Capital One Venture X Rewards Card Review

Should you journey frequently, you must have no less than one journey rewards bank card in your pockets. The extra you journey, the extra specialised — and beneficiant — that card must be.

I’ve had a number of journey bank cards through the years. Most have been general-purpose playing cards just like the Capital One Enterprise X rewards card, which rewards purchases with all journey retailers (airways, hospitality corporations, rental automotive corporations, and so forth) over others. Enterprise X arguably gives the most effective worth of any journey card for brand-agnostic, moderate-frequency vacationers — individuals who take just a few holidays of various lengths every year and spend no less than $2,000 on flights, lodging, and rental automobiles yearly.

Full disclosure: I’m not a Enterprise X consumer. However the extra I be taught in regards to the card, the extra tempted I’m so as to add it to my assortment.

What Is the Capital One Enterprise X Rewards Card?

The Capital One Enterprise X Card is a super-premium journey bank card that earns miles on each buy. Particularly, it earns:

• 10 miles per $1 spent (10x miles) on accommodations and rental automobiles booked by means of Capital One Journey
• 5x miles on airfare booked by means of Capital One Journey
• 2x miles on all different eligible purchases, together with journey booked by means of one thing aside from Capital One Journey

You possibly can redeem miles to offset eligible previous journey purchases or present journey bookings (airfare, accommodations, rental automobiles, native transportation, and extra) at a worth of $0.01 per mile. You too can switch miles to greater than 15 Capital One journey companions, together with main airways and hospitality households. 

Enterprise X has different doubtlessly useful advantages, together with a $300 annual journey credit score, 10,000 bonus miles in your account anniversary, and complimentary entry to greater than 1,400 airport lounges worldwide.

What Units the Capital One Enterprise X Card Aside?

The Capital One Enterprise X has numerous useful options, however three actually stand out:

• Extraordinarily Simple to Offset the Annual Charge. Enterprise X’s $395 annual charge sounds steep, however it’s simple for even low-key vacationers to keep away from. The annual journey credit score offsets as much as $300 in bookings by means of Capital One Journey every year, and the ten,000-mile anniversary bonus is value one other $100 on prime of that. That’s $400 in worth with little or no effort required.
• As much as 10x Miles on Eligible Journey Purchases. That’s about pretty much as good as you are able to do with a general-purpose journey bank card. Capital One limits the 10x miles price to lodge and automotive rental purchases booked by means of Capital One Journey, however you can too earn 5x miles on eligible airfare booked by means of Capital One Journey — not dangerous, both.
• Discounted or Free Journey and Tradition Memberships Unavailable Elsewhere. Enterprise X is the one journey bank card that provides free or discounted memberships to Prior, The Cultivist, and Gravity Haus. These memberships don’t make sense for all vacationers, however in the event you can take full benefit of them, you’ll extract a number of hundred {dollars} in worth every year.

Is the Capital One Enterprise X Rewards Card Value It?

Truthful query. The Enterprise X card has a $395 annual charge that’s not waived through the first 12 months of membership. So it’s cheap to ask whether or not it’s actually value practically $400 each 12 months?

Sure, it nearly actually is. You solely must do two issues yearly to offset Enterprise X’s annual charge:

• Make journey bookings value no less than $300 by means of Capital One Journey to redeem the cardboard’s annual journey credit score
• Redeem your 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary

Collectively, that’s $400 in potential worth, or $5 greater than the annual charge. So long as you make different purchases together with your card and redeem earned miles, you’ll get nonetheless extra worth by means of Enterprise X’s rewards program. And in the event you can benefit from complimentary airport lounge entry, free or discounted journey and tradition memberships, and the various different tangible advantages of Enterprise X, you’ll end up even additional into the black.

Key Options of the Capital One Enterprise X Rewards Card

You’ve already gotten a style of some key Enterprise X options. Discover extra element on them (and a few others not but mentioned).

Early Spend Bonus

Earn 75,000 bonus miles after you spend $4,000 on purchases inside the first three months from account opening. That’s a one-time bonus alternative value $750 whenever you redeem for eligible journey.

Annual Journey Credit score

Earn as much as $300 in credit score towards eligible Capital One Journey bookings every 12 months. (Save your self a visit by means of the fantastic print: “Eligible” is a formality right here, and principally all Capital One Journey bookings are eligible.)

You need to make mentioned bookings by means of the Capital One Journey portal — the credit score can’t be retroactively utilized towards prior bookings exterior the Capital One ecosystem.

Anniversary Miles Bonus

Get 10,000 bonus miles — value $100 when redeemed for journey — yearly after your account anniversary. There’s no spend requirement to earn this bonus, which you get so long as your account stays open and in good standing.

