Capital One Venture X Vs Chase Sapphire Preferred
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Capital One Venture X vs Chase Sapphire Preferred
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The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card launched over a year ago with a big welcome bonus and a great list of perks, including lounge access and an easy-to-use $300 annual travel credit that offsets a huge chunk of the card's $395 annual fee. It has a simple rewards structure and other generous benefits that easily make the card a long-term keeper.
Compare that with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, long considered the travel rewards credit card that opened the gate for dozens of subsequent competitors in an increasingly crowded market vying for a spot in your wallet, including the card above. Despite that, the Sapphire Preferred's deceptively simple benefits and $95 annual fee have cemented its place as a crowd favorite for over a decade, mostly because of the robust Chase Ultimate Rewards® program.
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Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
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Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Both cards offer valuable welcome offers. Here's what you'll get with each card:
- Venture X Rewards Credit Card: 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
- Sapphire Preferred: 80,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening (limited-time increased bonus)
While there's a gap in annual fees and current welcome offers, there are other considerations that could sway you toward one or the other. Here's what to know if you're trying to decide between the Venture X Rewards Credit Card and Sapphire Preferred.
We're focused here on the rewards and perks that come with each card. These cards won't be worth it if you're paying interest or late fees. When using a credit card, it's important to pay your balance in full each month, make payments on time, and only spend what you can afford to pay.
Welcome Bonus Offers
Normally, the Venture X Rewards Credit Card appears to have the advantage over the Sapphire Preferred with a bigger welcome offer, but right now the Sapphire Preferred is offering an elevated bonus.
With the Venture X, you can earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Each mile is worth 1 cent when applied toward travel purchases, making this offer worth at least $750 in travel.
Compare that with the 80,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening you'll get with the Sapphire Preferred. Again, each point is worth 1 cent by default, although Sapphire Preferred cardholders get a 25% boost when booking travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel Portal, making the bonus worth $1,000 toward travel.
However, Capital One and Chase both have numerous airline and hotel transfer partners – 18 for Capital One, 14 for Chase – that make it possible to get even more value from your welcome bonus.
According to Personal Finance Insider's most recent points and miles valuations, Capital One miles have an average redemption value of 1.7 cents, while Chase points are worth 1.8 cents apiece, on average. That could make your welcome bonus worth:
- Venture X Rewards Credit Card: $1,275 in travel
- Sapphire Preferred: $1,440 in travel
So while there's a gap here, Chase Ultimate Rewards points are a bit more valuable, again making the value a close call. The usefulness will depend on your travel goals and how you like to redeem your points. So, while the bonuses appear comparable at face value, the sky's the (literal – and figurative) limit here.
Ongoing Rewards Earning
The Venture X Rewards Credit Card earns 10 miles per dollar on car rentals and hotels booked through the Capital One Travel Portal and 5 miles per dollar on flights booked through Capital One Travel. Everything else earns a flat rate of 2 miles per dollar spent on purchases.
Because of the simple rewards structure, the Venture X Rewards Credit Card is customizable in that you can think of it as a 2% cash back card for travel purchases, or dive deeper to get more value from the program's airline and hotel partners. Either way, you're always earning a flat rate on most purchases – and more when you book travel through Capital One.
The Sapphire Preferred has more tiers to remember. You'll earn 5x points on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 2x points on all other travel purchases, 3x points on dining, online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), and select streaming services, 5x points on Lyft rides through March 2025, and 1 point per dollar everywhere else.
That compares to 5 miles per dollar you'll earn with the Venture X Rewards Credit Card for flights booked through Capital One Travel, but you'll earn 10x miles, double the Sapphire Preferred's 5 miles per dollar for hotels and car rentals, when you book through Capital One. The base rate of 2x miles with the Venture X Rewards Credit Card is also double the 1x base rate with the Sapphire Preferred.
But it's not easy to directly compare Capital One miles and Chase Ultimate Rewards points. While both have airline and hotel transfer partners, the selection has a wide variance, and each program will appeal to a certain type of traveler.
If you're looking for a travel rebate on your everyday spending, the winner here is the Venture X Rewards Credit Card. With the 2x flat rate for all purchases, you come out slightly ahead of the Sapphire Preferred (2x for travel vs 1.25x for travel, respectively).
