Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Capital One Venture: Travel Card Comparison

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Chase and Capital One offer a wide range of travel credit cards that can be beneficial if you’re looking to save on your next trip. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card are two comparable cards that both have $95 annual fees and an array of travel perks.

If you’re someone who typically travels often, you should consider opening one of these cards. Even if you don’t have any upcoming vacations, you can use the Sapphire Preferred or Venture to earn rewards that can offset future travel arrangements. Depending on the card you open, you can benefit from a fee credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry, travel insurances and/or a generous welcome bonus.

CNBC Select breaks down the features of each card, so you can choose the best one for your needs.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card vs Capital One Venture Rewards Card

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card vs Capital One Venture Rewards Card

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card Capital One Venture Rewards Card
Annual fee $95 $95
Regular APR 15.99% to 22.99% variable 17.24% to 24.49% variable
Intro APR None None
Rewards 2X points on travel and dining at restaurants, 1X points on all other purchases 5X miles on hotel and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel℠, unlimited 2X miles on all other purchases
Welcome bonus 80,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening 100,000 bonus miles when you spend $20,000 on purchases in the first 12 months from account opening, or earn 50,000 miles if you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months
Statement credit offers None Up to $100 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck fee every four years

Fees

Both cards come with a $95 annual fee, which is on the lower end when you consider some other travel cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve® have fees of up to $550. You can more easily offset this annual fee through the rewards you earn each year. For instance, you can cover the annual fee by spending $4,750 each year on combined travel and dining with the Sapphire Preferred since those purchases earn 2X points per dollar spent. With the Venture card, you can recoup the annual fee by spending $4,750 everyday purchases that earn 2X miles, or even faster if you book hotel and rental cars with Capital One Travel, which earn 5X miles per dollar spent.

Neither card offers an introductory 0% APR period on new purchases or balance transfers.

Winner: Tie, since the annual fees are the same.

Rewards

While Sapphire Preferred and Venture have a slight overlap in rewards, they provide different reward rates on other purchases. Here’s the break down.

  • Chase Sapphire Preferred: Earn 2X points on travel and dining at restaurants, 1X points on all other purchases.
  • Capital One Venture Rewards: Earn 5X miles on hotel and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel℠, unlimited 2X miles on all other purchases.

In addition to every day rewards, you can benefit from lucrative welcome bonuses.

Both bonus offers are worth up to $1,000. To receive the maximum value, redeem your Chase points for travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards® portal to receive 25% more value or redeem your Venture miles as a statement credit to offset past travel purchases. Both cards also offer other redemption options, such as gift cards and transfers to travel partners.

CNBC Select used a sample spending budget based on the latest data available from the location intelligence firm Esri to break down how much money you would earn using each card over the course of five years, after the cost of the annual fee. See our methodology for more information.

For the average consumer, you could earn an estimated $2,931 in rewards using the Venture card over a five-year period. With the Sapphire Preferred card you could earn up $2,278. These estimates incorporate the cash back earned from the welcome bonus.

Winner: Venture has an edge on Sapphire Preferred by offering roughly $653 more in rewards over a five-year period.

Additional benefits

Consumers with either card can benefit from:

  • Ability to transfer points to participating frequent travel programs
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • Trip cancellation / trip interruption insurance
  • Travel accident insurance
  • Auto rental collision damage waiver
  • Roadside assistance
  • Zero liability protection
  • 24/7 customer service specialists
  • Purchase protection
  • Extended warranty protection
  • Exclusive access to culinary, music and sports
    events (Note that due to the coronavirus, many in-person events have been paused.)

Chase Sapphire Preferred card holders enjoy these added perks:

  • Receive 25% more value on points redeemed for travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards® portal
  • Earn 5X points on Lyft rides through March 2022
  • Receive a complimentary DashPass membership for a minimum of one year, which provides free delivery and lower service fees from hundreds of restaurants on DoorDash orders of $12 or more (You must activate by December 31, 2021)
  • Baggage delay insurance
  • Lost luggage insurance
  • Trip delay reimbursement
  • Travel and emergency assistance services

Capital One Venture Rewards card holders enjoy these added perks:

  • Up to $100 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee every four years

Winner: Chase Sapphire Preferred, since it offers a wide array of additional perks that can help you out during travel predicaments like baggage and trip delays.

Bottom line

The Chase Sapphire Preferred and Capital One Venture Rewards cards are two competitive options for consumers looking to take advantage of travel benefits. But at the end of the day, choosing the best card depends on your individual preferences.

If earning rewards is your main focus, the Venture card outpaces the Sapphire Preferred card. But if you’re looking for a full range of travel benefits, like lost luggage insurance and trip delay reimbursement, the Sapphire Preferred card has you covered.

While these cards are both good options for travelers, you may want to consider alternatives that may be a better fit. If you’re looking for a premium credit card, check out the American Express® Gold Card with monthly $10 dining credits, which can be used at Grubhub, Seamless and participating restaurants (one-time activation required). And if you want a no-annual-fee travel card, consider the Wells Fargo Propel American Express® Card, which offers hard-to-find cell phone protection.

Chase Sapphire Preferred®

Chase Sapphire Preferred®

On Chase’s secure site

  • Rewards

    5X points on Lyft rides through March 2022, 2X points on travel and dining worldwide, 1X points on all other purchases

  • Welcome bonus

    80,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening — worth up to $1,000 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®

  • Annual fee

  • Intro APR

  • Regular APR

    15.99% to 22.99% variable on purchases and balance transfers

  • Balance transfer fee

    Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater

  • Foreign transaction fee

  • Credit needed

Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card

Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card

Information about the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card has been collected independently by CNBC and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of the card prior to publication.

  • Rewards

    5X miles on hotel and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel℠, 2X miles per dollar on every other purchase

  • Welcome bonus

    100,000 bonus miles when you spend $20,000 on purchases in the first 12 months from account opening or earn 50,000 miles if you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months

  • Annual fee

  • Intro APR

    N/A for purchases and balance transfers

  • Regular APR

    17.24% to 24.49% variable on purchases and balance transfers

  • Balance transfer fee

    3% for promotional APR offers; none for balances transferred at regular APR

  • Foreign transaction fee

  • Credit needed

Our methodology

To determine which credit cards offer the best value, CNBC Select analyzed popular credit cards available in the U.S. We compared each card on a range of features, including rewards, welcome bonus, introductory and standard APR, balance transfer fee and foreign transaction fees, as well as factors such as required credit and customer reviews when available. We also considered additional perks, the application process and how easy it is for the consumer to redeem points.

CNBC Select teamed up with location intelligence firm Esri. The company’s data development team provided the most up-to-date and comprehensive consumer spending data based on the 2019 Consumer Expenditure Surveys from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. You can read more about their methodology here.

Esri’s data team created a sample annual budget of approximately $22,126 in retail spending. The budget includes six main categories: groceries ($5,174), gas ($2,218), dining out ($3,675), travel ($2,244), utilities ($4,862) and general purchases ($3,953). General purchases include items such as housekeeping supplies, clothing, personal care products, prescription drugs and vitamins, and other vehicle expenses.

CNBC Select used this budget to estimate how much the average consumer would save over the course of a year, two years and five years, assuming they would attempt to maximize their rewards potential by earning all welcome bonuses offered and using the card for all applicable purchases. All rewards total estimations are net the annual fee.

While the five-year estimates we’ve included are derived from a budget similar to the average American’s spending, you may earn a higher or lower return depending on your shopping habits.

Information about the Capital One Venture Rewards and Wells Fargo Propel American Express® Card has been collected independently by CNBC and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of the cards prior to publication.

Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the CNBC Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.

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