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Christine ran her own business developing and managing insurance and financial services. This stoked a passion for points and miles and she now has over 2 dozen credit cards and creates in-depth, deta...
A long-time points and miles student, Jessica is the former Personal Finance Managing Editor at U.S. News and World Report and is passionate about helping consumers fund their travels for as little ca...
Juan has been involved in credit cards, loyalty, travel, and personal finance for more than 10 years. He has worked for several outlets including The Points Guy and Forbes and was previously Editor-in...
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The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a very popular travel rewards card that receives many accolades. It’s often recommended as a desirable first travel rewards card because it serves as a solid foundation for earning flexible travel rewards, offers redemptions that provide good value, and hosts a long list of benefits.
So you might wonder why we’ve chosen to pit the Chase Sapphire Preferred card against the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. The Chase Sapphire Preferred card, after all, is a reigning champ in its category. But like any reigning champ, challengers surface that require the champ to defend their title.
In this battle, there isn’t a clear winner or loser — both cards measure up well when we look at earnings, redemption options, and benefits. Today we’ll break down how each card delivers in all the categories that matter when you’re considering a travel rewards card.
And regardless of which card prevails in the challenge, as a frequent traveler, you’ll always be the winner!
Here’s all the important information you’ll need to evaluate these 2 cards for yourself.
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card vs. Capital One Venture Card — Overview
Let’s take a look at the high-level features of both the Chase Sapphire Preferred card and Capital One Venture card:
Receiving a sign-up bonus when you meet the spending requirements on your credit card can jump-start your earnings with points that are worth hundreds of dollars when redeemed for travel. The bonus is usually achieved by meeting a designated minimum spend within the first few months after you’re approved for the card.
Don’t miss out on the welcome bonus when you sign up for a card — it’s the quickest way to begin building a bank of valuable rewards points.
The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the in's and out's of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.
A fantastic travel card with a huge welcome offer, good benefits, and perks for a moderate annual fee.
A fantastic travel card with a huge welcome offer, good benefits, and perks for a moderate annual fee.
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 Ultimate Rewards®.
60,000 points
$1,200
$95
Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO®Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit cardapplication.
Good to Excellent (670-850)
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® card is one of the best travel rewards cardson the market. Its bonus categories include travel, dining, online grocery purchases, and streaming services, which gives you the opportunity to earn lots of bonus points on these purchases.
Additionally, it offers flexible point redemption options, no foreign transaction fees, and excellent travel insurance coverage including primary car rental insurance. With benefits like these, it’s easy to see why this card is an excellent choice for any traveler.
Pros
5x points on all travel booked via the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal
5x points on select Peloton purchases over $250 (through March 31, 2025)
5x points on Lyft purchases (through March 31, 2025)
3x points on dining purchases, online grocery purchases, and select streaming services
2x points on all other travel worldwide
$50 annual credit on hotel stays booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal
6 months of complimentary Instacart+ (activate by July 31, 2024), plus up to $15 in statement credits each quarter through July 2024
Excellent travel and car rental insurance
10% annual bonus points
No foreign transaction fees
1:1 point transfer to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs like United MileagePlus and World of Hyatt
Complimentary Spot Club Platinum status with The Parking Spot for 2 years, 20% off of your first reservation, and points for 1 free day of parking (enroll by October 26, 2023)
Cons
$95 annual fee
No elite benefits like airport lounge access or hotel elite status
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 Ultimate Rewards®.
Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3x on dining, and 2x on all other travel purchases, and $50 annual Ultimate Rewards Hotel Credit, plus more.
Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. For example, 60,000 points are worth $750 toward travel.
Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2024.
The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the in's and out's of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.
Get 2x miles plus some of the most flexible redemptions offered by a travel credit card!
Get 2x miles plus some of the most flexible redemptions offered by a travel credit card!
Enjoy a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel.
75,000 miles
$1,350
$95
19.99% - 29.99% (Variable)
Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO®Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit cardapplication.
Good to Excellent Credit (670-850)
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Cardis one of the most popular rewards cards on the market. It’s perfect for anyone in search of a great welcome offer, high rewards rates, and flexible redemption options.
Frequent travelers with excellent credit may benefit from this credit card that offers a lot of bells and whistles. And it offers easy-to-understand rewards earning and redemption.
Pros
5x miles per $1 on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
2x miles per $1 on all other purchases
2 complimentary visits to a Capital One Lounge or Plaza Premium Lounges each year
Hot Tip: Securing the initial welcome bonus is the fastest way to accumulate valuable points. Planning the timing of your credit card application to take advantage of a large upcoming purchase or expense ensures you’ll be able to meet this important spending requirement in the first 3 months after card approval.
