Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve^®: Is There a Clear Winner?

For many people, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card can be the better option over the Chase Sapphire Reserve^®. The Venture X card has a lower $395 annual fee compared to Sapphire Reserve’s $550 annual fee. It also provides benefits that could immediately offset its annual cost, including a $300 annual travel credit, 10,000 anniversary miles, and airport lounge access.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve card can offer more value if you have other Chase credit cards and plan to combine rewards between your cards. You can use this strategy to unlock a 50% bonus to travel redemptions through the Sapphire Reserve card.

Capital One Venture X vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve

The Capital One Venture X and Chase Sapphire Reserve credit cards are premium travel credit cards. They have plenty of high-quality perks and benefits, such as annual travel credits and airport lounge access.

	Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card	Chase Sapphire Reserve®
Card type	Travel	Travel
Credit card issuer	Capital One	Chase
Credit card network	Visa	Visa
Annual fee	$395	$550
Welcome bonus	Earn 75,000 miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening — valued at $750 toward travel	Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening — valued at $900 toward travel
Earning rate	2 miles per dollar on every purchase, every day; 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, and 5 miles per dollar on flights booked through Capital One Travel	5X points on flights and 10X points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards® 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	Travel Transfer partners Cover travel purchases Experiences Gift cards PayPal Amazon Statement credits Mailed checks	Travel Transfer partners Pay Yourself Back Experiences Gift cards Online shopping Dining Statement credits Deposits into a bank account
Annual credits	$300 travel credit 10,000 anniversary miles	$300 travel credit $5 DoorDash credit per month $15 Instacart credit per month
Travel perks	Up to $100 TSA PreCheck or Global Entry fee credit Airport lounge access (Priority Pass, Plaza Premium, and Capital One Lounge) Hertz President’s Circle status	Up to $100 TSA PreCheck or Global Entry fee credit Airport lounge access (Priority Pass) 50% bonus to travel redemptions National Emerald Club Executive elite status Avis Preferred Plus elite status
Other benefits	Visa Infinite benefits Capital One Entertainment Capital One Dining Cell phone protection	Visa Infinite benefits
Foreign transaction fee	None	None
Credit needed	Excellent	Excellent
	Learn more	Learn more

What both cards excel at

The Capital One Venture X and Chase Sapphire Reserve credit cards excel in these areas:

• Welcome offers: The Venture X and Sapphire Reserve credit cards offer welcome bonuses that help you earn loads of rewards over a short period of time after account opening.
• Visa Infinite benefits: Venture X and Sapphire Reserve are Visa Infinite cards with benefits such as purchase protection, extended warranty coverage, and return protection. You also get travel insurance with trip cancellation and interruption coverage, trip delay reimbursement, lost luggage reimbursement, and auto rental collision damage waiver.
• TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credits: Venture X and Sapphire Reserve offer up to $100 in statement credits for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry application fees. This benefit can be used once every four years.
• Transfer partners: Venture X and Sapphire Reserve allow transferring travel rewards to over a dozen of travel partners, including major airline and hotels. Capital One transfer partners include Air France-KLM Flying Blue, British Airways Executive Club, and Etihad Guest. Chase transfer partners include JetBlue TrueBlue, Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards, United MileagePlus, Marriott Bonvoy, and World of Hyatt.
• No foreign transaction fees: Neither Venture X nor Sapphire Reserve charges foreign transaction fees when you use these cards while traveling abroad.
• Payment networks: The Venture X and Sapphire Reserve cards are typically accepted anywhere in the world where credit cards are accepted. This is because they’re part of the Visa payment network, which operates in over 200 countries and territories worldwide.

8 important differences between Capital One Venture X and Chase Sapphire Reserve

The Capital One Venture X and Chase Sapphire Reserve credit cards share several similarities as premium travel cards. But comparing these eight important differences will help you see which credit card is the best fit for you:

1. Annual fees

Capital One Venture X has a $395 annual fee, while Chase Sapphire Reserve has a $550 annual fee. That’s a hefty $155 savings on fees for simply choosing the lower annual fee Venture X credit card over the Sapphire Reserve credit card.

Check out our Capital One Venture X review for more details.

Winner: Capital One Venture X because a $395 annual fee is simply better than a $550 annual fee.

2. Earning potential

Capital One Venture X offers 2 miles per dollar on every purchase, every day; 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, and 5 miles per dollar on flights booked through Capital One Travel.

Chase Sapphire Reserve offers 5X points on flights and 10X points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards® 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.

These rewards rates are similar, but the Chase Sapphire Reserve card probably comes out on top. Sapphire Reserve earns 3X points on other travel and dining.

Spending $5,000 in these categories nets you 10,000 Capital One miles on the Venture X credit card — worth at least $100 (10,000 x $0.01 = $100) toward travel.

Spending the same amount in the same bonus categories on the Chase Sapphire Reserve earns you 15,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards program points — worth at least $225 (15,000 x $0.015 = $225) toward travel.

Check out our Chase Sapphire Reserve review to learn more.

Winner: Chase Sapphire Reserve since its earning categories align with common everyday expenses.