Statement Credits
The Venture X Rewards Credit Card comes with up to $300 in annual travel credits for travel booked through Capital One, including flights, hotel stays, and car rentals.
The biggest issue is these are considered third-party bookings, so you probably won't earn points or have your elite status recognized for hotel and car rental reservations. If that's a concern, you can use the credit for flights, stay at a boutique hotel that doesn't have a loyalty program, or forgo the extra perks for elite status.
You'll also get a statement credit for the Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fees every four years. If you're already a member of either program, you can use the credit to pay for a friend or family member's application fee.
When you can use both credits to their maximum, that recovers the card's $395 annual fee. Or, if you use the $300 annual travel credit for travel you'd paid for anyway, that lower's the card's effective annual fee to only $95. Either way, the generous credits justify keeping the Venture X Rewards Credit Card for the long haul.
With the Sapphire Preferred, you'll get up to $50 in annual statement credits toward hotel purchases booked through the Chase Travel Portal. New cardholders can use the credit right away, while existing cardholders are eligible after their next account anniversary.
The hotel stay you book would also be a third-party booking, so again, you probably won't be able to take advantage of your elite status. But if you can use the credit, your annual fee effectively drops to just $45 out-of-pocket.
Chase also has monthly statement credits available through partnerships. You can earn up to $15 per quarter in statement credits toward Instacart purchases when you enroll for a complimentary six-month Instacart+ membership through July 31, 2024. That's up to $60 per year if you make the most of it with Instacart deliveries.
And through December 2023, you can get a $10 monthly statement credit from Gopuff when you set the Sapphire Preferred as your default payment method. Note there's a $10 minimum order amount and a flat $3.95 delivery fee per order.
Though not a statement credit per se, Sapphire Preferred cardholders can activate a complimentary DoorDash DashPass membership through December 31, 2024. DashPass normally costs $9.99 and gets members free delivery and discounted service fees on orders $12 and above.
To use all the Sapphire Preferred statement credits requires a level of commitment – and that's if Instacart and Gopuff are available where you live. Otherwise, the Venture X Rewards Credit Card statement credits are much simpler to use for most travelers.
Transfer Partners
The Venture X Rewards Credit Card and Sapphire Preferred card earn transferable rewards you can send to various airline and hotel loyalty programs. While there's some overlap, each program has its own sweet spots.
For instance, Capital One doesn't have any domestic airline partners, but you can still book domestic carriers thanks to partnerships and alliances. It's easy to book American Airlines flights with British Airways Avios points or Qantas miles, Delta flights with Flying Blue miles, and United flights with Air Canada Aeroplan points or Avianca LifeMiles. With the hotel partners, there are excellent deals available through Choice Privileges or Wyndham Rewards, especially if you typically stay at either chain anyway.
Capital One Venture X: Transfer partners
- Aeromexico Club Premier (1:1 ratio)
- Air Canada Aeroplan (1:1 ratio)
- Air France-KLM Flying Blue (1:1 ratio)
- ALL - Accor Live Limitless (2:1 ratio)
- Avianca LifeMiles (1:1 ratio)
- British Airways Executive Club (1:1 ratio)
- Cathay Pacific Asia Miles (1:1 ratio)
- Choice Privileges (1:1 ratio)
- Emirates Skywards (1:1 ratio)
- Etihad Guest (1:1 ratio)
- EVA Infinity MileageLands (2:1.5 ratio)
- Finnair Plus (1:1 ratio)
- Qantas Frequent Flyer (1:1 ratio)
- Singapore KrisFlyer (1:1 ratio)
- TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go (1:1 ratio)
- Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles (1:1 ratio)
- Virgin Red (1:1 ratio)
- Wyndham Rewards (1:1 ratio)
There's a level of digging required that makes the 18 transfer partners more advanced. That said, you can mine real value from the program if you know where you look. Capital One miles transfer at a 1:1 ratio to all partners except in the case of EVA Infinity MileageLands, which has a 2:1.5 ratio.
Compare that with the Chase Ultimate Rewards program, which has recognizable domestic partners like United, Southwest, Marriott, IHG, and Hyatt. Chase's transfer partners are more user- and beginner-friendly, and all have a 1:1 transfer ratio.
