BEST CREDIT CARDS TO PAIR WITH THE CAPITAL ONE VENTURE X

Vault’s Viewpoint

  • A good companion card to the Capital One Venture X card would have a lower annual fee and earn higher rewards on everyday spending categories.
  • The Citi Premier® Card is an excellent companion to Capital One Venture X, thanks to its 3X bonus categories on daily spending.
  • When pairing a card with the Venture X, remember to consider how the cards’ loyalty programs would mesh together.

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

Annual Fee
$395
Regular APR
19.99% – 29.99% variable
Intro Bonus
Earn 75,000 miles after spending $4,000 on the card within the first 3 months after opening the account
75,000 miles
Credit Score
Credit ranges are derived from FICO® Score 8, which is one of many different types of credit scores. If you apply for a credit card, the lender may use a different credit score when considering your application for credit.
Excellent

Capital One Venture X and Citi Premier Card

The Citi Premier® Card complements the Capital One Venture X nicely thanks to its comprehensive category bonuses and loyalty program. While the Venture X card earns a flat 2X miles on all purchases, the Citi Premier offers higher rewards in categories like restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations. Thanks to numerous overlapping transfer partners, combining these two cards can help you achieve your travel goals faster.

Rewards

The Venture X earns 2X miles on all purchases, 5X miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel and 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. It’s great for maximizing rewards on most purchases, including travel. However, the Citi Premier takes it up a notch by helping you maximize rewards on everyday purchases. Cardholders earn 3X points on restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, air travel and hotels.

Additionally, the card offers 10X points on hotels and rental cars booked through ThankYou.com (through June 30, 2024). Combining these two cards is a great way to elevate your rewards on every dollar spent.

Benefits

The Capital One Venture X and Citi Premier also complement each other well when it comes to benefits. The Venture X offers a $300 annual travel credit valid on Capital One Travel bookings, a 10,000-mile anniversary bonus automatically received each year you pay the annual fee and renew your card, comprehensive lounge benefits and up to a $100 Global Entry or TSA Precheck membership credit every four years. With the Citi Premier, you’ll get up to an annual

$100 hotel benefit that applies to single hotel bookings of $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) made through ThankYou.com. These combined benefits create a power suite of perks that can significantly enhance your travel experience.

While Citi eliminated most of its travel and purchase protections a few years ago, Capital One makes up for it with comprehensive purchase and travel protections. These include trip cancellation and interruption coverage, travel accident insurance, lost luggage reimbursement, primary auto rental collision damage waiver, cell phone protection, purchase security and more.

Similar Transfer Partners

Additionally, the two cards allow you to transfer Capital One miles 1:1 to over a dozen loyalty programs. The Citi ThankYou and Capital One miles transfer programs have 14 programs in common, making it easy to combine your rewards for redemptions with the following programs:

  • Accor Live Limitless
  • Aeromexico Club Premier
  • Air France/KLM Flying Blue
  • Avianca Lifemiles
  • Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
  • Choice Privileges
  • Emirates Skywards
  • Etihad Guest
  • Eva Air Infinity MileageLands
  • Qantas Frequent Flyer
  • Singapore KrisFlyer
  • Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
  • Virgin Red/Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
  • Wyndham Rewards

If you prefer to redeem your Thank You points or Capital One miles for travel redemptions, you can do so at 1 cent each. Both currencies are incredibly versatile, and you can combine them in numerous ways to save on travel.

Citi Premier® Card

Annual Fee
$95
Regular APR
21.24% – 29.24% variable
Intro Bonus
60,000 bonus points

After spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for $600 in gift cards or travel rewards at thankyou.com

Credit Score
Credit ranges are derived from FICO® Score 8, which is one of many different types of credit scores. If you apply for a credit card, the lender may use a different credit score when considering your application for credit.
Good-Excellent

Why Would You Want To Pair One Card With Another?

Pairing the Capital One Venture X with another credit card can help you maximize rewards across various spending categories. While the Venture X excels in providing generous travel rewards, it doesn’t offer competitive rewards on dining, groceries or other daily spending categories. By pairing it with another credit card, you can earn rewards in a broader range of purchases.

For instance, coupling the Venture X with a card like the Citi Premier can help you earn points at an accelerated rate on everyday purchases like gas, dining and grocery spending. By strategically using each card for its respective bonus categories, you can optimize your points accumulation and ultimately increase the value of your rewards.

Other Cards To Consider

While the Citi Premier is a great card to pair with the Venture X, it has some drawbacks. Primarily, the card lacks purchase and travel protections. While the Venture X makes up for this disadvantage, some consumers prefer that all their credit cards offer these protections. If the Citi Premier doesn’t quite fit the bill, here are some alternatives to pair with the Capital One Venture X Card.

Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card

If you want a card similar to the Citi Premier but with better category bonuses, the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card is worth a look. The card earns an unlimited 4% cash back on dining, entertainment and popular streaming services, plus 3% at grocery stores (excluding superstores like Target and Walmart). While the rewards are in cash back form, the elevated earning rate compared to the Venture X makes it worthwhile.

The Savor Cash Rewards card has a $95 annual fee, which is reasonable considering the Venture X card comes in at $395. Further, new applicants can earn a welcome bonus of $300 cash bonus after spending $3,000 within the first three months of account opening.

Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card

The Wells Fargo Autograph℠ Card is one of the best no-annual-fee cards to pair with the Capital One Venture X. The card earns 3X points on gas, transit, travel, restaurants, popular streaming services and phone plans—all pretty significant purchase categories for most people. By charging these expenses to the Autograph Card and all others to the Venture X, you can earn a lot of rewards quickly.

The great thing about the Autograph Card is that it recently introduced transfer partners. In addition to redeeming points for cash back at 1 cent each, cardholders can transfer their points 1:1 or better to five loyalty programs: Aer Lingus AerClub, Air France/KLM Flying Blue, Avianca Lifemiles, British Airways Executive Club, Choice Privileges and Iberia Plus Avios. Three of these programs overlap with Capital One, allowing you to stack rewards easily for an award redemption.

Capital One Spark Miles for Business

The Capital One Spark Miles for Business card is a great addition to your wallet if you want to earn 2X miles on all purchases while separating your business expenses. The card earns unlimited 2X miles on all purchases and 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. The Spark Miles for Business has a $95 ongoing annual fee with no annual fee in the first year, making it an excellent option for business owners who want rewards similar to those of the Venture X without a steep annual fee.

Cardholders also get access to up to a $100 TSA PreCheck or Global Entry application fee credit every four years. Additionally, the card comes with a generous one-time welcome bonus of 50,000 miles earned once you spend $4,500 on purchases within the first three months of account opening.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Are the Downsides of the Capital One Venture X?

The main downside of the Capital One Venture X card is the high annual fee. Some cardholders will have trouble justifying the $395 annual fee if they don’t utilize the card’s benefits fully or earn enough rewards. Additionally, Capital One pulls your credit from all three credit bureaus when you apply for the card. Most other banks pull from one or two.

Is the Capital One Venture X Hard To Get Approved For?

The Capital One Venture X card is somewhat hard to get approved for since it’s recommended for those with excellent credit, or a FICO Score of 800 and above.

Can I Get a Venture X Card if I Have a Capital One Venture Card?

Yes, you can get the Venture X card if you have the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. Many cardholders, myself included, have been approved for both. Keep in mind that Capital One considers numerous criteria when evaluating credit applications. Being an existing card member won’t guarantee you’ll be approved.

The post Best Credit Cards To Pair With the Capital One Venture X first appeared on Newsweek Vault.

2024-04-26T20:36:39Z dg43tfdfdgfd