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When it comes to choosing a travel card for your adventures and dining escapades, two cards tend to stand out in the crowd: The American Express® Gold Card and The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. I’ve held both of these cards in my wallet and they both can add a touch of luxury to your daily spending. However, much like choosing between a classic novel and a bestseller, one might resonate more with your lifestyle. Here’s the Amex Gold vs. Capital One Venture Rewards review.
60,000 Membership Rewards® points bonus offer: American Express® Gold Card
75,000 bonus miles: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
Amex Gold & Capital One Venture Welcome/Signup Bonus
To kick off this Amex Gold vs. Capital One Venture Reward review, let’s start with the welcome/signup bonuses. Both cards have exciting bonus offers. The American Express® Gold Card welcome bonus has a higher face value, and you have an extra 3 months to reach the spending limit.
Amex Gold
New American Express® Gold Card cardholders can earn 60,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $6,000 on eligible purchases within the first 6 months. Cardholders can choose between Gold or Rose Gold. Terms apply.
American Express bonuses are only available “once in a lifetime.” If you earned an Amex Gold (or an American Express Premier Rewards Gold) signup bonus before, you wouldn’t qualify for a second bonus.
Capital One Venture
Enjoy a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel, with the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card.
Related: Can You Receive A Capital One Venture Bonus Twice?
Annual Fee
The American Express® Gold Card has a $250 annual fee and no foreign transaction fee (See Rates & Fees). However, this fee can be offset. Keep reading to learn how or check out our post, “Is The American Express Gold Card Worth The Annual Fee?” to learn more.
The Capital One Venture has a $95 annual fee and no foreign transaction fee. This fee can also be offset, though there aren’t as many perks.
Additional cards are free for each card. You will need to decide if the signup bonus, purchase rewards, and add-on benefits are worth more than the annual fee.
Earning Rewards Points
Both cards make it easy to earn bonus points on common purchases. The better card depends on your spending habits and whether you want to earn fixed-rate rewards or tiered rewards.
Amex Gold
It earns 4X Membership Rewards® Points at Restaurants, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S., and earns 4X Membership Rewards® Points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1X). Plus, earn 3X Membership Rewards® Points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com.
Capital One Venture
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card earns 2x Venture miles per $1 on every purchase. Plus, earn 5x miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
You may prefer this straightforward approach if your spending habits don’t align with the Amex Gold bonus categories or if you like the simplicity of flat-rate rewards cards.
Redeeming Rewards Points
Now onto the fun stuff in this Amex Gold vs. Capital One Venture review. Both cards offer travel and cash redemption options. Your points are most valuable when redeemed for award travel.
Amex Gold
Each Membership Rewards point is worth up to one cent each by redeeming them for award flights on AmexTravel.com or for gift cards.
You can also transfer them to multiple American Express Membership Rewards airline and hotel partners, including:
- Delta Air Lines
- JetBlue
- Hawaiian Airlines
- Avianca
- Hilton Honors
- Marriott Bonvoy
Other redemption options include cash statement credits, online shopping points, and non-flight award travel (enrollment may be required). However, the redemption value is less than 1 cent each for these alternate redemption options.
The points transfers can have the highest redemption values, followed by award flights and gift cards.
Capital One Venture
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is worth one cent each when redeemed for these award travel bookings:
- Travel statement credit (on travel purchases within the past 90 days)
- Booking upcoming travel on Capital One Travel
You can also transfer your Venture miles to airline and hotel partners, including:
- Avianca
- FlyingBlue
- JetBlue
- Accor Live
- Wyndham Rewards
The transfer ratio is either 1.5:1 or 2:1 to the transfer partners, which is a lower transfer ratio than the Amex Gold.
You can also redeem your miles for cash statement credits, gift cards, Amazon.com shopping credits, and PayPal purchase credits, but each point is only worth 0.8 cents each.
Additional Card Perks
Each card offers extra card perks that can be more valuable than the annual fee. Here’s how the Amex Gold vs. Capital One Venture fares regarding extra card perks.
Amex Gold
The American Express® Gold Card is a “semi-premium” card offering these travel and dining perks:
- Up to $10 monthly dining statement credit at select restaurants (enrollment required)
- $100 onsite credit for The Hotel Collection with American Express (terms apply)
- Baggage insurance (up to $1,250 for carry-on and $500 for checked baggage)
- Secondary rental car collision and theft coverage
- Gold or Rose Gold card design
- Metal card
While you don’t get added monetary benefit, the American Express® Gold Card is available in the Rose Gold card design once again. This design is backed by popular demand. The Amex Gold is also made of metal, but the Venture Card is made of plastic and only has one card design.
