(Almost Free Traveling is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as Milevalue.com. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. This site does not include all financial companies or all available financial offers)
For awhile, points & miles travelers agreed: the Capital One Venture X was the best travel card on the market. But 2023 brought a significant devaluation to the card’s Priority Pass offering, so today we’re examining whether or not this card is still one of the best travel cards on the market, specifically for Disney fans like you and me.
The Priority Pass Devaluation
The bad news first: Priority Pass through the Venture X card no longer covers non-lounge options at airports. Sigh. This is a huge blow to our family–there were three non-lounge PP options at Portland International Airport, our home airport. For instance, for years every time we flew our family anywhere, we would stop and use our Priority Pass account to enjoy a $112 meal at Caper’s Cafe for free!
And yet we are keeping this card! Before we look at eleven reasons we still recommend the Venture X for Disney fans (and general travelers, too!), let’s review the card’s current welcome bonus.
Open a Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card and earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to a minimum of $750 in travel.
Here are eleven reasons we’re keeping this card in our wallet!
You can Still Access Lounges
Venture X Priority Pass still provides access to thousands of airport lounges, including 150 in North American and Canada. The current Venture X Priority Pass still includes Capital One lounges and Plaza Premium lounges (Discover participating airport lounges here).
Venture X cardholders maintain the ability to add up to four complimentary authorized users–and if they’re 18 or over, they can register for their own priority pass account. Our two teenagers are authorized users, and when they turn 18 will register for their own Priority Pass accounts!
Earn 2x Miles on Every Purchase All the Time
This is probably the most competitive feature of the Venture X; you’ll earn 2x Capital One Miles on every purchase, always! This is another reason we love our teens having this card: their authorized user cards are loaded into their Apple Wallets, and they’re earning 2x Capital One miles for us with every purchase.
You’ll also earn 10x miles booking hotels and rental cars in the Capital One travel portal, and 5x miles booking flights.
They pay you $5/Year to Hold This Card
Although the annual fee is $395, when you add the annual $300 Capital One Travel Portal credit with the 10,000 annual miles bonus worth at least $100, those two perks alone more than offsets the annual fee, by $5 (read on to learn about all the other available perks).
Book Disney Resorts Through Capital One Travel
You can earn 10x Capital One Miles booking Disney resorts on your Venture X card through the Capital One Travel portal–I know because that’s how we booked our lodging at Disneyland Paris last year. Read more about it in this blog post:
Global Entry Credit/TSA PreCheck $100 Credit
Whether you’re on a Walt Disney World trip navigating Orlando’s MCO airport, a Disneyland trip at LAX or coming back to the U.S. from Disneyland Paris, these services allow you to skip security/re-entry lines.
Every four years, enjoy one $100 Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit on your Venture X. Simply pay the fee on the card to trigger the credit. It doesn’t have to be for the cardholder, either–it can be for anyone! My husband and I both had Global Entry/PreCheck already when we opened this card, so we used the credit to register one of our teenagers.
Complimentary Hertz President’s Circle
Speaking of skipping lines, when you’re renting a car at MCO for Walt Disney World or LAX for Disneyland, complimentary Herz President’s Circle through your Venture X will allow you to head straight for the car aisle, choose a car & settle up at the kiosk on your way out of the garage. Combined with TSA PreCheck, you’ll be skipping all the airport lines in no time!
Remember to book your car rentals on your Venture X through the Capital One Travel Portal, so you can earn 10x miles in the process.
Purchase Eraser for Third-Party Disney Admission
One of the easiest ways to use credit card points and miles to purchase Disney tickets is to purchase them through a third party travel agent, which will categorize them as travel (try Undercover Tourist), and then use purchase eraser to delete the charge with miles.
Read about other ways to use points and miles for Disney tickets here:
The MagicBand Trick
If you’re staying on Disney Property–and you have Capital One miles–you’re in luck! You can link your Venture X card to your room, which codes as a travel expense, and charge all your park purchases back to your room using your MagicBand. Not only will you earn 2x miles on every park purchase, but all the purchases are erasable with points!
100,000 Referral Capital One Miles Annually
Each calendar year, you can refer up to five friends and family members who have never had a Capital One card before to open a Venture X, using your personal referral link. You’ll earn 25,000 miles for each one, up to 100,000 miles annually (worth at least $1000 in travel)!
Book and Erase a Disney Cruise With Miles
Because cruises code as “travel,” book one or make a payment towards a cruise on your Venture X, and use purchase eraser against the charge!
Earn 10x Points Booking Turo on Your Trip
The supply of rental cars does not meet the demand these days: try Turo as an alternative, and make sure you book it on your Venture X to earn 10X points.
To hear more about this card and other cards we recommend, check out The Disney Points podcast:
Takeaways
In summary: even though our Priority Pass has been greatly devalued because of our personal home airport situation, the Venture X will stay in our wallets. Time will tell if the Chase Sapphire Reserve continues to offer Priority Pass including airport lounge access–if so, it’s another card to consider for the most valuable Priority Pass access!
Learn more about how we travel for almost free on Instagram @almostfreetraveling and join the conversation on facebook.com/almostfreetraveling
Opinions expressed here are author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post. The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of our partner offers may have expired.
Almost Free Traveling 
Leave a comment