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Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
vs
Chase Sapphire Reserve®?
Capital One dropped a sledgehammer on the foundation of the premium card market when they Introduced the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card. I applied the day it came out, was instantly approved, and even started spending on a virtual card number before I even received the physical version. I don’t think it’s any surprise who Capital One was aiming at: Chase Sapphire Reserve®.
One of the biggest questions I get on TikTok is which is better? The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card or the Chase Sapphire Reserve®?
Let’s put them side by side so you can make the best decision between the two cards.
*Note, I can see a lot of use cases to carrying a Chase Sapphire Preferred® and a Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card at the same time – namely that the Preferred would give you 3x Ultimate Rewards on dining and 3x Ultimate Rewards on online groceries for just $95 a year and you’d get up to a $50 hotel credit. You could put all of your other spend on the Capital One Venture X and earn a boatload of two very valuable currencies.
Lufthansa first class
Table of Contents
Here is an overall look at the two super Premium Credit Cards
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card  |
Chase Sapphire Reserve® |
|
Benefit Overview
|
Benefit Overview
|
Are you eligible?
Chase and Capital One both have strict eligibility rules when it comes to qualifying for welcome offers.
| Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card |
Chase Sapphire Reserve® |
| Usually these are the Capital One eligibility rules; however, it seems for many people Capital One is making an exception on enforcement for this card
|
5/24
1/48
Only one Chase Sapphire Premium product
|
You your points from either to fly on Air France’s business class – Flying Blue, the loyalty program of Air France and KLM is a transfer partner of both 
Lounge access, rental car protections, etc
Both cards come with a Priority Pass membership; however, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® comes with priority pass restaurant access thus giving it a distinct advantage. But.. Capital One has access to over 150 Plaza Premium lounges ( which are very nice ) and Chase does not.
You’ll get primary rental car coverage, up to a $120 Global or TSAPre credit every 4 years, and Visa Infinite benefits
| Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card |
Chase Sapphire Reserve® |
|
|
Earn Rates:
In terms of travel earn rates, if you’re purchasing via either card’s portal you’ll earn the same rates. The biggest differences are on base rates where the Capital One Venture X earns 2 points for every dollar vs the Chase Sapphire Reserve® earns just 1. Chase Sapphire Reserve® does earn 3x on dining and general travel. For another comparison, the Chase Sapphire Preferred earns 3x dining and online groceries, 2x general travel, and carries just a $95 annual fee. This is why I think holding a Chase Sapphire Preferred alongside a Capital One Venture X could be a good use of annual fee spend.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® |
||
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Earn a huge multiplier on bookings made in portal – this could be a great way to earn bonus points on hotels that don’t have reward programs like the Peninsula.
Welcome Offer + Annual Fee:
I think Capital One has gone for a simpler approach and dangles an anniversary bonus to retain membership.
If you add up the credits that each card yields the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card ends up giving customers $400 of credit on a $395 annual fee. You’re ahead $5 if you use up those credits every year you keep the card. It’s basically a free card if you use the credits.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® on the other hand gives a $300 travel credit ( which is much easier to use than Capital One Venture X since it isn’t tied to the portal ) on a $550 annual fee. You’re paying out of pocket $250 for the card.
Also…the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card includes 4 authorized users free of charge whereas the Chase Sapphire Reserve charges $75 per AU.
| Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card |
Chase Sapphire Reserve® |
|
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Transfer Partners
A look at the transfer partners of Capital One and Chase. Note that Capital One is a 1:1 partner on all but Accor and EVA – Chase is 1:1 across the board. Chase has more domestic partners than Capital One, but Capital One’s list is really great. If you want more in depth uses of each one check out these posts:
In portal redemptions:
- Capital One Venture X = 1 penny per point
- Chase Sapphire Reserve = 1.5 pennies per point
 |
 |
| Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card |
Chase Sapphire Reserve® |
| Aeromexico Club Premier | Aer Lingus AerClub |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | Air Canada Aeroplan |
| Avianca LifeMiles | Air France KLM Flying Blue |
| Air France Flying Blue | British Airways Executive Club |
| British Airways Executive Club | Emirates Skywards |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | Iberia Plus |
| Choice Privileges | JetBlue TrueBlue |
| Etihad Guest | Southwest Airlines |
| Emirates | Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer |
| Finnair Plus | Virgin Atlantic Flying Club |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | United Mileage Plus |
| Singapore Airlines | IHG Rewards |
| TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go | Marriott Bonvoy |
| Turkish Airlines Miles and Smiles | World of Hyatt |
| Wyndham Rewards | |
| Virgin Red | |
| EVA transfers 2:1.5 |
| Accor: 2:1 |
Other bennies:
These are a toss up depending on where you spend most.
| Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card |
Chase Sapphire Reserve® |
|
|
Overall:
If you spend $400 a year on travel in the Capital One portal with your Capital One Venture X Credit Card you’re getting every thing else the card provides free of charge since it gives an annual $300 travel credit and 10k Miles on your account anniversary. That completely offsets the $395 fee. The Chase Sapphire Reserve® as a comparison would offset $300 worth of travel, but charge $550 every year. That leaves you spending $250 to keep the card in your wallet…personally I’d use that $250 to add either a Chase Sapphire Preferred® or an American Express® Gold Card to my wallet.
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- 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, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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