you have received a signup bonus for this card in the past 48 months. Please keep in mind that unlike other credit card issuers, Capital One pulls all three of credit reporting agencies when you open a new account. Historical best bonus of this card: 100,000 Miles + $200 vacation rentals in the first year in 2022; 100,000 Miles in 2021.
- Application Landing Page [Disclaimer: we will receive a referral bonus from Capital One if you apply and are approved for this card. The signup bonus you will receive is the same as if you visit Capital One non-referral link.]
- Rewards: 10x hotels & car rentals through Capital One Travel (COT), 5x airfare through COT, 2x everywhere else.
- Best Use of Capital One (C1) Miles: You may redeem your C1 Miles for travel, gift cards, charity, etc. at exactly 1 cent per mile, or for cash at 0.5 cent value. The fixed value travel rewards can be achieved by either booking future travel through Capital One's travel portal or receiving statement credit for any travel expense within the last 3 months. In addition to fixed value redemption options, you may also transfer your C1 Miles to frequent traveler miles/points mostly at 1:1 ratio. In this way, the value of Miles depends on how you redeem your frequent traveler miles/points of the specific program you choose to transfer to. Note that you can only transfer your Capital One Miles to a frequent traveler program under your name. You may share your Miles with another Capital One cardmember without being charged a fee. Please check out our featured review Marriott vs. MR vs. UR vs. TY vs. C1 vs. CR for the programs that allow points transfer to frequent traveler accounts. Our current valuation of C1 Miles is 1.5 cent per Mile based on the transfer feature.
- Annual 10,000 Miles upon each anniversary.
- Annual $300 travel credit - this travel credit is not as easy-to-use as, for example, Chase Sapphire Reserve's, because instead of being automatically reimbursed, you need to book your travel through the COT portal.
- Airport Lounge Access: (1) Unlimited complimentary access to Capital One Lounges, for you (primary cardholder or authorized users) plus two guests. Additional guests are charged at $45 per visit. The current footprints are limited but future growth is expected. (2) Complimentary Priority Pass membership, which gives the unlimited access to over 1,300 airport lounges around the world, for you (primary cardholder or authorized users) plus two guests.
- Hotel Privileges: (1) Capital One Travel Premier Collection, which offers perks such as daily complimentary breakfasts for two, room upgrades upon availability, early check-in and late check-out upon availability, complimentary Wi-Fi, and $100 property specific experience credit per stay (e.g., spa, dining, hotel credit), at over hundreds of luxury hotels and resorts worldwide. The rates booked through Capital One are mostly the same of the Best Available Rates (BAR, i.e., refundable flexible rates set by the hotel). (2) Capital One Travel Lifestyle Collection, which is similar to the Premier Collection but tailored more towards "lifestyle" boutique hotels and resorts, with perks such as $50 property specific experience credit per stay, room upgrades upon availability, early check-in and late check-out upon availability, and complimentary Wi-Fi, but no complimentary breakfasts. (3) Visa Infinite Privileges at Relais & Chateaux (a collection of 500+ high-end luxury boutique hotels worldwide): a VIP welcome at all hotels (unique to each property) and complimentary breakfasts at 120+ participating hotels. Visit relaischateaux.com/visainfinite-us for details. You will also be accelerated to its Club 5C status after staying 2 nights in a 12-month period. Relais & Chateaux's Club 5C is by-invitation only if you don't have a Visa Infinite and normally requires staying 15 nights per year; perks include room upgrades upon availability, and "Discovery Privilege" unique to each property. (4) Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection which offers perks including daily complimentary breakfasts for two, room upgrades upon availability, late checkout upon availability, $25 food and beverage credit per stay, free room wi-fi, and VIP amenities, at over 900 luxury hotels and resorts worldwide. You may book a hotel on VisaSignatureHotels.com and the rates are the same as Best Available Rate (BAR). (5) Visa Infinite Luxury Hotel Collection which covers a subset (200+) of Visa Signature hotels but offers an extra property specific perk like a $75 food and beverage credit or a $100 spa/hotel/rate credit per stay. You may book a hotel a VisaInfiniteHotels.com, and the rates are the same as BAR.
