Amex Green Card vs. Capital One Venture X Card [Detailed Comparison]

Trying to decide which credit card is best for you can be challenging. Different bonus categories, reward ecosystems, perks, and fees … there can be quite a bit to dissect in order to determine which card is the best match for your lifestyle.

In this guide, we will provide a detailed comparison of the American Express^® Green Card and the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card to help you decide which card you should add to your wallet next.

Amex Green Card vs. Capital One Venture X Card — Overview

Before we do a deep dive into everything you need to know about each card, here is a quick head-to-head comparison.

Benefit or Feature	American Express® Green Card	Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (rates and fees)
Welcome Bonus Offer	NEW OFFER: Earn 60,000 points after spending $3,000 on purchases in your first 6 months. Plus, earn 20% back on eligible travel and transit purchases made during your first 6 months, up to $200 back as a statement credit.	Earn 75,000 miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
Earning Potential	3x points at restaurants (including takeout and delivery in the U.S.), on transit (including rideshares, trains, subways, parking, and more), and on travel (including airfare, hotels, and car rentals)	10x miles for hotel and rental car booked via Capital One Travel 5x miles for flights booked via Capital One Travel 2x miles on all other purchases
Redemption Options	Amex transfer partners Amex Travel bookings Cash-back via statement credit, gift cards, and shopping with select retailers	Capital One transfer partners Capital One Travel bookings Cash-back via statement credit, gift cards, and shopping with select retailers
Statement Credits	Up to $189 annual CLEAR Plus credit Up to $100 annual LoungeBuddy credit	Up to $300 annual travel statement credit for Capital One Travel bookings Global Entry/TSA PreCheck fee reimbursement
Travel Benefits and Protections	Baggage insurance, trip delay reimbursement, secondary rental car insurance, and more	Priority Pass, Capital One Lounges, and Plaza Premium Lounge access Hertz Gold Plus Rewards President’s Circle elite status 10,000-mile bonus at each card anniversary Trip cancellation/interruption insurance, trip delay reimbursement, primary rental car insurance, and more
Shopping Benefits and Protections	Amex Offers, purchase protection, extended warranty	Capital One Offers, Cell phone protection, return protection, purchase protection, and extended warranty
Annual Fee	$150 (rates and fees)	$395 (rates and fees)
Authorized User Fee	$0 for the first 5 cardholders, then $35 (rates and fees)	Add cardholders to your account for no fee

The Value of a Welcome Offer

A great welcome offer is one of the best ways to kickstart your rewards balance and get you one step closer to booking your next trip. Take a look at the welcome offers from each card below.

Amex Green Card

Capital One Venture X Card

Bottom Line:

Our valuations of Amex Membership Rewards points and Capital One miles are relatively close, at 2.2 cents per point and 1.8 cents per mile, respectively. However, the welcome bonus offers for both of these cards can vary, so determining which bonus provides more value will depend heavily on the current welcome offer at the time.

Earning Potential

One of the best ways to determine if a card is a good fit for you is if its bonus categories match your spending habits, which will help you rack up significantly more points.

Bonus Category	Amex Green Card	Capital One Venture X Card
Eligible Travel	3x points	2x miles
Dining	3x points	2x miles
Transit (Trains, Ferries, Buses, Subways, Rideshares, etc.)	3x points	2x miles
Hotels and Rental Cars Through Capital One Travel	N/A	10x miles
Airfare Through Capital One Travel	N/A	5x miles
All Other Purchases	1x points	2x miles

Once again, you’ll want to examine the bonus categories closely to determine which card will help you earn more points. If you spend more on travel, dining, and transit purchases, then there is a good chance that the Amex Green card will earn you more rewards overall.

However, if your purchase habits don’t regularly fall into certain categories, you prefer to not have to worry about bonus categories at all, and/or you travel often and don’t mind booking your travel through Capital One, then the Capital One Venture X card is a stellar option.

Redemption Options

Amex Green Card

The Amex Green card earns American Express Membership Rewards points, which gives you multiple redemption options. With these points, you’ll have the ability to use Amex’s transfer partners, book through the Amex Travel portal, redeem for cash-back via a statement credit, redeem for gift cards, or shop with select merchants.

When it comes to getting as much value as possible out of your points, our favorite way to redeem Amex points is with Amex’s hotel and airline transfer partners. Thanks to these partnerships you can use your points for luxury travel experiences for a fraction of what it would normally cost.

For example, when transferring your points to ANA Mileage Club, you can book round-trip business class awards between the U.S. and Europe on Star Alliance carriers like United, Lufthansa, and Swiss for just 88,000 Amex points. If you were to pay cash for the same ticket, you could easily shell out $3,000 or more.

Capital One Venture X Card

Similarly, Capital One miles are also a flexible rewards currency that gives cardholders multiple redemption options. These options include Capital One transfer partners, travel purchases through Capital One Travel, cash-back via a statement credit, gift cards, and shopping with select retailers.

Like with other transferable currencies, our favorite way to redeem our Capital One miles is through the Capital One transfer partners. For instance, you could transfer your miles to the Air Canada Aeroplan program and book a one-way business class flight between New York and Los Angeles in United Polaris business class for 25,000 miles.

