Capital One has fabulous travel credit cards. They earn points that can be transferred to several different airlines & hotels (see bottom of post for a list of their travel transfer partners).
Two of their top travel credit cards are the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card & Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card.
This post outlines their differences and offers some pointers if you're trying to decide between them.
Before we get into their differences, let's recap some of their awesome similarities:
Earn 2 miles for every $1 spent (no bonus categories to keep track of!)
No foreign transaction fees
Up to a $120 statement credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®
Capital One Venture X
The Venture X offers a great balance of solid miles earning on everyday spend, plus airport lounge access and other travel perks.
Sign-up bonus: Spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months to earn 75,000 miles
Bonus points gift: 10k bonus point anniversary gift each year you keep the card
Bonus points earning: Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, and 5X miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel
Luxury travel perks:
Access to Capital One and Priority Pass lounges
Annual travel credit of $300 when booked through Capital One Travel
Cell phone insurance up to $800
Status with Hertz: You'll automatically have Hertz President's Circle elite status.
Travel insurance: Trip cancellation/interruption insurance, primary car rental loss/damage insurance, trip delay reimbursement, lost luggage reimbursement, travel/emergency assistance services, travel accident insurance, purchase and extended warranty protections
Annual fee: $395
Capital One Venture
If you're looking for a reasonable annual fee, great sign-on bonus, and points earning simplicity? Look no further.
Sign-up bonus: Earn 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening
Bonus points earning: Earn 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
Status with Hertz: You'll automatically have Hertz Five Star status- this lets you pick from a wider selection of cars and skip the rental counter.
Perk ending soon: 2 complimentary airport lounge visits each year: Enjoy an airport lounge twice a year, with options including Capital One Lounges or 100+ locations via their Partner Lounge Network. Lounge access benefit-ending Jan. 1, 2025.
Annual fee: $95
Venture vs Venture X
I personally get a lot of value out of the Venture X because the $300 annual travel credit + 10k anniversary points (easy to redeem for at least $100 in value) fully offset the annual fee.
But, if you don't travel very often or don't want to visit airport lounges, the Venture might be the perfect fit for your needs! Or, if you already have the Venture X, you could consider adding the Venture to your wallet to earn its valuable sign-up bonus.
Capital One travel transfer partners:
Airlines: AeroMexico, Air Canada, Cathay Pacific, Avianca, British Air, Air France/KLM, Emirates, Etihad, Finnair, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, TAP, Turkish Airlines, Virgin
Hotels: Choice Privileges, Wyndham Rewards
Non 1:1 transfer ratio partners: Accor Live Limitless (ALL), EVA Air