Capital One Financial is positioning itself for a big rebound in travel by rolling out its first-ever premium-level travel credit card that has its own reservation service.
The $395-a-year Capital One Venture X card launches next week with the issuer’s new in-house service for booking, Capital One announced Thursday.
Capital One Venture X wedges into an intensely competitive niche where American Express and JPMorgan Chase have recently
The new card marks a departure from Capital One’s longtime focus on more middle-market travelers with the $95-a-year Capital One Venture card, which has been its backbone in the profitable travel credit card sector for more than a decade.
Analysts say consumer travel spending is still far from healthy, even though some COVID-19 travel restrictions have eased.
“There’s a lot of wishful thinking going on by travel card issuers, but the big players want to be ready when the sector does come surging back,” said Brian Riley, director of credit advisory at Mercator Advisory Services.
Capital One CEO Richard Fairbank has expressed optimism about travel spending. He told analysts last month that while travel is the slowest of all spending categories to recover from pandemic, the sector is beginning to catch up to 2019 levels, and consumers who have been “cooped up” are primed to break out.
“Consumers have behaved very rationally through this period of uncertainty, generally saving more, spending less and paying down debt,” Fairbank told analysts when discussing third-quarter earnings.
Capital One’s newest card includes a $300 annual credit for bookings through Capital One Travel, which launched this year. Last March, Capital One led a $170 million investment in the travel booking app Hopper.
The card issuer is also opening its first
Capital One Venture X cardholders have unlimited free access to the lounges, while customers with Capital One’s Venture and Spark cards receive two free visits per year, with all other visits $45 each.
