Why I’m Holding the Capital One Venture X Card for a Third Year

I just paid my third annual fee on the Capital One Ventures X Rewards Credit Card, and I did so without hesitation.

The reason is simple: Year after year, the card is essentially paying me to keep it open, and I get ahead.

Here’s why this card is one of the most valuable cards I’ve ever owned—long after the excitement of the first-year welcome bonus has worn off—and why I plan to keep it for years to come.

Related: Capital One Venture Rewards vs. Capital One VentureX: Is it worth paying the extra $300?

Why I’m glad to pay my annual fee again

While the Venture X’s $395 annual fee isn’t insignificant, it’s lower than the annual fees on most competing premium cards.

The next year, I took advantage of the card’s benefits on a Caribbean winter vacation to the beautiful, sunny island of Grenada and received nearly $800 worth of fees, including TSA PreCheck and Global Entry fees, which I love because they save me tons of time every time I go through a U.S. airport.

Here are the benefits I value in my third year of membership:

• annual credit: Cardmembers can earn $300 in points each year when booking through the Capital One Travel portal.
• Anniversary Bonus: Earn 10,000 bonus miles per account anniversary (starting with my first anniversary), worth $185 based on TPG’s December 2025 valuation.
• Use the lounge: Free admission to Capital One lounges and over 1,800 Priority Pass lounges for myself and up to two guests. Unfortunately, guest lounge access will be restricted 2026.
• Impressive portal profitability: I earn 10 miles per $1 spent on hotels and car rentals and 5 miles per $1 spent on vacation rentals and flights booked through Capital One Travel.
• Amazing daily revenue rate: I earn 2 miles per $1 spent on all other purchases.

The $300 in Capital One travel points and 10,000 Anniversary miles easily cover my $395 annual fee, so the lounge access and generous earn rate push me further as I earn tens of thousands of Capital One miles each year on this card on top of the anniversary bonus.

RELATED: Highest offer in four years: How good is Capital One Venture X’s 100,000-mile bonus?

Venture X is the default in my wallet

I have a lot of travel credit cards with different benefits and earn rates. Whenever I need to pay for something, it can be exhausting trying to remember which card has bonus rewards, especially in a busy cafe or bar with a line of people behind me.

My Venture X card earns 2 miles per $1 spent on all purchases, which is higher than any other card I have, including popular Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (See Rates and Fees). That’s why I set it as the default card in the Google Pay app.

My husband is an authorized user on all my cards, and while he loves the benefits of redeeming points and miles, such as getting a bonus seat in Qsuite business class on Qatar Airways, he’s not as obsessed with credit cards as I am.

It’s illogical for him to remember the yields on multiple cards, so I set the Venture X card as his default card in Google Pay. That way, when he’s in doubt, he can just click Pay and earn 2 miles for every $1 spent.

As a third year cardholder, how do I maximize my Venture X

In 2026, I plan to visit the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

I will be using a $300 travel credit from Venture X to reduce hotel costs in Lexington, where the tour departs. Since I would be staying several nights, the total cost of lodging would probably be over $300. However, I earn 10 miles per $1 spent on any out-of-pocket hotel expenses over that amount when I book a stay through the Capital One Travel portal.

I’m flying British Airways from London to Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG), so I’ll be using my 10,000 Anniversary miles (along with the tens of thousands of miles I earned on the card last year) to pay for the flight at a 1:1 ratio into the British Airways Club program.

Considering I need a car to drive from Cincinnati to Lexington, I’ll also book the car through Capital One Travel to both earn 10 miles per dollar spent and take advantage of the built-in car rental collision damage waiver (which I hope I don’t need to use).

RELATED: Bourbon tastings and baseball bats: Why Louisville is the perfect destination for a father-daughter trip

bottom line

My Venture X card remains the go-to card in my wallet because its value exceeds the annual fee.

Currently, new applicants can get a top welcome bonus of 100,000 bonus miles after spending $10,000 within the first six months of account opening, so if you’ve ever considered adding this card to your wallet, there’s no better time than now Apply now.