Chase Sapphire Preferred Card vs. Capital One Venture Rewards: Which $95 annual fee travel card is better?

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card both come with a modest $95 annual fee. That’s on the lower side when you consider some travel cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve® have fees of up to $550.

It’s not difficult to justify either of these annual fees with the benefits and rewards you can take advantage of. For instance, you can cover the Sapphire Preferred’s annual fee by spending $4,750 each year on travel since those purchases earn at least 2X points per dollar spent. You’ll also earn 5X points on travel you book through Chase Travel℠.

With the Capital One Venture card, you can recoup the annual fee by spending $4,750 on 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.

With a new Chase Sapphire Preferred card, you can earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. That’s $750 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠ and potentially more when you transfer your points to one of Chase’s many airline and hotel partners.

Meanwhile, the Capital One Venture Rewards is currently offering 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening, plus a one-time $250 Capital One Travel credit in your first cardholder year – equal to $1,000 in travel. Like Chase, Capital One also has a long list of airline and hotel transfer partners.

Here are the earning rates for the Sapphire Preferred and Venture Rewards:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred: 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 5X points on Lyft rides (through March 31, 2025), 3X points on dining, 3X on online grocery purchases (excluding Walmart®, Target® and wholesale clubs), 3X points on select streaming services, 2X points on all other travel purchases. You earn 1X points on all other purchases.
• Capital One Venture Rewards: Earn 5X miles per dollar on hotel and rental cars when paying with your card and booking through Capital One Travel and 2X miles on all other purchases.

Additionally, the Sapphire Preferred provides cardholders with an anniversary bonus. The anniversary bonus is equal to 10% of your total purchases made the previous year so if you spent $15,000 on purchases, you’ll get 1,500 bonus points.

Rewards earned with both cards can be redeemed similarly, including for travel, gift cards, cash back, Amazon purchases and transferring to travel partners.

With the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you’ll typically get one cent per point in value for most redemptions (except for Amazon purchases, which is a lower value). It also offers a unique bonus where if you redeem points through Chase Travel℠ they’re worth 25% more. For example, you can use 60,000 points to pay for $750 in flights, rental cars, hotels or cruises when you book through Chase Travel℠.

To receive the best value for your Chase Ultimate Rewards points, you’ll want to consider the transfer partners. You can transfer Chase points to these loyalty programs at a 1:1 ratio:

• Aer Lingus AerClub
• Air Canada Aeroplan
• British Airways Executive ClubEmirates Skywards
• Flying Blue (KLM and Air France)
• Iberia Plus
• JetBlue TrueBlue
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
• Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
• United MileagePlus
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
• IHG One Rewards
• Marriott Bonvoy
• World of Hyatt

The Capital One Venture Rewards doesn’t offer bonus value when you redeem miles through Capital One Travel. However, you can easily redeem Capital One miles for one cent each toward any eligible travel purchase. You simply use your Venture Rewards card to pay for the travel and you’ll have 90 days to erase the charge with miles. But it offers less value for gift card and cash back redemptions, typically 0.5 to 0.8 cents per point.

You can transfer Capital One miles to a long list of hotel and airline loyalty programs. You can transfer to these programs at a 1:1 ratio:

• Aeromexico Rewards
• Air Canada Aeroplan
• Cathay Pacific Cathay
• Avianca LifeMiles
• British Airways Executive Club
• Choice Privileges
• Emirates Skywards
• Etihad Guest
• Finnair Plus
• Flying Blue (Air France and KLM)
• Qantas Frequent Flyer
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
• TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go
• Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles
• Virgin Red
• Wyndham Rewards

You can also transfer to EVA Air Infinity MileageLands at a 4:3 ratio and Accor Live Limitless at a 2:1 transfer ratio.

With either card, you can benefit from:

The Chase Sapphire Preferred’s benefits include:

• Receive 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Travel℠. For example, 60,000 points are worth $750 toward travel.
• Up to $50 annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit
• Receive 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.
• Baggage delay insurance
• Auto rental collision damage waiver
• Trip delay reimbursement
• Travel and emergency assistance services
• Purchase protection
• Extended warranty protection

Capital One Venture Rewards cardholders enjoy these added perks:

• Up to $100 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee every four years.
• Travel accident insurance*
• Auto rental collision damage waiver*
• Extended warranty*

*Terms, conditions and exclusions apply. Refer to your Guide to Benefits for more details.

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. The Sapphire Preferred has more bonus categories but the Venture Rewards is great for everyday purchases because it earns at least 2X miles on everything.

*Terms, conditions and exclusions apply. Refer to your Guide to Benefits for more details.

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For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the benefits may be provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.