I stepped into Milan’s Malpensa Airport en route to Tokyo, armed with my trusty Capital One Venture card. After years of circling the globe on a backpacker’s budget, I had finally accepted travel credit cards as part of my journey.
The Capital One Venture Rewards and its premium sibling Venture X promised to make international trips smoother. But are these cards truly the best wingmen for a globetrotter?
As I settled into an airport café, I recalled the day I signed up for these cards, lured by generous welcome bonuses (75,000 miles, worth $750 in travel on each) and dreams of hassle-free adventures.
This is how the Venture and Venture X cards fared across continents, and how they stack up against other travel card heavyweights.
Earning Miles Everywhere I Wander
Every journey begins with spending – flights, hotels, trains, tacos. With the Venture cards, earning rewards felt as natural as taking photos.
Capital One Venture offers a simple 2X miles per dollar on all purchases, so every gelato in Rome or taxi in Tokyo earned double miles.
I especially loved that I didn’t have to juggle bonus categories; whether I was buying a museum ticket or a bottle of water, I knew I was earning a solid return. Travel purchases through Capital One’s portal did even better: 5X miles on hotels, rental cars and vacation rentals for the Venture.
The premium Venture X, meanwhile, supercharged my travel bookings. With this card I earned 10X miles on hotels and car rentals and 5X on flights booked via Capital One Travel, all on top of a base 2X on everything else.
During a multi-country Asia trip, I booked my Bangkok hotel and Singapore rental car through Capital One’s portal specifically to reap that 10X windfall, watching the miles pile up.
The earning structure is refreshingly straightforward – no need to remember if it’s triple points on dining or double on transit this quarter – making it easy to maximize rewards even when my mind was more focused on catching the next train or savoring street food. As a traveler often on the move, that simplicity was gold.
Redeeming Miles
Miles are only as good as their redemptions, and here the Venture cards truly shine. One night in Bangkok, I found a quaint family-run guesthouse that only took cash.
No problem – I charged a different hotel earlier to my Venture card and later wiped that expense from my statement using miles at a flat 1 cent per mile value.
This Purchase Eraser feature let me redeem miles for any travel purchase – from boutique hostels to ferry tickets – essentially turning my miles into a travel slush fund. It’s intensely liberating to know you’re not locked into a single airline or hotel chain. I’ve used Venture miles to cover flights, lodgings, even a Eurail pass, all with a few taps in the app, getting a reliable 1¢ per mile each time.
For those of us who love squeezing extra value, Capital One also introduced me to the world of point transfers to airline and hotel partners. On a whim, I decided to spice up my return from Europe by flying business class. I transferred Venture miles to Air Canada Aeroplan at a 1:1 ratio and booked a lie-flat seat partway home – an impossible luxury on my own dime, but achievable with points.
Capital One now has 15+ transfer partners like Aeroplan, Air France/KLM Flying Blue, Emirates, Singapore KrisFlyer, British Airways Avios, and more, mostly at a 1:1 transfer rate. This meant my Venture miles were nearly as versatile as the famed Chase or Amex points.
For example, 20,000 Venture miles could become 20,000 Flying Blue miles to hop an Air France flight, or 20,000 Avios for a short-haul business class in Asia. Not every partner is 1:1 (JetBlue and Accor hotels transfer at lower rates), but the key players for international travel are there.
One of my favorite redemptions was shifting miles to Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles (1:1) to book a last-minute flight from Istanbul to Cappadocia – I literally redeemed points while sipping Turkish tea at the airport.
For quick and easy uses, Capital One Travel’s portal itself is an option too. On one occasion, I spotted a flash sale fare to Australia. I jumped on the portal, and with a combination of miles and my card, I booked it in minutes.
The portal, powered by Hopper, impressed me with some tech-savvy features: a price prediction tool that advised me when to book or wait, price drop protection (refunds if a flight fare fell after I booked), and even a 24-hour price match guarantee if I found the same flight or hotel cheaper elsewhere.
These came in handy last year when I nervously booked a pricy holiday flight – the portal assured me it was the right time, and indeed when the fare dropped $40 a week later, Capital One automatically refunded me the difference. It felt like having a little travel agent algorithm on my side.
Tip: The portal doesn’t list every airline (Southwest, for instance, won’t appear). But if I ever book travel directly (say, a budget airline or a local B&B), I can still pay with my Venture card and use miles to get reimbursed after – best of both worlds.
Airport Lounge Luxury and Travel Perks
Fast forward to that morning at Milan Malpensa: normally, I’d be dozing at the gate, but today I’m in an airport lounge enjoying a cappuccino and charging my devices.