Complimentary Airport Lounge Entry

Get pleasure from complimentary entry to greater than 1,400 airport lounges world wide, together with:

• A handful of Capital One Lounges in main U.S. airports, together with Denver and Washington-Dulles — hopefully the community expands within the coming years as a result of it’s nearly not value mentioning proper now
• Greater than 1,000 Precedence Go lounges worldwide — you may get a complimentary Precedence Go Choose membership whenever you register your Enterprise X card on the Precedence Go web site
• Greater than 100 Plaza Premium lounges worldwide, together with choose Virgin Atlantic Clubhouses

See Capital One’s companion lounge community information for exclusions, restrictions, and a full record of eligible lounges. Friends largely get in free as nicely.

TSA PreCheck or International Entry Charge Credit score

Rise up to $100 off the price of your TSA PreCheck or International Entry software charge. You solely want to use for these memberships each 4 years, so it isn’t a massively useful perk, however each little bit helps.

Finest Value Assure on Journey Reserving With Capital One Journey

This isn’t a very open-ended assure, however it’s fairly helpful (and doubtlessly beneficiant) for attentive, savvy travel-bookers. The important thing factors:

1. Capital One sends value drop alerts on flights you’re watching and recommends when to purchase.
2. Should you ebook airfare by means of Capital One Journey when Capital One recommends you achieve this and the worth drops inside 10 days, you’ll get a journey credit score for the distinction (as much as $50).
3. Should you discover a higher value inside 24 hours of reserving any kind of journey by means of Capital One Journey, Capital One will match it and refund you the distinction.
4. Capital One Journey’s lodge costs match the most effective of rivals like Expedia and Travelocity in near-real time.

To make sure you get essentially the most out of Nos. 2 and three, set value alerts on different common journey reserving engines (together with Google Flights and Priceline) and watch like a hawk within the hours and days after you ebook by means of Capital One Journey.

Transferring Miles to Journey Companions

Capital One has greater than 15 journey switch companions, together with:

• Aeromexico Membership Premier
• Aeroplan (Air Canada)
• British Airways Government Membership
• Selection Privileges (a significant U.S. lodge household and possibly the most effective worth for home U.S. vacationers)
• Flying Blue (Air France)

You possibly can switch your miles in 1,000-mile increments, often at a 1-to-1 ratio (just a few have less-generous 1.5-to-1 or 2-to-1 ratios). 

The benefit of transferring is that companion loyalty forex tends to be extra useful than Capital One miles, that are at all times value $0.01 apiece when redeemed towards prior or present journey purchases in your Enterprise X card. Typically, the distinction is critical: The correct redemption may worth companion factors or miles at $0.03 apiece or extra.

The catch is that companions don’t at all times provide the most effective deal on flights or accommodations. And it’s not sure your travels will take you someplace served by a companion that does provide an awesome deal. Most are worldwide airways that companion with U.S. airways solely on worldwide flights. So it’s extra work to make it work — although the trouble actually can (and ceaselessly will) repay.

Complimentary or Discounted Tradition & Journey Subscriptions

I hadn’t heard of any of those subscriptions earlier than diving into the small print of this card. I wouldn’t use any, however that’s largely right down to life-style and journey patterns. I’m satisfied loads of frequent vacationers — Enterprise X’s core viewers — may get their cash’s value out of every. 

• Prior. Half journey journal, half small-group excursion-and-experience firm. Instance experiences embody an eco-lodge within the Himalayas and the Day of the Lifeless Competition in Oaxaca, Mexico. Enterprise X cardholders get the $149 annual subscription waived. You need to pay additional for excursions, in fact.
• The Cultivist. Mainly a membership for artwork snobs However fantastic artwork is cool, and free entry to greater than 100 world-class museums is even cooler. Enterprise X cardholders get six months of membership on the Fanatic degree without cost, then common membership charges apply ($440 per 12 months).
• Gravity Haus. A social membership and lodging community for out of doors adventurers who love the mountains. Members get full entry to lodging and facilities at a number of areas within the Colorado Rockies and Sierra Nevada mountains. Enterprise X cardholders get $300 per 12 months towards an annual membership, which prices no less than $1,200 per 12 months for people (extra relying in your package deal). Gravity Haus is dear, however (possibly) value it.

Right here’s extra element on Gravity Haus pricing and entry. You possibly can see that it’s fairly costly, even for Enterprise X cardholders. It could possibly be value the associated fee in the event you love the mountains although.