Hot Tip:

If you’re new to points and miles, read our guides on the best ways to use Amex Membership Rewards points and the best ways to use Capital One miles to learn how to maximize the value of your points.

Statement Credits

Amex Green Card — CLEAR Plus and LoungeBuddy

When you hold the Amex Green card, you’ll receive an annual CLEAR Plus credit of up to $189.

If you’re not familiar with CLEAR, the service provides an expedited security experience at select airports and stadiums nationwide using your biometrics like your fingerprint or eye. This allows you to go right to the front of the ID check line. If you’re someone who would purchase a CLEAR Plus membership otherwise, then this single perk can negate the Amex Green card’s $150 annual fee for you.

Amex Green cardholders also receive an annual LoungeBuddy credit of up to $100. This credit can be used toward any of the 300+ LoungeBuddy airport lounges worldwide. The cost to enter an eligible lounge can vary, but at the very least the credit should get you at least 2 to 3 visits per year.

Capital One Venture X Card — Annual Travel Credit and Global Entry/TSA PreCheck

With your Capital One Venture X card, you’ll receive an annual travel credit of up to $300 that can be redeemed for flights, hotels, and rental cars through the Capital One Travel portal.

If you were planning to spend at least $300 on travel throughout the year anyway, this annual credit makes the $395 annual fee of the Capital One Venture X card an effective $95.

Additionally, your Capital One Venture X card comes with a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck statement credit. Keep in mind that applying for Global Entry includes TSA PreCheck, but applying for TSA PreCheck does not include Global Entry, so we recommend you use your statement credit to apply for Global Entry to get access to 2 great timesavers for the same credit.

Travel Benefits and Protections

Benefit or Protection	Amex Green Card	Capital One Venture X Card
Rental Car Insurance	Secondary	Primary
Baggage Protection	Checked luggage and carry-on luggage	Checked luggage and carry-on luggage
Trip Delay Reimbursement	Up to $300 in coverage for flights delayed by 12 hours or more	Up to $500 in coverage for flights delayed by 6 hours or more
Airport Lounge Access	Up to $100 annual LoungeBuddy credit	Access to Priority Pass, Capital One Lounges, and select Plaza Premium Lounges
Rental Car Status	None	Hertz Gold Plus Rewards President’s Circle status

Unsurprisingly, the Capital One Venture X card offers far more travel benefits and protections than the Amex Green card, which is to be expected given the difference in the annual fees of each card. Given that, if having a full airport lounge membership and excellent travel protections are a must-have for you, then the Capital One Venture X card would be the better option by far. 

Shopping Benefits and Protections

Here is how each product keeps you covered when purchasing items with your card.

Amex Green Card

• Amex Offers — Discounts and opportunities to earn more points and statement credits with 100 merchants each month
• Purchase Protection — Coverage of up to 90 days from the date of purchase toward stolen or damaged items
• Extended Warranty — Adds up to 1 year of additional warranty to extended warranties of 5 years or less
• American Express Experiences — Exclusive access to ticket presales

Capital One Venture X Card

• Capital One Offers — Discounts with select merchants
• Cell Phone Protection — Pay your monthly cell phone bill with your card and receive coverage for theft or damage, with a $50 deductible per claim, and up to 2 claims per 12-month period
• Return Protection — Eligible returns that merchants won’t accept within 90 days of purchase can receive reimbursement
• Purchase Protection — Coverage up to 90 days from the date of purchase towards stolen or damaged items
• Extended Warranty — Up to 1 year of additional warranty protection on items with eligible warranties of 3 years or less purchased with your card
• Capital One Entertainment — Exclusive access to ticket presales

Annual Fees and Adding Authorized Users

Annual Fees

The annual fee of the Amex Green card is $150 while the annual fee of the Capital One Venture X card is $395. Given there is a big difference in fees, you’ll want to ensure that you value the benefits you’d receive from the Capital One Venture X card outweigh the additional cost you’ll need to pay.  

Authorized Users

Amex Green cardholders can add up to 5 cards for no additional cost, and any additional cards beyond that are $35 each. With the Capital One Venture X card, you can add cardholders to your account for no fee.

Final Thoughts

Both the Amex Green card and Capital One Venture X card are great options to add to your wallet thanks to their unique combinations of strong rewards-earning on spending and travel benefits. 

Those who want a premium travel rewards card with well-rounded points-earning categories and thorough travel benefits would be better off with the Capital One Venture X card. However, if you don’t travel often enough to justify the annual fee on the Capital One Venture X card, then the Amex Green card might make more sense for you. 

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For the car rental loss and damage insurance benefit of the American Express^® Green Card, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Car Rental Loss or Damage Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.

For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa^® or Mastercard^® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.

Enrollment required through Capital One website or mobile app. Upon enrollment, eligible cardholders will remain at upgraded status level through December 31, 2024.  Please note, enrolling through the normal Hertz Gold Plus Rewards enrollment process (e.g. at Hertz.com) will not automatically detect a cardholder as being eligible for the program and cardholders will not be automatically upgraded to the applicable status tier.  Additional terms apply.

For rates and fees of the American Express^® Green Card, click here.