- Car Rental Privileges: (1) Visa Infinite complimentary Hertz top tier status - President's Circle, with perks such as skipping the counter and e-return, the widest vehicle selection, guaranteed upgrades, free additional driver. (2) Visa Infinite Car Rental Privileges at Avis, National, and SilverCar. (3) Primary rental car collision coverage - note while most credit cards provide rental car insurance, they are secondary, meaning your personal insurance's collision damage coverage kicks in before the credit card's. Please see our featured review on credit cards that come with primary rental car insurance for details.
- Other Benefits: (1) Reimbursement for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fees (up to $100). (2) No foreign transaction fees. (3) Visa Infinite 24/7 Concierge Service. (4) Access to exclusive culinary, music, and sport events.
- Protection: as a Visa Infinite, Venture X offers a high level of travel and consumer protection, including the cellphone protection.
- While the annual $300 travel credits and 10,000 Miles are shared by all cardholders in the same account, authorized users do enjoy Capital One Lounges and Priority Pass Select, as well as all the hotel and car rental privileges, for free.
- Other Facts: Venture X has a metal design and weighs about 16 grams, about three times as heavy as regular plastics.
- The History: Venture X was introduced in November 2021, aiming to take on Chase and Amex in the high-end market.
Capital One Venture X BUSINESS World Elite MasterCard
- The business version shares almost all the features of the personal card, except for: (1) the elevated signup bonus on the business card, (2) World Elite MaterCard for the business card instead of Visa Infinite for the personal card, and (3) no lounge benefits for additional users on the business card.
- Signup Bonus: 150,000 Miles ($1,500 in fixed value travel rewards via Capital One OR 150,000 miles/points of Air Canada, Avianca, Turkish, Singapore, British, Cathay Pacific, Qantas, Flying Blue, Etihad, etc.) after spending $30,000 within 3 months of new account opening. Please keep in mind that unlike other credit card issuers, Capital One pulls all three of credit reporting agencies when you open a new account. Historical best bonus of this card: (1) 300,000 Miles with a $100K spending requirement in 2023/2024; (2) 250,000 Miles with a $50K spending requirement in 2022; (3) 150,000 Miles with a $30K spending requirement in 2023 and 2024.
- Application Landing Page
- World Elite MasterCard Benefits: MasterCard Luxury Hotels & Resorts (a collection of 2,000+ luxury hotels worldwide that offer complimentary breakfasts for two, room upgrades upon availability, early check-in, late check-out, and a special amenity such as a certain amount of hotel credit up to $100 per stay, free internet, or welcome gift, etc.), MasterCard Travel & Lifestyle Services (offers for hotels, airfare, private jets, airport concierge, car rentals, chauffeured cars, cruise lines, tours, vacation packages, golf, sports and entertainment event tickets, etc.), complimentary ShopRunner membership (free two-day shipping and returns at participating stores), complimentary DoorDash benefits (3 months of complimentary DashPass membership & $5 off first two orders per month through 9/30/2022), monthly $5 Lyft credit after 3 rides each month, 5% discount for every HelloFresh order, $5 rewards for every $20+ Fandango purchase, the Dining Program (special amenities at participating restaurants), the Nightlife Program (exclusive access to and recognition at participating night clubs), Priceless Cities, Priceless Surprises, Priceless Causes, Priceless Golf, 24/7 World Elite concierge service, MasterCard Cellular Wireless Telephone Protection (up to $800 for a stolen or damaged phone as long as you charge your monthly cellphone bills to the card), MasterCard ID Theft Protection, etc.
- History: Capital One introduced this card as Spark Travel Elite in 2022 and changed the name to Venture X Business in 2023. The name change is reasonable because it is almost identical to the personal Venture X. The card could only be opened through a Capital One business banker until September 2023 when online application became available.
The Math
Earning 10x Miles on hotels and car rentals might seem a great deal on paper; however, the catch is that you need to book through the Capital One Travel (COT) portal: several hotel programs won't allow points earning or recognize your elite status if you book through a third party OTA, and you might not be able to apply certain coupons or promotions on car rentals as when you book directly with rental car companies. For these reasons, we won't consider hotels and car rentals as bonus categories in our analysis. On the other hand, we do consider 5x Miles on airfare through COT as an effective bonus category, because these bookings qualify for miles earning and elite status recognition as long as you provide your frequent flyer number during booking and the prices are generally the same as when booking directly with airlines.
