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When you ignore its annual fee, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® is a better credit card for travelers over the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. The Sapphire Reserve has a high $550 annual fee, but its premium benefits such as the $300 annual travel credit and airport lounge access outperform what’s available on the Capital One Venture.
The Capital One Venture card can be a good choice if you simply want a lower $95 annual fee and don’t travel enough to find much value from premium travel benefits.
Let’s explore the differences between the Capital One Venture versus Chase Sapphire Reserve cards to help you decide which card makes the most sense for you.
Capital One Venture vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve
The Capital One Venture is a mid-tier travel rewards credit card because of its $95 annual fee and available benefits. The Venture card doesn’t have a high annual cost, but it also doesn’t have premium travel benefits.
As a premium travel credit card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve has a high $550 annual fee and luxury perks such as annual credits, extensive travel insurance, and airport lounge access.
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Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card |
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Chase Sapphire Reserve® |
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| Card type | Travel | Travel |
| Credit card issuer | Capital One | Chase |
| Credit card network | Mastercard | Visa |
| Annual fee | $95 | $550 |
| Welcome bonus | Earn a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening — valued at $750 when redeemed for travel | Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening — valued at $900 when redeemed for travel booked through the Chase portal |
| Earning rate | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase, every day, 5 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 5 miles per dollar on Capital One Entertainment purchases through 12/31/25 | 5X points on flights and 10X points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually; 3X points on other travel and dining & 1X points per dollar on all other purchases |
| Redemption methods |
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| Annual credits | None |
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| Travel perks |
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| Other benefits |
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| Foreign transaction fee | None | None |
| Credit needed | Excellent, Good | Excellent |
| Learn more | Learn more |
What both cards excel at
The Capital One Venture and Chase Sapphire Reserve overlap in these areas:
- Welcome offers: Both the Capital One Venture and Chase Sapphire Reserve offer welcome offers that can help you earn a significant amount of rewards soon after account opening.
- TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credits: Both credit cards offer up to a $100 application fee reimbursement for a TSA PreCheck or Global Entry membership. Cardholders can benefit more from Global Entry over TSA PreCheck because Global Entry includes TSA PreCheck benefits and more.
- Travel partners: The Capital One Venture and Sapphire Reserve allow transferring rewards to loyalty programs of airline and hotel partners. Popular Capital One transfer partners include British Airways, Emirates, and Virgin Red. Popular Chase transfer partners include Air France-KLM, JetBlue, Hyatt, Southwest, United, and Marriott.
- No foreign transaction fees: Neither the Capital One Venture nor Chase Sapphire Reserve has foreign transaction fees
10 important differences between Capital One Venture and Chase Sapphire Reserve
There are 10 key differences between the Capital One Venture and Chase Sapphire Reserve.
1. Annual fees
The Capital One Venture has a $95 annual fee, whereas the Chase Sapphire Reserve has a $550 annual fee.
If you want a similar Chase credit card to the Sapphire Reserve with a lower $95 annual fee, your best option is the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. The Sapphire Preferred comes with fewer benefits than the Sapphire Reserve.
Explore a full list of benefits in our Capital One Venture review.
Winner: The Capital One Venture is the clear winner because it has a lower $95 annual fee.
2. Rewards rates and programs
The Capital One Venture is part of Capital One’s rewards program and offers 2 miles per dollar on every purchase, every day, 5 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 5 miles per dollar on Capital One Entertainment purchases through 12/31/25.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve is part of the Chase Ultimate Rewards program and offers 5X points on flights and 10X points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually; 3X points on other travel and dining & 1X points per dollar on all other purchases.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve comes out on top for its higher 3X bonus points on other travel and dining.
Check out our Chase Sapphire Reserve review for more details.
Winner: The Chase Sapphire Reserve card because its bonus categories include common expenses for travelers.
3. Credit score requirements
You typically need a good or excellent credit score to qualify for the Capital One Venture. You typically need an excellent credit score to qualify for the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
This means it can be easier to get approved based on credit score requirements for the Capital One Venture compared to the Sapphire Reserve. Note that credit card issuers consider other creditworthiness factors apart from your credit score when reviewing credit card applications.
Winner: The Capital One Venture because it has less strict credit score requirements.
4. Monthly and annual credits
The Capital One Venture offers no monthly or annual credits and no account anniversary bonuses.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers these credits:
- $300 annual travel credit
- $5 monthly DoorDash credit
- $15 monthly Instacart credit
This means that the Chase Sapphire Reserve can give you up to $540 worth of credits each year.
Winner: Chase Sapphire Reserve because it offers multiple opportunities for monthly and annual credits.
5. Travel redemption values
Capital One miles are worth 1 cent per mile if you’re redeeming for travel. This means using 10,000 miles gives you a redemption value of $100.
Chase Ultimate Rewards points have a base value of 1 cent per point, but their travel redemption values vary depending on your Chase credit card. Travel redemptions with the Chase Sapphire Reserve receive a 50% bonus. So 10,000 points are valued at $150 through the Chase travel portal.
On top of that, Chase Ultimate Rewards is a very flexible rewards program that allows you to combine rewards from multiple Chase credit cards.
For example, you can use another Chase card to earn Ultimate Rewards points and then use the rewards portal to transfer points to your Chase Sapphire Reserve to get the 50% points bonus. This strategy often uses three Chase credit cards, known as the Chase trifecta.
