Update 7/3/25: Capital One has broken my heart by announcing that they will severely restrict lounge access for Venture X cardholders starting February 1st, 2026. As of that date, cardholders will not be entitled to any free guests for either Capital One lounges or Priority Pass lounges. Additionally, authorized users will no longer enjoy free lounge access either.

While this significantly diminishes the value of the card, it may still make sense for solo travelers or folks with a Capital One lounge at their home airport. Since the annual fee on the Chase Sapphire Reserve has gone up to $795, there really isn’t a good option right now for families to pivot to for lounge access.

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It’s no secret that Chase Ultimate Rewards are my favorite points currency (here’s why), but it may surprise you to learn that my all-around favorite travel credit card isn’t a Chase card. It’s also not the card I use the most. 

Instead, it’s the card I gain the most value from, and the card I plan to hold indefinitely: the Capital One Venture X.

Everyone who travels with moderate frequency should consider getting this card, even if they’re not interested in playing the points and miles game. Here’s why.

Lounge Access

Venture X is, hands down, the best card for lounge access. Having access to a good airport lounge completely transforms the airport experience; wait time at the airport becomes part of your vacation instead of something to be endured so your vacation can start. Lounges can also help families save a ton of money on airport food. 

Here’s what you should know about lounge access through Venture X:

• Cardholders get access to Capital One lounges at IAD, DFW, DEN, and Capital One Landing at DCA, with more locations in the works. These are premium lounges with excellent, restaurant-quality food and beverages, as well as premium amenities like showers, nap pods, and a Peleton studio.
• Cardholders and authorized users get their own Priority Pass membership, which grants access to a network of more pedestrian lounges both domestically and internationally. 
• Cardholders get up to four authorized users at no cost, so you essentially get up to five Priority Pass memberships from this one card.
• Cardholders can bring two guests into lounges with them. Only one guest is allowed at Capital One Landings.
• If you connect the dots here, a family of six can all gain entry to a lounge through a single Venture X card, if a second family member is designated as an authorized user. 
• The Priority Pass membership that comes with an authorized user card can be assigned to anyone over 18; it doesn’t have to be the same person whose name appears on the authorized user card.

Purchase Eraser

Like other transferable points, Capital One miles (they are the lone bank that calls them miles, rather than points) can be redeemed through the Capital One travel portal, or transferred out to airline and hotel loyalty programs. While transferring miles is generally where the greatest value can be had, there’s a third option for Capital One miles: purchase eraser. Miles can be used to “erase” charges that code as travel on your credit card statement at a rate of 1 mile per $.01, or 100 miles per dollar, within 90 days of purchase.

Again, while this isn’t the greatest value for your points, it is a flexible option that allows you to cover ancillary travel costs like AirBnBs, rental cars, train tickets, cruises, and cabs. If you’re trying to spend as little cash out of pocket as possible for a trip, purchase eraser can help where other point currencies can’t.

This is also one of the most beginner-friendly ways to redeem points. You don’t have to worry about transfer partners or airline alliances; just book the trip you want, and wipe away the bill. As an added bonus, when you use your miles this way, you still earn miles on the original purchase, even if you later erase it. If you book your travel through the Capital One portal, you can earn up to 10 miles per dollar on the booking, which increases the value of your redemption.

Annual Travel Credit

Venture X comes with a yearly $300 travel credit which can only be redeemed through the Capital One travel portal. While I generally prefer to book directly with airlines for flights, the travel portal can be useful for rental cars and hotels. I have found the rental car rates through the Capital One travel portal to be competitive. I would consider using the travel credit to book a hotel if I was staying somewhere without a Hyatt option.

This $300 credit goes a long way toward offsetting the $395 annual fee. The rest of it is offset by…

Anniversary Bonus Miles

Every year, you’ll earn 10,000 bonus miles on your cardholder anniversary. These 10,000 miles are worth at least $100 in statement credits if used to erase travel purchases. When you combine this with the $300 travel credit, you’re actually making $5 every year you hold this card. Wild!

Travel Insurance

Venture X also comes with solid travel insurance, although it’s not quite as robust as that provided by the Chase Sapphire Reserve or the Ritz-Carlton card. This insurance includes:

• Primary rental car collision insurance (this means that Capital One will pay out before you have to involve your own insurance company–which is huge)
• Trip cancellation, delay, and interruption protection
• Lost or damaged luggage coverage
• Common carrier travel accident coverage

I use my Venture X to pay taxes and fees on all my award bookings for this reason.

Global Entry/TSA Pre-Check Credit

Every four years, Venture X cardholders can also receive a statement credit for up to $120 (the cost of a Global Entry application) to cover the application fee for Global Entry or TSA Pre-Check. It doesn’t matter who the application is actually for; as long as you use your Venture X to pay, this charge will be covered, once every four years. 

Since children’s applications are now free for any adult who holds or has applied for Global Entry, this credit actually covered the applications for me and both of my kids.

Capital One Entertainment

This is admittedly a pretty niche benefit, but since Capital One has an entertainment division, you can sometimes get access to special presales and ticket drops. This is how I got floor seats at the Eras Tour and I will never shut up about it.

Welcome Bonus

The standard welcome bonus on this card is 75,000 miles, though I’ve seen targeted mailers for 90,000. (If you get one of these, jump on it!) This is worth at least $750, though I redeemed 75,000 Capital One Miles for a $9,000 business class flight to Paris, so it’s possible to get a lot more value.

We’ve already established that you make $5 every year just by holding this card (and that’s without putting a number on the value of the lounge access or travel insurance), but let’s add up what the card is worth in the first year:

• Welcome bonus: $750
• Travel credit: $300
• Global Entry credit: $120
• Grand total: $1,170

So that $395 annual fee is REALLY a no-brainer in the first year.

Summary

This card pays for itself and I plan to keep it forever. I truly believe it’s the best value travel card on the market. If you’re ready to take the plunge, please consider using my referral link. Thank you!

A note about the application process: Capital One is known to be sensitive to recent inquiries on your credit report. You are most likely to be approved for this card if you a) have good credit and b) don’t have any inquiries on your credit report within the last six months.

If you do have a bunch of inquiries on your credit report, and if those inquiries happen to be on Experian from applying for Chase business cards, data points suggest that freezing your Experian credit profile before applying may help. Some folks have been successful getting approved with just their Equifax and Transunion credit profiles unfrozen.