What I Would do With 100k Capital One Miles – Maximizing the Venture X

What I Would do With 100k Capital One Miles – Maximizing the Venture X

As we’ve done with other elevated card offers, I want to talk about maximizing the new Capital One Venture X. How can we make the best use of this new card and its 100,000 Venture miles? Where can this take you? After looking at the card and its available perks, we’ll discuss some ideas for economy, business, and first-class trip ideas using the miles from the welcome offer.

RELATED: Some Surprising Issues With The Capital One Venture X Portal

This welcome offer has ended since publishing. 

Capital One Venture X Perks

The new Capital One Venture X card comes with the following perks:

• $300 in statement credits for bookings made on Capital One Travel
• 10,000 bonus miles every account anniversary (equal to $100 towards travel)
• Priority Pass membership that allows two guests
• Add up to 4 authorized user cards at no extra cost
  • Authorized users get free Capital One lounge and Priority Pass entry and can bring up to two guests as well.
• Complimentary Hertz President’s Circle status for primary cardholders and authorized users.
• Up to $100 in statement credits for either TSA PreCheck or Global Entry
• Cell phone insurance, limited to $800 per claim and a maximum of two claims per year. There is a $50 deductible.
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With a $395 annual fee, anyone who is able to fully use these perks should come out with positive value on the annual fee.

Capital One Venture X Earning Structure

A key aspect to maximizing the Capital One Venture X—or any card, for that matter—is its earning structure. You should always consider bonus categories and using the “best card for this purchase”. That helps you net the most points & miles day to day. This is the Venture X’s earning structure:

• 10X earning on hotels and rental cars booked with Capital One Travel
• 5X earning on flights booked with Capital One Travel
• 2X earning on all other purchases
• No limits on the total rewards you can earn, and your rewards never expire.

Welcome Offer

The Capital One Venture X has the following welcome offer:

• Earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $10,000 within the first six months from account opening.
• For a limited time, cardholders can earn up to $200 in statement credits for vacation rental purchases like Airbnb and VRBO.
• Annual fee of $395 is NOT waived the first year.
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Since this is a new card, everyone should be eligible for the welcome offer. However, you need to meet the Capital One application rules, obviously. Capital One is sensitive to recent inquiries and large numbers of new accounts on your credit report. You can read our full guide to application rules here.

The positive note, though, is that Venture X approval odds have been better than many people expected.

Maximizing the Capital One Venture X – What I’d Do with 100k Miles

If you have opened this new card, it’s time to start dreaming. Where can those 100,000 Venture miles take you? You’ll actually have more miles than that. Since you need to spend $10,000 to earn the 100k miles, you’ll have a minimum of 120k Venture miles. That’s because even “non-bonus” spending earns 2x on everything with the Venture X. Thus, we’ll use 120k miles for our trip planning.

Economy – Couple’s Round-Trip Getaway to Europe or Africa

Even though this sweet spot used to be sweeter, there’s no overlooking the use of Etihad Airways’ partnership with Royal Air Maroc. Etihad Guest is a transfer partner of Capital One Venture miles. Using this partner, you could have a couple’s getaway to Europe or Africa.

Here are some sample itineraries with mileage requirements (per person, one way):

• Fly non-stop New York (JFK) to Casablanca, Morocco (CMN) – 22,000 miles
• Add a connecting flight via Casablanca: Miami (MIA) to Frankfurt (FRA) – 28,000 miles

Since Capital One transfers to Etihad Guest at a 1:1 ratio, there’s no math needed for figuring out how many miles to transfer. Transfer the required miles, and they should show up immediately in your Etihad Guest account. How many miles do you need? Count the distance of each flight for the miles required.

To make a partner booking, you must call. The list of phone numbers is available here. In the U.S., you can call 877-690-0767.

Assuming you go to Frankfurt in the example above, you’d spend 112,000 miles. That leaves you with 8,000 points, which may cover the first hotel night at your destination.

Business Class – Majestic Trip to Turkey

Capital One is a transfer partner of Turkish Airlines. If you fly Turkish Airlines from the U.S. to Turkey, you need just 45,000 miles each way in business class. At 90,000 miles round trip, you have more than enough miles here.

From Istanbul, Turkish Airlines flies non-stop to 18 airports in North America. Want to see more than just Istanbul, such as going for a balloon ride in Cappadocia? Miles & Miles (Turkish Airlines’ award program) allows a free stopover in Istanbul on either your outbound or return flight. The best part: you won’t need any extra miles for this!

After spending 90,000 miles on flights, you’ll have 30,000 miles remaining. Use this to cover 2-3 nights of hotels in Istanbul during the stopover. Alternatively, if the cave hotels in Cappadocia aren’t your thing, use these 30,000 points for 4 nights at a Wyndham hotel in Kayseri, Cappadocia.

Given that Wyndham points are typically worth more than you’ll get out of this deal, this would be my last resort. Instead, wait until Choice Hotels transfers from Capital One become active later in 2021.

First Class – The Newest Luxury to Japan

We’ve got 120,000 miles to burn while maximizing the Venture X, right? The latest hotness in first class is “The Suite” from Japan-based ANA. Fly 14 hours of super luxury to Japan, non-stop from New York (JFK).

You’ll spend just 90,000 miles + $24.70 in taxes and fees by booking with Avianca LifeMiles. Other programs will charge a lot more in miles than this.

The down side of this? You’ll have 30,000 miles left to get home from Japan. It’s not going to be in first class at that price!

Final Thoughts on Maximizing the Venture X

Now that we understand the card and what it has to offer, are you planning to apply? If so, you should have a few ideas for how to use the miles from the huge welcome offer. The new Capital One Venture X can be a “pay you to keep it in your wallet” type of card, if you are able to use all of the perks each year. If you want to go the easy route you could just book $1,200 in travel with the points and call it a day as well.

For those who are working on the required spending, how do you plan to use the miles?

Disclosure: Miles to Memories has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Miles to Memories and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.

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