Chase Sapphire Preferred: Transfer Partners
- Aer Lingus AerClub
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- Air France-KLM Flying Blue
- British Airways Executive Club
- Emirates Skywards
- Iberia Plus
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
- United MileagePlus
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- IHG Rewards Club
- Marriott Bonvoy
- World of Hyatt
The best program for you depends on your travel patterns, and if you're comfortable doing some legwork. Either way, both programs offer real value and are worthwhile.
Anniversary Bonuses
The Venture X Rewards Credit Card comes with 10,000 bonus miles each year, starting with your first account anniversary. With an average redemption value of 1.7 cents each, that makes the 10,000-mile anniversary bonus worth $170 – and at least $100 toward travel booked through Capital One. That, combined with the $300 annual travel credit more than justifies keeping the card's annual fee – and that's even before considering the card's other useful benefits.
The Sapphire Preferred has an annual 10% points bonus equal to 10% of all purchases made within the previous year. The points are posted after your account anniversary.
Note the bonus is based on your total purchase amount, not how many points you earned. For example, if you spend $30,000 on your card in an anniversary year, you'd receive 3,000 bonus points, regardless of bonus categories.
Point for point, the Venture X Rewards Credit Card anniversary bonus is likely more useful for most people.
Airport Lounge Access
The Venture X Rewards Credit Card includes a Priority Pass Select membership, which gets you into over 1,300 airport lounges worldwide. Note that airport restaurants are no longer included with this membership, but it does offer an unlimited number of guests, depending on lounge capacity. That's a great value if you travel with a larger group or with family.
Capital One also has a lounge in Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), with two new ones in Denver (DEN) and Washington, DC-Dulles (IAD) set to open in 2023. You're allowed to bring up to two guests with you. You also get access to Plaza Premium Lounges worldwide.
The Sapphire Preferred doesn't offer any kind of lounge access.
Authorized Users
The Venture X Rewards Credit Card is an excellent deal if you want to add authorized users. You can add up to four authorized users for free, and they'll have access to many of the card's best perks, including:
- Priority Pass lounge access (for cardholder and unlimited guests, dependent upon lounge capacity)
- Capital One lounge access (cardholder and up to two guests)
- Hertz President's Circle elite status
- Cell phone protection
You can add authorized users to the Sapphire Preferred at no cost, and you'll earn points when they make purchases. They'll have access to the card's travel insurance, including primary car rental coverage, trip cancellation/interruption insurance, and lost luggage reimbursement, which are top-tier. But most of the card's perks are reserved for the primary cardholder.
Travel and Purchase Protections
Both the Venture X Rewards Credit Card and Sapphire Preferred have noteworthy travel insurance and purchase protection. Coverage limits vary, and each card has certain gaps.
Here's a side-by-side comparison of the most useful benefits:
| Benefit | Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card | Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card |
Car rental insurance | Primary — up to $75,000 on eligible rentals | Primary — up to the actual cash value of most cars on eligible rentals |
Trip cancellation/interruption | Up to $2,000 per person (cardholder and immediate family) | Up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip for pre-paid non-refundable travel expenses (cardholder and immediate family) |
Travel accident insurance | Up to $1,000,000 | Up to $500,000 |
Up to $500 per ticket (cardholder and immediate family) for delays of six hours or more | Up to $500 per ticket (cardholder and immediate family) for delays of 12+ hours or overnight | |
Lost luggage reimbursement | Up to $3,000 per covered trip (cardholder and immediate family) | Up to $3,000 per covered person per trip (cardholder and immediate family) |
Purchase protection | Up to $10,000 in reimbursement per claim, and up to $50,000 per account, within 90 days of purchase | Up to $500 in reimbursement per claim, and up to $50,000 per account, within 120 days of purchases |
Extended warranty | Extends the time period of a US manufacturer's warranty on eligible items by an additional year, on warranties of three years or less | Extends the time period of a US manufacturer's warranty on eligible items by an additional year, on warranties of three years or less |
Return protection | Up to $300 per item and an annual maximum of $1,000 per account, within 90 days of purchase | None |
Up to $800 in coverage per claim with a maximum of two claims and $1,600 per 12-month period ($50 deductible) | None | |
Travel and emergency assistance services | Yes (all costs are cardholder responsibility) | Yes (all costs are cardholder responsibility) |
Rental Car Elite Status
With the Venture X Rewards Credit Card, you'll get elite status with Hertz, which could mean added perks and discounts.
