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Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card vs Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

People pit these two against each other because they're close to the same card wearing different price tags. Both come from Capital One, both earn Capital One Miles, and both currently hand you the same welcome bonus of 75,000 miles (about $750 in travel) after you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months. Both charge no foreign transaction fees, both earn 2x miles on everything, and both carry the same 19.49% to 28.49% variable purchase APR. The real fork is the annual fee, $95 on Venture Rewards against $395 on Venture X, and whether the richer travel perks on Venture X earn that gap back.

Option A

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Capital One · $95/yr

Option B

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

Capital One · $395/yr

SpecCapital OneCapital One
Annual fee$95/yr$395/yr
Welcome bonus75,000 miles bonus75,000 miles bonus
Base rate2x2x
Top earn rates
  • 5x Hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
  • 2x Everything else
  • 10x Hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
  • 5x Flights, vacation rentals and activities booked through Capital One Travel
  • 5x Capital One Entertainment purchases
Foreign tx feeNoneNone
Statement credits1 credits3 credits
RewardsCapital One MilesCapital One Miles

Choose Capital One Venture

Pick the Venture Rewards if you want travel miles without managing a $395 fee. You get the identical 75,000-mile bonus and the same 2x-on-everything base for $95 a year, and you skip the pressure to book through Capital One Travel just to break even on a bigger fee. It also accepts good credit, while Venture X asks for excellent, so it's the more reachable approval. If most of your spending is regular day-to-day purchases rather than travel booked inside Capital One's portal, the cheaper card gets you to the same 2x base and the same bonus.

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Choose Capital One Venture

Pick the Venture X if you book travel through Capital One Travel. It earns 10x on hotels and rental cars booked there (double the Venture Rewards' 5x), plus 5x on flights, vacation rentals and activities, and 5x on Capital One Entertainment. The $395 fee comes with a $300 annual travel credit for Capital One Travel bookings and 10,000 anniversary miles each year (worth about $100), so if you actually use the credit, those two perks more than cover the fee. You still get the same 75,000-mile welcome bonus, the same 2x base, and the same $0 foreign transaction fees as the cheaper card, with a lot more on top for people who live in the travel portal.

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Verdict

If you'll actually book through Capital One Travel each year, Venture X's $300 credit and 10,000 anniversary miles more than pay back its $395 fee while earning more on those bookings; if not, Venture Rewards delivers the same 75,000-mile bonus and 2x base for $300 less.