For a number of years, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has been one of the top travel rewards credit cards for people who want flexibility with redemption options. With the ability to transfer points to travel partners, great travel benefits, and a relatively low annual fee, the Sapphire Preferred® Card made a name for itself in providing incredible value. With Capital One’s recently announced changes to their rewards redemption options, including the ability to transfer miles to airline partners, the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card now goes toe-to-toe with the Sapphire Preferred® Card in several categories, and even bests it in some.
Rewards earning rates
The Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card makes earning rewards straightforward with two miles earned per $1 spent on every purchase. The earnings rate is not limited to travel purchases; you earn two miles regardless of what you are using the card for. And Capital One is running a promotion through January 2020 where you can earn 10 miles per $1 spent on thousands of hotels when purchased through Hotels.com/Venture. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card on the other hand has a tiered earnings rate of two Ultimate Rewards® points earned per $1 spent on travel and dining purchases and one point per $1 spent on all other purchases. If you are doing a lot of spending on travel and dining purchases, the Chase card matches the number of miles earned by the Venture® card; however, if are using your card for a variety of purchases, not just travel and dining, earning two miles per dollar on every purchase quickly adds up for some huge earning potential with the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card.
Bonus offers
Both cards offer excellent bonuses for new card members. The Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card is currently offering 50,000 miles (equal to $500 in travel) once you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first three months. This is slightly lower than what the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is currently offering, albeit with a lower minimum spend requirement. The Sapphire Preferred® Card is currently offering new cardholders 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first three months of opening an account, which is worth up to $750 when redeemed for travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards® program. Speaking in terms of rewards earned for the bonus and the value of those rewards ($750 vs. $500), the Sapphire Preferred® Card gets a slight edge in this area.
Redemption options
Since the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card's inception, miles were usually most valuable when redeemed as a statement credit for travel purchases made with the card. While this did provide flexibility in the sense that almost any travel purchase could have the miles applied to reduce or eliminate that part of your balance, it did limit the value of Venture® miles to one cent per mile. With the recent announcement of the Venture® card adding airline transfer partners though, a whole new realm of possibilities has opened up for using rewards. In addition to redeeming miles for travel purchases, Venture® miles can now be transferred to one of their partner airlines, which means there’s now the potential for a higher rewards value. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has had this partner transfer benefit for quite some time and also has the added benefit of a few hotel transfer partners. The fact that both cards now have an option for travel partner reward transfers helps to level the playing field.
To learn more about how these two cards match up, check out the table below to compare the various rewards, benefits, features, and fees associated with each card.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® vs. Capital One® Venture®
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
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Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card
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Annual Fee | ||
Annual Fee | $95 |
$0 intro for first year; $95 after that |
New Cardholder Bonus Offer | ||
New Cardholder Bonus Offer | 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first three months of opening an account— worth $750 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards® |
50,000 miles (equal to $500 in travel) once you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first three months |
Rewards | ||
Rewards | Earn two points for each dollar spent on travel and dining purchases and one point per dollar on all other purchases |
Earn two miles per $1 spent on every purchase plus 10X miles on thousands of hotels through January 2020 on bookings made at Hotels.com/Venture |
Redeeming Rewards | ||
Redeeming Rewards |
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Travel Partners | ||
Travel Partners |
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Purchase and Balance Transfer APR | ||
Purchase and Balance Transfer APR | 17.49% - 24.49% Variable |
17.49% - 24.74% (Variable) |
Foreign Transaction Fees | ||
Foreign Transaction Fees | $0 |
$0 |
Travel Benefits | ||
Travel Benefits |
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Purchase Protection | ||
Purchase Protection |
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Additional Benefits | ||
Additional Benefits |
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For a full synopsis of each card, be sure to check out our Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card reviews.