Chase Sapphire Preferred vs Capital One Venture Rewards

If you’re in the market for a travel rewards credit card, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card are two cards that should be at the top of your list. Both cards offer generous sign-up bonuses, solid rewards rates and a variety of travel benefits.

When deciding which card is best for you, there are several factors to consider, including annual fees, rewards values and transfer options. But, essentially, it comes down to the following:

• Consider the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card if you spend a large amount on dining and travel, and if you want to maximize the value of your sign-up bonus.
• Consider the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card if want to earn a flat rewards rate on every purchase.

See how the cards compare side by side in the table below.

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

	Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card	Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card
Intro bonus	Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.	One-time bonus of 50,000 miles once you spend $3,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $500 in travel
Rewards rate	2X points on travel and dining at restaurants & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases worldwide	2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day
Intro APR on purchases	N/A	N/A
Regular purchase APR	17.49% - 24.49% Variable	17.49% - 24.74% (Variable)
Annual fee	$95	$0 intro for first year; $95 after that
Foreign transaction fees	$0	None

Read on to see the pros and cons of each card.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card pros and cons

Pros

Valuable sign-up bonus. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card lets cardholders earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Points are valued at 1 cent each – making the sign-up bonus worth $600. However, when you redeem your points for airfare, hotels, car rentals or cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, the value of each point increases to 1.25 cents — making the sign-up bonus worth $750 toward travel.

Bonus points on travel and dining. Cardholders earn 2X points on travel and dining at restaurants & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases worldwide.

The travel category includes airlines, discounted travel sites, hotels, car rental agencies, timeshares, cruise lines, taxis, ferries, trains, buses, limousines, toll bridges, parking lots and more. The restaurant category includes sit-down or eat-in dining locations, such as fast-food restaurants and fine dining establishments.

Transfer points at a 1:1 rate. You can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points at a rate of 1:1 to 10 airline partner programs and three hotel partners. Travel transfer partners include Aer Lingus AerClub, British Airways Executive Club, Emirates Skywards, Flying Blue AIR FRANCE KLM, Iberia Plus, JetBlue TrueBlue, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards, United MileagePlus, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, IHG Rewards Club, Marriott Bonvoy and World of Hyatt.

Additional benefits. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card comes with a number of benefits, including no foreign transaction fees, trip cancellation/interruption insurance, baggage delay insurance, trip delay reimbursement, purchase protection, extended warranty protection and more.

Cons

Annual fee. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card comes with a $95 annual fee. Unlike the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card, the annual fee is not waived the first year.

Limited bonus categories. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card only offers bonus points on travel and dining purchases. Everyday purchases, such as gas and groceries, only earn 1 point per dollar spent.

Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card pros and cons

Pros

Simple rewards structure. The Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card offers a simple, straightforward approach to earning rewards as cardholders earn 2 miles per dollar on every purchase, every day.

Each mile is valued at 1 cent, making the sign-up bonus worth $500.

Bonus miles on hotel stays. Along with 2 miles per dollar on every purchase, every day.

Annual fee. Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card holders aren’t responsible for paying an annual fee during the first year of card membership. The card charges $0 intro for first year; $95 after that.

Global Entry/TSA Precheck credit. Every four years, the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card offers a $100 credit for your Global Entry application or an $85 credit for your TSA Precheck application.

Additional benefits. The Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card comes with a variety of perks, including no foreign transaction fees, travel accident insurance, extended warranty, 24-hour travel assistance services, auto rental collision damage waiver and more.

Cons

Limited travel transfer partners. Although the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card offers more airline transfer partners than the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (15 compared with 10), the list does not include major airlines, such as United Airlines, British Airways or Southwest Airlines. The Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card also doesn’t offer hotel transfer partners.

While you are limited to where you can transfer miles, you can use your miles to book any airline, with no seat restrictions or blackout dates. You can also redeem miles for car rentals, hotels, ride-sharing apps, cruises and more.

No introductory APR offer. Like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card does not offer a 0% introductory APR on purchases. If you’re planning to finance a vacation or another large purchase, this card is not ideal, since you’ll incur interest charges of 17.49% - 24.74% (variable) if you don’t pay your bill in full each month.

Which card is right for you?

Ultimately, the right card for you comes down to what you want to get out of the card.

If you want to get the most value from your rewards, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the best option, since you can get 25% more value in rewards value when you redeem points for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards. Plus, you can transfer miles at a 1:1 rate to a number of airline and hotel transfer partners.

But if you want more flexibility in how you earn rewards, the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card is the better choice, since the card offers bonus miles on every purchase. Plus, because the card offers an annual fee of $0 intro for first year; $95 after that, you’re able to try the card out without a financial commitment.

Or, instead of choosing between the cards, why not get both? You can use the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card for everyday purchases and hotel bookings, and the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card for dining and travel purchases.