Chase Sapphire Preferred Card vs. Capital One Venture X Rewards Card: Which card is better for travel?

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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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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).

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every credit card review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of credit card products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.

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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