I pay $395 a year for a credit card that I rarely use — but its benefits are worth way more than the fee

Business Insider

4 days ago

Nobody likes to pay annual fees for their credit cards — but savvy cardholders will gladly fork over the money when the benefits far outweigh the cost.
That's the case with my Capital One Venture X card. Even though it charges an annual fee of $395, it might be the biggest bargain in my vast collection of credit cards.
This card comes with several travel perks that I appreciate
It's hard to justify applying for a card with a $395 annual fee, especially when there's a similar alternative that's less expensive.
However, a few things set the Capital One Venture X apart from its sibling, the Venture card, which has a $95 annual fee.
Venture X cardholders receive unlimited access to the Capital One Lounges for themselves and up to two guests. Sadly, Capital One recently announced that, starting February 1, complimentary guest access will be restricted to cardholders who spend $75,000 annually. Or, additional cardholders can get that access for a $125 annual fee.
This card also comes with a complimentary Priority Pass membership, which offers access to over 1,700 airport lounges around the world and can cost hundreds of dollars.
Other benefits include a $120 credit toward the application fee for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry, and a $300 annual travel credit toward reservations booked through the Capital One Travel portal.
The Venture X offers at least 2x miles per dollar on all purchases. However, I find the most value when transferring my rewards to one of its airline frequent-flyer or hotel loyalty programs.
For example, we recently transferred 50,000 points to Turkish Airlines to redeem five last-minute flight tickets that would've cost us about $1,800.
In many ways, my card pays for itself after a few trips with my family
As a frequent traveler, it's pretty easy to use the $300 annual travel credit, bringing the net cost of this card down to $95 a year — exactly the fee of the Venture card.
Previously, I added my wife, my father, and even my teenage daughter as authorized users to my Venture X card so they would also receive complimentary access to Capital One Lounges.
Fortunately, there's a Capital One Lounge at our home airport in Denver that my family of five has used often (in addition to other lounges).
Between all of us, we've consumed dozens of meals a year at these lounges.
So, we almost never had to purchase food at the airport, which would otherwise be necessary before a meal-free flight on Southwest or other airlines. Besides, the quick food options at airports can often be low quality and overpriced.
The value of all the food and beverages we consume, along with the $300 annual travel credit, makes the card's $395 annual fee seem trivial.
Despite the card having even more benefits, I don't have to use it much to see its value
Even though this card offers miles on all purchases and has some other perks, I don't use it that much.
I don't find that its transfer partners can compete with other programs like Chase Ultimate Rewards and American Express Membership Rewards.
For example, I often use Southwest and Hyatt, which are partners with Chase, but not Capital One. So even though the Venture X is one of my favorite cards, it's also one of my least-used.
However, since I can regularly use the Capital One Venture X's airport-lounge benefit for me and my family, I never have to worry that the card will be worth its annual fee.
I'll have to reassess come February, though. If we plan to travel often, the $125 annual lounge-access fee for guests may still be a decent deal for my family members.