Capital One Venture X vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve® are premium travel credit cards from Capital One and Chase, respectively. Both cards offer various outstanding benefits that savvy frequent travelers can take advantage of while also charging annual fees equal to several hundred dollars.

To help you decide which option is best for your spending and lifestyle, we’ve put together a card comparison highlighting each option’s benefits, earning structure, sign-up bonus and more.

Capital One Venture X vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve

	Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card	Chase Sapphire Reserve®
Rewards rate	10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel 5X miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel 2X miles on all other purchases	10X points on hotels and rental cars purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards 5X points on Chase Ultimate Rewards air travel 3X points on general travel and restaurants 1X points on general purchases Note: Travel rewards rates apply only after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases
Sign-up bonus	75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months (equal to $750 in travel)	60,000 points when you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months
Annual fee	$395	$550
APR	18.49%-25.49% variable	19.24%-26.24% variable
Notable benefits	Up to $300 back in annual statement credits for Capital One Travel purchases Priority Pass Select membership and access to Capital One airport lounges Up to $100 in credits toward Global Entry or TSA PreCheck every 4 years 10,000 bonus miles every year, starting on your first anniversary	$300 annual travel credit Priority Pass Select membership Up to $100 in credits toward Global Entry or TSA PreCheck every 4 years Lyft Pink and DoorDash DashPass membership 50% boost to points when redeemed for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards
Transfer partners	Transfer Venture X miles to Capital One’s 16 hotel and airline partners	Transfer Ultimate Rewards points to Chase’s 14 hotel and airline partners

Earning rewards

Both the Capital One Venture X and Chase Sapphire Reserve earn valuable, transferrable rewards. The Sapphire Reserve earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points, while the Venture X earns Capital One miles.

They also have similar rewards rates, as highlighted above.

• The Venture X offers 10X miles on hotels and rental cars booked through the Capital One travel portal, while the Sapphire Reserve offers 10X points on hotels and rental cars booked through Ultimate Rewards.
• The Venture X offers 5X miles on flights booked through Capital One Travel, while the Sapphire Reserve offers 5X points on flights booked through Ultimate Rewards.
• Where the cards differ is their base earning rates – the Venture X earns a flat 2X miles on all other purchases, and the Sapphire Reserve earns 1X points on all general purchases.
• The Sapphire Reserve offers an additional 3X on general travel and restaurants.
• The Sapphire Reserve’s travel rewards rates don’t kick in until you’ve spent your first $300 on travel purchases.

In terms of sign-up bonuses, the Venture X currently offers 75,000 miles after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. This bonus is worth at least $750 toward travel, though you can often get more value by transferring your miles to one of Capital One’s hotel or airline partners.

As for the Chase Sapphire Reserve, new cardholders can earn 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $4,000 in the first three months of card ownership.

Redeeming awards

The process for redeeming your rewards is also quite similar for both the Venture X and Sapphire Reserve. With both cards, you can redeem your rewards for travel via Chase Ultimate Rewards or Capital One Travel, or transfer your rewards to hotel and airline partners.

With the Venture X, you can redeem miles for:

• Cash back
• Gift cards
• Purchases via Amazon.com or PayPal
• Statement credits toward past travel purchases

And you can redeem Sapphire Reserve points for:

• Gift cards
• Cash back
• Statement credits
• Merchandise (including using points for Amazon and PayPal purchases)
• Statement credits toward past purchases and donations via Pay Yourself Back

Your Capital One Venture miles are worth 1 cent apiece when booking travel through the Capital One travel portal, while Chase Ultimate Rewards points are worth 1.5 cents per point when booking through Chase’s portal (thanks to a 50% bonus given by the Chase Sapphire Reserve on travel rewards redeemed through Chase).

Savvy travelers know that one of the best ways to maximize the value of your rewards is by transferring them to airline or hotel partners. According to The Points Guy, Ultimate Rewards points are worth up to 2 cents apiece toward transfer partner travel, whereas Capital One miles are worth up to 1.85 cents apiece toward transfer partner travel.

Annual fees

Both the Capital One Venture X and Chase Sapphire Reserve charge hefty annual fees. With the Venture X, you’ll owe $395, while the Sapphire Reserve costs $550. Though these are fairly high annual fees, there’s no denying that both of these cards come with several benefits that completely offset the yearly charge.

Travel benefits and statement credits

The Chase Sapphire Reserve and Capital One Venture X both come with up to $300 in annual travel credits, but the way in which these travel credits work differs between each card.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve travel credit applies to just about anything that codes as travel. So, in addition to airfare and hotels, it can apply to taxis, public transportation and tolls. The Capital One Venture X travel credit only applies to travel that’s booked through the Capital One travel portal (for example, hotels, flights and rental cars).

As noted, you can’t earn travel-related rewards with the Sapphire Reserve until you earn your $300 travel credit (or, in other words, until you’ve spent $300 on travel-related purchases).

Lastly, both cards offer Priority Pass Select membership, which gets you access to 1,300+ airport lounges across the world, as well as up to $100 in credits toward Global Entry or TSA PreCheck every four years. Neither option will charge you foreign transaction fees, either.

Other perks

Additional Capital One Venture X benefits include extended warranties for eligible items, return and purchase protection, cellphone protection, emergency card replacement and more. You can also enjoy 10,000 bonus miles on your account anniversary.

In terms of Chase Sapphire Reserve benefits, you can expect extended warranties for eligible items, return protection, purchase protection and Visa Infinite Concierge access. The Sapphire Reserve also gets you a complimentary Lyft Pink membership (if you activate before March 31, 2025) and one year of DoorDash DashPass (when you activate before December 31, 2024).

Capital One Venture X: Best for those looking for a big sign-up bonus

While there is no denying that the Capital One Venture X and Chase Sapphire Reserve cards have overlapping features and benefits, one area where there’s a big difference is the sign-up bonus. While initial welcome bonuses on credit cards can vary over time, right now, the Venture X sign-up bonus is higher than that of the Sapphire Reserve.

The Venture X offers the chance to earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases in your first three months – an incredible offer.

If any of these first-year perks piques your interest, the Capital One Venture X could be worth it for you.

Chase Sapphire Reserve card: Best for those who redeem points for travel

If you have the credit score needed to get the Chase Sapphire Reserve, which is typically excellent, you’ll definitely want to consider this card – especially if you intend to redeem your points for travel.

The opportunity to get 50% more value for your points when you redeem for travel through Ultimate Rewards is a solid perk and one that might make the Sapphire Reserve worth it for you.

Bottom line

Choosing between the Chase Sapphire Reserve and Capital One Venture X will likely depend on which of their features and benefits most appeal to you, and perhaps whether you prefer a Chase credit card or Capital One card.

Though the Sapphire Reserve charges a higher annual fee, it does offer more rewards categories and the opportunity to boost your points’ value through the Chase portal. On the other hand, the Venture X offers a hard-to-beat sign-up bonus and bonus anniversary miles. No matter which one you choose, both travel cards are sure to provide long-term value.