Capital One Venture X or Chase Sapphire Preferred? The Venture X fits if you'd use airport lounges and you're happy to book through Capital One Travel, and the Sapphire Preferred fits if you'd rather pay the lower fee. Capital One's Venture X page lists a $395 annual fee and includes lounge access for primary cardholders. Chase's page lists a $95 annual fee for the Sapphire Preferred and spreads its higher earning across dining, gas and online grocery.
These are two different cards for two different travelers, so this guide compares them the way each issuer describes them: earning rates, lounges, credits, transfer partners and welcome offers. We quote each figure as the issuer's page states it, so run your own spending through the rates. By the end you'll know which card fits how you travel and which one to skip.
What Each Card Earns
Capital One's page lists these earning rates for the Venture X. You earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Travel, and 2X miles on all other purchases. It also lists 5X miles on Capital One Entertainment purchases, which a footnote limits to tickets bought on the Capital One Entertainment ticketing platform, excluding cardholder pre-sales and tickets bought through Capital One Hall or Capital One Arena.
Here's the catch: the top rates apply when you book through Capital One Travel, so the card pays best for travelers who are happy to use that portal.
Chase's page lists more categories for the Sapphire Preferred. You earn 5x points on Chase Travel, 3x on dining, 3x on gas stations, EV charging and vacation homes at top brands, and 3x on top streaming services and online grocery (Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs are excluded). Other travel earns 2x, and everything else earns 1x.
If most of your spending is dining, gas and online grocery orders, the Sapphire Preferred puts a bonus rate on those. If your spending is mostly trips booked through one portal, the Venture X's rates are built for that.
Lounges, Credits and Protections
This is where the cards split. Capital One's page says Venture X primary cardholders can enter Capital One Lounge and Landing locations, plus more than 1,300 participating Priority Pass lounges worldwide. A footnote says lounge access depends on space, and Priority Pass needs enrollment.
The page's footnotes also describe hotel experience credits of up to $100 at Premier Collection properties and up to $50 at Lifestyle Collection properties, both booked through Capital One Travel. Cell phone protection reimburses up to $800 if your phone is stolen or damaged when you pay your cell phone bill with the Venture X.
Chase's page lists a different set of perks for the Sapphire Preferred:
- Up to $100 in statement credits each account anniversary year for hotel stays purchased through Chase Travel.
- One statement credit of up to $120 every four years for a Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS application fee.
- Trip cancellation and interruption coverage of up to $10,000 per covered traveler and $20,000 per trip.
- Trip delay reimbursement of up to $500 per covered traveler when a delay runs past 12 hours or needs an overnight stay.
- Primary auto rental coverage of up to $60,000 for theft and collision damage on most rental vehicles with an MSRP of $125,000 or less (secondary inside the United States for New York residents).
Both pages say you won't pay foreign transaction fees on purchases outside the United States. If you want the full picture of either card, read our Capital One Venture X review or our Chase Sapphire Preferred review.
Points and Transfer Partners
Chase names its Sapphire Preferred transfer partners on the page. The airlines are Aer Lingus AerClub, Air Canada Aeroplan, British Airways Executive Club, Flying Blue, Iberia Plus, JetBlue TrueBlue, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, Southwest Rapid Rewards, United MileagePlus and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. The hotels are IHG One Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy, World of Hyatt and Wyndham Rewards. Chase also says your points don't expire as long as your account stays open.
Capital One's page says you can transfer Venture X miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs, or use them to cover travel expenses such as flights, hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars. The page also says miles don't expire for the life of the account, with no blackout dates. Before you apply, check that the specific programs you'd use are on Capital One's list. Our transferable points comparison lists each issuer's transfer partners, Capital One's included.
Welcome Offers and Fees
Chase's page shows 75,000 points after you spend $5,000 in purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Chase adds that the bonus may not be available if you previously held the card or received a bonus on it, and that it may consider how many cards you've opened and closed.
Check Capital One's application page for the current Venture X welcome offer, and recheck Chase's before you apply. The fees, as each page states them, are $395 for the Venture X and $95 for the Sapphire Preferred.
Which One to Get
Get the Venture X if you'd use Capital One Lounges or Priority Pass lounges and you're comfortable booking hotels, rental cars and flights through Capital One Travel. Get the Sapphire Preferred if you want the lower fee, spend on dining, gas and streaming, and want to transfer to Chase's partners, such as United MileagePlus or World of Hyatt.
If you're weighing the Capital One Venture against the Sapphire Preferred instead, we compared them in Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Capital One Venture. Otherwise, check both application pages for the current offers, then apply for the one that matches your trips.
