Chase Sapphire Preferred Card vs. Capital One Venture X Rewards Card: Which card is better for travel?
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (see rates and fees) are two popular credit cards designed for rewarding those who love to spend on travel. They do have big differences in the annual fees they charge — the Chase Sapphire Preferred card has a $95 annual fee while the Venture X card has a $395 annual fee (see rates and fees). But their rewards programs and perks should be enough to offset each respective fee. The two cards are consistently solid contenders for those who want to upgrade to a card that gives them more bang for their buck, especially when booking flights and hotels. Below, CNBC Select compares both cards to help you figure out which one works best with your lifestyle and spending needs.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card vs. Capital One Venture X Rewards Card

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card Learn More On Chase's secure site Rewards Enjoy beneﬁts such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases, and $50 annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit, plus more.

Welcome bonus Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.

Annual fee $95

Intro APR None

Regular APR 21.49% - 28.49% variable on purchases and balance transfers

Balance transfer fee Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater

Foreign transaction fee None

Credit needed Excellent/Good

Terms apply. Read our Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card review. Pros Points are worth 25% more when redeemed for travel via Chase Travel℠

Transfer points to leading frequent travel programs at a 1:1 rate, including: IHG® Rewards Club, Marriott Bonvoy™ and World of Hyatt®

Travel protections include: auto rental collision damage waiver, baggage delay insurance and trip delay reimbursement

No fee charged on purchases made outside the U.S. Cons $95 annual fee

No introductory 0% APR Learn More View More

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card Learn More On Capital One's secure site Rewards Unlimited 2X miles on all eligible purchases, and 5 Miles per dollar on flights and 10 Miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars when booked via Capital One Travel portal

Welcome bonus Earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening

Annual fee $395

Intro APR None

Regular APR 19.99% - 29.99% (Variable)

Balance transfer fee $0 at the Transfer APR, 4% of the amount of each transferred balance that posts to your account at a promotional APR that Capital One may offer to you

Foreign transaction fees $0

Credit needed Excellent

See rates and fees, terms apply. Read our Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card review. Pros Large welcome bonus

No foreign transaction fees

Up to $100 statement credits for either Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®

Unlimited complimentary access for you and two guests to 1,300+ lounges, including Capital One Lounges and the Partner Lounge Network Cons High annual fee

No introductory 0% APR period Learn More View More

Annual fee

The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and the Capital One Venture X Rewards Card sit at opposite ends of the annual fee spectrum. The Sapphire Preferred card has a $95 annual fee, which makes it among the most affordable. The Venture X card, on the other hand, charges a hefty $395 annual fee (see rates and fees). Granted, the annual fee on the Venture X Card still isn't as high as the Chase Sapphire Reserve® $550 annual fee, or The Platinum Card® from American Express $695 fee (see rates and fees), but it's still a considerable expense. Terms apply. Of course, both cards have perks and benefits that can offset the cost of that fee, so make sure you determine whether or not you can truly make that fee worthwhile. WINNER: The Chase Sapphire Preferred card's annual fee costs $300 less than the Venture X card's. This already makes it appealing to those who want to upgrade to a card with more perks but don't quite have the appetite for a higher annual fee. Again, both cards offer benefits that can offset the costs of those annual fees.

Card rewards

Both credit cards are well known for their earnings for booking travel, but there are many key differences in the way you rack up rewards. Chase Sapphire Preferred Card: Cardholders can earn 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3X points on dining, 3X points on select streaming services and online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs), 2X points on all other travel purchases, and 1X points on all other purchases. Capital One Venture X Card: Earn unlimited 2X miles on all eligible purchases, and 5 miles per dollar on flights and 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars when booked via Capital One Travel portal. At first glance, you'll notice that the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card lets you earn points while the Venture X Card lets you earn miles. However, the miles you earn on the Venture X card actually function similarly to transferable points programs since they can be redeemed for more than just travel (below, we break down the different ways cardholders can redeem their rewards for both cards). The Chase Sapphire Preferred impressive offer of 5X points on travel purchases through Chase Travel℠ appears similar to the Venture X Card's offer of 5 miles per dollar on flights. However, the Venture X Card also offers an impressive 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars that get booked through their travel portal. However, the point and mile values can be very different when redeeming them for rewards through each card provider's respective travel portals. For instance, 75,000 miles from the Venture X Card's welcome bonus is worth around $750, while you only need 60,000 bonus points earned through the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card's welcome bonus to achieve the same cash value of $750. Rewards experts like The Points Guy take into account the different transfer options when valuing points. Because of this, they value the points at 1.25 cents per point for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, making the value of the bonus work out to $1,200. They also value the miles for the Venture X card at 1.85 cents per point (when again, taking into account the various transfer options), making the full value of the bonus work out to be $1,387.50 toward travel. Aside from travel rewards, the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card gives a generous 3X earnings for money spent on dining, streaming services and grocery store purchases, whereas the Venture X Card lets users earn 2X on other eligible purchases. WINNER: The Capital One Venture X Rewards Card comes out on top since the full value of its welcome bonus works out to be higher than that of the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. On top of that, at the very least, you'll earn 2X miles on other eligible purchases with the Venture X card while the Chase Sapphire Preferred card only lets you earn 1X points on other eligible purchases. So even if you don't spend a ton on travel or dining, you'll still earn more for other types of purchases with the Venture X card.

