Capital One Venture X Business: An Exclusive New Travel Card with Premium Perks

In late 2021, Capital One unveiled the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, the issuer’s top-of-the-line luxury travel card with an annual fee of $395. This card has been massively popular since its release due to its generous welcome bonus and excellent travel benefits, including Priority Pass lounge access, a $300 annual travel credit, access to Premier Collection portfolio of luxury hotels and more.

On Sept. 12, Capital One released a business version of the Venture X card that offers many of the same benefits.

The Capital One Venture X Business charges the same annual fee and has the same bonus categories. However, the Venture X Business also differs from the personal version of the card in several ways.

For one, only small business owners can qualify for the Capital One Venture X Business. The Venture X Business also doesn’t have a preset spending limit and is a pay-in-full card that requires you to pay off your balance entirely each month (or you’ll have to pay a late fee).

Perhaps the most important difference between these two cards is that the Capital One Venture X Business is currently offering a huge welcome bonus of 150,000 Capital One Miles, which is worth at least $1,500 when redeemed through the Capital One Travel portal (and potentially even more if transferred to airline partners). You’ll need to spend at least $30,000 in the first three months after account opening to earn this bonus, which is a high requirement.

Let’s take a look at all of the different features of the Capital One Venture X Business card so that you can decide whether or not this card is right for your small business.

Requirements for a Business Credit Card

To qualify for a business credit card, you need to be a small business owner. However, the legal definition of a small business owner is broad. And you may be a small business owner even if you don’t think you are.

The most common types of small businesses are as follows:

• Partnerships
• Corporations
• Limited liability companies (LLCs)
• Sole proprietorships

That final business organization, a sole proprietorship, includes almost any money-making endeavor that you might engage in from selling on eBay to babysitting to driving for Uber or DoorDash.

The legal definition of a sole proprietor includes:

• Gig economy workers (including food delivery workers, ride-hailing service drivers, personal trainers, dog walkers, trash removal, etc.)
• Freelancers and independent contractors (including freelance content writers, electricians, plumbers, HVAC professionals, real estate agents, web designers, etc.)
• Self-employed business owners (including vacation rental hosts, online merchants, public notaries, landscapers, babysitters, farmers, etc.)

So, as you can see, if you engage in almost any money-making activity, you’re considered a small business owner and most likely qualify for a business credit. However, if you want to qualify for the Venture X Business card, you’ll need to be a small business owner and also have excellent credit.

150,000-Mile Welcome Bonus

Right now, Capital One is offering a welcome bonus of 150,000 miles to new Venture X Business cardholders who spend at least $30,000 within the first three months after account opening. This is one of the largest welcome bonuses available in the credit card industry today. Unfortunately, that $30,000 spending requirement is also extremely high and will be unachievable for a large portion of small business owners.

When redeemed through the Capital One Travel portal, which offers a value of 1 cent per mile, this bonus would be worth a whopping $1,500. However, by transferring miles to one of Capital One’s airline transfer partners, you should be able to get more than 1 cent per mile in value, which means that this bonus could be worth considerably more than $1,500.

To compare this to another premium business credit card, The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (see rates & fees) is currently offering a welcome offer of 120,000 points for new cardholders who spend at least $15,000 in the first three months after account opening. This is the top-tier business card from American Express, and it has an annual fee of $695.

While this welcome bonus offers 30,000 fewer points than the bonus offered by the Venture X Business card, the minimum spending requirement to receive the bonus is only half that of the Venture X Business card’s spending requirement. For most applicants, spending $15,000 in three months is far more achievable than spending $30,000 in the same time frame.

Still, if you operate a business that will have $30,000 in expenses in three months, then signing up for the Venture X Business card and earning the welcome bonus is a great way to rack up a lot of Capital One Miles quickly.

No Preset Spending Limit

Unlike most credit cards, the Venture X Business card doesn’t have a preset spending limit. Instead, this card “adapts to your needs based on spending behavior, payment, credit profile and other factors.”

In all likelihood, this means that Capital One will be using some sort of algorithm that automatically sets spending limits for the Venture X Business card based on the factors listed above.

It’s not entirely clear whether this is good or bad for cardholders. On one hand, this means that you could get your credit limit raised without having to request a raise. On the other hand, having a credit limit that fluctuates often will make it difficult to keep track of your credit utilization ratio, which is an essential component of your credit score.

Capital One Venture X Business Bonus Categories

The new Venture X Business card offers the exact same bonus categories as the personal version. That means that you’ll earn a baseline of 2X miles on every non-bonus purchase and elevated bonuses for purchases made through the Capital One Travel portal.

Here are the bonus categories offered by the Venture X Business card:

• 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked directly through Capital One Travel
• 5X miles on flights booked directly through Capital One Travel
• 2X miles on every other purchase

These bonus categories are mostly geared toward small business owners who frequently book travel and who are willing to book travel through the Capital One Travel portal. If your business frequently books hotels and rental cars, then you can earn a ton of miles with the 10X bonus category.

Plus, the baseline 2X miles on all purchases is pretty decent and will help you rack up miles on all non-travel purchases.

