Why The Capital One Venture X Is Great For Your Next Trip

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is a strong competitor in the premium travel card space, thanks to its reasonable annual fee, flexible travel points that transfer to airlines and hotels, annual travel credits and airport lounge access. These perks make it especially appealing in the first year for travelers booking flights, hotels or vacation rentals.

Here’s a breakdown of some of the key details of the Capital One Venture X:

One of the first details you’ll notice about the Capital One Venture X is its $395 annual fee, which is much lower than the annual fees charged by other premium cards. However, the up to $300 annual travel credit is nearly enough to make up for the annual fee on its own if you use it, and cardholders also get 10,000 bonus miles worth $100 when they renew their card each year.

Members will also have access to other valuable perks such as credit (up to $120) toward Global Entry or TSA PreCheck membership and Priority Pass Select airport lounge membership (valued up to $469). Cardholders of the Capital One Venture X can also access Capital One airport lounges.

Plus, Capital One miles are incredibly flexible, especially for travel. Not only can you use your miles to cover travel charged to your account, but you can transfer miles to Capital One airline and hotel partners. These miles are worth about 1.7 cents each when transferred to high-value partners, according to Bankrate valuations. You can also redeem your miles for cash back, statement credits, gift cards and merchandise.

Why the Capital One Venture X is a good option for vacation rentals

The Capital One Venture X is better for vacation rentals than many other travel credit cards, and for more reasons than one. Here’s an overview of the reasons you should use this card for more than just hotel stays:

It offers a $300 travel credit that you can use for bookings

The Capital One Venture X is very attractive for travelers who love to book vacation rentals, due to the $300 annual travel credit that applies to travel bookings made through Capital One Travel.

This credit is easy to use for available vacation rentals, which you can find through the Capital One Travel portal. For example, a quick search on the platform led us to find one- and two-bedroom apartments at the Holiday Inn Club Vacations Myrtle Beach Oceanfront — an IHG Hotel in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina — starting at just $142 per night.

In Panama City, Florida, we found two-bedroom vacation rentals at Club Wyndham Panama City Beach starting at just $130 per night.

In Las Vegas, Nevada, you could use the $300 annual travel credit to stay in a two-bedroom villa at the Hilton Vacation Club Polo Towers Las Vegas starting at around $215 per night.

These are just some of the vacation rental-style lodging options you can find within the Capital One Travel portal, but there are many others.

It allows you to redeem miles for Vacasa vacation rentals

Since Wyndham Rewards is a Capital One transfer partner, cardholders can unlock another way to book vacation rentals with miles. Wyndham Rewards can be used to book participating Vacasa vacation rentals throughout North America, which cost 15,000 or 30,000 points per bedroom, per night.

Vacasa vacation rentals you can book with Wyndham Rewards points are located in destinations like Colorado, Florida, Tennessee and British Columbia. Capital One Venture X cardholders can transfer their miles to Wyndham Rewards at a ratio of 1,000:1,000.

It earns boosted rewards for bookings through Capital One Travel

Not only can you book vacation rentals through Capital One Travel, but you can also earn boosted rewards for these purchases if you opt to pay instead of using miles. That’s because the Capital One Venture X gives you 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. Vacation rentals may not be “real” hotels, but the ones available through Capital One Travel count when it comes to earning these bonus rewards.

This means spending $3,000 on a week-long vacation rental getaway you were already planning could net you 30,000 miles if you booked through Capital One Travel instead of using another platform. If prices on other platforms were similar either way, it would definitely make sense to make your booking through Capital One and net the additional miles.

Using your miles to book vacation rentals

Capital One miles can be used to book vacation rentals in multiple ways. You can pay with miles, combine miles with cash if you’re short, or pool rewards from other Capital One cards onto your Venture X to boost your balance for booking.

Here are your options when it comes to using rewards for a vacation rental:

• Book vacation rentals through Capital One Travel. You can book available vacation rentals through Capital One Travel using miles and get one cent per mile in value. This means the 75,000-mile welcome offer on the Capital One Venture X is worth approximately $750 in vacation rentals booked through the platform.
• Redeem for statement credits. You can use Capital One miles for travel statement credits at 1 cent per mile — so 75,000 miles equal $750. To use miles for travel statement credits on your card, redeem miles within 90 days of making a travel purchase, which allows you to cover expenses like vacation rentals from VRBO or Airbnb without using the travel portal.

Other travel cards to consider

If you’re considering a premium travel credit card because you want access to superior benefits like airport lounge access and Global Entry or TSA PreCheck membership, consider these two alternatives:

• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
  

  The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card could be a good fit if you’re trying to avoid forking over hundreds of dollars for a travel credit card. It comes with a $95 annual fee and offers:

  • 5 Miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
  • 2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day

  This card also has a generous welcome offer:

  • Earn 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening

• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
  

  The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is another budget option that’ll provide you with transferable rewards points without having to pay more than $100 per year. This card’s welcome offer:

  • Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

  In the meantime, you also earn:

  • Earn 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠.
  • Earn 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries.
  • Earn 2x on all other travel purchases.
  • Earn 1x on all other purchases.

The bottom line

The Capital One Venture X is a great rewards credit card for vacation rentals and other travel, with a strong welcome bonus and ongoing rewards that make it valuable for everyday spending. However, it’s wise to compare other credit cards — including other Capital One options — and consider holding multiple travel cards if the benefits outweigh the annual fees.