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Are you trying to decide between the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card? Which card will be better for you? Find out below!
All opinions and reviews expressed herein are the author's alone and have not been reviewed or approved by any credit card issuer, airline, bank, hotel chain, or other entity. Some of the credit card offers and links appearing in this article are from companies from which we may receive commission or a referral bonus when you click on the link. You do not need to use our links but we appreciate it when you do—it helps support our website!
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is one of the most sought-after premium travel credit cards in the market. The welcome bonus currently stands at 60,000 Ultimate Rewards® points.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has recently enhanced its credit card rewards. You will now earn 3X points per dollar on online grocery purchases (excluding Walmart, Target, and wholesale clubs), 3X points on dining, 3X points on select streaming services, 5X points on Lyft rides, 5X points on Peloton equipment, 5X points on travel purchased through Chase's Travel Portal, and 2X points on other travel categories.
Two new benefits that help offset the $95 annual fee are the $50 annual Ultimate Rewards® Hotel Credit and the 10% anniversary points boost.
You can learn more about this credit card in the following post: Chase Sapphire Preferred—the Best Credit Card Just Got Better! You can apply for this card here!
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card flies under the radar when compared to other premier travel credit cards. It packs a powerful punch with a welcome bonus of 60,000 miles!
It also provides an easy avenue to earn miles. You will earn 5X miles on hotels and rental cars booked on Capital One's Travel Portal. You will also earn unlimited 2X miles on non-bonus-category spending.
An intriguing perk about this card is the $100 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck. You don't find this benefit in a lot of credit cards with an annual fee of less than $100. It pays for the $95 annual fee in the first year!
You can learn more about this credit card in the following post: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card—Simple But Powerful! You can apply for this card here!
Welcome Bonus: And the Winner Is...
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has a welcome bonus of 60,000 Ultimate Rewards® points; the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card has a welcome bonus of 60,000 miles.
Which is better?
Overall, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card wins this round. Chase has better transfer partners than Capital One. This will provide you with better options when the time comes to redeem your Ultimate Rewards® points for an Award Ticket. (I.e. cents per point valuation, etc.)
If you decide to use Chase's Travel Portal over a transfer partner, your points receive a 25% boost. In other words, 60,000 points are valued at $750 when used in this manner. With Capital One, there is no boost when using their Travel Portal—60,000 miles are valued at $600.
It should be noted that you will need to spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening in order to receive the 60,000 Ultimate Rewards® points. In contrast, you will only need to spend $3,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening in order to receive the 60,000 miles from Capital One.
Credit Card Rewards: And the Winner Is...
I give the winner of this round to the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. Unlimited 2X miles on non-bonus-category spending makes this card shine. In contrast, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card only earns 1X point per dollar on non-bonus-category-spending.
For a large percentage of us, the majority of our spending will be on non-bonus-categories. Having a card that earns 2X miles in these scenarios is a win in my book.
Whatever credit card you decide to use, don't forget to stack your rewards! This is an easy—but often overlooked—way to increase your credit card rewards. One of my favorite online shopping portals is Rakuten. Use this link and get $30 for setting up an account! If you want to learn more about reward stacking see the following post: How to Win Points—With Your Spouse and Your Credit Card!
Anniversary Benefits: And the Winner Is...
The winner of this round goes to the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. The $50 annual Ultimate Rewards® Hotel Credit is easy to use. In addition, the 10% anniversary points boost adds to the overall value of the card.
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card has a $100 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck every four years. This equates to a value of around $25 per year.
Let's pretend that you spend on average $10,000 per year with your Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and utilize the $50 annual Ultimate Rewards® Hotel Credit every year. You'll receive 1,000 bonus points per year + a $50 statement credit. I value Ultimate Rewards® at 1.5 cents per point. This would equate to $65 in anniversary benefits per year ($50 + $15) or $260 over 4-years.
Travel Benefits: And the Winner Is...
Once again, the winner of this round goes to the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. It comes with a multitude of travel benefits and purchase protection. This provides peace of mind when unexpected events take place that impacts your trip.
The travel benefits include Trip Cancellation/ Trip Interruption Insurance—up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip. It also includes primary Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver coverage. There are Travel and Emergency Assistance Services. There is also Trip Delay Reimbursement—up to $500 per ticket. It includes Baggage Delay Insurance—up to $100 a day for 5 days. And, there is Lost Luggage Reimbursement—up to $3,000 per passenger. Finally, there are no foreign transaction fees.
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card comes with "middle ground" travel benefits and purchase protection; it is not as robust as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.
The travel benefits include Travel Accident Insurance—up to $250,000 per trip. It also includes secondary Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver coverage. There are Travel and Emergency Assistance Services. It includes Lost Luggage Reimbursement—up to $3,000 per trip. Also, there are no foreign transaction fees.
Having travel insurance provides peace of mind when unexpected events take place that impacts your trip. With COVID-19 affecting travel, learn more about how to plan for travel insurance in the following post: An Easy Guide to Travel Insurance for Your Next Vacation.
Are you thinking about international travel? AwardYourMiles has created a COVID-19 Resources tool to help you search for the country you would like to visit. After you enter the country, links to dynamic travel guidance/ requirements will automatically populate. This will save you time and energy. We have also included all 50 states within the United States. Our goal is to help provide you with tools to help make your journey a success. Also, learn more about international travel in the following post: International Travel—Five Things You Should Research First!
Transfer Partners: And the Winner Is...
The winner in our "final" round is the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. Although Capital One has 17 transfer partners—compared to Chase's 14—they are lackluster compared to Chase.
Don't get me wrong—Capital One has some amazing potential with some of its partners. Partners such as Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles, British Airways Executive Club, and Air Canada Aeroplan can be leveraged for some amazing redemptions!
Chase, on the other hand, has a very strong presence with the following partners: Air Canada Aeroplan, British Airways Executive Club, Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards, United MileagePlus®, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, and World of Hyatt. From my own experience, I have received great value redeeming through Chase's transfer partners!
Final Verdict
Although there are other credit cards that may offer better credit card rewards, there are essentially three reasons why the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is considered one of the "best" and a "must-have" credit card for anyone entering the award travel arena:
The WELCOME BONUS! You do not want to leave the current welcome bonus on the table.
Access to TRANSFER PARTNERS! The Chase Sapphire Preferred is one of three credit cards that opens the door to Chase's 14 transfer partners.
Solidifies a RELATIONSHIP WITH CHASE! Chase is the "prized pony" when it comes to credit card issuers offering products that are tailored for award travel. A good relationship with Chase creates more opportunities to use additional products they offer; this is extremely valuable over time.
"The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the best beginner's credit card for Award Travel."
Because of those aforementioned reasons, I would pick the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card over the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. Chase is a great company to work with and you can apply for this card here!
But, you can also benefit by having both cards! My wife has the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card whereas I have the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card; you can apply for this card here! Learn more about how to strategically work together in "two-player mode" to increase your credit card rewards in the following post: Getting Approved for a Credit Card While Unemployed—Why You Don't Want to Miss Out!
Do you want to determine the value of the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card based on your spending habits? Feel free to use our Credit Card Selector Calculator for FREE! It uses our proprietary algorithm which determines the best credit card in our database based on your spending habits. You will be able to determine the value of the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card in your first year of use.
Credit Card Miles & Points Consultant
Do you feel overwhelmed with all the options available when it comes to redeeming your miles & points? Would you like some assistance to get you started in the right direction? You will benefit from the services of a Credit Card Miles & Points Consultant. You will be assisted with regards to earning miles & points through credit card use and redeeming those miles & points for Award Travel. Or, feel free to use any of our Award Travel Tools online. Get started today!