However, for a card that charges a $395 annual fee, these bonus categories are pretty unimpressive. Travel isn’t a large expense category for many businesses, which means that those businesses would be earning just 2X miles on the vast majority of their purchases.

However, what the Venture X Business card lacks in terms of its bonus categories, it makes up for with its other perks and benefits.

Capital One Venture X Business Benefits

On top of the miles that you can earn with the welcome bonus as well as the bonus categories offered by the Venture X Business card, this card offers a host of other benefits that are worth noting.

$300 Annual Travel Credit

One of the best perks of the Venture X Business card is its $300 annual credit for travel purchased through Capital One Travel. This credit can be used for flight, hotel and rental car purchases and will be automatically applied whenever you make an eligible purchase. The credit may either be applied immediately at the time of the purchase or it may take one to two billing cycles.

It’s also worth noting that, even if a travel credit is applied to a purchase made through Capital One Travel, you’ll still earn either 10X miles (for hotel and rental car purchases) or 5X miles (for flight purchases).

10,000-Mile Anniversary Bonus

Every membership anniversary, Venture X Business cardholders will receive a bonus of 10,000 miles, starting with your first renewal. This bonus is worth at least $100 if redeemed at a rate of 1 cent per mile through the Capital One Travel portal.

However, as previously mentioned, you can get more value out of your Capital One Miles by transferring them to one of Capital One’s airline transfer partners. So, this 10,000-mile anniversary bonus could be worth considerably more than $100.

Unlimited Complimentary Access to Partner Lounge Network

As a Venture X Business cardholder, you’ll be entitled to unlimited complimentary access to Capital One’s Partner Lounge Network for yourself and up to two guests. The Partner Lounge Network includes all Priority Pass airport lounges (more than 1,300 worldwide), Plaza Premium airport lounges (more than 100 worldwide) and Capital One Lounges.

To gain entry to Priority Pass and Plaza Premium lounges, you’ll need to enroll in both of these programs separately (for free) using your Capital One Venture X Business card number.

Two Capital One Lounges are currently open: one in Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) and one in Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD). Capital One has also announced plans to open another Capital One Lounge in Denver International Airport sometime in late 2023 and in several other airports around the world in coming years.

$100 Application Fee Reimbursement for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry

Like most premium travel-focused credit cards, the Venture X Business card offers a statement credit for the application fee for either TSA PreCheck or Global Entry. This credit will be automatically applied to your account after you pay the application fee for either TSA PreCheck ($78) or Global Entry ($100).

A membership to Global Entry lasts five years and includes TSA PreCheck, so you’re probably better off applying for Global Entry.

The statement credit is available to Venture X Business cardholders every four years.

$100 Experience Credit at Premier Collection Properties

Capital One has a portfolio of high-end luxury hotels and resorts called the Premier Collection that can be booked through the Capital One Travel portal only by Venture X and Venture X Business cardholders. This collection includes private island getaways, penthouses in the world’s largest cities and secluded villas.

If you want to book a stay at a Premier Collection hotel or resort, you can simply log in to the Capital One Travel portal and click on the “Premier Collection” tab (which will appear only if you’re a Venture X or Venture X Business cardholder). Enter your desired destination and travel dates, and you’ll be shown a list of results that match your search query.

The Venture X and the Venture X Business cardholders are also entitled to some additional benefits when staying at Premier Collection properties, including:

• 10X miles per dollar
• Daily breakfast for two
• Free Wi-Fi
• Additional premium perks upon arrival, such as early check-in, late checkout, space-available room upgrades and more
• On-site experience credit worth up to $100 to use on dining, spa and other activities

Many of the experiences that are eligible for the experience credit are subject to availability. So, if you plan on staying at a Premier Collection hotel or resort, it’s best to book your experience in advance. You also want to make sure that you charge that experience to your room so that the hotel can apply the experience credit at checkout. This credit can’t be applied to your room rate.

Add Authorized Users for Free

The Capital One Venture X Business card allows you to add up to 99 authorized users to your account free of charge. These authorized users will get their own physical cards and be able to earn 2X miles on any purchases they make on your account. However, authorized users can’t book travel through the Capital One Travel portal. This capability is reserved for the primary cardholder.

If you need to add more than 99 authorized users to your Venture X Business account, you can do so by contacting Capital One’s Spark Business team.

One of the best things about adding authorized users to your account is that those authorized users will have access to many of the same benefits that the primary cardholder does. In particular, authorized users will also receive unlimited complimentary access to Capital One’s Partner Lounge Network for themselves and up to two guests.

Just like the primary cardholder, authorized users need to enroll in both Priority Pass and Plaza Premium with their Venture X Business card numbers to gain access to their respective lounges.

No Foreign Transaction Fees

Just like every other Capital One card, the Capital One Venture X Business card doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees on transactions made outside of the United States. This means that you can use your card anywhere in the world without incurring any additional fees.

Capital One Venture X Business Drawbacks

While the Capital One Venture X Business card offers many valuable benefits and a huge welcome bonus, this card isn’t without drawbacks. In particular, this card requires an excellent credit score, charges a fairly high annual fee and requires cardholders to pay off their balance in full every month (or you’ll have to pay a late fee).

