The card_name is a very valuable premium small business card thanks to its laundry list of travel perks. You’ll get an annual $300 travel credit; you’ll get 10,000 bonus Capital One miles (worth at least $100 in travel); you’ll get complimentary airport lounge access worth $450 and up per year; and you’ll get up to 10 miles per dollar for select purchases.
The card also offers the highest welcome bonus of any card in recent memory (up to 150,0000 Capital One miles: bonus_miles_full) after meeting tiered spending requirements, though to be fair, the card’s spending requirement is significant. What’s more, the card comes with a annual_fees annual fee.
It’s important to realize that the Capital One Venture X Business is a charge card (not a credit card). Charge cards differ from credit cards in a few ways:
- You must pay your entire bill each month (you can’t carry a balance month-to-month).
- You don’t have a preset spending limit, so you may be able to make larger purchases than you could with a regular credit card.
- Charge cards tend to report to credit bureaus slightly differently. Because they don’t have a firm credit limit, the balances may not factor into your credit utilization.
Let’s examine the card_name to see if it’s a good fit for your situation.
TIME’s Take
The new card_name has quickly established itself as one of the most valuable small business card options available. Its annual_fees annual fee is difficult to swallow for some, but a quick glance at the card’s ongoing benefits make it easily justifiable.
Unfortunately, the card’s welcome bonus is guarded by a prohibitively large minimum spending requirement, making it a difficult target to hit for truly small businesses.
Pros and cons
Who is the card for?
The card_name is a small business card. If you don’t operate a small business, you won’t qualify for the card.
That said, a for-profit side-gig is all you need to qualify for most small business credit cards. If you list your house on Airbnb, deliver with Instacart or dog walk for money, you’ve got a small business.
However, the card_name is tailored toward small businesses with serious expenses. For example:
- It’s got no preset spending limit, so you can make large purchases without being restricted by the size of your credit line.
It’s certainly worthwhile for those with fewer expenses, but big spenders will find this card particularly useful.
At its core, the card_name is for travelers. The myriad travel benefits that come with this card can easily net you over $1,000 per year. If upgrading (and discounting) your travels is your primary motivation for opening a card, you’ll love what you get from this one.
Rewards structure
The card_name comes with a welcome bonus worth up to 150,000 miles:
- bonus_miles_full.
That’s one of the biggest welcome bonuses we’ve ever seen, accompanied by one of the biggest spending requirements. Spending $30,000 in three months is hard.
Even if you can’t earn the bonus, this card could be worth a look. It comes with a solid (and simple) return rate:
- 10 miles per dollar on hotels and car rentals reserved through the Capital One Travel portal
- 5 miles per dollar on airfare reserved through the Capital One Travel portal
- 2 miles per dollar on all other eligible purchases
You’ve got a variety of options for redeeming Capital One miles. You can cash them out (0.5 cents per mile), buy gift cards (1 cent per mile) or offset travel purchases made with your card (1 cent per mile).
But the best way to redeem your rewards is by transferring them to Capital One airline and hotel partners (such as British Airways, Singapore Airlines and Wyndham) for cheap travel. For example, you could:
- Transfer 63,000 miles to Avianca for a one-way business class flight between Chicago (ORD) and London (LHR) on United Airlines. That’s a $2,000+ ticket (a value of 3.1 cents each).
- Transfer 60,000 miles to Turkish Airlines for 4 round-trip domestic economy flights on United Airlines. Depending on your route, you could easily spend $1,500+ (a value of 2.5 cents each).
- Transfer 50,000 miles to Virgin Red to book a one-way business class flight between the Atlanta (ATL) and Paris (CDG) on Delta. That’s an $1,800+ ticket (a value of 3.6 cents each).
Capital One miles are also worth 1 cent per point when you buy airfare, hotel stays, rental cars, vacation rentals etc. through Capital One Travel. Booking through this portal comes with its own suite of benefits, such as price drop protection (up to $50 reimbursed when airfare drops up to 10 days after booking), price prediction, and price matching.
The fine print
Beyond the card’s annual_fees annual fee, there are surprisingly few fees that you’d see on a regular credit card. That’s because the card_nameis a charge card.
- It doesn’t charge purchase APR, because you’re required to pay your entire balance on the due date.
- If you fail to pay your balance in full, you’ll be charged a 2.99% late fee on the outstanding balance.
- There are no balance transfer fees or cash advance fees because the card doesn’t allow either.
You also won’t have to pay foreign transaction fees when using the card for purchases outside the U.S. That makes it a good companion for international travel.
Additional hidden perks
No preset spending limit
While more of a “feature” than a perk, big spenders will really appreciate the card_name Card’s lack of a credit limit. As you use the card, it’ll learn your spending habits and conform to them.
