The 3 Best Cards To Pair With the Capital One Venture X Card [2024]

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is easily one of the best credit cards out there today and is a favorite at Upgraded Points, for good reason.

This premium credit card comes with an enticing welcome offer, decent rewards earning, numerous travel benefits (including lounge access and purchase protections), and is an excellent card for non-category spending. Cardholders also get access to Capital One’s fantastic transfer partners. The Capital One Venture X card provides all this value while offering the lowest annual fee (rates & fees) among premium credit cards.

However, as valuable as the Capital One Venture X card, it has drawbacks. When it comes to credit cards, there isn’t 1 single credit card with everything. It’s always a good idea to have multiple credit cards that can help you maximize your rewards as much as possible.

For example, someone whose biggest expense is restaurants and takeout may prefer to have a card that earns more points and miles on dining. Someone who spends a lot on airfare may need a completely different credit card focused on maximizing flight rewards.

Let’s look at some of the benefits and drawbacks of the Capital One Venture X card and review other cards that could pair nicely to help earn rewards even faster.

Capital One Venture X Card Snapshot

Benefits of the Capital One Venture X Card

Capital One made a huge splash when it introduced its flagship credit card in late 2021. The Capital One Venture X card is an all-around great card with many benefits you would expect with a premium travel credit card.

If you are not pursuing hotel elite status, or if you book a lot of rental cars, the Capital One Venture X card is ideal to have. It comes with an extraordinary return of up to 10x Capital One miles for hotels, rental cars, or flights booked via Capital One Travel.

The Capital One Venture X card also offers lounge access to Priority Pass lounges, select Plaza Premium Lounges, and Capital One Lounges.

You’ll receive 10,000 bonus miles, equal to $100 towards travel, every year, starting on your first anniversary.

The Capital One Venture X card does come with a substantial $395 fee (rates & fees), although this is mitigated by the $300 annual travel credit for bookings made through Capital One Travel. Although the annual fee is a bit higher than most other travel rewards credit cards, the Capital One Venture X card is a nice middle ground compared to cards with significantly higher fees.

Where the Capital One Venture X Card Is Weakest

As wonderful as the Capital One Venture X card is, it does come with some notable drawbacks. To receive the best earning potential, you will need to utilize Capital One Travel, which isn’t beneficial if you are looking to earn hotel elite status. Capital One Travel is considered a third party, which excludes any hotel elite status benefits or elevated earnings you may get as compared to booking directly.

The Capital One Venture X card also does not offer any bonus categories for flights or hotels booked directly with an airline or hotel group, which is the preferred booking method for those looking to earn elite status. This is a significant downside.

The 3 Best Cards To Pair With the Capital One Venture X Card

Let’s take a look at some of the best cards that you can pair with the Capital One Venture X card to maximize your earnings.

1. Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card

The Capital One Savor card is a fantastic all-around card as you can earn an unlimited 4% cash-back on dining, entertainment, and popular streaming services, 3% at grocery stores, and 1% on all other purchases. If you like to order in food to Netflix and chill, this is a perfect card to have.

The Capital One Savor card also comes with 10% cash-back on Uber and Uber Eats, as well as a complimentary Uber One membership through November 14, 2024. If you use these services a lot, this card is a game-changer.

Why This Card Pairs Well With the Capital One Venture X Card

The Capital One Savor card is an excellent card to pair with the Capital One Venture X card. Although the Capital One Savor card earns cash-back, cardholders can transfer rewards from Capital One cash-back cards to Capital One miles-earning cards (such as the Capital One Venture X card) at a rate of 1 cent to 1 mile. This makes the cash-back earned significantly more valuable as you can transfer the card’s rewards from higher earning categories to Capital One’s airline and hotel partners.

Being able to earn cash-back and redeem it as miles makes this pairing quite appealing. For example, instead of just earning 2x miles for dining with your Capital One Venture X card, you can use the Capital One Savor card to earn a higher rate of 4% cash-back, which you can then turn into 4x miles.

The Capital One Savor card also offers price protection, a benefit not included with the Capital One Venture X card.

2. American Express^® Gold Card

Hot Tip: Check to see if you’re eligible for a welcome bonus offer of up to 90,000 points with the Amex Gold card. The current public offer is 60,000 points. (This targeted offer was independently researched and may not be available to all applicants.)

The Amex Gold card has a nice balance as a travel rewards credit card and an everyday spending card and should be the go-to card for those who dine out at restaurants and want big rewards at U.S. supermarkets. Although the Capital One Savor card earns an unlimited 4% cash-back on dining, we still prefer the Amex Gold card as it earns our favorite transferrable points currency: American Express Membership Rewards points.

With the Amex Gold card, you can earn 4x Membership Rewards points at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases (then 1x). You’ll also earn 3x points on flights purchased directly from airlines or at AmexTravel.com.

