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

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Two of the most popular travel rewards cards are the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card. Both cards offer a generous welcome bonus and plenty of ongoing rewards and travel perks. Which card should you apply for? Or should you get both?

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

Welcome Offer Winner: It’s a Tie

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has this offer for new cardholders: Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's over $900 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.. You also earn bonus points each anniversary equal to 10% of the total purchases you made in the past year. So, if you spent $5,000, you’ll get 500 bonus points.

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card offers this: Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. You also get a $300 travel credit and 10,000 bonus miles on your cardmember anniversary. The bonus miles vary in value, depending on how you redeem them, but according to Capital One, this bonus is worth about $750.

These offers are very similar. They both require the exact same amount of spend in the same amount of time, and both are worth roughly the same amount of money. This is a tie.

Rewards Winner: Venture X

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers 5x points on travel booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3x on dining, 3x points on online grocery purchases, 3x points on select streaming services, 2x points on other travel and 1x point on everything else. You also get a $50 hotel credit for hotel stays booked through Chase. Note that the grocery purchases must be made online and that this offer excludes Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs. This card also offers 25% more value for your points when you use them to purchase travel through Chase. You get a 10% points boost every year as well.

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card earns you 2x miles on almost every purchase. However, you’ll earn 10x points on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One and 5x points on flights. You can also get the $300 travel credit and the anniversary miles every year, worth about $100 in travel. You also get a $100 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck. You’ll get access to the Capital One airport lounges (there are only three at the moment; Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, and Dulles International Airport, although more are planned), and you’ll have access to Priority Pass airport lounges.

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card offers more travel perks, but the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card does offer better rewards on streaming, online groceries, and restaurants. On the other hand, Capital One has a $300 travel credit, and Chase only has a $50 hotel credit. Going purely on rewards, we give the nod to Capital One.

Here are the details for each card.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card Rewards

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card Rewards

Interest Rates Winner: It’s a Tie

Both cards offer similar interest rates. Neither card has foreign transaction fees or 0% introductory APR offers. You might pay slightly less with the Capital One card, but you could also pay more. This is a tie.

Fee Winner: Sapphire Preferred

The biggest difference between these two cards is the annual fee. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has an annual fee of $95, whereas Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has an annual fee of $395. Since neither card offers 0% introductory APR and neither has foreign transaction fees, based purely on the annual fee (and the value for the money) we give the win to Chase.

Features and Benefits: Venture X

For features and benefits, Venture X wins. It offers several travel perks, including airport lounge access, that the Sapphire Preferred can’t match. And you get cell phone protection, which is a nice benefit as well.

Sapphire Preferred

Venture X

Who the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is Best For

There’s no denying it, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a terrific card, even if you travel only a few times a year. Chase offers excellent travel benefits through Chase Ultimate Rewards. It has many travel partners you can transfer the points to, thereby possibly getting more value out of your points. If you book a hotel through Chase, you can get a $50 hotel credit, lowering the annual fee to $45 a year. And the car rental insurance is primary insurance, which means if you get into an accident the credit card’s insurance can cover your claim (Heads up: it doesn’t cover liability insurance. Be sure to read the card’s Guide to Benefits for more information on how this insurance works.)

Who the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is Best For

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is great value. With the $300 travel credit and the anniversary miles worth about $100, it’s like Capital One is paying you $5 a year to carry this card. And, if you travel frequently and value a good airport lounge, Capital One offers access to over 1300 Priority Pass lounges. Also, Capital One can price match, so if you are booking a flight or a hotel and find a cheaper price, Capital One can match it. This is an excellent premium travel rewards card with great benefits for those who travel. But remember, if you don’t travel in any given year, you’ll be stuck shelling out $395 for the annual fee. The travel credit is pretty flexible, though.

Does It Make Sense to Get Both Cards?

Perhaps, but to get both bonuses, you would have to spend $8,000 in three months. This is fine if you were going to spend the money anyway, but if you run your cards up just to get the bonus, it’s not worth it. Also, keep in mind that Chase has that 5/24 rule. This means that if you’ve applied for five or more credit cards within the last 24 months, Chase will likely deny your application, no matter what your credit score is. Also, keep in mind that if you do get both cards, you’ll have to juggle benefits among two different ecosystems when you’re planning a trip, Chase and Capital One. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it does require more work.

Approval Odds

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

Both cards require excellent credit and show pretty similar approval scores. If you want to apply for both, apply for the Chase card first, since Chase has the infamous 5/24 rule, and Capital One does not.

Bottom Line

Both of these cards are excellent travel rewards cards. The Capital One card offers more premium benefits, but it also has a premium price. If you travel quite frequently, you’ll appreciate the value of the Capital One card. If you travel only once or twice a year, the Chase card is perfect for you.