Since I have a bit of a lull before my busy summer travel heats up (think London, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo!) and I’ll be able to post a lot more reviews, I thought I would take some time to write a review about my favorite travel credit card: the Capital One Venture X. I highlight below all of the benefits and how I’ve been able to take advantage so far.
Don’t let the $395 annual fee deter you; at least before you read all of the benefits and decide if this card could be right for you and your family. You should be aware that the authorized user has all of the rights and privileges of the primary card user without any additional fee, which is pretty amazing.
First, the card offers a $300 travel credit per year when booking through the Capital One Travel Portal. While not my preferred travel search tool, I will usually begin my search on booking.com and then when I’m ready to confirm, I’ll switch over to the capital one portal. The credit appeared on my account just days after booking the reservation. To make the deal even sweeter, the Venture X gives you 10,000 points annually on your card anniversary (worth $100 towards travel). So, if you do nothing else in the first year (technically, a year plus one day but who’s counting?) but claim the $300 in travel credit and use your 10,000 points, you’ve already made your money back.
Capital One is also currently offering a welcome bonus of 75,000 miles after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three month from the account opening (a $750 value towards travel).
One of the best perks of the Venture X is a membership in Priority Pass for you, your authorized users and the ability to bring up to two guests into over 1,300 airline lounges around the world. I personally have yet to experience the joys of a priority pass lounge but my partner can attest to its added enjoyment during travel. I look forward to using this more during my summer travels and have already searched for lounges on the priority pass app. Another cool feature to the priority pass is the ability to use it for credit at participating restaurants in the airline terminal. Say, for example, the airport does not have a lounge available, instead you may be given $35 towards food and beverage at a participating restaurant, and an additional $35 for your guest! Capital One is also opening up its own airport lounges across the country and you and two guests will soon have unlimited access to these lounges as well. The Dallas/ Fort Worth Lounge is now open with lounges in Denver and Washington Dulles up next.
I have been lucky to take advantage of the card’s complimentary Hertz President’s Circle Status, which allows you to walk up to your rental car in the designated area and drive away. On a recent trip to California, I was able to do this at both SFO and LAX and it saved a ton of time versus waiting in line at the counter.
And lastly, you can earn miles for your normal everyday spending to redeem for future flights and hotels! When booking through Capital One Travel, for every dollar you spend on hotels and rental cars, you earn 10 points; and for every dollar on flights you earn 5 points. For everyday purchases you earn 2 points. For those of us with an upcoming wedding, this comes in very handy!
The card lists these additional benefits that I have yet to take advantage of (as detailed on the capital one website):
- Up to $100 credit for Global Entry or TSA Precheck
- Miles Redemption: Use your Venture X miles to easily cover travel expenses, including flights, hotels, rental cars and more—plus transfer miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs.
- Cell phone protection: Protect your cell phone every time you pay your bill with your Venture X card. If it’s stolen or damaged, you’ll get reimbursed up to $800.
- No foreign transaction fees
- Trip delay/ interruption/ cancellation/ and lost baggage coverage
Every individual or family needs to decide which credit card could be right for them but I hope I’ve given you something to think about and something that could be helpful to you now or in the future. If interested you can always sign up for the Venture X at my referral link which gives me some bonus miles but I am not paid by Capital One to promote their card.
Happy Traveling!