Winner: Chase Sapphire Reserve because it offers a 50% bonus to travel redemptions.
6. Redemption options
The Capital One Venture offers these redemption options for your miles:
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The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers these redemption options for your points:
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It’s worth noting that the Chase Sapphire Reserve gives the 50% bonus on the Pay Yourself Back categories. Past categories included Airbnb, dining purchases, groceries, home improvement purchases, and more.
Winner: Tie because it depends on your redemption preferences.
7. Airport lounge access perks
The Capital One Venture gives you up to two free visits per year to lounges or experiences on the Capital One Lounge or Plaza Premium networks.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers a Priority Pass Select membership, which includes unlimited free access to more than 1,300 airport lounges and experiences within the Priority Pass network. This also includes dining credit at Priority Pass restaurants.
Winner: The Chase Sapphire Reserve wins in this category because its airport lounge access benefits are much better than what you get with the Capital One Venture.
8. Elite status benefits
The Capital One Venture offers Hertz Five Star elite status, whereas the Chase Sapphire Reserve offers elite status with National and Avis.
Getting elite status with any car rental agency can give you car upgrades and other benefits. But there’s no real winner here because it depends on which car rental agency you typically use.
Winner: Tie because it depends on your car rental company preferences.
9. Travel coverages
The Capital One Venture offers these travel protections and services:
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The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers these travel protections and services:
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Many of these coverages and services are great to have. For example, you may not have to pay upward of $500 for collision insurance on a long car rental because your credit card offers an auto rental collision damage waiver.
Winner: Chase Sapphire Reserve because it offers more extensive coverage and services than the Capital One Venture.
10. Purchase protections
The Capital One Venture and Chase Sapphire Reserve offer similar purchase protections. Both credit cards offer purchase protection to help cover your eligible purchases against damage and theft.
The one additional coverage the Sapphire Reserve offers is return protection in the event that a retailer won’t let you return an eligible purchase. With return protection, you can receive reimbursement for the item.
Winner: Chase Sapphire Reserve because it offers return protection.
Which card should you choose?
You should choose the Capital One Venture if you want a mid-tier travel credit card with a modest $95 annual fee. The Capital One Venture has a simple rewards rate you can use for various expenses. The Venture also gives you certain travel and purchase protections.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve is the better choice if you’re after a premium travel credit card that offers many benefits for frequent travelers. These benefits include:
- A Priority Pass Select membership with access to more than 1,300 worldwide airport lounges and experiences
- A 50% bonus to travel redemptions
- A $300 annual travel credit and monthly credits for DoorDash and Instacart
- Elite status with National and Avis
- Extensive travel insurance, including emergency evacuation and transportation
- Extensive purchase protections, including return protection
Keep in mind that the Chase Sapphire Reserve has a $550 annual fee. To make this card worth the fee, you can try to get more than $550 worth of value from its benefits.
For frequent travelers, that can be as easy as using the $300 travel credit each year and taking advantage of the Priority Pass membership (worth at least $429) whenever possible. That’s $729 in annual value without including other benefits, such as earning rewards on everyday purchases, using elite statuses, and having travel insurance.
FAQs
Is the Capital One Venture a good card to use abroad?
Yes, the Capital One Venture is a good card to use abroad because it has no foreign transaction fees. It also uses the Mastercard payment network, which is accepted nearly everywhere credit cards are accepted. But the Capital One Venture doesn’t have many premium benefits. For premium travel benefits, consider the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card.
Can I upgrade my Chase Sapphire Preferred to Reserve without a hard inquiry?
Yes, you can upgrade your Chase Sapphire Preferred to Reserve without a hard inquiry. Since this is considered a product change, there’s no hard inquiry involved and typically no impact on your credit score. You typically have to wait a year after opening a Chase Sapphire Preferred card to upgrade to a Chase Sapphire Reserve.
Is Capital One Venture better than Quicksilver?
Yes, the Capital One Venture is better than the Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card for travelers. The Venture offers opportunities to earn travel rewards and take advantage of travel benefits such as up to $100 application credit for a TSA PreCheck or Global Entry membership.
Can I get hotel credit from Chase Sapphire Reserve?
Yes, you can get hotel credit from the Chase Sapphire Reserve. This comes in the form of its $300 annual travel credit, which can be used toward hotel stays, Airbnb stays, flights, baggage fees, rental cars, and more. See more about what counts as travel on Chase Sapphire credit cards.
Does Capital One Venture offer TSA PreCheck?
Yes, the Capital One Venture credit card offers TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credit. This is good for up to $100 toward the application fees of a TSA PreCheck or Global Entry membership and can be used once every four years.
Bottom line
The Chase Sapphire Reserve is a better travel credit card compared with the Capital One Venture for frequent travelers. The Sapphire Reserve offers a $300 annual travel credit, Priority Pass lounge access, and premium travel and purchase protections.
The main reason you may choose the Capital One Venture over the Sapphire Reserve is that it has a lower $95 annual fee compared with the $550 annual fee on the Sapphire Reserve.
If these cards don’t seem like the right fit, check out our recommendations to compare credit cards and find the best card for you.
Premium Travel Benefits
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Current Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening
Annual Fee
$550
Rewards Rate
5X points on flights and 10X points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually; 3X points on other travel and dining & 1X points per dollar on all other purchases