Points, Miles & Credit Cards

Capital One Venture X vs. The Platinum Card from American Express

June 11, 2024

6 min read

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Table of Contents

If you’re looking for a premium travel credit card to add to your wallet, you’ve got options. Two cards have been duking it out to compete for a spot in your wallet.

The card_name is the OG of premium credit cards, but the newcomer card_name is making a play with a lower cost and greater simplicity. We’ll walk you through the pros and cons of both.

At a glance
card_name	card_name

card_name	card_name
Annual fee
annual_fees (See Rates and Fees)	annual_fees
Foreign transaction fees
foreign_transaction_fee	foreign_transaction_fee
Earning rate
Earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year Earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel. Earn 1 X Membership Rewards® Points on all other eligible purchases. Terms apply.	2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day. 10 Miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. 5 Miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Travel.
Welcome offer
bonus_miles_full	bonus_miles_full
Our take
This card comes with many credits, but it takes some effort to understand and maximize them.	As the less costly option, it offers slightly fewer credits, but its value is in its simplicity.
Card benefits
$200 Hotel Credit: Get up to $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts(R) or The Hotel Collection bookings through American Express Travel using your Platinum Card(R). The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay. $240 Digital Entertainment Credit: Get up to $20 back in statement credits each month on eligible purchases made with your Platinum Card(R) on one or more of the following: Disney+, a Disney Bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Times, Peacock, and The Wall Street Journal. Enrollment required. The American Express Global Lounge Collection(R) can provide an escape at the airport. With complimentary access to more than 1,400 airport lounges across 140 countries and counting, you have more airport lounge options than any other credit card issuer on the market. As of 03/2023. $155 Walmart+ Credit: Save on eligible delivery fees, shipping, and more with a Walmart+ membership. Use your Platinum Card(R) to pay for a monthly Walmart+ membership and get up to $12.95 plus applicable taxes back on one membership (excluding Plus Ups) each month. $200 Airline Fee Credit: Select one qualifying airline and then receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year when incidental fees are charged by the airline to your Platinum Card(R). $200 Uber Cash: Platinum Card(R) Members can get out and about and explore their local area with $15 in Uber Cash for US rides each month, plus a bonus $20 in December. That can be up to $200 in annual Uber savings. Simply download the Uber app and add your Platinum Card(R) to your Uber account to get started. Available to Basic Card Member only. Effective 11/8/2024, an Amex Card must be selected as the payment method for your Uber or Uber Eats transaction to redeem the Amex Uber Cash benefit. $199 CLEAR(R) Plus Credit: CLEAR(R) Plus helps to get you to your gate faster at 50+ airports nationwide and get up to $199 back per calendar year on your Membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you use your Card. CLEARLanes are available at 100+ airports, stadiums, and entertainment venues. Receive either a $120 statement credit every 4 years for a Global Entry application fee or a statement credit up to $85 every 4.5 years for a TSA PreCheck(R) (through a TSA official enrollment provider) application fee, when charged to your Platinum Card(R). Card Members approved for Global Entry will also receive access to TSA PreCheck at no additional cost. Shop Saks with Platinum: Get up to $100 in statement credits annually for purchases in Saks Fifth Avenue stores or at saks.com on your Platinum Card(R). That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required. Unlock access to exclusive reservations and special dining experiences with Global Dining Access by Resy when you add your Platinum Card(R) to your Resy profile. $695 annual fee.¤ Terms Apply.	Receive a $300 annual credit for bookings through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options Get 10,000 bonus miles (equal to $100 towards travel) every year, starting on your first anniversary Earn unlimited 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Travel Earn unlimited 2X miles on all other purchases Unlimited complimentary access for you and two guests to 1,300+ lounges, including Capital One Lounges and the Partner Lounge Network Use your Venture X miles to easily cover travel expenses, including flights, hotels, rental cars and more-you can even transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®

Read our review of the Platinum Card® from American Express

Read our review of the Capital One Venture X

Annual fee

Let’s get this one out of the way first. When it comes to premium travel credit cards, the annual fee is always the first place to look. Here’s how they compare:

card_name: annual_fees (See Rates and Fees)
card_name: annual_fees

Amex Platinum card's annual fee is $300 more than the annual fee for the Venture X. Is it worth it? That depends on what you’re looking for.

Lounge access

If you’re looking for a premium travel credit card, airport lounge access is probably one of your top priorities. Both cards offer a Priority Pass™ membership, which gets you access to over 1,400+ lounges at over 500 airports. Enrollment required.

card_name gets you into the American Express Global Lounge Collection®, including the Centurion Lounges. In addition, if you are flying a same-day Delta operated eligible cardholders can access the Delta Sky Club lounges 3 hours before depature. Basic Economy (E) tickets are excluded from accessing the Delta Sky Club.*

card_name gets you into the Capital One Lounges, currently open in Denver (DEN), Dallas-Forth Worth (DFW), and Washington, DC (IAD).

