Estimated read time: 4 minutes and 36 seconds

Good morning and happy Monday, amigos. Did you have a good weekend?

Okay, enough small talk. Let’s get down to brass tacks:

• 💳 The card with a negative annual fee

• 👨‍🏫 Join us for Transfer Points 101

• 🏨 Buy Hilton points with a 120% bonus

💳 The card with a negative annual fee

The biggest decision factor when it comes to opening a credit card is the annual fee.

Some are low, some are high, some don’t have any annual fee at all.

But not all cards are created equal.

For example, high-annual-fee cards might have credits and perks that help justify that fee.

And one card in particular is actually deceptively valuable on this front.

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has an annual fee of $395, which fits somewhere in between typical “low-fee” and “premium” cards.

And yet, it’s somehow far easier to justify than low-fee (or even no-fee) cards.

And I’ll tell you why. 👇

One simple travel credit takes care of most of it

The headline of this card is the annual $300 travel credit to use in the Capital One Travel portal.

It can be used for things like flights, hotels, and even car rentals.

And despite what you might think, rental cars booked this way can sometimes be cheaper than booking with other sites (like the screenshot I just showed you for a 7-day rental in Utah for $183 total).

If you spend $300 a year on travel already (which I’m assuming almost all of you do), this is almost as good as cash back in your pocket.

So now, the annual fee is down to a “net” $95.

You also get a stack of points every year

The other unique thing about the Venture X card is that you get 10,000 Capital One miles every year on your cardholder anniversary.

Even if you use them for the worst possible value, they’re still worth a flat $100 when used to offset travel purchases.

In other words, the whole annual fee is already covered entirely by these two relatively simple and useful things.

You could use those points for even more value

Capital One miles transfer to some solid programs like Virgin Atlantic, which allows you to fly between the U.S. and Europe for as few as 10,500 miles in premium economy. 👇

So those 10,000 anniversary miles are already enough to get you a flight to Europe, and almost enough to do it in premium economy – which far outweighs the $100 floor for redeeming them for cash.

Then there’s the welcome offer

Oh yeah, did I mention the Venture X comes with 75,000 Capital One miles after spending $4,000 on the card in the first 3 months after opening it?

Remember that Virgin Atlantic redemption? Now you could book it 8 times between the welcome offer and anniversary miles.

Or use them for 17 (yes, really) domestic flights on Delta by transferring those miles to Flying Blue and booking cheap, short-haul flights like this one for 5,000 miles:

15,000 in business class for those same flights isn’t half bad, either. 😉

Earn 2x on everything

My favorite part about Capital One’s Venture Cards is that they earn a flat 2x miles on everything (with some higher multipliers for booking travel through Capital One Travel).

Personally, when I’m spending money that doesn’t fit into a typical multiplier category (dining, groceries, travel, gas), I just put it on my Capital One card. 🤷🏼‍♂️

But honestly, if you wanted one single card in your wallet, earning 2x on everything with the Venture X card isn’t a bad way to do it.

The card also has lounge access

If all of that wasn’t enough, the card also gets you unlimited access to both Capital One lounges and Priority Pass lounges (of which there are over 1,000 around the world).

Lounge access for guests changed at the beginning of this year, though, so if you’re planning on bringing a friend, be sure to read up on that.

I don’t personally value lounge access that much… But I’m happy to use it if there’s a good one available.

Whether you value it or not, it’s just kind of the cherry on top of everything else with the Venture X card.

The bottom line

While the Venture X looks and feels like a premium card, it doesn’t have the same insane annual fee as other cards, nor does it have a catalog of complicated credits and perks.

It’s the perfect card for someone who wants premium perks and valuable points but doesn’t want to think that much.

👨‍🏫 Join us for Transfer Points 101

Earlier, I told you about transferring Capital One miles to programs like Virgin Atlantic and Flying Blue.

I just know those things because I’ve been doing this for a while.

But if you’re newer to the world of points and miles, it might feel complicated or overwhelming.

And that’s why we’ve got a live class this week completely dedicated to the art of transferring points to airlines and hotels.

It’s called Transfer Points 101, and it’ll take place on October 15 at 3:00 pm Eastern time.

We’ll cover the basics of transferable points, explain why it’s so valuable, and even walk through some sample bookings.

Check it out and save your spot now. 👇

🏨 Buy Hilton points with a 120% bonus

Hilton just launched another points sale, this time with up to a 120% bonus, which is the highest bonus we’ve ever seen.

But don’t be fooled – most of the time, this still won’t be an optimal opportunity. But for the right redemption, it could be.

For example, I am still eyeing a trip to London early next year. Looking at Hilton’s portfolio there, there are a couple of hotels like the DoubleTree that cost 65,000 Hilton points for a standard room.

That same hotel on the same night prices out to about $355 if you were paying cash.

However, with this points sale, you can buy 66,000 points (enough to cover the night) for just $300 cash.

In this specific case, you’re saving $55 per night by buying points.

Don’t forget that by redeeming points, you’re missing out on earning points like you would if you were paying cash. So while that example is still a good deal, there is an opportunity cost.

The other reason you might want to buy points is to top up your balance.

For example, if you are trying to book a hotel for a trip and are just a few thousand points away from being able to do it, there’s nothing wrong with buying those few thousand Hilton points to make it possible.

Is it the best value for your dollars? Maybe not.

But if spending $20, $50, or even $100 gets you over the hump to book a hotel you want to stay at (especially a higher-value one), then don’t hesitate to do it.

That’s all, folks. I hope you have a great week ahead, and I’ll see you again tomorrow.

Ciao,

43.6532° N, 79.3832° W

With contributions by Alison Carrico and Sam Anthony.