How I used my Venture X to get almost $800 in value from a Caribbean winter getaway

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is among my favorite travel credit cards.

I was initially attracted to the generous welcome offer and strong earning rates of at least 2 miles per dollar spent on every purchase, every day.

As I enter my second year of holding this card, its long-term benefits have meant it is still my go-to card for many purchases.

I recently had a free weekend after meeting with TPG’s fantastic newsletter team in Savannah, Georgia. Rather than returning straight home to dreary London, I longed for some sunshine and warmth.

I decided to escape to a Caribbean island I hadn’t visited before and settled on Grenada. While not as expensive as St. Kitts or the Bahamas, I was keen to keep the costs down and utilize some of the many perks of my Venture X.

Here’s how I used this card to save $791 on my weekend getaway.

Related: 6 things to do when you get the Capital One Venture X

$300 annual travel credit

The Venture X has an annual fee of $395 (see rates and fees), which might initially seem high, especially in the second and subsequent years where cardholders have already received a welcome bonus and are not eligible for another.

However, among the card’s many benefits that I used for this trip was the $300 annual credit toward bookings made through the Capital One Travel portal.

With limited nonstop flights from the U.S. to Grenada, I found an option on American Airlines from Miami International Airport (MIA) to Grenada’s Maurice Bishop International Airport (GND), which was reasonably priced at around $120.

There was award availability; however, for 15,000 American Airlines AAdvantage miles, I would have obtained less than 1 cent per AAdvantage mile, far lower than TPG’s March 2025 valuation of 1.65 cents. I’m also trying to secure my British Airways Executive Club elite status for another year, so I need all the tier points from cash fares I can get right now.

For these reasons, I chose to book the same flight through Capital One Travel. I feared the cost may be higher than booking directly with American, but I was pleased to see the Capital One price was identical.

I applied my $300 travel credit to the purchase, meaning I had nothing remaining to pay.

10 miles per dollar spent on hotels

With almost $180 of my annual travel credit still available, I moved on to securing accommodations in Grenada.

While I normally plan to redeem World of Hyatt points when I travel, as that program is my hotel loyalty program of choice, there is only one Hyatt property on the island of Grenada.

The Calabash Hotel is a Mr & Mrs Smith property that looks luxurious. However, with cash rates starting at $1,200 per night and redemptions starting at almost 100,000 Hyatt points per night, this was far more extravagant and expensive than I needed for a simple long weekend.

Instead, I found a cheap and cheerful independent property near the island’s famous Grand Anse Beach that I booked through Capital One Travel for $150 per night.

I booked three nights, applied the rest of my $300 annual travel credit (which covered an entire night of my stay and $27 of the second night) and then paid for the remainder, earning 10 Capital One miles per dollar spent for a total of 2,723 miles earned, a value of $50 based on TPG’s March 2025 valuations.

Related: The first Six Senses in the Caribbean is now open

10,000 anniversary miles

Venture X cardholders receive 10,000 miles on each account anniversary. As I entered the second year of being a cardholder, this perk slipped my mind, given I hadn’t looked at all the perks since I had activated the card over a year ago, but it was a nice surprise to see a five-figure boost added to my Capital One mile balance.

I usually transfer my Capital One miles to one of the more than 15 transfer partners, such as Air Canada Aeroplan, British Airways Executive Club or Singapore KrisFlyer.

Related: How (and why) you should earn transferable credit card points in 2025

However, JetBlue operates the only nonstop service from Grenada to New York (from which I was then catching my flight home to London), so my transfer options were limited. At the time of booking, JetBlue’s TrueBlue program was not a Capital One transfer partner. The issuer has recently re-added the airline, though, at a rather unimpressive transfer rate of 5:3.

My 10,000 anniversary miles covered most of the cost of my JetBlue flight to New York, which I booked through Capital One Travel, saving me $100. I earned another 285 Capital One miles for the remaining $57 owed thanks to the generous 5 points per dollar earning rate when booking flights through Capital One Travel, netting me a value of $10.

Rental car benefits

Though my accommodation was an easy 10-minute drive from Grenada’s airport, I was keen to explore the island during my getaway, so I booked a rental car.

I rented a car with Ace Rent A Car through the Capital One Travel portal and, like with my hotel, earned 10 miles per dollar spent on the booking. As a result, I received an additional 1,560 miles for the $156 purchase, banking $29 worth of miles to use for future travel.

By paying for the rental with my Venture X card, I also enjoyed insurance for collisions, theft, towing and loss-of-use charges, so I did not need to purchase a separate insurance policy, which saved me $52.

Related: Credit cards that offer elite status for car rentals

Lounge access

Another benefit of the Venture X is having access to 1,300-plus airport lounges worldwide via Capital One’s partner lounge network with Priority Pass. I could have used this perk to enter the Turkish Airlines Lounge in Miami, though I instead accessed the excellent American Airlines Flagship Lounge thanks to my Oneworld Sapphire status through British Airways.

One Priority Pass lounge was available when flying back to the U.S. from Grenada on JetBlue. The GAA Executive Lounge wasn’t anything flashy and certainly not a lounge worth arriving early for, but it did the job for a drink and a snack before boarding my five-hour flight to New York, saving me $30 on a single-entry lounge pass.

The following day, before my Delta Air Lines flight back to London, I took advantage of the one free entry to one Chase Sapphire Lounge benefit that all Priority Pass members (including those who receive access via a Venture X card) receive each year. With a few hours to kill at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)’s Terminal 4, I decided to try my luck and use my entry at the Sapphire Lounge by The Club with Etihad Airways. Expecting to wait for entry, I was pleasantly surprised to be admitted immediately, around 5 p.m. on a weekday afternoon.

While entering a Chase lounge via a Capital One credit card perk felt strange, it is a terrific airport lounge, easily one of the best Priority Pass lounges in the world and worth arriving early for.

Unlimited Champagne, bespoke cocktails and a choice between buffet and a la carte menu items was a pleasant way to wait for my flight, and I saved $100 on a single-entry lounge pass by utilizing this Venture X perk.

Global Entry credit

While planning this trip, I discovered Australian passport holders could finally apply for Global Entry, a time-saving benefit I had been waiting years to obtain. I submitted my application online and paid the $120 fee with my Venture X card.

I then received a credit for the full fee, meaning I can enjoy the benefits of Global Entry for five years with no out-of-pocket costs.

I’m now fully approved for this time-saving benefit.

Related: 8 ways to get free or discounted TSA PreCheck, Global Entry and Clear

Bottom line

I had a lovely, relaxing long weekend in sunny Grenada and highly recommend the tropical Caribbean paradise for a winter sunshine break despite the relative lack of flights from the U.S.

The island felt safe and peaceful, with welcoming locals. The food and drinks were terrific, and it was easy to get around. As I write this back in London, I miss drinking a rum punch under a breezy palm tree on the beach.

New Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card holders will earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 in the first three months of account opening.

Even though I’m no longer a new cardholder, my Venture X continues to reward me for everyday purchases, and I was impressed with how many benefits I could use from the card in a single weekend, even in my second year as a cardholder, long after the welcome bonus had been redeemed.

With just one trip, I managed to grab $781 worth of value from this card.

Related links:

• Who should (and shouldn’t) get the Capital One Venture X card?
• 8 frequently asked questions about the Capital One Venture X card
• Best ways to book flights to the Caribbean using points and miles
• Why the Venture X is a mainstay in my wallet
• The 12 best secret beaches in the Caribbean

For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the benefits may be provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.