Capital One's top-tier offerings, the *venture x* and the *venture x business*, come with a ton of valuable travel benefits while coming with a far more affordable price tag than the annual fees attached to both the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and the American Express Platinum Card®.
This is by design: The personal and business versions of the Venture X cards fill a void with their $395 annual fee between lower-end travel cards starting around $95 and the ultra-premium cards with annual fees pushing $900 a year. And thanks to the benefits you get with either version of the card, you can very easily recoup that annual fee each and every year.
No perk makes it easier than the Venture X $300 travel credit. With this credit, you'll get $300 off Capital One Travel bookings each and every year you hold either card (cardmember year, not calendar year).
You read that right: Book a $500 flight and only pay $200 out of pocket. The same goes for hotel stays, rental cars, vacation rentals, and even activities. This credit alone makes either card's $395 annual fee a more tolerable $95 per year … and that's before you take the 10,000-mile anniversary bonus, lounge access, rental car elite status, and other perks into consideration.
Let's walk through what this benefit is, how it works, and everything you need to know about using it.
Read next: Capital One Venture X FAQs: Bonus, Benefits & More
Learn more about the *venture x*.
How Does the Venture X $300 Travel Credit Work?
Each year that you hold the Capital One Venture X or Venture X Business Card, you'll receive a $300 travel credit that is redeemable only through Capital One Travel.
You simply have to select the option to apply your travel credits on the checkout screen, which will also show the balance you have left and how long you have to use it. This is a useful feature because you can use the credit across multiple transactions. For example, if you purchased a $200 flight, you would still have a $100 travel credit to redeem on the Capital One Travel portal for future purchases.
Or, you can use it all in one fell swoop on more expensive flights, hotel stays, and more.
A few other key details of the credit:
- Unlike many American Express card benefits, there is no enrollment requirement. You get the benefit just for being a cardholder.
- This credit will only work on transactions in which you don't use your Capital One miles.
- If you book travel through Capital One Travel and later cancel, Capital One will credit the amount back to your account to use on a future trip, so long as it hasn't expired.
- This $300 travel credit is available on a cardmember-year basis – not the calendar year. That means if you opened the Venture X Card in November, you'd get another $300 travel credit after renewing the following year. You won't get it each year on Jan. 1
Does the Venture X $300 Travel Credit Roll Over?
The Venture X $300 travel credit does not roll over. That means if you don't use the entire balance before your card renews, you'll forfeit the unused amount.
Using all of the Venture X $300 travel credit is a big part of making the value proposition work. Make sure you don't leave any money on the table.
What Kind of Travel Can You Book Through Capital One Travel?
In addition to launching Venture X back in 2021, Capital One turned heads by unveiling a brand new travel portal powered by Hopper.
This new and improved portal lets you book flights with most airlines, hotels, vacation rentals, rental cars, and even activities. And when you're looking at flights, you'll see the kinds of tools and predictive analytics that have made Hopper so popular to help you zero in on the cheapest flights, the best time to book, freeze the price of a cheap flight, and more.
Read our guide to booking flights & more through the new Capital One Travel portal!
What Airlines Can You Book With the $300 Credit?
Most airlines are bookable through the Capital One Travel Portal if you want to put your $300 credit toward flights.
That includes the likes of Delta, United, American, Alaska, JetBlue, and most foreign carriers. Almost any fare you see through Google Flights should be available here, and generally speaking, the pricing should match – though small variances will exist from time to time.
When it comes to low-cost carriers, it's a bit of a mixed bag. I was able to pull up flights on certain routes, but not on others. Your experience may vary.
Will You Earn Miles on Travel Booked with the Credit?
Capital One is doing everything it can to encourage cardholders to book through Capital One Travel.
With both the personal and the business versions of the Capital One Venture X card, you'll earn 10x Capital One miles per dollar spent on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. You'll also earn 5x miles per dollar spent on flights and vacation rentals. The only requirement is that you pay with your Venture X card.
The bad news? Since the $300 travel credit is applied as an upfront discount, you'll only earn miles on anything beyond that amount. But you'll still earn airline miles and elite status credits on flights booked through Capital One Travel, even when using the $300 travel credit.
Keep in mind, though, that the same is not true (usually) when booking hotels through online travel agencies like Capital One Travel. That's why we think it is a great option for booking boutique hotels and those not affiliated with large chains.
Read More: Will I Earn Miles When Booking via Online Travel Agencies (OTAs)?
