How the Capital One Venture X travel credit can save you $300 on your next trip

26.03.2024 - 20:27 / thepointsguy.com

As the saying goes, don't judge a book by its cover – and the same phrase can be applied to a credit card's annual fee.

Take the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, for instance. While this premium rewards card sports a $395 annual fee (see rates and fees), several ongoing valuable perks help offset the full cost of that figure.

Those perks are in addition to a nice sign-up bonus: 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.

One of the ongoing principal benefits that Venture X cardholders receive each year is $300 in annual credits that apply toward bookings made on Capital One Travel. Let's take a closer look at the Venture X annual credit, how you can make the most of it — and why you may want to apply now.

Venture X cardholders receive $300 in credits each cardmember year (not calendar year) toward travel, including the year you open the card. That means you can get $300 in value from the Venture X immediately.

But there is one caveat: The credit only applies to bookings made through the Capital One Travel portal.

The Capital One Travel portal is an online travel agency (OTA). It can be best compared to those offered by other issuers, such as Amex Travel and the Chase Travel℠ portal. What sets Capital One's portal apart is that it has partnered with Hopper, a travel booking startup with excellent predictive pricing technology that can help cardholders ensure they get the best price.

Cardholders can log into the Capital One Travel portal to book things like airfare, hotel stays and rental car reservations. The $300 credit will then be applied to those purchases.

Even better, the credit can be used across one or multiple transactions until the $300 limit is reached, and no registration is required. This means the credit will automatically apply to transactions until you hit the $300 mark without you needing to do any additional work to take advantage of this perk.

Related: A full review of Capital One Venture X

At face value, the requirement to use the Capital One Travel portal might feel like a limitation, especially when you consider the benefits of booking travel directly.

For instance, when booking certain hotels or car rentals through any third-party service – including Capital One Travel and other credit card issuers' travel portals – you will typically forfeit elite-status benefits and the ability to earn elite-qualifying credits and points within these loyalty programs.

However, for flights and independent hotels (including Disney resorts, for those who love visits to the Disney parks), booking through the Capital One Travel portal still makes a lot of sense since you wouldn't earn hotel points anyway. Flights booked this way