This is courtesy of my Venture X card’s lounge access, a perk that elevated my travel experience immensely. Venture X gives unlimited complimentary access to Capital One Lounges and 1,300+ Priority Pass lounges worldwide.
On this trip I wasn’t near one of Capital One’s own lounges (currently in Dallas–Fort Worth, Denver, Washington D.C.’s Dulles, Las Vegas, and a small “Landing” lounge at DCA), but Priority Pass had me covered in both Milan and Tokyo with quiet spaces, free snacks, and even a quick shower upon landing.
Walking into a lounge in a foreign country – whether it was a Plaza Premium lounge in London or a SkyTeam lounge in Tokyo – and flashing my card felt like stepping from chaos into calm. Venture X’s lounge benefit truly made long layovers and delays far more tolerable, a godsend for frequent international flyers.
Even holders of the regular $95-a-year Venture card had a taste of lounge life – until recently. In 2024, Venture cardholders got two free lounge visits per year (to Capital One Lounges or Plaza Premium lounges).
I used one of those visits at London’s Heathrow to decompress between flights, nibbling on sandwiches and recalling how, years ago, I’d have paid $50 or more for such privilege.
However, as of 2025, Capital One discontinued the free lounge passes on the Venture card. Now Venture (non-X) users can still visit Capital One Lounges but must pay a discounted fee (about $45) per visit. It’s a bit of a letdown, though understandable as Capital One likely wants to distinguish the premium card.
So, for guaranteed lounge access on every trip, Venture X is the clear choice – and it competes head-on with other premium cards that offer lounge perks. In my experience, the Capital One lounges themselves are top-notch – on a stateside trip through Dallas, I found the DFW lounge’s craft cocktails and even a cycling room! The bar for lounge quality has been raised.
Beyond lounges, both Venture cards pack perks that made my travel smoother. Neither card charges foreign transaction fees, so I never paid an extra penny when buying yakitori in Tokyo or gelato in Milan.
This is absolutely critical for international travel – a 3% foreign fee (common on some non-travel cards) is the easiest way to kill your travel budget. Luckily, Capital One has long been a friend to travelers by charging 0% in extra fees abroad.
Another perk I took advantage of was the Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit. I applied for Global Entry before a big trip to Southeast Asia, using my Venture card to pay the $100 fee and automatically got reimbursed.
Upon return to the U.S., I sped through immigration in minutes – a delightful finale to a long journey. Both the $95 Venture and the Venture X offer this credit (up to $100 every four years) to cover Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, which is a must-have for frequent flyers.
It’s worth noting the credit on Venture is actually listed as up to $120 – potentially to cover any price increase or miscellaneous fees – but either way, it fully covered my application.
Crucially for a road-trip leg in New Zealand, I relied on the rental car insurance provided by the cards. When I picked up a car in Auckland, I confidently declined the rental agency’s collision damage waiver – because I had coverage through my Capital One card.
The Venture card provides secondary rental car insurance for damage or theft (meaning it covers what your personal auto insurance doesn’t, if you have one). Meanwhile, the Venture X, as a Visa Infinite, upgrades this to primary coverage up to $75,000 value.
That gave me peace of mind driving on the left side of unfamiliar roads! Thankfully I never had to file a claim, but knowing the coverage was there (and free) saved me about $20 a day in rental insurance fees.
Then there are the travel protections that you hope you’ll never need – but when you do, you’re grateful. I learned the value of these during a trip to Patagonia. My hiking trip was interrupted by an unexpected airline strike, forcing me to cancel a prepaid tour.
Because I’d paid with my Venture card, I was eligible for trip cancellation reimbursement – up to $1,500 in losses. Sure enough, I filed a claim and recouped the tour costs that would have otherwise been lost. The Venture X has an even stronger coverage, reimbursing up to $2,000 per person if your trip is canceled or cut short for a covered reason.
This isn’t quite as high as some competitors (Chase’s Sapphire cards, for example, cover up to $10,000 per person), but it’s saved me real money when life intervened on travel plans.
Both cards also include trip delay coverage – on one occasion when my flight from Madrid was delayed overnight, I used my Venture X to pay for a hotel and later got reimbursed for the expenses (coverage provides up to $500 per person for delays 6+ hours).
Add to that lost luggage reimbursement and even roadside assistance for car troubles, and I felt well-protected against Murphy’s Law on the road. These protections often go unsung, but as a frequent international traveler, they’re a safety net I won’t go without.
A sweet extra on the Venture X: cell phone protection. By paying my phone bill with the card, I’m covered if my phone gets stolen or damaged (up to $800 per claim, as I discovered in the fine print). I thankfully haven’t had to use this, but it’s a nifty perk for travelers, considering our phones are lifelines abroad.