3. Annual credits

The Capital One Venture X credit card offers a $300 annual travel credit and 10,000 anniversary miles worth at least $100 toward travel. That’s basically $400 worth of travel credits or bonuses each year.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card offers $300 annual travel credit and up to $5 DoorDash credit per month (up to $60 per year). It also offers up to $15 Instacart credits per month (up to $180 per year).

This equates to $540 in value per year, which is higher than the $400 on the Venture X card. But the DoorDash and Instacart credits aren’t as useful for everyone, especially if you never use these services.

The Venture X credit card wins this round since its statement credit and bonus can be easier to use for most people. Note that the Venture X $300 travel credit is only applicable to bookings made through Capital One Travel, while the $300 travel credit on the Sapphire Reserve applies to all travel purchases.

Winner: Capital One Venture X because its statement credit and annual bonuses are easier to use.

4. Travel redemption value

The Capital One Venture X credit card doesn’t offer increased redemption value when you use miles in the Capital One Travel platform. But the Chase Sapphire Reserve offers a 50% redemption bonus if you redeem miles through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal.

The Capital One Travel portal and Chase travel portal are both easy to use (similar to using Expedia or other travel platforms), but the Sapphire Reserve card wins here because of its travel redemption bonus.

Winner: Chase Sapphire Reserve because it offers a 50% bonus to travel redemptions.

5. Redemption options

The Capital One Venture X offers these redemption options:

Travel Transfer partners Cover travel purchases Experiences Gift cards

PayPal Amazon Statement credits Mailed checks

The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers these redemption options:

Travel Transfer partners Pay Yourself Back Dining Gift cards

Online shopping Experiences Statement credits Deposits into a bank account

Travel redemptions are often the best option for either card because they typically provide the most value.

With the Capital One Venture X credit card, you can make any type of travel purchase and then redeem Capital One miles toward that purchase. This opens up unique redemption options such as buying certain amusement park tickets that code as travel, so you still benefit from the higher travel redemption value.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers Pay-Yourself-Back categories that often benefit from the same 50% rewards bonus as travel redemptions. These categories change, but past categories included Airbnb, dining, groceries, and more.

Winner: Tie since there’s no default winner in this category and it depends on how you prefer to redeem your rewards.

6. Elite status

The Capital One Venture X credit card offers Hertz President’s Circle elite status. This offers Hertz benefits such as:

• Ultimate Choice car selection
• Dedicated call center line
• Guaranteed car upgrades

The Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card provides Emerald Club Executive elite status with National, offering these benefits:

• Faster free rental days
• Executive Area access
• Guaranteed car upgrades

The Chase Sapphire Reserve also provides Avis Preferred Plus elite status, offering these benefits:

• Complimentary upgrades if available
• Avis Preferred Plus dedicated line
• Exclusive monthly email offers

While Sapphire Reserve offers benefits with more car rental agencies, it’s not the clear winner in this category because each person often prefers a car rental company they like to use.

Winner: Tie because it depends on your rental car company preferences.

7. Airport lounge access

The Capital One Venture X credit card offers access to these airport lounge networks:

• Priority Pass
• Plaza Premium
• Capital One Lounge

The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers access to Priority Pass lounges. The Sapphire Reserve also gives you benefits at restaurants within the Priority Pass network, often in the form of credit you can use for dining. 

This specific Priority Pass restaurant benefit isn't available with the Venture X. However, the Capital One Venture X wins since it offers more airport lounge access.

Winner: Capital One Venture X because it offers more access to airport lounge networks.

8. Authorized users

Capital One allows Venture X cardholders to add up to four authorized users for free. Authorized users receive these benefits:

• Airport lounge access (Priority Pass, Plaza Premium, and Capital One Lounge)
• Hertz President’s Circle elite status
• Purchase and travel protections

Chase allows Sapphire Reserve cardholders to add authorized users for a $75 annual fee per user. Authorized users receive these benefits:

• Priority Pass membership
• Purchase and travel protections

Winner: Capital One Venture X since you can add authorized users for free.

Which card should you choose?

Capital One Venture X beats Chase Sapphire Reserve in a head-to-head matchup for these reasons:

• It has a lower $395 annual fee.
• Travel benefits such as $300 annual travel credit and 10,000-mile account anniversary bonus could immediately offset the $395 annual fee.
• It offers more access to airport lounge networks.
• It allows up to four authorized users for free.

But you may choose the Chase Sapphire Reserve card if:

• You already use other Chase credit cards and want to combine point earnings between accounts to take advantage of the 50% boost to travel redemptions on the Sapphire Reserve.
• You spend a lot on other travel and dining.

Keep in mind that either of these premium travel credit cards can be a good fit for a variety of situations. However, their high $395 and $550 annual fees may be intimidating.

For a lower $95 annual fee, check out the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card. This is one of the best credit cards available for travel even though it lacks certain premium features.

Read our Chase Sapphire Preferred review for more details.

FAQs

Bottom line

The Capital One Venture X credit card can be the better option over the Chase Sapphire Reserve credit card in a side-by-side comparison. Venture X has a lower $395 annual fee and its benefits — including a $300 annual travel credit, 10,000 anniversary miles (worth at least $100), and airport lounge access — can offset this cost.

Sapphire Reserve may be a better option if you combine points from other Chase credit cards to take advantage of its 50% bonus to travel redemptions.

If these cards don’t seem like the right fit for you, check out our dedicated page to compare credit cards and find the best option for you.