Venture X's $395 annual fee aligns well with other high-end cards, and it does offer two great features to reduce the effective annual fee. To trigger the annual $300 travel credit, you need to book through COT, and for the reasons explained just above, you might treat it at face value if you use COT to book a flight at least once a year, but we think for most cardholders a 50% discount sounds reasonable to treat it as an annual fee reducer. The anniversary 10,000 Miles are worth about $150 based on our current valuation of C1 Miles. Thus, combining these two features, we consider the effective annual fee of Venture X as $95, exactly the same as the mid-tier Venture Card.
Venture X Card vs. Venture Card: with the same effective annual fees, Venture X is clear winner, because it provides not only an effective and powerful 5x bonus category for airfare but also a long list of additional perks (e.g., airport lounge programs, luxury hotel privileges, rental car elite status) and better travel/consumer protection.
While Venture X is already very good with the 5% and 2% cashback, what elevates it even further is definitely the frequent traveler miles/points transfer feature. Keep in mind that the transfer feature represents a very different redemption option with potentially higher rewards but also increased complexity. With our current valuation of C1 Miles at 1.5 cents a piece, Venture X returns an amazing 3% on general spending and 7.5% on airfare. Compared to other high returning cards for general spending with frequent traveler miles/points transfer feature - Citi Double Cash (no annual fee, 2x points = 3% rewards, requiring a premium ThankYou card, for example $95 Citi Premier, to activate the transfer feature), Amex EveryDay Preferred ($95 annual fee, 1.5x points = 2.25% rewards, requiring at least 30 transactions per month to achieve 1.5x), and Chase Freedom Unlimited (no annual fee, 1.5x points = 2.25% rewards, requiring a premium Ultimate Rewards card to activate the transfer feature), Venture X is very well positioned and could arguably be the best of the bunch. Throwing in the 7.5% rewards for airfare and all its high-end perks, Venture X is simply unmatched.
Venture X Card vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve: (1) First of all, Venture X is $155 cheaper in effective annual fees ($95 vs. $250), and also important is the fact that Chase charges $75 per authorized user while Capital One charges zero. (2) When it comes to rewards, Venture X offers 5x airfare and 2x everywhere else, and Sapphire Reserve offers 5x airfare, 3x dining & other travel, and 1x everywhere else. As our current valuation of both currencies happens to be the same at 1.5 cents a piece, as long as your spending in dining & other travel combined is less than 50% of your total spending, Venture X is better; however, keep in mind of their unique transfer partners (e.g., Chase has United, Southwest, JetBlue, and Hyatt, and Capital One has Air Canada, Avianca, Turkish, Cathay Pacific, and Qantas) and Sapphire Reserve's better fixed value travel redemption option (1.5 cents vs. 1 cent) when you make your decision. (3) Most travel perks provided by both cards are similar, with a few differences such as Capital One Lounges, Chase Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection, sbe hotel privileges by Chase, Hertz President's Circle by Capital One. (4) Sapphire Reserve has better travel/consumer protection in general, but lacking Capital One's cellphone protection. (5) Overall, when we crunched the numbers, Venture X clearly comes out ahead, but you might still do your own math to decide which one suits you better.
To see how Capital One Venture X competes with other cards with similar annual fees, please check out our featured review Comparing High-end Cards covering Amex Platinum Card, Amex Delta Reserve, Amex Hilton Aspire, Amex Marriott Brilliant, Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase United Club, Citi Prestige, Citi AA Executive, Capital One Venture X, U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve, CNB Crystal, HSBC Elite, and MasterCard Black Card.
The Conclusion
Capital One really surprised us in a good way with the launch of Venture X Visa Infinite Card, which easily unseated Chase Sapphire Reserve as the #1 Best Credit Card by Dr. Credit Card, thanks to its amazing signup bonus (top 10), rewards (#1), perks (top 10), and protection (top 20). We sincerely wish that Capital One won't devaluate this product or its Miles program in future to keep the competition going in the high-end market.
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