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You may be wondering if it’s possible to have the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card simultaneously. Having both can help you receive a welcome offer of bonus Venture miles without closing your existing account. It’s possible to have both, although several application rules apply.
For a limited time, new Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card cardholders can earn 75,000 miles once they spend $4,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening, plus they’ll receive a one-time $250 Capital One Travel credit their first cardholder year. Earning the entire bonus is equal to $1,000 in travel!
75,000 bonus miles (after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening); $300 annual travel credit for bookings through Capital One Travel: Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
How Many Capital One Cards Can You Have at Once?
Since 2011, Capital One only allows individuals to have two personal credit cards at a time.
The card families impacted by this rule include:
- Platinum (unsecured only)
- Quicksilver
- Savor
- Venture
Therefore, it’s possible to have the Venture and Venture X if you only have one Capital One card that’s not a co-brand or secured credit card.
So, if you already have one card from the Venture and Savor families, you can’t have a second Venture product until you close the Savor account.
Another possibility is closing the $0 annual fee Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card if you have it and getting one of the Venture cards with an annual fee.
Similar to the Chase 5/24 rule, this policy isn’t broadcast across the Capital One website or in a credit card’s terms and conditions.
Exceptions to the Rule
Like many credit card application rules, there is some confusion surrounding how many Capital One credit cards you can have at once.
A basic rule of thumb is only having up to two “core” personal cards and up to five Capital One cards total. However, your creditworthiness can be different as this is a general consensus from data points.
These types of Capital One credit cards don’t count against the two-card limit:
- Co-branded credit cards (i.e., Walmart, Williams-Sonoma, Cabela’s, etc.)
- Secured credit cards
- Spark Business credit cards
- Credit cards opened before 2011 (when the two-card rule went active)
- Cards acquired from other bank portfolios (i.e., former HSBC credit cards)
The jury is still out on whether the various Capital One student credit cards are exempt from this limit, as there are mixed data points. For now, it’s better to be safe than sorry and assume they fall under the limit as they are issued by Capital One instead of being a co-brand or secured product.
Capital One Venture Signup Bonus Eligibility
These eligibility standards are from the Venture Rewards and Venture X Rewards new card member offer terms and conditions.
“I understand that I am not eligible for this offer if:
- My application is received after this offer expires, is incomplete, unreadable, inaccurate or cannot be verified.
- My address is not in one of the following locations: the 50 United States, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico or a U.S. military location.
- The address is a correctional institution.
- My monthly income (my disclosed total annual income divided by 12) doesn’t exceed my monthly rent/mortgage payment by at least $425. Or, Capital One otherwise determines that I am unable to make my monthly payments.
- I am under 18 or do not have a valid Social Security Number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number.
- Applied for a Capital One credit card 2 or more times in the last 30 days.
- I have a past-due Capital One credit card account.
- Over my credit line on a Capital One credit card.
- I have had a Capital One credit card that charged off within the past year.
- Have a non-discharged bankruptcy (one that is still unresolved).
- I have implemented a credit security freeze or credit lock with one or more of the credit bureaus, which prevents Capital One from accessing my credit report.”
Essentially, saying “yes” to any of the above conditions means you’re ineligible for the signup bonus. In this situation, you may decide not to apply as your approval odds can be low, too.
An exception is if you’re a returning card member who has already earned the signup bonus for the card you’re re-applying for.
How Many Times Can You Earn a Capital One Signup Bonus?
According to Capital One’s website, “Existing or previous cardmembers are not eligible for this product if they have received a new cardmember bonus for this product in the past 48 months.”
If this is the first time applying for the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card or the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, you will most likely be eligible when satisfying these three primary guidelines:
- Have less than two personal Capital One credit cards (excludes co-brand and secured credit cards)
- Haven’t applied for more than two Capital One credit cards in the last 30 days (preferably no more than two in the last six months)
- Your current Capital One credit cards are in good standing (i.e., current and below their credit limit)
Should You Have the Venture and Venture X at the Same Time?
Now, it’s time to ask the million-dollar question, “Just because you can have Venture and Venture X, should you?”
The short answer is…probably not.
The benefits overlap and incrementally increase as you switch to a product with a higher annual fee.
For example, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card ($395 annual fee) offers unlimited airport lounge access and earns up to 10x miles on travel.
In comparison, the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card ($95 annual fee) only offers two one-time lounge passes per year and earns up to 5x miles on travel. Further, both cards have the same redemption options.
As you can only have two personal Capital One credit cards, you can be better off choosing one card from the Venture family to earn Capital One Miles. Then, your other card can be a Savor Rewards product, which earns cash back. This can be better for dining, grocery, and entertainment purchases.
Should I Upgrade to Venture X?
One way to bypass the two-card limit is by upgrading a current account to the Venture X Rewards or the Venture Rewards. You get a card that earns more travel rewards than your current Venture product. Plus, you get to keep your current account history instead of opening a new account.
Unfortunately, upgrading means you won’t have the chance to earn a signup bonus.
Final Thoughts On Having Venture and Venture X
Yes, it’s possible to have the Venture Rewards and Venture X Rewards. However, you may need to be strategic about when you apply for your second Venture product to avoid a declined application. You may also consider another rewards credit card. This can maximize your earning potential if you’re already happy with the Venture product that you have.
For a limited time, new Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card cardholders can earn 75,000 miles once they spend $4,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening, plus they’ll receive a one-time $250 Capital One Travel credit their first cardholder year. Earning the entire bonus is equal to $1,000 in travel!
75,000 bonus miles (after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening); $300 annual travel credit for bookings through Capital One Travel: Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
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Just wanted to bring to your attention that I spent 20 minutes on the phone with an account specialist yesterday who clarified one caveat with the Signup Bonus. I have been a Venture card user since 2010, and when I asked her directly if I would be eligible for the Signup Bonus (75,000 miles) they informed me point blank, “We cannot guarantee that.” This went back & forth for awhile, and so the text on their restrictions is a little misleading. There is literally no way to know for sure if you’ll be awarded the miles due to this vague disclosure at the bottom of their website: “Card offers with a cash or miles rewards bonus are available by clicking the “Apply Now” button on this page, and may not be available if you navigate away from or close this page. The bonus may not be available for existing or previous accountholders.”
Hi Josh,
Great read. Question for you. I currently have the Venture X and two old Quicksilvers.
I’m hoping to get the Venture sign on bonus, then cancel it after a year.
To do that I would need to cancel my two Quicksilver cards?
My only concern is that they’re old, it might tank my credit score. My score is 800.
Do you have any recommendations?
No, you wouldn’t have to cancel your Quicksilvers cards.