Different Card Advantages

Enterprise X comes with some nontravel advantages value writing dwelling about:

• Cellphone safety as much as $800 per incident whenever you pay your cellphone invoice in full with the cardboard
• As much as 100,000 bonus miles whenever you refer associates to Enterprise X (they need to apply and be accredited so that you can earn the bonus)
• Capital One Eating, which options hard-to-get reservations at prime eating places and tickets to unique culinary experiences (although you continue to should pay)
• Capital One Leisure, that includes presale and VIP tickets to common exhibits and sporting occasions

Necessary Charges

Enterprise X has a $395 annual charge from the primary 12 months. You possibly can totally offset this charge in the event you take full benefit of the $300 annual journey credit score and 10,000-point annual anniversary bonus although.

Enterprise X has no overseas transaction charge, a pleasant plus for worldwide vacationers.

Credit score Required

Enterprise X requires wonderful credit score to use. In case you have any important blemishes in your credit score report, you won’t qualify.

Benefits of the Capital One Enterprise X Card

Should you’ve learn this far, it ought to already be clear that the Enterprise X Card has a ton of doubtless useful advantages. Right here’s an in depth recap.

• $300 Journey Credit score Almost Offsets the Annual Charge. Enterprise X has a $395 annual charge. That seems like an excessive amount of till you bear in mind it additionally credit the primary $300 in eligible Capital One Journey purchases yearly and delivers a ten,000-mile bonus ($100 worth) yearly too. Take full benefit and also you’ll greater than break even.
• Nice Return on Capital One Journey Purchases. You possibly can most likely break even after the credit by reserving your normal journey by means of Capital One Journey. You’ll earn 10x miles on eligible lodge and automotive rental bookings, or $100 for each $1,000 spent.
• Complimentary Entry to 1,400+ Airport Lounges Worldwide. Your Enterprise X card will get you free entry to greater than 1,400 airport lounges in three networks. Precedence Go Choose is the behemoth. Most main U.S. airports and lots of worldwide airports have no less than one Precedence Go lounge.
• Wonderful Early Spend Bonus. Enterprise X has one of many higher early spend bonuses of any journey rewards bank card. Simply thoughts the spending requirement, otherwise you’ll get nothing.
• Annual Miles Bonus for Doing Mainly Nothing. Talking of nothing: That’s what it’s a must to do to get 10,000 bonus miles yearly with Enterprise X. Nicely, nearly nothing. You need to maintain your account open and pay your invoice on time, however that ought to go with out saying.
• Strong Lineup of Journey Switch Companions for Worldwide Vacationers. Capital One’s journey switch companion lineup leans closely worldwide. That’s superior in the event you frequently journey overseas (which on this case contains Canada and Mexico).
• Complimentary and Discounted Tradition Memberships Not Out there With Comparable Playing cards. Should you’d heard of Prior, The Cultivist, or Gravity Haus earlier than studying this overview, congratulations: You’re cooler than I’m. And your Enterprise X card can internet you just about $700 in worth throughout your first 12 months in the event you be a part of all of them (however be sure you’re a very good match earlier than doing so).
• No Overseas Transaction Charges. Enterprise X doesn’t cost worldwide transaction charges. Most premium journey playing cards don’t, however that is nonetheless notable in case your travels take you overseas usually.

Disadvantages of the Capital One Enterprise X Card

Does the Enterprise X Card have any drawbacks? Nicely, sure — all bank cards do. These downsides give me essentially the most pause.

• No Mile Redemption Bonuses. Not like another superpremium journey playing cards, together with the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, you get no bonus from Enterprise X whenever you redeem for journey purchases. In contrast, each Sapphire Reserve journey redemption is value 50% greater than customary redemptions.
• No Main U.S. Airways Amongst Switch Companions. Enterprise X additionally compares unfavorably to Sapphire Reserve on the switch companion entrance. Sure, it has extra companions than the Chase card, however there are not any main home U.S. airways amongst them (and only one home U.S. lodge household). So it’s not as helpful for home vacationers.
• Journey Credit score Restricted to Capital One Journey Bookings. The Enterprise X journey credit score solely applies to Capital One Journey bookings quite than bookings made with different on-line journey businesses or immediately with the journey vendor. However that’s an inconvenience, most likely not a deal-breaker.

How the Capital One Enterprise X Card Stacks Up

The Capital One Enterprise X Card bears a more-than-passing resemblance to the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, one other superpremium journey rewards bank card. Which is a greater match for you? See how they evaluate, then determine for your self.

Different Options to Think about

If neither Enterprise X nor Sapphire Reserve converse to your interior traveler, one in every of these alternate options may. I’d personally advocate all of them, however do take note of the core use circumstances we’ve referred to as out in the best column — they’re not all acceptable for all vacationers.