In addition to the excellent earning structure, the Amex Gold card comes with some credits to help offset the annual fee:

• Up to $120 in annual dining credits, which are broken into monthly statement credits of up to $10 when you use your Amex Gold card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar, and select Shake Shack locations
• Up to $120 in annual Uber Cash, issued as $10 monthly in Uber Cash for Uber Eats orders or Uber rides in the U.S. when you add your Amex Gold card to your Uber account
• A $100 experience credit with a 2-night minimum stay when you book The Hotel Collection through AmexTravel.com; the experience credit varies by property

The Amex Gold card comes with a $250 annual fee (rates & fees).

Why This Card Pairs Well With the Capital One Venture X Card

The Amex Gold card’s high earning rates make it ideal to pair with the Capital One Venture X card.

You could use the Amex Gold card at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets to earn 4x points (up to the maximum limit per year) and to book airfare directly with airlines to earn 3x points. You could then use the Capital One Venture X card to earn 2x miles on everything else.

Hot Tip:

Check out our guide for the best ways to redeem your Amex Membership Rewards points to get the most out of your points. As many of the Amex transfer partners are also Capital One transfer partners, you could pool rewards from both programs for 1 redemption.

3. Citi Premier^® Card

The Citi Premier card is underrated for those looking for an all-around travel rewards credit card for everyday spending. The Citi Premier card comes with excellent bonus categories for a card with a reasonable $95 annual fee.

The Citi Premier card has some valuable bonus categories, earning 3x ThankYou Points at restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, air travel, and hotels, making it an excellent card for everyday spending. The card earns 1x points for everything else. The Citi Premier card has no foreign transaction fees or additional fees for authorized users.

The Citi Premier card also comes with a unique annual hotel savings benefit. This perk offers $100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more, excluding taxes and fees. The booking must be made through thankyou.com and paid with your Citi Premier card.

Why This Card Pairs Well With the Capital One Venture X Card

The Citi Premier card pairs nicely with the Capital One Venture X card as it has elevated earnings on many everyday spending categories. You could use the Citi Premier card for purchases at restaurants, supermarkets, and gas stations to earn 3x ThankYou Points and use the Capital One Venture X card for spending on everything else.

If you wanted to book air travel or hotels directly and did not want to use Capital One Travel, you could use the Citi Premier card to earn 3x ThankYou Points.

Hot Tip:

Citi ThankYou Points can be incredibly valuable when used correctly; check out our guide for the best ways to redeem Citi ThankYou Points for maximum value. As with Amex, many Citi transfer partners are also shared with Capital One.

Card Comparison

Comparing Cards by Bonus Category Earnings

Combining the right credit cards for your spending mix can help you earn more on your purchases. This can speed up your progress towards your next travel rewards redemption and ensure you are getting the most rewards on your spending. Let’s take a look at the earning rates on some common spending categories and which card is best to use.

	Capital One Venture X Card	Capital One Savor Card	Amex Gold Card	Citi Premier Card
Hotels	10x miles with Capital One Travel, 2x miles otherwise	5% cash-back with Capital One Travel, 1% otherwise	1x points	3x points
Rental Cars	10x miles with Capital One Travel, 2x miles otherwise	5% cash-back with Capital One Travel, 1% otherwise	1x points	1x points
Flights	5x miles with Capital One Travel, 2x miles otherwise	1% cash-back	3x points (directly or with AmexTravel.com)	3x points
Dining	2x miles	4% cash-back	4x points	3x points
Entertainment	2x miles	4% cash-back (8% with Capital One Entertainment)	1x points	1x points
Streaming Services	2x miles	4% cash-back	1x points	1x points
Supermarkets	2x miles	3% cash-back	4x points (U.S. only; up to $25,000 per year)	3x points
Uber and Uber Eats	2x miles	10% cash-back	1x points	1x points
Gas Stations	2x miles	1% cash-back	1x points	3x points
Everything Else	2x miles	1% cash-back	1x points	1x points

Comparing Cards by Welcome Offer and Annual Fee

Now that we know what cards to use for common spending categories, let’s take a look at the current welcome offers and annual fees for each of the travel rewards cards discussed.

	Welcome Offer	Annual Fee
Capital One Venture X Card	Earn 75,000 miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.	$395 (rates & fees)
Capital One Savor Card	Earn $300 after spending $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.	$95
Amex Gold Card	Earn 60,000 points when you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 6 months.	$250
Citi Premier Card	Earn 60,000 points after spending $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months. Plus, for a limited time, earn a total of 10 points per $1 spent on hotel, car rentals, and attractions (excluding air travel) booked on the Citi Travel portal through June 30, 2024.	$95

Final Thoughts

Pairing the right credit cards together can help you earn thousands of extra points and miles every year. You can maximize your credit cards by using each card for a specific bonus category. 

The Capital One Venture X card is a tremendous all-around premium credit card but lacks in some key places. Pairing it with 1 or more of the cards mentioned will be a great way to boost your points-earning strategy.

The credit cards that work best together all depend on your unique situation. It’s essential to look at your spending habits as that will make the decision of which cards to carry with you that much easier. 

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For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa^® or Mastercard^® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.