Ultimate Rewards Points vs. Capital One Miles
Receive 2x earnings on all your travel purchases. Image Credit: James Harding via Eurail
A frequent traveler could fare well with either of these travel rewards cards, as both deliver respectable earnings on travel and dining purchases.
Also, if your spending is not primarily in the bonus categories of the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, receiving 2x miles on every purchase with the Capital One Venture card versus 1 point per dollar spent on the Chase Sapphire Preferred card is a genuine advantage.
5x points per dollar purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards
2x points per dollar on all other purchases
5x miles per dollar on hotels booked through Capital One Travel
2x miles per dollar on other hotel purchases
Dining
3x points per dollar
2x miles per dollar
Online Groceries
3x points per dollar
2x miles per dollar
Streaming Services
3x points per dollar
2x miles per dollar
All Other Purchases
1x points per dollar
2x miles per dollar
Bottom Line: If you’re a frequent traveler who spends a lot on travel and dining purchases, either card will work well for you since both earn in these bonus category purchases. If your spending is outside of these bonus categories, the Capital One Venture card with 2x miles per dollar earnings on every purchase may be a better match.
Redemption Options
How you earn points and miles for spending on your card is important, but when it comes time to redeem those rewards, it’s just as important to make sure you’re getting the highest value possible. Once again, the frequent traveler wins with either card.
While the Capital One Venture card earns 2x miles per dollar spent on all purchases, each point is worth 1 cent toward travel at redemption time. Chase Sapphire Preferred card points are worth 1.25 cents each when redeemed for travel.
Both cards allow you to maximize your points and miles by transferring these rewards to a long list of airline and hotel partners. It is possible to far exceed 1 or 1.25 cents per point/mile when utilizing this redemption option.
Enjoy cardholder perks at all Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection properties. Acqualina Resort Miami. Image Credit: Luxury Hotel Collection
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred card provides access to the Luxury Hotel and Resort Collection. There are over 1,000 worldwide properties in the collection and cardholders receive special amenities when staying at these hotels.
Benefits include:
Access to early check-in and late checkout, if available
Breakfast each day of your stay for 2 guests
Free internet
A special local amenity worth at least $100
Upgraded room when available
You must use your Chase Sapphire Preferred card to pay for your reservation and book through the hotel program website.
Bottom Line: While you won’t find complimentary hotel elite status with these cards, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card offers its cardholders access and perks with a luxury hotel program. Both cards also offer cardholders access to the Visa Signature Luxury Hotel Collection.
Annual Fees and Adding Additional Users
Annual Fees
When it comes to annual fees, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card charges $95 and the Capital One Venture card charges $95 (rates & fees) annually.
Adding Additional Users
There is no charge to add additional authorized users to either the Chase Sapphire Preferred card or the Capital One Venture card (rates & fees).
All authorized user charges are the responsibility of the primary cardholder, but these additional purchases also earn rewards in the primary cardholder’s account.
$50 Hotel Credit: Receive an annual statement credit of $50 towards hotel stays booked through the Chase travel portal.
Instacart Benefits: Cardholders are eligible for a free 6-month Instacart+ membership plus a $15 quarterly credit. Activate by July 31, 2024.
Gopuff Credit: Every month, you can get up to $10 in Gopuff credit through December 31, 2023.
Capital One Venture Card
Global Entry and TSA PreCheck: Receive up to $100 as a statement credit when you charge your Global Entry ($100) orTSA PreCheck application fee ($78) to your Capital One Venture card. The statement credit is available once every 4 years.
Travel Benefits and Protections
Have peace of mind knowing there’s help available if things go wrong during your trip. Image Credit: Karim Balaa via Unsplash
While you might not select a travel rewards credit card based solely on its ancillary travel benefits, there’s value to be found in these complimentary perks. Let’s take a look at how our selected cards compare when it comes to travel benefits and protections.
Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance
There are similarities between the car rental insurance coverage on these cards. Both cards require that you reserve and pay for the rental car with your card and decline the rental car agency’s collision loss damage waiver (CDW or LDW) for coverage to be valid.
Both cards offer coverage for the primary cardholder and any driver listed on the rental agreement.
Coverage provided on both cards includes damage to or theft of the rental car, loss of use charges imposed by the rental company, and reasonable towing charges.
You’ll also find that some types of vehicles — such as commercial vehicles, exotic vehicles, and large passenger vans — are excluded from both plans.
