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

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Welcome Bonus

Chase Sapphire Reserve®: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card: Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. How much these miles are worth depends on how you redeem them, but if you transfer them to Capital One transfer partners, they can be worth at least $750, perhaps more. You also get 10,000 points each year on your cardmember anniversary, which are worth about $100.

Both cards have the same spend to earn the bonus, but the Chase bonus is potentially worth more, so the Chase Sapphire Reserve® gets the nod here.

Cash Back Rewards

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card offers 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One, 5X on flights booked through Capital One, and 2X miles per dollar on everything else. For a limited time, you also get 10X per dollar when you book on Turo, a car-sharing/rental car company.

You can transfer your earned points to Capital One travel partners, but one thing to note is that Capital One has no domestic airlines as partners.

Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers similar rewards on hotels and car rentals at 10X per dollar and 5X on flights when booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards. You'll also get 3X points on other travel (tolls, parking, cruises, etc.), 3X on dining, and 1X on all other purchases.

Chase Sapphire Reserve® earns more on dining and other travel. Both cards offer a $300 credit on travel, but Chase defines travel much more liberally. You can get the credit for campgrounds, parking, AirBnB, and many other travel-related things, whereas Capital One only offers this credit for airlines, hotels, and car rentals.

Chase Sapphire Reserve® has an edge here because it offers more flexibility on the travel credit, and you get elevated rewards on dining.

Here are the details for each card:

Chase Sapphire Reserve® 

Rewards:

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card 

Rewards:

Rates and Fees

Neither of these cards has a 0% introductory offer. The annual fee for Chase Sapphire Reserve® is $550, which is a lot, but comparable to many premium travel credit cards.

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, by contrast, is a relative bargain at $395. Capital One wins this round.

Who the Chase Sapphire Reserve® is Best For

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® delivers a lot of value to people looking for premium travel benefits. Chase Ultimate Rewards offer flexibility, and if you frequently use Chase's travel partners (which include Marriott, United, and Hyatt) then the card might be worth it to you despite the annual fee.

Unlike Capital One, Chase has three domestic airlines as partners (JetBlue, United, and Southwest). One other thing to note is that you can add authorized users, but it will cost $75 per user. If you frequently use the partners offered by Chase, this card is a good match for you.

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

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card has some advantages over the Chase card, but some disadvantages as well. As already mentioned, the annual fee is significantly lower. Also, if you want to add an authorized user to the Capital One card, you can do so for free. And you get cell phone protection, up to $800. The Chase card doesn't have cell phone protection.

That said, Capital One's travel partners have less flexibility than Chase's. You could get around this by transferring your points to an airline within an alliance you want to fly with. For example, you could transfer your points to AirCanada, and then, because AirCanada is part of the Star Alliance, you could then use the points on United, which is also part of Star Alliance. Admittedly, this is a lot of work just to fly a domestic airline. But it's possible.

If you want to enjoy premium travel perks and don't want to pay more than you have to for an annual fee, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card card is for you.

Does it make sense to get both cards?

Probably not. Not only would that be expensive, but many benefits and perks are similar, including unlimited airport lounge access. There are a few differences, but it's more likely that one card will suit your travel needs better than the other.

Approval Odds

The credit score data listed below comes from publicly available information in several forums. The accuracy of the information cannot be verified. Keep in mind that credit card issuers consider more than an applicant’s credit score and that underwriting standards change over time.

Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

Credit score-wise, both cards are pretty similar: you need excellent credit. There are exceptions, though. If you do decide to apply for the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, make sure you remember the 5/24 rule (that is, you may not be approved if you opened more than five credit cards in the last 24 months).