Let's say the yearly fee and travel credits cancel each other out.
The remaining benefits of the card are:
– 10x on hotels and rental cars through capital one travel
– 5x on flights and vacation rentals through capital one travel
– 2x on everything else
– capital one lounge access
– priority pass access
I don't like using a travel portal. Options are limited and more expensive in my experience. More of a hassle.
I can get 2x points on a no-fee card.
The remaining benefit to me is "free" lounge access, at the cost of having to use the travel portal a few times a year to use those credits to cancel out the yearly fee.
This seems like an ok deal, but I don't see why it's highly recommended, especially because there are very few lounges. Am I missing something? Are you valuing capital one points more than cash back?
What's the point of venture x compared to 2% cash back card?
byu/Isthisevan inCreditCards
Posted by Isthisevan
17 Comments
You answered your own question.
If you don’t want to use a travel portal or transfer the points to partners it’s not going to be a good fit.
For those that do want those things is an easy choice. $300 travel credit and $100 anniversary bonus make it a net positive before you even spend or use a benefit.
The venture X points can be transferred to an airline partner and be worth >1cpp. For instance, you can get premium economy seats for around 1.5cpp usually, making the venture x spend 3% back instead of 2%. Business seats are usually higher cpp and so you can do even better. So yes they are valued higher than cash back
You’re missing the biggest reason for earning points, which is transfer partners. Unfortunately, Capital One doesn’t have good transfer partners for domestic airlines and hotels. You’ll have to get your big redemptions through international airline partners.
$395 AF vs $400 of no nonsense, universally applicable travel credits ~= no AF. If your travel spending equals at least the number of miles generated in a year, you do the purchase eraser at 1ccp and get your money out with trivial fuss.
Beyond that, it’s the higher earning portal rates and Visa Infinite card perks that set the ceiling on this card higher than an average 2% back card.
Priority Pass access for up to 4 AU, with no additional fees.
You’re doing a lot gymnastics to justify why it isn’t for you. If you travel at all its not any more difficult to use the portal than it is to use google.
Its a straightforward card. Easy to use, and the SUB already puts you ahead before any other benefits. I, along with many others have been pleased with the card.
I have the duo, so its basically an amex setup lite, but without as many different coupons….and is actually accepted internationally.
Are you valuing capital one points more than cash back?
Yes, by a lot.
And I use the travel portal exactly one time per year, works good for rental cars.
The Capital One travel portal is actually better than the other portals in my opinion. I’ve found that rental cars are typically as low, if not lower than anywhere else. They also have a price match, so if you find a lower publicly advertised price, you can price match for a later credit for the difference. They also have price drop protection on flights, which will cover any price drops within 10 days of booking a flight. There’s also a meter for typical pricing that allows you to see if you are paying higher prices than what is typical. That along with 10x / 5x makes it pretty useful.
Do u want to skip the line at airports for TSA precheck and global entry?
Also, you can price match what you book from portal within 24 hours
I don’t get it either. Sure if you maximize benefits it cuts the AF down to zero, but there are a bunch of 2%, 0 AF cards. Priority pass lounges (in the us) are so crowded and always a pain. If you frequented airports with a cap 1 lounge maybe it’s worth it.
If you don’t travel often, vx isn’t much different from a 2% card, but if you do, you will feel the difference.
I only use point based cards if they let me transfer points to a major airline partner, specifically delta or American. So VX is a hard pass for me.
If redeemed properly, the value you can get out of credit card points can be far better than that of cash back.
Also you can price match in the capital one portal btw.
Capital one lounge at my home airport
Free Global Entry and TSA Pre
Venture X is not a 2% card.
The points guy values each point at 1.85c. And if you’re willing to invest the time you can get to an average of 3c pretty easily.
So it’s atleast equal to a 5% cashback card, if you like travelling.
That’s before you consider any of the other perks. $300 in travel credit, Capital One Lounges (which is an amazing perk), CLEAR and Pre-Check credits etc.
> I don’t see why it’s highly recommended
Because affiliates push it so hard.
I am getting rid of mine before my AF comes up. Once they nerfed the spouse and child lounge access its a waste of my money at this point. Got around $1100 in points last year but I would prefer my money in my bank account.