If you are looking for a travel card that is a bit less extreme than the Amex Platinum, you have come to the right place. The Venture X from Capital One comes with a large annual fee ($395), but offers a $300 annual credit on travel booked through Capital One Travel and a 10,000 mile anniversary every year when your card renews. These miles can be redeemed for a variety of things, ranging from gift cards and statement credits to sporting events and concerts to travel, either through Capital One or their numerous transfer partners. The Venture X also offers a free Global Entry or TSA PreCheck membership and access to Capital One lounges and a Priority Pass membership, which includes access to roughly 1,300 lounges around the world.
The Venture X earns 10 miles/dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, 5 miles/dollar on flights booked through Capital One Travel, and 2 miles/dollar everywhere else.
One of the big strengths that the Venture X offers is its versatility. The $300 credit can be used for a variety of different things through Capital One Travel, so it is pretty easy to use it each year. Miles can also be redeemed for things like Airbnb, Lyft/Uber, and Disney tickets at $0.01/mile if that’s more your speed than some of the other redemption options. The 2 miles/dollar for everyday purchases is also the best rate that I have found for a travel card. Because of the 2 miles/dollar, combined with how easy it is to cover the annual fee with the credit and annual miles bonus and the lounge assess that is included, I actually have both the Amex Platinum and the Venture X, despite the overlap between the two cards, and I love them both. The Platinum offers a ton of potential value if you make use of all of the benefits, but is more geared towards high end travel. The the Venture X doesn’t offer as many perks, but the annual fee is much easier to recoup for the non-luxury traveler, the mileage redemption options offer a lot more flexibility, and it offers 2x as many miles on everyday purchases and hotels as the Platinum.
*Earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening.*
Seaotter Fitness 