Pay-In-Full Requirement

Venture X Business cardholders are required to pay their balance in full each month. This means that this card doesn’t have an APR, as balances can’t be carried from month to month.

However, if you fail to pay your balance in full before the month’s end, you’ll be charged a late fee equal to 2.99% of the outstanding balance and your account will be considered past due until the balance is paid off in full.

High Annual Fee

The Venture X Business card charges an annual fee of $395, which can put it outside of some small business owners’ budgets. While you should be able to offset that annual fee easily with this card’s benefits and bonus categories, some business owners may not have the spare cash to pay $395 on their membership anniversary.

It also may not be worth it for certain small business owners to pay the $395 annual fee if they aren’t going to use this card’s benefits to the fullest extent. For instance, if you don’t think that you’ll use the Venture X Business card’s $300 annual travel credit, then it’s going to be much harder to offset the $395 annual fee.

In general, you should compare this card’s annual fee to the potential benefits that you’ll receive from it to determine if the Venture X Business card is right for your wallet. If you determine that this card is too expensive for you, there are plenty of other business credit cards with significantly lower annual fees.

Only Available with Excellent Credit

Even though the Venture X Business card is a business credit card, Capital One still looks into your personal credit score when determining whether or not you’ll be approved for this card. The Venture X Business card is available only to consumers with credit scores in the “excellent” range.

When you apply for any credit card, the issuer will perform a hard inquiry into your credit history, which results in a temporary drop in your credit score. So, you should avoid applying for credit cards if you think your chance of approval is low.

If you’re unsure whether your credit score is high enough to be approved for the Venture X Business card, you can use Capital One’s pre-approval tool to get a better sense of your chances of approval. Using this tool will not affect your credit score in any way.

Best Ways to Use Capital One Miles

As previously mentioned, Capital One Miles are worth 1 cent apiece when redeemed through the Capital One Travel portal. However, by transferring your miles to one of Capital One’s airline partners, you can get significantly more than 1 cent per mile in value. Some of these airline partner programs make it far easier to maximize the value of your miles than others.

So, let’s take a look at some of Capital One’s best transfer partners that can help you get the most value out of the Venture X Business card’s 150,000-mile welcome bonus.

Air Canada Aeroplan

In 2020, Air Canada overhauled its frequent flyer program and eliminated all fuel surcharges on partner awards, making Aeroplan one of the best programs through which to book Star Alliance awards. After United Airlines MileagePlus switched to a dynamic pricing model, it became all the more important to leverage Star Alliance programs with fixed award charts, such as Air Canada Aeroplan.

You can find great value on short-haul flights within North America on partner airlines under 500 miles for just 6,000 Aeroplan points one way. Or you can book transcontinental flights in business class within the Atlantic zone (which includes Europe, Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia) on partner airlines for just 25,000 points each way.

Avianca LifeMiles

The Avianca LifeMiles program doesn’t pass on fuel surcharges on partner awards. Due to this and the program’s generous award charts, LifeMiles is a great program to find low-priced awards. Unfortunately, you may have to deal with some technical issues, as the program’s website is fairly outdated.

However, dealing with these issues might be worth it when, for instance, you can book transatlantic Lufthansa flights in first class for just 87,000 LifeMiles (without paying Lufthansa’s notoriously high surcharges). This is one of the cheapest ways to experience Lufthansa First Class, which is considered one of the best first-class products in the airline industry.

There are tons of well-priced partner awards that offer high value in every cabin class available to book through Avianca LifeMiles, making it one of Capital One’s best transfer partners.

Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles

With the recent addition of an online booking tool, booking award flights through the Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles program became a whole lot more accessible. Additionally, this program still uses a standard region-based award chart that has several sweet spots worth paying attention to. In particular, you can book flights on many Star Alliance partners at bargain prices.

For instance, Turkish Miles&Smiles includes Hawaii in its North America region, meaning that you can book one-way flights from mainland U.S. to Hawaii in business class for just 60,000 miles round trip or in economy class for just 30,000 miles round trip. You also can fly between the U.S. and anywhere in Mexico for the same prices, as Mexico is also part of the North America region.

The Bottom Line

The Capital One Venture X Business card is an attractive option for small business owners who spend a lot of time traveling. This card (just like the Venture X personal card) offers 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 5X miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel. Plus, it offers other premium perks, such as a $300 annual travel credit, airport lounge access, a reimbursement credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry and more.

Perhaps the most attractive aspect of the Venture X Business card is that you can earn 150,000 miles by spending at least $30,000 in the first three months after account opening. This is one of the largest welcome bonuses available today, worth $1,500 when redeemed through the Capital One Travel portal. You can get far more value than that if you transfer those miles to one of Capital One’s airline partners.

However, the Venture X Business card does charge an annual fee of $395. You’re also required to pay your balance off in full each month or else you’ll pay a late fee equal to 2.99% of your outstanding balance and be considered past due until the balance is paid in full. If either of these features are an issue for you, or you don’t think you’ll be able to spend $30,000 in three months to earn this card’s welcome bonus, then you may want to look for a different business credit card.

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.