Usability Abroad
All the perks in the world don’t matter if a card is a pain to use day-to-day. Fortunately, Capital One’s Venture cards passed the real-world test with flying colors.
First, acceptance: Both Venture and Venture X are Visa cards, and I found that nearly everywhere from Europe to Asia, Visa was welcome with open arms.
I remember a friend’s American Express being turned down at a mom-and-pop ramen shop in Osaka, while my Venture card sailed through. In more remote areas and small vendors, having a widely accepted network like Visa or MasterCard is crucial – and I rarely encountered a place I couldn’t use my Venture.
In fact, Capital One doesn’t even require you to set a travel notice; their system automatically adjusted and I never had a transaction declined for being in a “strange” country (no awkward calls to the bank needed). That said, I always carry a backup card or two, but Venture was my primary for most purchases on the trip.
The contactless feature on the card was another blessing. In London and Sydney, tap-to-pay is ubiquitous – I could simply tap my Venture card or even my phone (with the card loaded into Apple Pay) to ride the Tube or pay for coffee.
Quick, secure, and no fumbling with cash or signatures. It’s a small thing, but when you’re juggling bags and tickets in a foreign city, a swift tap beats chip-and-signature any day.
Speaking of phones, the Capital One mobile app became something of a travel companion itself. I used it to track my expenses in real time – a notification would pop up for each transaction, helping me immediately spot if an erroneous charge appeared or if I needed to mentally convert that Swiss francs amount I just spent.
The app also allowed me to freeze my card with one tap. I did this proactively once when I thought I’d lost my card in a Bangkok night market; I locked it in the app, only to find it an hour later tucked in my hostel bunk. No harm done – I unlocked it, and was back in action. It’s hard to overstate the comfort of having a responsive app when you’re far from home.
Capital One’s app even let me redeem points on the go – I once redeemed miles to “erase” a train ticket purchase while I was literally on the train, using the in-app redemption feature. And if I needed help, the in-app chat meant I didn’t have to make an expensive international call.
On one occasion in Paris, I messaged Capital One because my card’s tap feature wasn’t working on a particular metro kiosk. A rep responded within minutes and clarified it was a kiosk issue, not my card – they even suggested a nearby ATM if I needed cash. That kind of support, without sitting on hold on a phone call, was a relief.
One more neat aspect: Capital One allows the creation of virtual card numbers via their Eno browser extension. While traveling, I used a virtual card number for an online booking at a hotel in Vietnam, just to add an extra layer of safety in case that website wasn’t entirely trustworthy.
The charge still hit my Venture account, earning miles, but my actual card number stayed secure. It’s an underrated feature for the digital side of travel.
Side-by-Side with Other Travel Cards
No travel card exists in a vacuum, and as a savvy traveler I’ve also carried or considered the other usual suspects: Chase Sapphire Preferred/Reserve and the Amex Gold (and Platinum).
How do the Venture cards compare? Here’s my two cents after using all of them:
Chase Sapphire Preferred (CSP)
The CSP has long been a darling of travelers with its robust rewards and protections at a $95 annual fee. It earns bonus points on travel and dining (e.g. 5X on travel via Chase’s portal, 3X on dining, 2X on other travel) and similarly has no foreign fees.
Chase’s Ultimate Rewards points are super flexible with excellent airline partners (United, British Airways, etc.) and the CSP’s travel insurance is top-tier – covering up to $10k per person in trip cancellation and offering primary rental car coverage.
However, it lacks lounge access and the breadth of “premium” perks. I’d say the regular Venture card matches up well against CSP: both have 2X equivalent earning on general travel, but Venture’s flat 2X on everything wins for simplicity, and Venture’s Global Entry credit and past lounge passes gave it an edge in perks.
CSP might pull ahead if you value Chase’s hotel and airline ecosystem (Hyatt loyalists, for example, love CSP for point transfers). In my travels, I actually carried both – using CSP for big flight purchases to utilize its insurance limits, and Venture for everyday abroad spending for the flat 2X and ease of redeeming for random travel costs.
Chase Sapphire Reserve (CSR)
Now we’re talking premium. The CSR, with its ~$550 annual fee, is a closer competitor to Venture X. It offers a $300 annual travel credit (automatically applied to any travel expense), Priority Pass lounge access, 3X points on travel and dining (and recently boosted to 10X on hotels/car rentals via Chase’s portal, 5X on flights via portal).
Chase points are incredibly valuable, especially with their 50% bonus if you redeem through Chase’s travel site. In terms of travel protections, CSR is king – higher trip insurance limits and also features like DoorDash credits and more.
That said, in my experience, the Venture X feels like the better deal for most international travelers. Why? The annual fee is $395, significantly lower, and effectively $95 if you utilize the $300 Capital One Travel credit fully.