While the Amex Platinum’s lounge collection is much larger than the Venture X’s, if you frequent an airport that has one of the Capital One Lounges, then it could be worth it for you.

Amex Platinum	Venture X
Lounges at 14 US airports, plus access to Delta SkyClub Lounges, depending on your ticket*	Lounges at three US airports (DEN, IAD, DFW) with one at JFK planned
Amex Centurion Lounge guide	Capital One Lounge guide

^{*Effective February 1, 2025: Eligible Platinum Card Members will receive 10 Visits per Eligible Platinum Card per year to the Delta Sky Club or to Grab and Go when traveling on a same-day Delta-operated flight. Visits are non-transferable and may only be used by the Eligible Platinum Card Member.}

Other perks and credits

Both cards include an application credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. The fine print is you receive either a $100 statement credit every 4 years for a Global Entry application fee or a statement credit up to $85 every 4.5 years for a TSA PreCheck® (through a TSA official enrollment provider) application fee, when charged to your eligible card (either the Venture X or Platinum Card).

If you are approved for Global Entry, you will also receive access to TSA PreCheck at no additional cost.

Venture X statement credits

card_name comes with a $300 annual travel credit for purchases through the card’s travel portal. This credit will be applied to the first $300 in purchases you make each year through the portal.

So, if you booked a hotel for $350 through this portal, you’d owe $50 after using the credit.

By using this credit, you can effectively reduce the card’s annual fee to $95.

Platinum card statement credits

Some of the highlights of the credits that the Platinum card includes:

Some of the credits that card_name offers include:

$200 Airline Fee Credit: Select one qualifying airline and then receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year when incidental fees are charged by the airline to your Platinum Card(R).
$200 Hotel Credit: Get up to $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts(R) or The Hotel Collection bookings through American Express Travel using your Platinum Card(R). The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay.
$240 Digital Entertainment Credit: Get up to $20 back in statement credits each month on eligible purchases made with your Platinum Card(R) on one or more of the following: Disney+, a Disney Bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Times, Peacock, and The Wall Street Journal. Enrollment required.
$155 Walmart+ Credit: Save on eligible delivery fees, shipping, and more with a Walmart+ membership. Use your Platinum Card(R) to pay for a monthly Walmart+ membership and get up to $12.95 plus applicable taxes back on one membership (excluding Plus Ups) each month.
$200 Uber Cash: $15 in Uber cash each month, plus $20 in December
$200 Uber Cash: Enjoy Uber VIP status and up to $200 in Uber savings on rides or eats orders in the US annually. Uber Cash and Uber VIP status is available to Basic Card Member only. Terms Apply.
$199 CLEAR(R) Plus Credit: CLEAR(R) Plus helps to get you to your gate faster at 50+ airports nationwide and get up to $199 back per calendar year on your Membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you use your Card. CLEARLanes are available at 100+ airports, stadiums, and entertainment venues.

Heads up: Enrollment is required for many of these benefits.

Actually using all of these credits—and understanding how to maximize them—can be overwhelming.

Welcome offer

A card’s welcome offer is the bonus points you earn after spending a minimum amount on the new card. Earning a new card’s welcome offer is one of the best ways to get a free flight.

Here’s how they stack up:

card_name: bonus_miles_full
card_name: bonus_miles_full

You need to spend only half as much with the Venture X to earn a nearly similar amount of points.

The Platinum Card’s spending requirement is double——but you also have twice as much time to accomplish it. This means that the pacing is similar.

Get airfare deals for your points and miles with Going

Ongoing points-earning rate

The points-earning structure on the two cards differs a lot.

Amex Platinum	Venture X
5X Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year 5X Membership Rewards® Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel 1X on all other eligible purchases	2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day 10 Miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel 5 Miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Travel

Miles is Capital One’s lingo for transferable points.

Transfer partners

Points are just points when they sit in your account: What matters is how you use those points.

Both cards boast transfer partners to hotels and airlines, but if I had to choose which card’s network of partners is stronger, I’d have to say Amex transfer partners are stronger. Here are some of the transfer partners that the Amex Platinum card has that are missing from Capital One transfer partners:

Delta Air Lines
ANA (All Nippon Airways)
Iberia Plus
Hilton and Marriott Bonvoy

That said, the Venture X has some valuable transfer partners, too. Some transfer partners that Capital One has that Amex doesn’t include Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles, Wydnham, and Choice hotels.

Both count Air Canada, Air France/KLM, Avianca LifeMiles, British Airways, Singapore Airlines, and Virgin Atlantic as transfer partners—all high-value partners from which we regularly send Going with Points deals.