The Sapphire Preferred doesn't come with any rental car elite status.
Annual Fees
Both the Venture X Rewards Credit Card and Sapphire Preferred are considered premium credit cards. No doubt, there's a disparity in the annual fee amounts – but it might actually be easier to justify the Venture X Rewards Credit Card's annual fee thanks to the simple statement credits whereas the Sapphire Preferred's value depends on your spending habits and the value you get from the hotel, Instacart, and Gopuff credits.
The $395 annual fee on the Venture X Rewards Credit Card is completely offset between the $300 annual Capital One Travel credit and the 10,000-mile anniversary bonus (worth $100 in travel or around $170 when used with transfer partners). That doesn't include the value you get from lounge access, cell phone protection, Premier Collection hotel bookings, and more.
The Sapphire Preferred has a $95 annual fee. If you can use the annual $50 credit for hotel purchases booked through Chase, that effectively brings the fee down to $45. And if you can use the Instacart and Gopuff credits, you can easily come out ahead.
Neither card has foreign transaction fees, so it really comes down to each card's rewards-earning potential, ongoing benefits, and how useful you find the statement credits and transfer partners that'll sway you toward one over the other.
Venture X vs Sapphire Preferred Side-by-Side Comparison
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card | Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | |
| Annual fee | $95 | |
| Welcome bonus offer | 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening | 80,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening |
| Rewards rate | 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel 5 miles per dollar on flights booked through Capital One Travel 2x miles on all other purchases | 5x points on Lyft rides through March 2025 5x points on all travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards 3x points on dining, including eligible delivery services, takeout, and dining out 3x points on select streaming services 3x points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs) 2x points on other travel 1 point per dollar on everything else |
| Card benefits | Up to $300 per year in statement credits toward Capital One Travel bookings Priority Pass and Capital One airport lounge access 10,000-mile bonus each account anniversary Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit Rental car elite status Primary car rental insurance Trip delay reimbursement Travel accident insurance Cell phone protection Trip cancellation/interruption insurance Return protection Extended warranty Visa Infinite concierge Complimentary PRIOR subscription Access to Capital One Premier Collection luxury hotel program No foreign transaction fees | Up to $50 in statement credits toward hotel stays booked through Chase Complimentary DoorDash DashPass membership through December 31, 2024 $10 per month in Gopuff credit through December 2023 Six-month complimentary Instacart+ membership (activate by July 31, 2024) Up to $15 per quarter in Instacart credits through July 2024 10% anniversary point bonus Primary car rental insurance Trip interruption/cancellation Trip delay insurance Baggage delay insurance Lost luggage reimbursement Extended warranty No foreign transaction fees |
| Review | Chase Sapphire Preferred Card Review |
What to Know About the Capital One Venture X and Chase Sapphire Preferred
The $395 annual fee with the Venture X Rewards Credit Card can give you sticker shock at first, but it's easy to cover it entirely with a slew of premium benefits including a $300 annual Capital One Travel credit and 10,000 bonus miles on your card anniversary.
While the Sapphire Preferred has a lower $95 annual fee, the benefits aren't as well-rounded, though there's potential to earn more ongoing rewards thanks to higher category bonus points. Here, there's also the potential to cover the annual fee with statement credits alone, but they're not as straightforward as the ones you get with the Venture X Rewards Credit Card.
Additional factors – like if you want to add authorized users, if you value the cell phone protection, which transfer partners you like better, and which travel protections give you peace of mind – are worth consideration.
The Venture X Rewards Credit Card is a relatively new entry to the travel rewards space, while the Sapphire Preferred is a tried-and-true classic. The right one for you depends on your personal preferences, spending habits, and which card's benefits are worthy of a spot in your wallet.
Editorial Note: Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer. Read our editorial standards.
Please note: While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they're subject to change at any time and may have changed, or may no longer be available.
**Enrollment required.
***Terms, conditions, and exclusions apply. Refer to your Guide to Benefits for more details. Travel Accident Insurance is not guaranteed, it depends on the level of benefits you get at application.
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
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