The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is easily one of the best credit cards in the world.
Thanks to an array of travel benefits, a fantastic bonus structure, and key protections available to its cardholders, it has been one of the most popular card options for the ultra-premium consumer since its debut in 2021.
But, as we’ve learned from various sources, getting approved for the Capital One Venture X card hasn’t been that easy.
So, how exclusive is this credit card, and what are the requirements? In this guide, we’ll be investigating the factors that Capital One is looking for when evaluating applications.
Let’s get started!
Capital One Venture X Card Snapshot
Credit Score Factors
Currently, there are 5 major factors that determine your FICO credit score:
- Payment History
- Amounts Owed
- Length of Credit History
- New Credit
- Credit Mix
Image Credit: Fair Isaac Corporation
Payment history is one of the most important credit score factors — even if you can’t pay off your bills in full every month, making at least the minimum payment every month is essential to demonstrate your creditworthiness. This makes up 35% of your credit score.
Amounts owed simply means what percentage of your total available credit you are using per month (your credit utilization). If you have a combined $50,000 in available credit across all your credit cards and spend around $5,000 per month on your credit cards, that’s equal to a 10% credit utilization. This makes up 30% of your credit score.
Length of credit history is simply calculated by taking the average of all your credit cards, which makes up 15% of your credit score.
New credit generally refers to the number of hard inquiries on your account. This makes up 10% of your score.
Credit mix is the types of credit you have on your credit report, including, but not limited to, credit cards, auto loans, personal loans, student loans, mortgages, HELOCs, etc. Having a better mix is viewed favorably in the eyes of lenders. This makes up the remaining 10% of your score.
How To Check Your Credit Score
One of the lesser-known facts about credit is that there are many different types of credit scores.
In general, the industry standard is the FICO score. This is in contrast to other scoring systems like VantageScore.
This distinction is important because lenders retrieve your FICO score when you’re applying for credit, and if you’re using your VantageScore to figure out whether you should apply for a credit card, you could be shooting yourself in the foot by referring to the wrong data.
Checking your credit score is free at each of the 3 credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
You can also monitor your credit data on Credit Karma for free, but because Credit Karma uses VantageScore to determine your credit score, we’d recommend using Credit Karma only to examine your credit report, not to ascertain actual your credit score.
What Credit Score Is Needed for the Capital One Venture X Card?
In general, Capital One recommends excellent credit for its top-tier Capital One Venture X card. But one of the unique aspects of Capital One is that having a high credit score alone might not be enough. And it’s absolutely critical to apply only when you feel confident you’ll get approved because Capital One performs hard inquiries on all 3 bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion)
The number of new credit cards in the last 2 years appears to be one of the strongest factors in determining whether or not you’ll be approved. Anecdotally, it’s easier to get approved for Capital One credit cards if you sometimes carry a balance. So while we wouldn’t recommend racking up thousands of dollars in interest fees just to get this card, it could end up helping you out if you carry a balance.
Hot Tip: In our experience, Capital One heavily weights income on an applicant’s credit card application. A higher income will generally help your approval odds and allow for a higher credit limit.
Capital One views having a limited credit history negatively, even if your score and income are both relatively high. So we recommend having at least 2 years of excellent credit history (ideally, 3 years) before applying for the Capital One Venture X card.
There doesn’t appear to be any pronounced difference in approvals if you are employed versus self-employed.
Just remember that even if you’re approved for the Capital One Venture X card, you’ll probably be approved with a high APR — that’s to be expected because this card is built for rewards enthusiasts who pay off their bills in full (or almost) every month, not for someone looking to access low interest rates at the expense of rewards.
Before you apply for the Capital One Venture X card, you’ll probably need to make sure all your credit reports aren’t frozen. Capital One will almost never approve credit card applications unless it can get a copy of all 3 reports from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
Maximizing Your Success When Applying for the Capital One Venture X Card
Here are some general rules of thumb that will help maximize your odds of success:
- Do not apply for more than 1 Capital One credit card every 6 months. In general, Capital One has a hard rule coded into its systems that will auto-decline any applications that are submitted within 6 months of your previous application, regardless of the previous application’s decision.
- Do not apply for credit cards in the week leading up to your Capital One Venture X card application. We’ve seen applicants, even with excellent credit, get declined for a Capital One Venture X card because they had just applied for another card, like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® card, the day before.
- Do not apply with a long or recent history of missed payments or delinquencies. If you have a habit of missing payments, we recommend waiting to apply until your payment history has aged at least a year.
- Leverage your existing Capital One relationship. If you already have a Capital One credit card, you probably have better odds of approval.
- Watch the number of open accounts you have. If you’ve opened 6 or more new credit cards as reported to your credit report in the last 2 years, you will have dramatically reduced approval odds.
How To Boost Your Credit Score
If you’re new to credit, Capital One actually offers a selection of unsecured and secured credit cards for those with limited or poor credit.
If you’re ready to take your credit seriously, get one of these starter credit cards, set up autopay, and responsibly use the credit card. Avoid maxing out your credit card, and try to prove your creditworthiness to Capital One.
Another way to fast-track the process of boosting your credit score is to get yourself added as an authorized user onto someone else’s credit card. Ideally, this credit card already has a long and perfect payment history. That way, you can inherit that credit card’s history and thicken your credit report quickly.
Another great way to boost your credit is to dispute any errors that appear on your credit report. For example, if you’re a victim of identity fraud or see accounts that aren’t yours, you can submit disputes with each credit bureau to resolve inaccuracies. Keep in mind that you have to dispute actual inaccuracies, and the credit bureaus will most likely conduct an investigation to determine the validity of the dispute. If it’s deemed a valid account, your dispute will be rejected.
Hot Tip: Check out our tips and strategies to improve your credit score!
What Is the Credit Limit for the Capital One Venture X Card?
The minimum credit to get approved for the Capital One Venture X card is $10,000 due to its Visa Infinite status.
Although the typical credit limit approved for the Capital One Venture X card is anywhere from $15,000 to $30,000, we’ve seen approvals as high as $75,000!
Usually, your credit limit is determined by your income and your creditworthiness. If you have an excellent payment history, high income, and few other credit cards, you stand a good chance of getting a large credit limit.
Final Thoughts
All in all, the Capital One Venture X card is an exceptional ultra-premium credit card with robust perks.
Cardholders will receive access to Capital One Lounges, Plaza Premium Lounges, and Priority Pass lounges, as well as the ability to earn 10x miles on purchases (including 2x miles on non-bonused purchases) and complimentary Hertz President’s Circle status. This credit card is one of the best ways you can boost your wallet.
However, with how unpredictable Capital One is in approving new cardholders for this product and how the bank opts to pull all 3 credit bureaus when you apply, it’s vital to your credit health to apply at the right time.
Simply put, if you have excellent credit, fewer than 6 new credit cards opened in the last 2 years, and a credit history of 3 years or longer, you’ll have a good shot at getting approved. Also, be sure not to apply for any credit cards for at least a week before your Capital One Venture X card application.
Other factors like occasionally carrying a balance and having an existing Capital One credit card relationship can help, too.
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.
The information regarding the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.