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

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Premium travel cards offer big benefits to frequent travelers. Two options are either the  Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card or The Platinum Card® from American Express. Which one is right for you, and what should you consider before you apply?

Welcome Offer

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Capital One says this is equal to $750 in travel.

The Platinum Card® from American Express: Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Terms Apply. According to the American Express Rewards calculator, these are worth somewhere between $560 and $800, depending on how you redeem them.

You have to spend $2,000 more to get the Amex offer, but you have an extra three months to do it. Depending on how you choose to redeem these rewards, they’re worth roughly the same amount. It’s a tie in this category.

Cash Back Rewards

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card gets you 10x miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One, 5x miles on flights booked through Capital One, and 2x miles on all other purchases. You get 10,000 anniversary miles every year, and a $300 statement credit for travel booked through Capital One, plus a $100 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit.

The Platinum Card® from American Express offers a lot of rewards in the form of points and credits. If you use them (and were going to spend money on these things anyway), they could make the annual fee worth it. You’ll earn 5x on flights booked directly with American Express Travel or through the airline and 5x on hotels booked directly with American Express Travel. You can also get a $200 hotel stay credit with a two-night stay booked with American Express Travel; a $240 statement credit to use on select streaming; a $200 airline fee credit; $200 in Uber Cash (which can be used for either rides or Uber Eats); a $300 Equinox credit; and a $189 CLEAR credit so you can breeze through airport security.

The Platinum Card® from American Express does have a lot of rewards, but many of them will only be used by a small percentage of cardholders. You might not live near an Equinox gym, and not everyone uses Uber. The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has more flexible rewards. The 10,000 anniversary miles are worth about $100 a year, and the $300 statement credit only requires you to use the Capital One Travel portal. We give Capital One the nod here.

Here are the details for each card:

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card 

Rewards:

The Platinum Card® from American Express 

Rewards:

Rates and Fees

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has an annual fee of $395. Not only is this significantly less than the Amex fee, but if you travel even once a year, the $300 travel credit and the 10,000 anniversary points make the card free.

The Platinum Card® from American Express does have a pay over time feature, but for the most part, you’ll pay your balance in full every month. The annual fee is $695, which is a lot.

Neither card is offering a 0% APR rate at this time, and neither card has foreign transaction fees. American Express does sometimes offer retention bonuses to cardmembers, but it’s not guaranteed. This is an easy win for the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card.

Who the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is Best For

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is a great card with flexible benefits. Not only do you get 10x miles on hotels and rental cars and 5x miles on flights, you get 2x miles on every purchase. This is similar to having a 2% cash back card with some great travel benefits. Also, regarding the Capital One Travel portal, if you find a hotel or flight for less money than Capital One lists it for, they can match the lower price.

On the other hand, if you mostly travel domestically and prefer to stay in Hilton hotels, consider the Hilton Honors American Express Card. It has no annual fee and gets you some nice benefits when you stay in the Hilton family, including the 5th night free with a four-night stay.

Who the The Platinum Card® from American Express is Best For

The Platinum Card® from American Express has a multitude of rewards and credits. In addition, this card gets you access to Centurion lounges, which offer an unrivaled level of comfort and luxury to weary travelers. However, in February 2023, American Express changed the Centurion airport lounge policy for guests: unless you spend at least $75,000 a year, you will be charged a fee for guests ($50 for each guest, $30 for children under 17). The lounges were so popular they had waits of up to an hour, and they were crowded once you did get access. So, no more complimentary guest passes. If you travel with say, a spouse or a partner, you can get around this by getting them their own card as an authorized user. This will only cost you $175 a year and then they, too, can have access to the lounges.

Beyond that, if you use the many bundled benefits the The Platinum Card® from American Express offers, this card may be worth it to you. You will have to figure out which benefits you will actually use.

If you still want a premium travel experience but don’t want to spend quite so much, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® could be worth a look. You’ll earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points, which can be very valuable when it comes to travel. Especially since points are worth 50% more with the Sapphire Reserve when you redeem them for travel through the Chase portal.

Does It Make Sense to Get Both Cards?

You could. They both have their benefits. Regarding the The Platinum Card® from American Express, make sure the benefits it offers are things you already need or use, not things you will use because the benefits are offered to you. Getting both cards would be over $1,000 in annual fees, so make sure you weigh the benefits to make sure it’s worth the money. But, it’s likely you can find what you need in just one of the cards.

Approval Odds

The credit score data listed below comes from publicly available information in several forums. The accuracy of the information cannot be verified. Keep in mind that credit card issuers consider more than an applicant’s credit score and that underwriting standards change over time.

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

The Platinum Card® from American Express

According to the data above, American Express may be willing to consider lower credit scores, probably because you pay your balance in full every month. The Capital One card requires excellent credit, so if you have only average credit, consider the American Express card.