The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees) and the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card 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, though: The Sapphire Preferred charges a $95 annual fee, while the Venture X charges a $395 annual fee — but their rewards programs and perks should be enough to offset each respective fee.
Below, CNBC Select compares the Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. the Capital One Venture X to help you decide which one works best with your lifestyle and spending needs.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card packs a punch for a $95 annual fee card, offering annual travel credits, comprehensive travel protections, flexible rewards and more.
- You can transfer rewards to all of Chase's travel partners including World of Hyatt, Southwest Rapid Rewards and many more
- Long list of travel and shopping protections
- Annual Chase Travel hotel credit
- Has an annual fee
- Requires a high credit score
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase TravelSM, 3x on dining, 3x on vacation homes, 3x on gas & EV charging, 3x on top streaming services and online groceries (excluding Walmart, Target, and wholesale clubs), 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases
- Earn up to $100 in statement credits each account anniversary year for hotel stays through Chase Travel
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Emergency Evacuation and Transportation and more
- Get a year of complimentary Apple TV when activated by December 31, 2026 - a value of $156.
- Complimentary DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees & lower service fees for 12 months when you activate by 12/31/27. Plus, a $10 promo each month on non-restaurant orders.
- Receive one statement credit of up to $120 every four years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to your card for a Global Entry, TSA Precheck® or NEXUS application.
- Transfer points to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs
- Member FDIC
Balance transfer fee
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is a premium credit card with a myriad of benefits and a lower annual fee than other high-end cards with similar features.
- Annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Travel
- 10,000 bonus miles after every card anniversary
- Unlimited complimentary access to 1,300+ airport lounges, including Capital One Lounge and Landing locations
- Long list of valuable travel and shopping protections, including return protection, rental car coverage and trip delay reimbursement (Benefit(s) only available to accounts approved for the Visa Infinite card. Terms apply.)
- Limited bonus spending categories compared to other premium credit cards
- High annual fee
- High credit score requirement (excellent credit)
Highlights
- Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel
- Receive a $300 annual credit for bookings through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options
- Get 10,000 bonus miles (equal to $100 towards travel) every year, starting on your first anniversary
- Earn unlimited 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Travel
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on all other purchases
- Enjoy access to 1,300+ lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge and Landing locations and participating Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Use your Venture X miles to easily cover travel expenses, including flights, hotels, rental cars and more—you can even transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®
- Top rated mobile app
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
Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Capital One Venture X
Annual fee
The Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Capital One Venture X 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 travel cards. The Venture X card, on the other hand, charges a hefty $395 annual fee.
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: Chase Sapphire Preferred
Welcome bonus
Both credit cards come with ambitious welcome bonuses. The Sapphire Preferred is currently offering: Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
Meanwhile, the Capital One Venture X is offering a 75,000-mile bonus when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
Both credit cards have three months to earn the welcome bonus. While you have to spend more to earn the Sapphire Preferred's bonus, it's a less-expensive card. Plus, Chase's Points Boost feature can help you extract more value from your rewards on select travel booked through Chase Travel℠.
WINNER: Chase Sapphire Preferred
Card rewards
Both credit cards are well known for their earnings on travel. But one card earns a higher flat rate on general purchases, while the other offers far more bonus spending categories.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred earns:
- 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 5X points on Peloton equipment and accessory purchases over $150 through Dec. 31, 2027
- 5X points on Lyft rides through Sept. 30, 2027
- 3X points on dining
- 3X points on select streaming services
- 3X points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- 3X points on vacation homes
- 3X points on gas and EV charging
- 2X points on all other travel purchases
- 1X points on all other purchases
The Capital One Venture X earns:
- 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked via the Capital One Travel portal
- 5X on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Travel
- 2X miles on all other purchases
The Chase Sapphire Preferred's 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠ is similar to the Venture X Card's 5X miles on flights; however, the Venture X also offers an impressive 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through its travel portal.
While the Sapphire Preferred has valuable 3X categories focused on everyday spending, their value will depend on how often you spend in those categories. Otherwise, the Venture X's flat 2X miles on all purchases could be more rewarding in the long run.
WINNER: Chase Sapphire Preferred
Redemption options
Both cards offer a variety of ways to redeem your rewards. With the Chase Sapphire Preferred, cardholders can redeem points for cash back, gift cards, travel and more at a rate of 1 cent per point. And thanks to Chase's Points Boost feature, points earned with the Sapphire Preferred are worth up to 1.5X on select hotel and flight bookings.