Another perk is the ability to earn up to $10 in statement credits on a monthly basis when you use your Gold Card to pay at the following dining establishments (enrollment is required):
- Grubhub
- The Cheesecake Factory
- Goldbelly
- Wine.com
- Milk Bar
- Shake Shack (only at participating locations)
This perk can save you up to $120 annually.
Capital One Venture
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card doesn’t offer as many perks as the Amex Gold. Its most valuable benefit is a fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.
- Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit, up to $100
- Extended warranty protection on qualifying purchases
- Secondary rental car collision and theft coverage
- Virtual card numbers from Eno
When the Amex Gold is Better
The American Express Gold Card is better than the Capital One Venture for these reasons:
- Earn up to 4x points on purchases
- 1:1 airline and hotel point transfers vs a 2:1 or 1.5:1 ratio
- Up to $120 in annual dining credits (enrollment required)
- $100 onsite credit for the Hotel Collection from American Express
- More valuable welcome bonus
- Gold or Rose Gold card design made of metal
- Terms apply
The American Express® Gold Card has a higher annual fee, but the travel and dining benefits can be worth more. If you prefer redeeming card points for upcoming travel or 1:1 point transfers, the Amex Gold can be better than the Venture Card.
When the Capital One Venture is Better
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is better for these reasons:
- Earn 2x miles on all purchases; 5x miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- Travel statement credits are worth 1 cent each
- Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit
- Lower annual fee
You may prefer the Capital One Venture if you prefer redeeming your miles for travel statement credits. You pay cash for your travel purchases but earn 2x miles and can redeem them for one cent each.
Travel statement credits are only worth 0.6 cents to cover charges or 0.7 cents to book prepaid hotels, rental cars, and cruises.
Despite minimal additional benefits, the Venture Card can be better if you can’t use the Gold Card’s dining and travel credits.
Plus, the 2x purchase rewards can earn more than the Amex Gold 4-3-1 rewards structure. You can learn more about what Capital One Venture credit score is needed for approval if you plan to try for this card.
Summary of Capital One Venture vs Amex Gold
Both cards are great options for maximizing travel and dining purchases. The redemption options are similar, but your decision comes down to whether you’re willing to pay extra for dining and travel credits. Hopefully, this Amex Gold vs. Capital One Venture review has helped you figure out which option is better for you.
FAQs
Is the American Express Gold a good card?
The American Express® Gold Card can be one of the best options for earning bonus points and saving money on travel and dining purchases. It earns 4X Membership Rewards® Points at Restaurants, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S., and earns 4X Membership Rewards® Points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1X). Plus, earn 3X Membership Rewards® Points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com.
Membership Rewards are worth 1 cent each when booking award flights or requesting gift cards. You can also transfer your points at a 1:1 ratio to multiple airlines and hotels. If you can maximize the travel and dining benefits, the annual fee of $250 is reasonable and easily offset by the various credits.
But if you prefer premium travel benefits, consider The Platinum Card® from American Express instead. Compare the Amex Gold vs. Amex Platinum review.
Does the Amex Gold Card have a credit limit?
No, the American Express Gold Card doesn’t technically have a credit limit. No Preset Spending Limit means your spending limit is flexible. Unlike a traditional card with a set limit, the amount you can spend adapts based on factors such as your purchase, payment, and credit history.
It is also one of the best American Express cards.
Is the Amex Gold metal?
Yes, the American Express Gold is a metal credit card. It’s also available in two different card designs—Gold and Rose Gold.
What is the most prestigious Capital One credit card?
The Capital One Venture is arguably the best overall Capital One credit card. You earn 2x miles on all purchases and have flexible redemption options.
Venture miles are most valuable when redeemed for travel statement credits or booking upcoming travel. The annual fee is a reasonable $95, and your rewards can offset the annual fee and help pay for vacation if you travel at least once or twice a year. It is also one of the best Capital One credit cards.
60,000 Membership Rewards Bonus offer: American Express® Gold Card
75,000 bonus miles: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
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For rates and fees of The American Express® Gold Card, please click here.