When we compare coverage further, there are differences between the 2 cards:
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred card is known for having one of the best car rental insurance benefits of any travel rewards card. The coverage is complimentary and available worldwide.
For any rental period of 31 days or less, you’ll receive primary rental car coverage for damage, theft, and loss of use. Primary coverage (as opposed to secondary coverage) means you won’t have to file a claim with your auto insurance before the card’s coverage kicks in.
Capital One Venture Card
Auto Rental Insurance* – Use your card to rent an eligible vehicle and you may be covered for physical damage and theft of the vehicle.
Bottom Line: Both the Chase Sapphire Preferred card and Capital One Venture card offer primary rental car insurance outside of your country of residence. The Chase Sapphire Preferred card extends this primary coverage worldwide, including your country of residence, while the Capital One Venture card does not.
Trip Interruption, Cancellation, and Delay Coverage
The travel protections and benefits that come with your credit card can’t replace a comprehensive travel insurance policy.
However, complimentary trip interruption, cancellation, and delay benefits can replace some of those hard-earned travel dollars should you experience a covered loss during your travels.
If your trip is disrupted by illness, weather, or another covered event, you could receive up to $10,000 per claim (up to $20,000 per trip) for prepaid expenses lost. The maximum for a 12-month period is $40,000.
Your immediate family members will also be covered, even if you are not accompanying them on their trip. You’ll also receive trip delay coverage that provides up to $500 per person per trip when a covered delay disrupts your travels for more than 12 hours.
Capital One Venture Card
The Capital One Venture card does not come with trip interruption, cancellation, or delay benefits.
Lost and Delayed Baggage Coverage
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
Pay for even a portion of your trip with your card or Ultimate Rewards points and you can receive up to $500 per trip when your baggage is delayed for more than 6 hours. Baggage that is lost or damaged is also covered up to $3,000 per person per trip.
Capital One Venture Card
Lost Luggage Reimbursement* – You may be eligible for reimbursement due to theft or misdirection.
Bottom Line: The Chase Sapphire Preferred card offers superior travel benefits, including primary worldwide rental car insurance, trip interruption, cancellation, and delay coverage, and lost, stolen, or damaged baggage coverage.
Roadside Assistance Service
Having access to roadside assistance when things go wrong is definitely valuable. Image Credit: Nejron Photo via Shutterstock
With complimentary roadside dispatch service, cardholders of both the Chase Sapphire Preferred card receive access to a dedicated phone number to use in case of a roadside emergency.
There is no cost for using roadside dispatch service, and the service call is charged at a pre-negotiated flat fee (currently $69.95). For this flat fee, cardholders can receive the following services:
Towing (5 miles at no charge)
Flat tire changing with an inflated spare
Jumpstart service
Lockout service
Free fuel delivery up to 5 gallons (cost of fuel not included)
Standard winching
Emergency Travel Assistance
Both the Chase Sapphire Preferred card and Capital One Venture card come with emergency travel assistance services. This can help with accessing local emergency and assistance resources 24/7 during your travels.
You’ll receive help with legal or medical referrals, emergency transportation, translation services, trip assistance, and more. Cardholders are responsible for the cost of the services provided, but the referral service is complimentary.
Travel Accident Insurance
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred card has 2 different accident insurance benefits. First, on a common carrier, you could receive up to $500,000 for loss of life or serious injury.
Another benefit offers up to $100,000 for severe injury or death when not on a common carrier.
Since both the Chase Sapphire Preferred card and Capital One Venture card are Visa Signature cards, you will have access to the Visa Signature Concierge 24/7 dedicated phone line.
The concierge can assist with securing event tickets, making dinner reservations, helping purchase a special gift, or even making travel arrangements.
Shopping Benefits and Protections
Use your card to purchase a qualifying item and receive shopping benefits and protections. Image Credit: BravoKiloVideo via Shutterstock
We all use our credit cards to shop. Fortunately, when you use your card to make a purchase, you may find additional value in the benefits and protections that come complimentary with your card.
You may be able to earn additional rewards for your shopping purchases, or even seek compensation if your purchase becomes damaged or the product fails to perform as designed.
Let’s review how these cards compare in shopping benefits and protections.
Gravity Haus Benefits
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred card does not offer any benefits with Gravity Haus.
Points you earn from shopping through the Ultimate Rewards portal are in addition to any rewards you would already be earning on the card.
Capital One Venture Card
With Capital One Offers, cardholders can log in to their account and click through Capital One Offers to earn cash-back on purchases at select retailers.