These days, most premium travel cards offer some form of annual travel credit. Some are better than others.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers a $300 travel credit each and every year of card membership. But unlike the Venture X, there's no requirement that the booking be made through the Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel Portal or any other channel. Spend up to $300 directly with airlines, book up to $300 in Uber or Lyft rides, or any other travel expense. The credit kicks in automatically.
The Platinum Card from American Express goes in the opposite direction, offering a series of different credits.
For starters, there's a $200 Amex airline credit to cover fees like baggage, lounge day passes, change fees, taxes, and more. Buying a ticket outright typically won't work, and it's gotten harder to use over the years. Plus, you have to select one domestic airline each year to use it.
Read More: How to Maximize Your Amex Airline Credits This Year
Further, each year you’ll have up to a $600 credit to use at either Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection properties (a two-night minimum stay is required with The Hotel Collection). You'll get up to $300 to use from January through June, and another $300 from July through December. Just book via Amextravel.com, pay with your Platinum Card, and the $300 credit will apply automatically.
If you ask us, the Venture X $300 travel credit isn't quite as easy to use as what you get with the Chase Sapphire Reserve … but it's not nearly as complicated as the Amex Platinum travel credits. It strikes a nice balance between the two, making it fairly easy to use each year while charging a much smaller annual fee of $395.
Bottom Line
The Venture X Card's $300 travel credit is straightforward to use: Just book $300 worth of flights, hotels, rental cars, or some combination of all three each year, and Capital One will automatically reimburse you up to $300. That alone takes a huge chunk out of the Capital One Venture X annual fee of $395.
Learn more about the *venture x*.
I tried to use my travel credit on Oct 13 but my credit expired the night before which I found out while booking a flight. It’s been a challenging 2024 but finally was able to plan a trip. I called Capital One and they’ll look into possibly getting the $300 credit back. I’m still hoping to hear back.
Hi – Any updates on the outcome? I’m in the same situation and am seeking advice. Hope you were able to get it back!
I actually DID get a rollover credit! For some reason, I had a really hard time in 2023 using my credit. Plans changed or whatever. And I was so mad at myself for not being able to use it. This year, I discovered that they had rolled over around $197! So I had almost $500 to play with, and I made sure I used it all this time. I never called to ask about why I still had it. I didn’t want to take the chance.
If I open a card in June 2024, get the $300 credit in June 2025, and then cancel before my card renews, do I lose the credit?
The credit in your second year typically hits after your annual fee is paid, so you wouldn’t get the second year credit.
I read the previous question regarding the travel credit expiration but I’m not quite sure if I understand it. If my travel credit expires February 27, 2024 if I book before that date when I am staying is actually after that date do I still receive the credit as long as I book it before the expiration? Thanks.
Lets say my anniversary is October 2022-2023. I book my $300 hotel on September 3rd 2023 but my actual nights stay isn’t until October 5th 2023. Does that count for my travel credit for 2022-2023 or my 2023-2024 travel credit? I would assume it is determined when it is booked but not 100 percent sure
Hi Wayne, it is based off of when you actually book, not when you travel.
It’s been my experience that every single flight on their travel portal costs a little bit more than booking it directly with the airline or any other travel website. You can call them and have them do a price match, which is a bit of a pain, but very quick. I have found the same issue with hotels as well.
So does this mean that if book a flight through capital One and use the coupon, that if cancel later the flight will not be credited to your airline account for another flight , but goes back to Capital One to use again? If so that is a bummer.
You would just need to cancel or change the flight on the airlines side and not Capital One’s. If you do it on the airline side, you should receive a voucher for future travel.
The “easiest decision in the history of decisions” does get a little tougher when Cap One doesn’t deliver on their promised perks. You need their customer service in speed dial. I’ve also had issues getting the 10k anniversary bonus. Very frustrating.
Can I book my child alone and still get this credit?
You can. No requirement that the purchase be for the cardholder. Just needs to be made through the travel portal.
Can you bring in guests to the priority lounges for free with this card or is there a charge?
You can bring up to two guests with you to the Priority Pass and Capital One lounges at no cost. Also, the card allows you to add up to four authorized users to your account at no additional cost. And each of your authorized users will get their own lounge memberships, allowing them to bring up to two guests in for free as well.
I just used my priority pass this last month from my Venture X card. I brought in 3 guests with me with no issue at Minneapolis. I got a credit for all 4 of us. From my understanding of reading capital one terms, if you enter a priority pass lounge there is no max number of guests but with the other lounges it is capped.