For example, if you routinely make $40,000 purchases, the card will become more lenient to large transactions. You can also check if a specific dollar amount will be approved or denied via your Capital One online account.
Up to $300 annual travel credit
Upon account approval (and after each cardmember anniversary), you’ll get up to $300 per year in statement credits to reimburse travel you reserve through Capital One Travel.
If you normally spend $300 in travel each year, this should be nearly as valuable as cash to you. Think of it like this: Capital One will pay for the first $300 you buy each year with your card as long as it’s through the Chase Travel Portal.
Annual 10,000-mile bonus
Just for keeping the card open, you’ll receive 10,000 Capital One miles after each account anniversary. Again, these rewards are worth $100 minimum toward travel — and a lot more if you leverage Capital One’s airline and hotel transfer partners.
Airport lounge access
Airport lounges are an unbeatable respite from a noisy airport terminal. They’ve often got free alcohol, snacks (even full meals), comfy chairs and sometimes showers.
The card_name comes with free access to two airport lounge networks:
- Capital One Lounges (currently three worldwide)
- Priority Pass airport lounges (currently 1,300+ worldwide)
The card gives you unlimited access to Capital One Lounges, which are known to be some of the best in the industry. You can even bring two guests for free.
You’ll also get Priority Pass Select membership, which also comes with unlimited visits and two free guests. This membership otherwise costs over $450 per year.
Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit
The card_name comes with up to a $100 statement credit toward either TSA PreCheck or Global Entry once every four years. That’s enough to cover a five-year membership with either of these programs.
TSA PreCheck gives you the advantage of keeping your shoes, belt and light jacket on and your laptop in your bag when passing through TSA checkpoints. This significantly expedites your airport security experience.
Global Entry lets you skip the immigration line when returning to the U.S. from another country. Simply enter biometric data into a standalone kiosk and be on your way.
TSA PreCheck privileges are included with a Global Entry membership, so it’s the program to choose.
Hotel benefits
The card_name has access to Capital One’s “Premier Collection” and “Lifestyle Collection.” These are hand-selected luxury properties around the world that, when booked via Capital One, cardholders will receive elite-like perks, such as:
- Between $50 and $100 in hotel credits.
- Free breakfast for two.
- Room upgrades (when available).
- Free Wi-Fi.
You’ll also earn between 5 and 10 miles per dollar, depending on which collection you book.
Cell phone protection
When you pay for your monthly phone bill with your card_name, you’ll receive up to $800 in insurance automatically. This will be a big money-saver for those who already independently invest in cell phone coverage.
Other Capital One-specific benefits
The card_namecomes with access to many Capital One services that all Capital One cardmembers receive. These include:
- Capital One Entertainment: You’ll get access to unique events and presale tickets for concerts, sports, etc. You can also use your rewards to book reservations.
- Capital One Dining: Secure hard-to-reserve restaurants, let your restaurant know of dietary restrictions, alert the venue of any special occasions and more.
Free employee cards
You can get employee cards for free with the card_name. This allows you to track spending and set custom limits for each card. Best of all, you’ll receive rewards when your employees spend on their cards.
What could be improved
An obvious tweak Capital One can implement to make this card more appealing is to significantly lower its first minimum spending requirement tier. At present, you qualify for the bonus bonus_miles_disclaimer. We see other small business cards requiring between $8,000 and $15,000 to achieve a six-figure bonus. The card_nameshould join the party.
Also, while the card’s Priority Pass Select membership is extremely valuable, Capital One deliberately opts out of Priority Pass restaurants, though that perk can give cardholders huge discounts at participating airport venues around the world. This is an excellent benefit that could add a lot of value to the card for frequent travelers.
Card alternatives
The card_name is clearly marketed toward businesses with hundreds of thousands of dollars in spending each year. But even if that’s not you, it’s possible to get huge value from this card thanks to generous annual bonuses and credits — not to mention a few memberships that can seriously elevate your travel experience.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Is the card_name worth it?
If you can achieve a value above annual_fees (the card’s annual fee) each year through rewards, it’s worth it. Between the up to $300 annual travel credit, 10,000 anniversary bonus miles and airport lounge access, that’s easy to do.
What credit score do you need for the card_name?
You must have an “excellent” credit score to be approved for the card_name. An excellent credit score, according to Capital One, means you’ve never declared bankruptcy or defaulted on a loan. You’ve also not been more than 60 days late on a credit card, medical bill or loan in the past year. Additionally, you’ve had a loan or credit card for at least three years with a credit limit above $5,000.
What’s the difference between the Capital One Venture X and card_name?
The Capital One Venture X is the consumer version of the card_name, which is targeted toward businesses. Also, the Capital One Venture X is a credit card, while the card_name is a charge card.
Other than that, the cards are nearly identical, with similar annual fee, statement credits and ongoing benefits.