Capital One Venture X vs. American Express Platinum: Which luxury card has the best benefits?

Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.

Anyone looking for a travel card with luxury perks will want to consider the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card and the American Express Platinum Card®. These premium cards earn incredibly valuable rewards and come with a long list of benefits, from airport lounge access to various statement credits and other VIP perks.

But, they both also have more expensive annual fees, so you'll want to know what benefits you're getting before applying. If you're looking for a top-notch rewards card, here's what you need to know about the Capital One Venture X and American Express Platinum cards.

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has a $395 annual fee, while The Platinum Card from American Express has a premium $895 annual fee (see rates and fees). Neither card charges foreign transaction fees.

The Amex Platinum's annual fee is higher, but it offers annual statement credit and other benefits so it can easily be worth it. It's even easier to justify the Venture X because the smaller upfront cost takes fewer benefits to offset. The card has an annual $300 Capital One Travel credit and a 10,000-mile anniversary bonus (worth at least $100), so with only two benefits, you can recoup the cost every year.

With the Amex Platinum Card, you may be eligible for as high as 175,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $12,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first six months of Card Membership. With Amex Membership Rewards points, you have many redemption options including using this bonus to book $3,500 in airfare (through American Express Travel) and unlock even more value with Amex's travel partners.

The Capital One Venture X has a limited-time welcome bonus: Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel. You can use these miles to cover $750 in travel purchases or transfer the miles to a partner travel loyalty program to book premium cabin flights.

The Capital One Venture X and Amex Platinum offer an amazing return on specific travel bookings you make through the issuer's travel portal (Capital One Travel or American Express Travel). But with all other purchases, the Venture X earns 2X miles, which is double the return of the Amex Platinum for the same transactions.

The Amex Platinum earns American Express Membership Rewards® points, which you can redeem in various ways. The easiest ways to use Membership Rewards points include redeeming them for gift cards, statement credits, merchandise or booking travel through Amex Travel. The value of these redemptions is usually 0.5 to one cent per point.

The Capital One Venture X earns Capital One miles, which provide redemption options similar to Amex points. You can redeem Capital One miles for cash back, gift cards and recent travel purchases. You can also use Capital One miles to pay for travel you book through Capital One Travel. These redemptions usually get you 0.5 to one cent per mile in value.

Both of these reward programs allow you the ability to transfer your earned points to one of many partner airlines and hotels. Since Amex and Capital One don't share all the same transfer partners, if you have a preferred airline, make sure you're earning points that can be transferred. All the points transfer at a 1:1 ratio, unless otherwise noted:

Transferring the rewards you earn with either of these cards is typically the best way to maximize your value. Both of these loyalty programs feature an extensive list of travel partners you can use to book award flights with any of the three major airline alliances.

With a premium rewards card, you should expect to get access to a long list of benefits that provide more value than what you pay to keep the card.

Amex Platinum

The Amex Platinum has no shortage of perks, ranging from travel and shopping credits to access to one of the best global airport lounge networks.

Amex Platinum cardholders receive a variety of elite status benefits, including Gold status with Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy (enrollment required; terms apply). You can also enroll to take advantage of car rental privileges with Avis, Hertz and National (terms apply). The card has a robust suite of shopping and travel protections*, to go along with airport lounge access (enrollment required) that includes visits to *Delta Sky Clubs and American Express Centurion Lounges.

You can also earn over $3,000 in statement credits every year, including:

• $600 hotel credit: Up to $300 in statement credits semi-annually on prepaid Fine Hotels and Resorts or The Hotel Collection bookings. The Hotel Collection requires a two-night minimum stay.
• $400 Resy credit: Up to $100 in statement credits every quarter for eligible Resy purchases at over 10,000 qualifying U.S. Resy restaurants (enrollment required).
• Up to $200 Uber Cash: Up to $15 in Uber Cash each month, plus a bonus $20 in December ($35 total) after adding your card to your Uber account. Use your Uber Cash on rides and orders in the U.S. when you select an American Express Card for your transaction. Terms apply. Enrollment is required.
• $120 Uber One credit: Up to $120 in statement credits each calendar year for an auto-renewing Uber One membership (terms apply).
• $200 airline fee credit: Up to $200 in statement credits annually for incidentals after you select an eligible airline (enrollment required).
• $300 Digital Entertainment Credit: Up to $25 in statement credits each month when you pay for eligible purchases with the Platinum Card® at your choice of one or more of the following providers: Disney+, a Disney+ bundle, ESPN streaming services, Hulu, The New York Times, Paramount+, Peacock, The Wall Street Journal, YouTube Premium, and YouTube TV (enrollment required).
• $300 Equinox Credit: Up to $300 back in statement credits per calendar year on an Equinox membership, or an Equinox club membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you pay with your Platinum Card®. Enrollment required.
• $300 lululemon credit: Up to $75 in statement credits every quarter for eligible purchases at U.S. lululemon stores or lululemon.com (excludes outlet stores; enrollment required).
• $155 Walmart+ Credit: Cover the cost of a $12.95 monthly Walmart+ membership with a statement credit after you pay for Walmart+ each month with your Platinum Card. Cost includes $12.95 plus applicable taxes on one membership fee. Subject to auto-renewal. Enrollment required.
• $200 Oura ring credit: Up to $200 in statement credits when you purchase an Oura Ring at Ouraring.com (enrollment required).
• $120 for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry: Receive either a statement credit every 4 years after you apply for Global Entry ($120) or a statement credit after you apply for a five-year membership for TSA PreCheck^® (up to $85 through a TSA PreCheck official enrollment provider) and pay the application fee with your Platinum Card. Card Members approved for Global Entry will also receive access to TSA PreCheck at no additional cost.
• $219 CLEAR+ Credit: Up to $219 back per year in statement credit to apply for CLEAR+. Excludes any applicable taxes and fees. Subject to auto-renewal.

Capital One Venture X

Capital One Venture X cardholders receive access to Capital One airport lounges and can enroll to receive access to more than 1,300 participating Priority Pass™ and Plaza Premium lounges. While this perk previously extended to authorized users, you now have to pay an annual lounge access fee of $125 if you want more users to have access.

The Venture X also features:

• $300 travel credit: Up to $300 in travel credits per year for eligible Capital One Travel bookings.
• $120 for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry: When you use the card to pay for your Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application, you'll receive a fee credit of up to $120 (once every four years).
• Anniversary miles: Receive 10,000 bonus miles every card anniversary.

The card also offers top-tier travel and purchase protections, as well as Hertz President's Circle Status (enrollment required) and Visa Infinite rental car privileges with Hertz, Avis and National.

*Upon enrollment, accessible through the Capital One website or mobile app, eligible cardholders will remain at that status level through the duration of the offer. 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

*Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.

*With Delta Sky Club Access, Card Members will receive 10 Visits to the Delta Sky Club to be used from February 1 until January 31 of the next calendar year and can unlock Unlimited Delta Sky Club Access by spending $75,000 in eligible purchases on their Card in a calendar year

Compare savings accounts

For anyone who wants premium perks and will take full advantage of the benefits these cards offer, either the Capital One Venture X or the American Express Platinum can make sense. Ultimately, it boils down to what perks you value the most and how much you're willing to pay each year to get those benefits.

The Amex Platinum has a bigger upfront cost and although it offers a more lucrative array of benefits, those benefits can be frustrating to redeem for full value. Many of its statement credits only apply to a specific brand or brands and others are earned in monthly or semi-annual increments.

The Capital One Venture X is affordable (for a high-end card) and you can fully offset the fee by taking advantage of two straightforward benefits. Every year you keep the card, you'll get a 10,000-mile bonus worth at least $100 in travel. You'll also get an annual $300 Capital One Travel credit that applies to any travel you book through Capital One Travel.

**see rates and fees

*Enrollment required for Select benefits mentioned

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every personal finance article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of financial products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.

Catch up on CNBC Select's in-depth coverage of credit cards, banking and money, and follow us on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and X to stay up to date.

**For rates and fees of the American Express Platinum Card®, click here.

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.