For that net cost, you get lounge access comparable to CSR’s (Priority Pass – though CSR’s PP can include some restaurant credits that Capital One’s doesn’t, a minor point) plus Capital One’s own lounges, which are arguably nicer than many Priority Pass ones.
Venture X’s earning rates (2X on everything, plus 5-10X in portal) are straightforward and rich. Both CSR and Venture X waive foreign fees and have premium concierge services, etc. – a wash there.
I will say, Chase’s transfer partners include hotels like Hyatt and airlines like Southwest and United that Capital One lacks, so if those matter, CSR might be preferable. But for me, not being tied to one alliance and getting solid value out of Cap One’s partners was fine.
In short, CSR is excellent but pricey; Venture X matches 90% of its perks for a much lower fee. In fact, The Points Guy even awarded Venture X the “Best Premium Travel Card” in 2024, signaling how well it has narrowed the gap with (or even surpassed) the long-reigning CSR and Amex Platinum.
American Express Gold
The Amex Gold card is a points powerhouse for foodies and US travelers, with 4X points on worldwide dining and at U.S. supermarkets, and 3X on flights. I’ve loved it for earning Membership Rewards points – which can also transfer to tons of airlines.
The $250 annual fee is partly offset by credits (like $10 monthly dining credits and Uber Cash). For international use, Gold has no foreign fees and the dining rewards apply abroad, which meant I often pulled out my Gold for fancy dinners in Paris or street food tours in Bangkok to rack up 4X points.
However, Amex has some drawbacks overseas. Its acceptance can be spotty – many smaller merchants or even some hotels prefer Visa/Mastercard, and I got my share of “sorry, no Amex” responses, especially in more cash-oriented countries.
Also, the Gold card, despite its fee, doesn’t include lounge access or the robust travel protections other cards do. Amex has added some trip delay insurance to Gold (e.g. up to $300 if a flight is delayed 12+ hours) but it lacks trip cancellation coverage and its rental car insurance is secondary unless you pay extra.
Essentially, I consider Amex Gold a superb earnings card (especially for culinary adventures abroad), but not a comprehensive travel perks card.
I often pair it with a Visa like Venture X to cover all bases. If you mainly want to maximize points on food and flights, Gold is great; but for lounge access, insurance and all-around travel benefits, Gold on its own won’t suffice for frequent globetrotters.
In summary, the Capital One Venture and Venture X hold their own in this competitive field. Venture (regular) is a formidable mid-tier card, going toe-to-toe with Chase Sapphire Preferred – sometimes winning (with its simple earn and Global Entry credit) and sometimes yielding (Chase’s richer insurance and partner network).
Venture X, on the other hand, emerges as a star among premium cards, delivering almost Platinum- or Reserve-level perks at a more approachable fee.
In my travels, I found myself reaching for the Venture X more often than my Sapphire Reserve, primarily due to that mix of lounge comfort, ease of use, and the satisfaction of seeing such value from a $395 fee (which I recouped easily between the $300 travel credit and the annual 10,000-mile bonus worth $100).
One more thing to note: Capital One allows you to add free authorized users on the Venture X, and they get lounge access too. I added my partner at no extra cost, and we both breeze into lounges now – contrast that with Amex Platinum charging $175 for additional users or Chase Reserve $75 each. If you travel with family, that’s a significant benefit.
The Verdict
After tens of thousands of miles flown, ferry rides, hostel stays, and one close call with a missed connection, I’ve come to see Capital One’s Venture cards as faithful companions for the international traveler.
The Venture X in particular stands out as one of the best travel credit cards of the moment for globetrotters: it strikes an almost Goldilocks-perfect balance of rewards, perks, and cost. You get the lounge luxury, strong earn rates, flexible redemptions and solid protections – all for a fee that, once you leverage the credits, is very reasonable.
In my own wallet, Venture X has effectively dethroned my heavier, costlier cards – it’s the one I reach for most when heading abroad because I know it “just works” for what I need on the road.
The regular Venture card is also a fantastic choice if you’re not ready for premium just yet. It’s simple, user-friendly, and still packs enough perks (no FX fees, Global Entry credit, decent insurance coverage) to make a noticeable difference in your travels.
I’d recommend it wholeheartedly to casual travelers or those just building their points strategy. That said, with the loss of the lounge passes in 2025, Venture is now more of a straight rewards card with some travel frills, whereas Venture X is the full package.
So, is either Venture card “the” best for frequent international travelers? If you value a blend of features – hassle-free earning/spending, lounge comfort, and not having to fight fine print, Venture X makes a powerful case as the best all-around travel card for international adventures.