Capital One Venture X vs. Amex Platinum Card
Key takeaways
- The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card and The Platinum Card® from American Express are two of the top premium travel cards on the market.
- The Venture X has an edge thanks to its higher rewards potential, but the Amex Platinum’s welcome offer outshines the former.
- The right option for you may come down to whether you can successfully recoup the Amex Platinum’s $695 annual fee.
When the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card launched in late 2021, it joined the ranks of established premium travel cards like The Platinum Card® from American Express. The Venture X and the Amex Platinum have several features in common, and — at first glance — they might look like interchangeable options. Pinpointing their relative strengths and weaknesses requires digging a bit deeper into each card’s rewards structure and other benefits.
We’ll break down those details to help you decide which might be best for your wallet.
Main details
| Cards | Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card | The Platinum Card® from American Express |
| Welcome offer |
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| Rewards rate |
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| Intro APR | No introductory APR | No introductory APR |
| Annual fee | $395 | $695 |
Capital One Venture X vs. Amex Platinum highlights
Both the Venture X and Amex Platinum offer significant welcome offers and ample rewards for travel spending, but there are differences you should be aware of before choosing between these cards. Here’s how they compare on some key features:
Amex Platinum
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The Venture X offers one of the best welcome bonuses on the market: 75,000 miles (after spending $4,000 within the first three months). However, the Amex Platinum offers a welcome bonus of 80,000 points (after spending $8,000 within the first six months). The Venture X bonus is worth $750 toward travel, and the Amex Platinum offer has an $800 value if used to pay for flights through American Express Travel.
However, when considering the value of rewards transferred to partners, the Amex Platinum definitely takes the lead. According to valuations from Bankrate, an American Express Membership Rewards point is worth an average of 2.0 cents when redeemed with high-value transfer partners, while a Capital One mile is worth an average of 1.7 cents. So, the Amex Platinum welcome offer would be worth about $1,600, and the Venture X bonus would amount to about $1,275.
Keep in mind that the Platinum Card’s spending requirement is double that of the Venture X. If you don’t expect to spend an average of $1,334 per month for six months, then you may want to consider another option.
Capital One Venture X
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The value of a card’s rewards rate can often change depending on how you use it, but — for most people — the Venture X would probably come out ahead. The Venture X offers 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, while the Amex Platinum offers 5X points on flights booked directly with airlines or through Amex Travel (up to $500,000 in a calendar year). The Amex Platinum Card also offers 5X points on prepaid hotel reservations through Amex Travel and 2X points on rental cars booked through American Express Travel.
Both offer 5X rewards on flights booked through each card’s respective portal. However, the Venture X grants 2X miles for all other spending, and the Amex Platinum offers just 1X points for spending outside its bonus categories.
If you’re going to charge hotel rooms and rental cars to the card, you can get more rewards by paying with the Venture X. And if you’re going to use the card in categories other than travel, the Venture X offers a better rewards rate.
On the other hand, if you mainly plan to buy airline tickets, you’ll get fairly similar rewards with either card. In this case, the higher value of American Express Membership Rewards points when redeemed with travel partners could tip the scales in favor of the Amex Platinum.
Capital One Venture X
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The annual fee for the Capital One Venture X is $395, which is $300 less than the fee for the American Express Platinum. The Amex Platinum may still be worth it if you can generate enough rewards to offset the higher cost and manage to use up all or most of its travel and lifestyle statement credits. But if you want to pay less upfront, you should choose the Venture X.
Tie
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Neither card charges foreign transaction fees, so international travelers who want to use their card abroad will do well with either one.
Which card earns the most?
The Venture X and Amex Platinum offer similar rewards structures. While your earnings depend on how you spend, you may get about the same value in miles or points from either card. However, if your spending in the first six months is high enough to earn the Amex Platinum welcome offer, then the Amex Platinum will be more lucrative — at least in the first year.
Capital One Venture X vs. Amex Platinum spending example
To see how the cards compare, let’s look at an annual spending example. Suppose you charge a total of $18,000 to your card within a year, and $10,000 of that is charged within the first six months.
Additionally, let’s say your spending for the year breaks down like this:
- $6,000 on airfare
- $2,000 at hotels
- $2,000 at restaurants
- $8,000 of additional spending
The chart below shows how many rewards points or miles you’d earn based on how you spent your money during the first year you have each card:
| Capital One Venture X | Platinum Card from American Express | |
| Welcome bonus rewards | 75,000 miles | 80,000 points |
| Airfare rewards | 30,000 miles (if booked through Capital One Travel) | 30,000 points (if booked through American Express Travel) |
| Hotel rewards | 20,000 miles (if booked through Capital One Travel) | 10,000 points (if booked through American Express Travel) |
| Restaurant rewards | 4,000 miles (counts as non-category spending) | 2,000 points (counts as non-category spending) |
| Additional non-category spending rewards | 16,000 miles | 8,000 points |
| Total rewards | 145,000 miles | 130,000 points |
If you have the Venture X, you would accumulate a total of 145,000 miles. According to Bankrate’s valuations, Capital One miles are worth an average of 1.7 cents each when transferred to a high-value travel partner. That means your miles for the year could be worth $2,465 on average. After you subtract the $395 annual fee, you’d have about $2,070 in total earnings left over.
With the Amex Platinum card, you’d earn 130,000 points, which is obviously less. However, Bankrate values Membership Rewards points at an average of 2.0 cents each with transfer to a high-value transfer partner, meaning those points could be worth $2,600 on average. You’ll be left with $1,905 in earnings after paying the card’s $695 annual fee.
In this scenario, the Capital One Venture X Card will net you more rewards miles overall within the first year of card ownership — even taking into account the card’s smaller welcome bonus.
However, it’s important to note that the Amex Platinum’s rewards points are worth more on average than Capital One Venture X miles when transferred to travel partners. Because of this, it might still be more beneficial to choose American Express if you plan on using your card mainly for airfare. Further, Amex Platinum offers a number of additional statement credit opportunities to further help offset the fee.
Why should you get the Capital One Venture X?
The Venture X offers a better rewards rate on hotels and rental cars compared to the Amex Platinum, so if you spend heavily in these categories, you might prefer the Venture X. And it may be easier to offset the cost of this card given that its annual fee is much lower. Plus, the Venture X’s other benefits can add a lot of value when you travel.
Why should you get the Amex Platinum?
It takes more spending to trigger the Amex Platinum’s welcome offer, so if you’re not sure you can spend $8,000 within the first six months, you might be better off choosing the Venture X.
However, the Amex Platinum features other benefits with values that can add up fast if you use them consistently.
The bottom line
Choosing between the Capital One Venture X and Amex Platinum is a close call, especially since frequent travelers could be well-served by either card. Some people may prefer the Venture X for its lower annual fee and strong rewards rate, including its 2X points baseline rewards rate. Others may opt for the more generous welcome offer, additional statement credits and higher points value of the Amex Platinum. If you’re looking for a luxury travel card and can justify the annual fee, either card will likely make a great addition to your wallet.
