Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Capital One Venture: Which $95 Annual Fee Card Should You Pick?
Kurt Adams
March 7, 2024
7 min read
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In life, we’re constantly asked to choose between two options, and that’s true when it comes to travel credit cards.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Capital One Venture Rewards Card are two entry-level travel cards that are great for folks who want to start earning points and miles. How do you choose which one is right for you?
Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Capital One Venture Rewards Card
Let’s start with how the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and Capital One Venture Rewards Card similar.
Both beginner cards earn points that transfer to a handful of airline and hotel partners. They also both come with nice welcome offers that can get you at least a head start toward a free flight.
Since the cost of holding the cards is equal, how do they compare? Which one is right for you?
Chase Sapphire Preferred and Capital One Venture Rewards Card Compared | |
|---|---|
card_name | card_name |
| Annual fee | |
annual_fees | annual_fees |
| Foreign transaction fees | |
foreign_transaction_fee | foreign_transaction_fee |
| Earning rate | |
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| Welcome offer | |
bonus_miles_full | bonus_miles_full |
| Our take | |
The statement credit for the application fee to Global Entry or TSA PreCheck effectively erases this card's annual fee. | This card earns some of the most valuable transferrable credit card points available. The travel protections easily make up for the annual fee. |
| Card benefits | |
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Earning points
I say this often but pay close attention to your card’s earning rates. While a welcome offer is exciting, the bonus points your card earns on your daily purchases will matter in the long term.
Capital One Venture Rewards Card
That’s it. Nothing else to think about.
Going to a football game? Buying tickets to a concert? This card will earn you 2X points on every purchase.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
More specifically, you’ll earn:
- 2X points per dollar on travel purchases: This is a pretty capacious category and includes things like public transit and Amtrak trains, as well as airfare.
- 5X points per dollar on purchases through the bank’s travel portal: If you book your flight through Chase Travel(SM), the bank’s travel portal, you’ll earn at this higher rate. Just do your homework first and compare the price if you bought directly from the airline.
- 3X points per dollar on dining at restaurants takeout, and eligible delivery services: Who doesn’t like to eat?
- 3X points per dollar on online grocery stores (excluding Target, Wal-Mart and wholesale clubs): This could be a great card to use if you ever order groceries online through services like Instacart or FreshDIrect.
- 3X points per dollar on streaming services: This could be a great card to put your monthly Netflix or Disney+ subscription on.
- 1X points per dollar on all other purchases.
Plus, on each card anniversary, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card awards you extra bonus points. You’ll receive an anniversary bonus equal to 10% of the total amount you spent last year. So, if you spent $10,000 on purchases, you’d get 1,000-anniversary bonus points.
Welcome offers
Both cards come with welcome offers granting you thousands of flexible travel points after spending a certain amount. Their offers are:
Capital One Venture Rewards Card
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
In sheer raw numbers, the welcome offer on the Capital One Venture Rewards card is higher.
But, I’d argue that the welcome offer on the Chase Sapphire Preferred card is more valuable because of where you can transfer its points. I’ll explain more below.
Transfer partners
The best way to maximize the value of your credit card points is to transfer them to the bank's airline and hotel partners. Called “transfer partners” or “travel partners,” you convert your hard-earned credit card points into miles with a specific airline.
| Chase and Capital One airline transfer partners |
Air Canada Aeroplan British Airways Executive Club Emirates Skyward Flying Blue (loyalty program for Air France and KLM) Singapore Airlines Virgin Atlantic (also called Virgin Red) |
Capital One Venture Rewards Card
The Capital One Venture Rewards card also has Avianca LifeMiles and Turkish Miles&Smiles among its transfer partners. We have sent several Going with Points deals making use of these airline partners.
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
However, I think it is Chase Sapphire Preferred’s travel partners where the card really shines. In addition to the partners listed above, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card has several US domestic airlines as partners including, United MileagePlus, Southwest Airlines, and JetBlue.
In addition, Iberia airlines is another airline partner, which can be a great way to fly business class to Europe for a reasonable amount of miles. The Chase Sapphire Preferred card also transfers to Hyatt hotels, which is a favorite of point and miles enthusiasts.
To be perfectly honest with you, the breadth of transfer partners for a relatively low annual fee is why the Chase Sapphire Preferred card is my favorite card in my wallet.
| Unique transfer partners by issuer | |
| Chase | Capital One |
Iberia JetBlue Southwest Airlines United MileagePlus | Aeromexico Avianca LifeMiles Cathay Pacific Eithad Guest EVA Air Finnair Qantas TAP Air Portugal Turkish Miles&Smiles |
Extra card perks and protections
Capital One Venture Rewards Card
One of the great things about the Capital One Venture Rewards card is that it offers a statement credit for an application fee for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.
You can use this application credit once every four years. And, if you already have it you could use this card’s credit for a loved one’s application.
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred card doesn’t have the Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit, but it is one of our top picks for credit cards with rental car insurance because it comes with Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver.
While many travel credit cards offer secondary rental car insurance coverage, this card provides primary coverage on car rentals, which means you would not need to file a claim with your personal auto insurance. So, if you used this card to pay for your rental car, you could potentially decline the rental company’s collision insurance and save on your costs.
This is the full list of travel protections that the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card offers:
- Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance: Up to $10,000 reimbursed per person if your trip is cancelled or cut short by sickness, severe weather or other covered situations.
- Auto rental collision damage waiver: Primary coverage
- Baggage delay insurance: Reimburses baggage delays over 6 hours up to $100 a day for five days.
- Trip delay insurance: Up to $500 per ticket when your carrier is delayed more than 12 hours or requires an overnight stay. Can include meal and lodging expenses.
Should you get the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Capital One Venture Rewards Card?
Of course, there’s no reason why you can’t have both. They complement each other and allow you to earn more points together.
Still need to think about it? Read our reviews of each card to help you decide.
Published March 7, 2024
Last updated March 28, 2024
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