When Capital One announced some upcoming changes to airport lounge access for its Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, my initial reaction was to kick it to the curb. Starting on February 2, 2026, Venture X cardholders will no longer be able to bring guests into Capital One airport lounges without meeting a $75,000 minimum spending requirement or bring guests into any Priority Pass lounge at all without paying a fee. Worse, the card will no longer offer airport lounge access to authorized users, which is currently one of its most unique benefits.
But, when my Capital One Venture X renewed about a month ago, I thought about it for a while and decided I couldn’t justify ditching the card like I thought. Here’s why Venture X still offers incredible value for consumers, plus some ways I use it to maximize rewards over time.
It’s easy to justify the annual fee
While the popular Chase Sapphire Reserve(R) just upped its annual fee to annual_fees and added complicated new benefits that make it similar to The Platinum Card(R) from American Express with its annual_fees annual fee (American Express is a CardRatings advertiser; See Rates and Fees), the Capital One Venture X has maintained its reasonable annual_fees annual fee so far.
Not only is this annual fee low for a premium travel credit card that comes with airport lounge access, an annual travel credit and anniversary bonus miles, but it’s easy to justify with just two benefits alone. When you add up the value of the $300 annual travel credit and the 10,000 anniversary bonus miles (worth $100) this card offers, you have already made up the annual fee without even using the card.
In addition, users receive up to a $120 credit toward Global Entry or TSA PreCheck membership, the previously mentioned airport lounge membership, Hertz President’s Circle elite status, and a range of Visa Infinite credit card benefits.
It offers a nice annual travel credit
The $300 annual travel credit on the Venture X is incredibly easy to use each year. This card’s credit applies to any travel purchases made through the Capital One Travel portal, which could include airfare, hotels, premium stays or car rentals.
You can book travel using your $300 credit alone, a combination of the $300 annual travel credit and cash or a combination of the credit, cash and Capital One miles. Regardless, using the credit for travel is a breeze and I have used it for travel each year since I signed up for the card in November of 2021.
It offers better rewards for non-bonus spending
When the Chase Sapphire Reserve(R) updated its earning rates so that cardholders earn just 1X points per dollar spent on regular purchases and on travel not booked through Chase or directly with airlines and hotels, it really did its customers a disservice. These reward rates mean that Reserve cardholders will earn just 1X point per dollar on alternative travel options like vacation rentals and cruises not booked through Chase, as well as on any travel booked through online sites like Expedia or Travelocity.
On the flip side of that, the Capital One Venture X still offers a minimum of 2X miles per dollar on every purchase. Plus, cardholders earn 10X miles on hotels and car rentals booked through Capital One and 5X miles for airfare and vacation rentals booked through the brand’s portal.
Reward pooling
I also have the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card, which I mostly use to earn 3% cash back at grocery stores and on streaming services. However, I don’t keep my rewards as cash back since Capital One lets me pool all my rewards in my Venture X account for convenience and better redemptions.
➤ SEE MORE:5 reasons the Capital One Savor has become my go-to card for everyday spending
Capital One transfer partners are valuable
Speaking of redemption options, the Capital One Venture X offers plenty of options. I can redeem rewards for travel through Capital One or flexible options like gift cards, statement credits or Amazon and PayPal purchases.
Capital One also offers a range of airline and hotel partners that I frequently use, like Air France (Flying Blue), JetBlue TrueBlue and Wyndham Rewards. These transfer partners make it easy to redeem rewards for more than 2 cents per mile, which helps me maximize their value.
For example, I frequently redeem Air France (Flying Blue) miles for cheap economy flights to and from Europe and get more than 2 cents per mile in value with ease. I sometimes use these miles for airfare in a premium cabin as well, like last year when I flew from Chicago, Illinois (ORD) to Paris, France (CDG) in a lie-flat business class seat for 77,000 miles plus airline taxes and fees.
Bottom line
While I don’t love the fact that Capital One changed its airport lounge policy for the Capital One Venture X, I ultimately decided to keep it for another year. The annual_fees annual fee is too easy to justify based on the benefits I receive, and I love earning a minimum of 2X miles on everything I buy.
And in a world where other premium travel credit cards are charging $700 or $800 per year just to be a member, there’s a good chance my Venture X could be the only premium card I have in a few years.
For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the benefits may be provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.
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