Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card vs. Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

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Premium travel rewards cards often come with premium annual fees. But the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card are two mid-level travel rewards cards with reasonable annual fees and some great travel perks. We compare these cards so you can decide which one fits your travel needs better, or if you want to apply for both.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card vs. Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: Side-By-Side Comparison

Welcome Offer Winner: Sapphire Preferred

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is currently offering: 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℠.

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card offers the following: Limited-time offer: For a limited time, earn 75,000 Miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening, plus receive a one-time $250 Capital One Travel credit in your first cardholder year – that’s equal to $1,000 in travel.

If you redeem the bonus points of the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card for travel through Chase Travel(SM), they’re worth 25% more. So, both cards offer similar value if you redeem your bonus rewards for travel. Afterward, the Sapphire Preferred card has the potential to get more value from the points you earn through spending.

Rewards Winner: Sapphire Preferred

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card earns you 5x points on travel booked through Chase Travel(SM); 3x on dining, streaming services, and online grocery purchases, 2x on travel not booked through Chase, and 1x on all other purchases.

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card earns you 5x miles on hotels, vacation rentals, and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, and 2x miles on all other purchases.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has better rewards on dining and on streaming services, plus your travel rewards can be redeemed through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal. You also get 5x on Lyft rides through March 31, 2025 and a 10% anniversary points boost. That means if you spend $5000 on your Chase Sapphire Preferred card, you’ll get an extra 500 bonus points. There’s also a $50 statement credit each account anniversary year for hotel stays booked through Chase Travel(SM).

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card makes it very easy: 2x on all purchases everyday and 5x when you book through Capital One Travel. However, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers more value with dining, online grocery, and streaming categories earning 3x points, plus you get an annual 10% points boost, so the Chase wins this round.

Here are the details for each card.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card Rewards

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card Rewards

Interest Rates Winner: It’s a tie

Both cards have the same annual fee: $95, and neither card is offering a 0% introductory rate at this time. Neither card has foreign transaction fees, which is nice because you won’t have to worry about fees if you travel internationally. The Capital One card offers both lower and higher interest rates, so it’s a wash.

Fee Winner: It’s a tie

Both cards have the same annual fee. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has a $50 statement credit for hotels booked through Chase Travel(SM), you could consider that the total cost of the card is actually $45. The Capital One card has an “experience credit” of $50, which is supposed to be used for dining, drinks, or other activities during a hotel stay. Sapphire Preferred‘s credit is more straightforward (who cares how you spend the $50 credit?) but since it’s the same amount of money, it’s still a tie.

Features and Benefits: Sapphire Preferred

Again, these cards are very similar in what features and benefits they offer. The Chase card offers purchase protection, which covers new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft, up to $500 per claim. This is the smallest of edges, but nevertheless, we give Chase the win.

Sapphire Preferred

Capital One Venture

Who the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is Best For

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a great travel card, especially for a card with an annual fee of $95. You get some nice travel perks, such as baggage delay insurance and lost luggage insurance. This is a Visa Signature card, so it comes with benefits such as trip cancellation insurance and purchase protection.

If you don’t want to pay a hefty annual fee but you enjoy traveling, this is a great choice. If you travel frequently and want more premium travel benefits, consider the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. You’ll get a welcome bonus worth $900 and more generous rewards, such as a $300 travel credit and more points on flights, car rentals and airfare. However, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® has a hefty annual fee of $550, so you need to travel quite a bit for the card to be worth it.

People who travel occasionally, or people who travel and don’t want to pay that annual fee will be very happy with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.

Who the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is Best For

People who like simplicity will love the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. You’ll earn 5x on travel (booked through Capital One) and 2x on all other purchases. Nothing to keep track of, nothing to sign up for. You could squeeze more value out of the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, but not everyone has the time or the motivation to maximize credit card rewards. And you get some nice perks such as two airport lounge visits a year, plus a $100 global entry or TSA Precheck credit. It’s more than worth the annual fee.

Those looking for more premium rewards could consider the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card. You get more rewards, but the annual fee is $395. But if you travel frequently and want more rewards, it could be perfect for you.

Does it Make Sense to Get Both Cards?

If you don’t mind shelling out almost $200 on annual fees, you could get both cards. You could use the Chase card for the elevated rewards on streaming, dining, and online grocery purchases, and then use the Capital One card for everything else. You’d also get the Visa Signature benefits of the Chase card. And you’d have a wider array of travel partners to use.

Approval Odds

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Both cards require excellent credit. Keep in mind that if you want to apply for both cards, Chase has the 5/24 rule, which means you can not have applied for more than five cards anytime in the last 24 months. Capital One doesn’t have this rule, so apply for the Chase card first.

Bottom Line

You really can’t go wrong with either card. Both are excellent mid-tier travel rewards cards that offer a lot of value for a reasonable annual fee. If you’re on the fence, look into what travel partners each card has and see which you prefer. And happy travels!