Capital One introduced transferable points in 2018 along with the Venture X premium credit card in 2021. Since then it has become a no brainer to use Venture X for everyday non-category spending and for overseas purchases since there are no foreign transaction fees. Many also open the no annual fee Savor Rewards card that earns 3x points on groceries and dining to pair with the Venture X card to maximize points earnings.
However, Miles & points enthusiasts tend to have several credit card combinations from different banks and I wanted to compare the earnings between Amex and Capital One cards.
Definition of annual household spend
The annual household spend for the purpose of this review is assumed at 60K per calendar year (Jan 1st to Dec 31st) involving a mix of dining, gas, travel and non-category expenditure.
Amex Earnings
| Amount spent per calendar year (January 1st to Dec 31st) | Spending Category | Type of Amex credit card | Points Earned |
|---|---|---|---|
| USD 5000 | Dining | Amex Gold card ($325) | 5000 x 4 = 20000 |
| USD 25000 | Groceries mixed with grocery store gift card purchases (gas, Amazon, Home Depot, Best buy etc.,) | Amex Gold card | 25000 x 4 = 100,000 |
| USD 6000 | Direct flight purchases from the airline companies | Amex Personal Platinum card ($695) | 6000 x 5 = 30000 |
| USD 4000 | Flight & prepaid hotel bookings on Amex travel portal | Amex Platinum card | 4000 x 5 = 20,000 |
| USD 20,000 | Non category spending (internet, cell phone, TV, insurance, shopping etc.,) | Amex Blue Business Plus ($0) | 20,000 x 2 = 40,000 |
| Total amount spent per year 60000 USD | Total points earned 210,000 | ||
| Total annual fee on credit cards $1220 USD. | Effective annual fee can be zero after using annual credits |
Capital One Earnings
| Amount spent per calendar year (January 1st to Dec 31st) | Spending Category | Type of Capital One credit card | Points Earned |
|---|---|---|---|
| USD 5000 | Dining | Capital One Savor One ($0) | 5000 x 3 = 15000 |
| USD 22000 | Groceries mixed with grocery store gift card purchases (Amazon, Home Depot, Best buy etc.,) | Capital One Savor One | 22000 x 3 = 66,000 |
| USD 3000 | Gas (worldwide) | Capital One Venture X | 3000 x 2 = 6000 |
| USD 6000 | Flight bookings from Capital One Portal | Capital One Venture X ($395) | 6000 x 5 = 30,000 |
| USD 4000 | Hotel bookings from Capital One Portal | Capital One Venture X | 4000 x 10 = 40,000 |
| USD 20,000 | Non category spending (internet, cell phone, TV, insurance, shopping etc.,) | Capital One Venture X | 20,000 x 2 = 40,000 |
| Total amount spent per year 60000 USD | Total points earned = 197,000 | ||
| Total annual fee on credit cards $395 USD | Effective annual fee is zero after $300 travel credit & 10K points annual bonus. |
Discussion
I will briefly summarize the pros and cons of Venture X below:
- Capital One’s two card system earns close to as many points as Amex’s three card setup.
- Venture X $300 travel credit is extremely easy to utilize compared to the complicated Amex coupon book system.
- Venture X earns 2X points worldwide without any foreign transaction fees (Amex Blue Business Plus has a 3% FTF).
- Venture X (VISA) can be used for Costco warehouse purchases.
- Venture X gives Priority Pass Lounge access for 4 authorized users.
- Venture X is the single best lifetime keeper card if you hate opening multiple cards to earn points.
- You must use Capital One Travel Portal to earn 5X points on flights. Amex Platinum earns 5X points on flights at both the Amex portal and direct airline bookings.
- You must use Capital One Travel Portal to earn 10X points on hotels & car rentals. Amex Platinum lags behind with 5X points earnings from Amex portal bookings.
How many points can you earn by using Chase credit cards?
You can marginally increase your annual points earnings if you don’t mind using multiple Chase personal and business credit cards but it requires a lot more discipline (review).
Amex vs. Capital One Airline Transfer Partners
As you can see from the table below, it all comes down to the ANA Mileage Club (Amex partner), which offers tremendous value when booking roundtrip awards.
| Useful Transfer Partner | Amex | Capital One | Notes |
| ANA Mileage Club | Yes | No | |
| Air Canada -Aeroplan | Yes | Yes | |
| Cathay Pacific - Asia Miles | Yes | Yes | |
| Avianca LifeMiles | Yes | Yes | |
| Flying Blue | Yes | Yes | |
| Virgin Red | No | Yes | Can be converted to Virgin Atlantic points by linking accounts |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | Yes | No | Can be converted to Virgin Red points by linking accounts |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | Yes | Yes | |
| British Avios | Yes | Yes | Avios can be transferred from British to other airlines (e.g., Finnair, Iberia, Aer Lingus and Qatar) |
| Iberia Avios | Yes | No | |
| Qatar Avios | Yes | No | |
| Aer LIngus Avios | Yes | No | |
| Finnair Avios | No | Yes | Avios can be transferred from British to Finnair |
| Emirates Skywards | Yes | Yes | |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | Yes | Yes | |
| Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles | No | Yes | |
| Etihad Guest | Yes | Yes | |
| Hawaiian Airlines | Yes | No | |
| Delta | Yes | No | |
| JetBlue | Yes | No |
How often can you open Amex Business cards compared to Capital One?
In my experience, you can open a lot more Amex business cards every year compared to Capital One cards and earn a lot of points. Amex is very generous with approving 3 or more Business Gold and Platinum credit cards within a short period of time. I was able to earn over 2 million MR points between 3 family members in just 1-2 years (see image below from one of my accounts).
Conclusion
My friends are always asking me about closing all their Amex personal credit cards after using all the sign up bonuses (SUB). Since you only get one Amex SUB per lifetime (for personal cards) and it takes a lot of effort to claim all the annual credits, I understand their concerns.
However, you should not give up on MR points since Amex does not extend once per lifetime policy to business credit cards. Amex Platinum still has some unmatched travel benefits (review) and I would not travel overseas without it.