Purchase Protection
Both the Chase Sapphire Preferred card and Capital One Venture card provide purchase protection coverage for damage or theft of eligible items purchased with your card.
Coverage limits for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card provides $500 per claim for a maximum of $50,000 per cardholder account.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred card provides coverage for the first 120 days from the purchase date, while the Capital One Venture card provides its purchase security coverage for just 90 days.
Extended Warranty
Original manufacturer’s warranties expire way too quickly, so it’s great to have an extended plan. Fortunately, both cards we’re comparing are Visa Signature cards and offer the same extended warranty benefit.
Qualifying items purchased in full with your Chase Sapphire Preferred card or Capital One Venture card will have the manufacturer’s warranty extended by 1 year.
For example, if you have a manufacturer’s warranty of 3 years, you would receive an additional year of warranty with your card for 4 in total. This benefit applies to products with manufacturer’s warranties of 3 years or less.
Both the cardholder and gift recipients of eligible items are covered.
No Foreign Transaction Fees
Both cards are great to carry in your wallet when you travel, as neither charges foreign transaction fees. See Capital One Venture card rates & fees.
Final Thoughts
When we compare these 2 cards, we find a lot of similarities. For example, both cards have strong earnings on travel and dining.
At redemption time, you have flexible options with both cards, but overall more value with the Chase Sapphire Preferred card — including 1.25 cents per point for travel, 1 cent per point for any statement credit (not just travel like the Capital One Venture card), and the option to transfer to airline and hotel partners.
As for benefits, you can’t beat the Chase Sapphire Preferred card’s rental car and travel insurance coverages.
It’s also worth noting that Capital One pulls from all 3 credit bureaus when you submit an application.
When it comes down to it, the best card for you will be the one that matches your spending mix, allows you to redeem rewards for travel goals that are important to you, and comes with benefits you can actually use.
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.
Featured Image Credit: Upgraded Points
Frequently Asked Questions
Which card is better, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card or the Capital One Venture Rewards card?
The Chase Sapphire Preferred card is highly recommended as a great first-time travel rewards card because it earns valuable Ultimate Rewards points that can be redeemed for good value, and it comes with a long list of travel benefits. If you’re a frequent traveler, this card should be a primary consideration.
That said, the Capital One Venture card competes very well: you’ll earn flexible rewards that can also be redeemed for travel, and it comes with similar travel benefits.
If your spending is not focused on travel and dining, the Capital One Venture card with its 2x earnings on every purchase may be a better match (vs. the Chase Sapphire Preferred card’s 1x earnings on purchases other than travel or dining).
How do Capital One miles work?
First, Capital One miles are not frequent flyer miles and cannot be used to book airline tickets directly. They are just points that can be redeemed in several different ways.
When you make a purchase with your Capital One Venture card, you earn at least 2 miles (points) per dollar spent. These points are deposited into your Capital One account when your statement closes each month and are then available for redemption.
You can use the miles (points) as a statement credit to wipe out previous travel purchases, redeem for travel in the Capital One portal, transfer your miles to one of several travel partners, purchase gift cards, get cash-back, and more.
How do Ultimate Rewards work?
Ultimate Rewards are earned on several Chase credit cards. You earn at least 1 point per dollar spent, and there are bonus categories where you can earn multiple points per dollar spent.
Ultimate Rewards points can be transferred between accounts to maximize the increased redemption value that comes with premium Chase Ultimate Rewards-earning travel rewards cards, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred card (1.25 cents per point) and the Chase Sapphire Reserve card (1.5 cents per point).
In addition to using points to purchase travel in the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal, you can transfer Ultimate Rewards to airline and hotel partners for potentially greater value.
Points can also be redeemed for statement credits at the rate of 1 cent each, used for purchasing from retailers, buying experiences, purchasing gift cards, and more.
How does adding an authorized user work?
Both the Chase Sapphire Preferred card and the Capital One Venture card (rates & fees) allow you to add authorized users to your card for no extra charge.
The authorized user must be added by the primary cardholder. The additional user will receive their own card with their name embossed on it, but the primary cardholder will be responsible for any charges the authorized user makes.
The rewards earned on purchases made by authorized users are deposited into the primary cardholder’s account.
Christine ran her own business developing and managing insurance and financial services. This stoked a passion for points and miles and she now has over 2 dozen credit cards and creates in-depth, detailed content for UP.
This bonus value is an estimated valuation calculated by UP after analyzing redemption options, transfer partners, award availability and how much UP would pay to buy these points.
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