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The winner: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
60,000-point
Signup bonus after spending $4,000 in first 3 months
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This may seem like a big difference, but it all depends on your spending. See how these two cards compare in the table and in our credit card breakdown below.
Typically, these cards offer very similar value, as they earn similar rewards rates and offer similar perks for little cost. However, Chase’s rapid fire updates to their credit card lineup over 2020 has given an ever so slight edge to the Chase Sapphire Preferred – largely thanks to the card’s temporary grocery perks. These grocery benefits may or may not stick around forever, so the needle could certainly move back in the other direction in 2021.
The Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card is an excellent choice for travelers who don’t want to keep track of categories and who want to earn flat rewards on all purchases.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers a higher value for travelers willing to commit. This means getting the Chase Freedom Flex℠ card and/or the Chase Freedom Unlimited® in addition to your Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. This way you get the Chase trifecta combination, which is one of the most rewarding card combinations you can make.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card earns 2x points on travel and dining, 5x points on Lyft rides until March 2022, and 1x points on everything else. When you redeem for travel purchases, this can be worth 25% more, or 2.5x on travel and dining, 6.25X on Lyft and 1.25x on everything else.
However, with a flat 2x miles on all purchases and 5x miles on Uber Eats until January 2021, the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card lets you earn slightly more points than the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. Here’s how it looks like:
| Annual spending | Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card | Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card |
|---|---|---|
| Travel and dining | $5,000 | $5,000 |
| Lyft | $0 | $1,800 |
| Uber Eats | $1,800 | $0 |
| Everything else | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| Total spent | $16,800 | $16,800 |
| Total miles/points earned | 39,000 (worth $390 on travel redemption) | 29,000 (worth $362 on travel redemption) |
In the example above, the difference is $28 in favor of the Venture card. For some travelers, the difference may be negligible. But if you spend more than $25,000 each year, the difference grows to around $100, which can cover the cost of each card’s annual fee.
With a signup bonus of 60,000 points when you spend $4,000 in your first 3 months, this is one of the highest signup bonuses you can find in a credit card with a $95 annual fee. You can redeem your bonus points on travel purchases worth up to $750. You’ll also enjoy up to $50 in statement credits on grocery purchases.
The Venture card comes with 60,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months. You can earn an additional bonus miles after you spend at least within your first . The threshold to earn the entire bonus is way higher than the Sapphire Preferred, while you get a similar redemption value. This clearly makes the Sapphire Preferred a more valuable choice.
Both these cards let you transfer points to partner airlines and hotels. However, the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card has something more — an up to $100 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit once every four years. This perk is typically offered by more premium travel credit cards.
The Venture card offers travel accident insurance and auto rental collision damage waiver. On the other hand, the Sapphire Preferred travel coverage is more extensive. With this card, you get:
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