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 (think: around 2 cents per point), especially if you want to redeem them for luxury travel. Chase's transfer partners include:
Chase Ultimate Rewards® transfer partners
| Chase transfer partner | Transfer ratio for Chase Sapphire Reserve® and Sapphire Reserve for BusinessSM cards | Transfer ratio for Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card |
|---|---|---|
| Aer Lingus AerClub | 1:1 | 1:1 |
| The British Airways Club | 1:1 | 1:1 |
| Flying Blue (Air France and KLM) | 1:1 | 1:1 |
| Iberia Club | 1:1 | 1:1 |
| JetBlue TrueBlue | 1:1 | 1:1 |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 1:1 | 1:1 |
| Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards | 1:1 | 1:1 |
| United MileagePlus | 1:1 | 1:1 |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 1:1 | 1:1 |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | 1:1 | 1:1 |
| IHG One Rewards | 1:1 | 1:1 |
| Marriott Bonvoy | 1:1 | 1:1 |
| World of Hyatt | 1:1 | 4:3 |
| Wyndham Rewards | 1:1 | 1:1 |
Capital One miles can be redeemed in several ways, including:
- Booking travel directly through Capital One Travel
- Transferring them to airline and hotel partners
- Using them for recent travel purchases on your credit card statement
- Redeeming them for gift cards
- Redeeming them for cash back
The most valuable way to redeem Capital One miles is to transfer them to travel partners and book business or first-class award flights. Capital One's transfer partners include:
Capital One transfer partners
| Capital One transfer partners | Transfer ratio |
|---|---|
| Accor Live Limitless | 2:1 |
| Aeromexico Rewards | 1:1 |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | 1:1 |
| Avianca LifeMiles | 1:1 |
| British Airways Club | 1:1 |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | 1:1 |
| Choice Privileges | 1:1 |
| Emirates Skywards | 4:3 |
| Etihad Guest | 1:1 |
| EVA Air Infinity MileageLands | 4:3 |
| Finnair Plus | 1:1 |
| Flying Blue (Air France/KLM) | 1:1 |
| I Prefer Hotel Rewards | 1:2 |
| JAL Mileage Bank | 4:3 |
| JetBlue TrueBlue | 5:3 |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | 1:1 |
| Qatar Airways Privilege Club | 1:1 |
| Singapore KrisFlyer | 1:1 |
| TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go | 1:1 |
| Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles | 1:1 |
| Virgin Red | 1:1 |
| Wyndham Rewards | 1:1 |
WINNER: Tie
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:
- Up to $100 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit
- Up to $120 in application fee credit for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS every four years
- One year of complimentary Apple TV when activated by Dec. 31, 2026 (terms apply)
- Complimentary access to DashPass on eligible orders for 12 months when you activate by Dec. 31, 2027
- Various travel insurance protections, including primary rental car insurance, baggage delay insurance and trip delay reimbursement
Capital One Venture X cardholders can enjoy:
- 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 $120 statement credit for either Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®
- $100 experience credit toward the Premier Collection
- $50 experience credit toward the Lifestyle Collection
- Access to over 1,300 Priority Pass™ lounges, as well as Capital One Lounges
- *Complimentary cell phone insurance (terms and conditions apply)
- Travel insurance protections, including *baggage delay reimbursement and *trip delay reimbursement
WINNER: Capital One Venture X
Which should you get?
Both the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Capital One Venture X offer rewards and perks that can benefit travelers. But the right card for you will depend on the annual fee you're most comfortable with, the rewards categories you want to earn on and the card benefits you want access to.
The Venture X card comes with a heftier annual fee, though perks like the $300 annual travel credit and airport lounge access make up for that cost. The Sapphire Preferred's annual fee may feel a bit more manageable, and the card still offers valuable statement credits and travel insurance benefits.
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 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.
The Capital One VentureOne Rewards Credit Card earns transferable miles, which is a stand-out benefit for a no-annual-fee card. Not only is it great for earning travel rewards, but you'll also receive an intro APR for purchases and balance transfers for more than a year.
- You can transfer miles to all of Capital One's travel partners
- No foreign transaction fees
- No annual fee
- Limited bonus spending categories only apply to certain Capital One Travel bookings
- No travel credits
- Limited travel protections
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- Earn a bonus of 20,000 miles once you spend $500 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $200 in travel
- $0 annual fee and no foreign transaction fees
- Earn unlimited 1.25X miles on every purchase, every day
- Miles won't expire for the life of the account and there's no limit to how many you can earn
- Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- Use your miles to get reimbursed for any travel purchase—or redeem by booking a trip through Capital One Travel
- Transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Enjoy 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months; 18.49% - 28.49% variable APR after that; balance transfer fee applies
- Top rated mobile app
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
FAQs
Is the Chase Sapphire Preferred still worth it?
With the recent addition of a gas and EV charging bonus spending category, a Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS application fee credit, an enhanced hotel credit and more, the Chase Sapphire Preferred is definitely still worth it. Plus, the annual fee remains the same.
Which card has better travel insurance, the Capital One Venture X or Chase Sapphire Preferred?
The Chase Sapphire Preferred offers more comprehensive travel insurance, and for a much lower annual fee. It offers primary rental car insurance, baggage delay insurance, trip delay reimbursement, travel and emergency assistance services and more.
What credit score do you need for the Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Capital One Venture X?
The Sapphire Preferred requires a good-to-excellent credit score, or a FICO Score of 670 and up. The Capital One Venture X is a bit harder to qualify for, requiring an excellent credit score.
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*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