Redemption options

There are a variety of ways to redeem your rewards for both credit cards. Chase Sapphire Preferred Card: Cardholders can redeem points for cash back or gift cards at a rate of 1 cent per point. If redeeming through Chase Travel℠, though, you'll increase the value of your points to 1.25 cents apiece. If you use this redemption option, the 60,000-point welcome bonus is worth $750. The most valuable option is generally to transfer your points to one of Chase's hotel and airline partners. Transferring your points to partners typically yields a much higher value, especially if you want to redeem them for luxury travel. Chase's 14 transfer partners include: Aer Lingus AerClub

Air Canada Aeroplan

British Airways Executive Club

Emirates Skywards

Flying Blue (KLM and Air France)

Iberia Plus

JetBlue TrueBlue

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer

Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards

United MileagePlus

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

IHG One Rewards

Marriott Bonvoy

World of Hyatt Capital One Venture X Rewards Card: Capital One miles can be redeemed in several ways, including: Booking travel directly through Capital One Travel

Transferring them to 17 different airline and hotel partners (like Air France-KLM Flying Blue and Air Canada Aeroplan)

Using them for recent travel purchases on your credit card statement

Redeeming them for gift cards

Redeeming them for cash back (note: similar to the CSP card, this is the least valuable option) The most valuable way to redeem Capital One miles is to transfer them to the various travel partners and book business or first-class award flights. Capital One's 17 transfer partners include: Aeromexico

Air Canada

Air France-KLM

ALL Accor Live Limitless

Avianca

British Airways

Cathay Pacific

Choice Privileges

Emirates

Etihad

EVA Air

Finnair

Qantas

Singapore Airlines

TAP Air Portugal

Turkish Airlines

Wyndham Hotels

The welcome bonus

Both credit cards come with ambitious welcome bonuses. Chase Sapphire Preferred Card: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠. Capital One Venture X Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening. Both credit cards have a fairly short time horizon for earning the welcome bonus; new cardholders will have to spend $4,000 within the first 3 months after opening an account. While it may appear that you earn a larger bonus for spending the same amount on the Venture X card, when you calculate the value of the miles when redeemed for travel through each card's respective rewards portal, it comes out to $750 for both credit cards. Again, though, when you take into consideration the value of rewards when redeeming through transfer partners, the Venture X card comes out on top since the welcome bonus is valued at $1,387.50 toward travel and the Chase Sapphire Preferred bonus is valued at $1,200. WINNER: If you plan to redeem the welcome bonus through each card's respective rewards portal, it's a tie since the value of the welcome bonus works out to be the same. However, if you're redeeming the bonus through transfer partners, the Venture X card provides the best value.

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Additional perks

Both cards come with an appealing array of perks that are meant to satisfy different lifestyle needs. Chase Sapphire Preferred cardholders can enjoy these additional perks: Exclusive shopping discounts at select retailers

Up to $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit

Trip cancellation and interruption insurance

Primary rental car insurance

Baggage delay insurance

Trip delay reimbursement

Each account anniversary, you'll earn bonus points equal to 10% of your total purchases made the previous year. For instance, if you spend $25,000 on purchases, you'll receive 2,500 bonus points

Cardholders can get complimentary access to DashPass, which is a membership that can be used for DoorDash and Caviar. You'll pay $0 delivery fees and lower service fees on eligible orders for a minimum of one year when you activate this perk by December 31, 2024

6 months of complimentary Instacart+ membership if activated by July 31, 2024 (membership auto-renews). Instacart+ members can also earn up to $15 in statement credits quarterly through July 2024 Capital One Venture X cardholders can enjoy these additional perks: Up to $300 in annual statement credits each year for bookings made through Capital One Travel

A 10,000-mile bonus on each account anniversary, starting on your first card anniversary

Up to $100 statement credit for either Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®

Access to over 1,300 Priority Pass lounges, as well as Capital One Lounges. Free entry for up to two guests per visit ($45 per visit for additional guests)

*Complimentary cell phone insurance (terms and conditions apply)

*Baggage delay reimbursement

*Trip delay reimbursement WINNER: As far as travel credit cards go, the Capital One Venture X card comes out on top for its more robust set of travel perks. The Sapphire Preferred card does offer some lifestyle benefits, like the complimentary DashPass and Instacart+ membership, but those perks may not be most valuable to those who are just looking for a travel credit card that'll give them more bang for their buck.

Bottom line

Both the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and the Capital One Venture X card are such strong travel credit cards that it can be genuinely difficult to go with one over the other. The Venture X card comes with a hefty annual fee of $395 (see rates and fees), though, perks like the $300 annual travel credit and airport lounge access make up for that cost. The Sapphire Preferred $95 annual fee may feel a bit more manageable to more people but still offers valuable benefits like trip delay insurance and monthly credits for popular delivery services. Overall, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card may be best suited for those who value the best of both travel and dining perks. The Capital One Venture X card is best for those serious travelers who want elite perks without elite airline status. Both cards offer a ton of value if used correctly. However, if you still want some to earn towards travel without paying high annual fees, you might consider opting for a low or no-cost credit card like the Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card (see rates and fees).

Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card Learn More On Capital One's secure site Rewards 5 Miles per dollar on hotel and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, 1.25X miles per dollar on every purchase

Welcome bonus Earn a bonus of 20,000 miles once you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $200 in travel

Annual fee $0

Intro APR 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months

Regular APR 19.99% - 29.99% variable

Balance transfer fee 3% for the first 15 months; 4% at a promotional APR that Capital One may offer you at any other time

Foreign transaction fee None

Credit needed Excellent/Good

See rates and fees. Terms apply. Read our Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card review.

Catch up on CNBC Select's in-depth coverage of credit cards, banking and money, and follow us on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to stay up to date. For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, 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



Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.