Both cost $95/year. Both offer 75,000-point welcome bonuses. But these two cards are built for very different travelers. Here's everything you need to choose the right one.
At $95/year each, the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Capital One Venture Rewards are the two most-recommended entry-level travel cards year after year. They share the same annual fee, the same 75,000-point welcome bonus value, and transfer partner programs — but they're fundamentally different cards built for different types of travelers.
The Sapphire Preferred rewards strategic spenders who dine out regularly and want access to the most valuable transfer partners in the industry — particularly World of Hyatt and United MileagePlus. The Venture Rewards is the opposite: a flat 2x on everything card designed for people who want great travel rewards without ever thinking about categories.
| Feature | Chase Sapphire Preferred® | Capital One Venture Rewards |
|---|---|---|
| Annual Fee | $95 | $95 |
| Welcome Offer | 75,000 pts after $5,000/3 mo | 75,000 miles after $4,000/3 mo |
| Bonus Value (conservative) | $750–$937 | $750 |
| Spend Req. to Earn Bonus | $5,000 | $4,000 ✓ Easier |
| Travel Earn Rate | 5x Chase Travel · 2x all other travel ✓ | 5x hotels & car rentals via C1 Travel |
| Dining Rate | 3x worldwide ✓ | 2x |
| Groceries / Streaming | 3x online groceries + streaming ✓ | 2x |
| Everything Else | 1x | 2x all purchases ✓ |
| Transfer Partners | 14 programs (Hyatt, United, Southwest) ✓ | 15+ programs (Turkish, Avianca, Wyndham) |
| Transfer Quality | Higher ceiling — Hyatt & United ✓ | More flexible — easy travel credits |
| Annual Hotel Credit | $50/year via Chase Travel ✓ | None |
| Anniversary Bonus | 10% of prior year spend ✓ | None |
| Global Entry / TSA PreCheck | None | $120 credit every 4 years ✓ |
| DashPass | Complimentary through Dec 2027 ✓ | None |
| Rental Car Insurance | Primary coverage ✓ | Secondary coverage |
| Trip Cancellation | $10,000/person · $20,000/trip ✓ | Standard coverage |
| Trip Delay | $500/ticket after 12 hours ✓ | Up to $500/trip after 6 hours |
| Foreign Transaction Fee | None | None |
| Credit Score Required | Good–Excellent (670+) | Good–Excellent (670+) |
75,000 points after $5,000 in 3 months — worth $750 cash or $937–$2,250+ via transfer partners. The higher value ceiling is real, but requires transfer knowledge to access.
75,000 miles after $4,000 in 3 months, equal to $750 in travel. Currently also offering a $250 Capital One Travel credit in year one — effectively making the first-year bonus worth $1,000 total. Lower spend threshold, higher guaranteed first-year value.
3x dining, 3x online groceries, 3x streaming, 5x Chase Travel, 2x all other travel, 1x everything else. If you spend heavily on food and dining, the Sapphire Preferred earns significantly more — 3x vs. 2x on two of the highest household spending categories.
2x on every purchase, no exceptions. For people whose spending is spread across many categories — gas, utilities, miscellaneous — the flat 2x often outperforms the Sapphire's 3x dining + 1x everything else combination. No tracking required.
14 programs at 1:1 — but the differentiator is which programs. World of Hyatt at 2–3¢/point is the best hotel redemption available on any card. United MileagePlus for domestic and international premium cabin. Southwest for domestic leisure. These partners are not available through Capital One.
15+ programs at 1:1 including Turkish Miles&Smiles (unmatched for Star Alliance), Avianca LifeMiles, Air France/KLM Flying Blue, and Wyndham Rewards. Turkish alone can yield extraordinary value for Star Alliance business class. But no Hyatt, no United, no Southwest.
$50 annual hotel credit via Chase Travel, 10% anniversary points bonus, complimentary DashPass through December 2027. The DashPass alone is worth ~$120/year for regular DoorDash users. These perks benefit urban dining-focused cardholders most.
$120 Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit every 4 years — one of the few no-premium-card perks that travelers genuinely value. Keeps airport security lines shorter on every trip. The Sapphire Preferred doesn't offer this at all, which is a meaningful miss.
Trip cancellation up to $10,000/person and $20,000/trip. Trip delay $500/ticket after 12 hours. Primary rental car coverage — pays before your personal auto insurance, saving $15–$30/day. Baggage delay up to $500. These protections are genuinely superior across every category.
Solid protections but secondary rental car coverage (files through personal insurance first), and generally lower coverage limits on trip cancellation. Fine for most travelers but clearly behind the Sapphire Preferred, especially for international travel where primary rental coverage is most valuable.
One factor that rarely gets enough attention in this comparison: if you already have or plan to get a Chase Freedom Unlimited or Chase Freedom Flex, your Sapphire Preferred unlocks the ability to pool all Chase points into one account and transfer them. This "Chase Trifecta" effect multiplies the value of every point you earn across all your Chase cards.
Capital One has a similar pooling concept (you can combine miles across Venture products), but Chase's Trifecta is more powerful because the combined pool of points transfers to Hyatt and United — the two most valuable programs — which Capital One cannot access.
These cards aren't mutually exclusive. Many experienced cardholders hold both — using the Sapphire Preferred for dining and Chase Travel, and the Venture Rewards for everything else (capturing its 2x flat rate vs. Sapphire's 1x on non-bonus purchases). The annual fees add up to $190, but the Global Entry credit from the Venture alone covers $30 in year one, and the two cards together cover every spending category optimally.
Our overall edge goes to the Chase Sapphire Preferred for most travelers — the dining bonus, Hyatt transfers, primary rental coverage, and superior trip protections give it a higher value ceiling. But the gap is narrow, and for travelers who value simplicity above all, the Capital One Venture Rewards is a genuinely excellent card that requires zero strategy to maximize.
75,000 pts · $95/year · 3x dining · World of Hyatt transfers
Read Full Review →75,000 miles · $95/year · 2x everything · Global Entry credit
Learn More →They offer the same 75,000 points/miles in base value ($750 in travel). However the Capital One Venture currently includes an additional $250 Capital One Travel credit in year one, making its total first-year bonus worth $1,000. The Sapphire Preferred's bonus has a higher ceiling if you transfer to Hyatt or United — potentially $1,500–$2,250+. The Venture wins on guaranteed value; the Sapphire wins on maximum potential value.
It depends entirely on your spending. If you spend $1,000/month with $400 on dining and $600 on everything else: the Sapphire earns $400×3% + $600×1% = $18/month. The Venture earns $1,000×2% = $20/month. The flat 2x actually wins for balanced spenders. But if you spend $800 dining and $200 elsewhere: Sapphire earns $800×3% + $200×1% = $26. Venture earns $20. Heavy diners favor the Sapphire; balanced spenders favor the Venture.
Yes. Many experienced travelers hold both — Sapphire Preferred for dining and Chase Travel, Venture for everything else. You'd pay $190 in combined annual fees, but the Global Entry credit from the Venture covers some of that, and you'd earn optimally on every purchase.
Both have no foreign transaction fees. The Sapphire Preferred wins on primary rental car coverage (critical abroad) and superior trip cancellation limits. The Venture wins if you don't have Global Entry/TSA PreCheck yet — the application fee credit is uniquely valuable for international travelers.