The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is packed full of perks for those who want a luxury travel credit card, and it’s one of the newest entries to the travel credit card market. The card offers various travel benefits, such as airport lounge access, up to $100 in credits toward Global Entry or TSA PreCheck membership and no foreign transaction fees, along with a serious sign-up bonus.
New cardholders can receive an impressive 100,000-mile bonus when they spend at least $10,000 within the first six months of account opening. This welcome bonus is by far one of the most generous among the various Capital One credit cards and there are plenty of ways to maximize it to ensure you’re getting the absolute best deal. Taking advantage of the Venture X welcome bonus more than offsets the $395 annual fee and can be worth a substantial amount toward travel.
Details of the Capital One Venture X
- Rewards: 10X miles on hotel and rental car bookings through Capital One Travel; 5X miles on flights through Capital One Travel; 2X miles on all other purchases
- Annual fee: $395
- Sign-up bonus: 100,000 miles after spending $10,000 on purchases within the first six months, plus up to $200 in statement credits for vacation rentals within the first year
- Intro APR: N/A
- Regular APR: 16.99 percent to 23.99 percent variable
Why the Capital One Venture X sign-up bonus is interesting
The Capital One Venture X sign-up bonus is significant for a few reasons and could be the difference-maker when you’re comparing it to other travel credit cards. The 100,000-mile bonus is a considerable amount of rewards to earn at one time and the Capital One Miles rewards program is easy for cardholders to use.
- Highest welcome bonus offer: Currently, no other card in the Capital One lineup offers a higher bonus than the Venture X. The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card has the next highest welcome bonus, which is 60,000 miles if you spend $3,000 within the first three months. The Venture X welcome bonus rivals other credit card offers outside of Capital One, too, such as The Platinum Card® from American Express and Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.
- High valuation per mile: Base value for Capital One miles is 1 cent per mile, according to CreditCard.com’s latest valuation. However, if you choose to transfer miles to select transfer partners, it’s possible the value per mile will increase. This means the current 100,000-mile bonus is worth about $1,000 in travel rewards at a minimum.
- Flexibility with miles: With the Capital One rewards program, your miles never expire as long as you’re a cardholder and there are no blackout dates to worry about. This makes the program highly flexible, giving you the opportunity to redeem rewards on your own terms—not simply because you’ll lose points after a certain time period.
- Multiple redemption options: Capital One provides several redemption options you can choose from at any time. This includes travel, gift cards, shopping or cash back as a statement credit or check. Another benefit to the Capital One rewards program is the opportunity to redeem miles for a statement credit for past travel purchases within the last 90 days—even if they weren’t purchased through the Capital One travel portal.
How to redeem the Capital One Venture X sign-up bonus
When it comes time to redeem the Capital One Venture X credit card welcome bonus (or any other Capital One miles earned), the process is straightforward and relatively simple. Your first option is redeeming your miles through Capital One Travel. You can book airfare, car rentals and hotels directly through the portal.
One of the standout features of the Capital One rewards program is the option to redeem for a statement credit for any past travel purchases made with your credit card within the last 90 days. You no longer have to book exclusively through the Capital One portal for redemption. Instead, you’re free to scour the internet to find the best deal, use your Capital One Venture X card for the purchase and select a statement credit. You’ll receive the standard 1:1 transfer value.
How much is the sign-up bonus worth?
The base value of Capital One miles is 1 cent per mile when redeemed for travel. This means the 100,000-mile sign-up bonus is worth at least $1,000 toward travel. It’s possible the bonus is worth more, though, if you redeem with select travel partners where the value is higher.
Best ways to use the Capital One Venture X sign-up bonus
Whether you choose to book directly through the Capital One Travel portal or redeem a statement credit for travel purchases you’ve made in the last 90 days, you’ll find the best redemption value in travel since you’re receiving a 1:1 transfer.
If you really want to stretch the value of each mile, look for redemption opportunities with select travel partners where you’ll earn more than the base 1 cent per mile. Examples of travel partners where this is typically possible include TAP Air Portugal, which yields 2.4 cents per mile, or Air Canada, where you could get 2.25 cents per mile.
Redemption options to avoid
Not all redemption methods are created equal. While Capital One miles are worth 1 cent per mile toward travel, when you choose to redeem miles for statement credits or cash back, you’ll lose half the transfer value. This means each mile is only worth $0.05 cents, which significantly cuts down on the value of the bonus.
Gift cards may be tempting, too, but you should think twice before you go this route. When you transfer miles to redeem for gift cards, the value decreases to $0.08 cents per mile. Redeeming points for shopping on Amazon.com or through PayPal will also come out at $0.08 cents per mile.
For perspective, if you chose to convert the 100,000-mile sign-up bonus to a gift card, it would be worth $800. While this is quite a bit of gift card money, it’s less than the potential $1,000 to $2,800 in value you can get when redeeming for travel.
The bottom line
The Capital One Venture X sign-up bonus is not one to be overlooked by those who want a solid, well-rounded travel credit card. The welcome bonus is hefty and can be redeemed in a variety of ways—from travel to shopping to cash back.
There is no right or wrong way to redeem your Capital One miles if you find more use from cash back or a gift card. However, redeeming the welcome bonus for travel rewards is where a cardholder will earn the most bang for their sign-up bonus buck.
