Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card vs Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Both cards run $95 a year, charge no foreign transaction fees, and aim at the same good-to-excellent-credit traveler, which is why they keep landing on the same shortlists. They earn very differently. The Sapphire Preferred pays bonus rates across a stack of categories (3x dining, 3x gas and EV charging, 5x on travel booked through Chase Travel) and stacks annual credits on top. The Venture pays a flat 2x on every purchase, with 5x only on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, and skips the broader category map. The real question is whether your spending fits Chase's bonus buckets or whether you'd rather earn a solid rate everywhere without tracking anything.
| Spec | Chase Sapphire | Capital One |
|---|---|---|
| Annual fee | $95/yr | $95/yr |
| Welcome bonus | 100,000 points bonus | 75,000 miles bonus |
| Base rate | 1x | 2x |
| Top earn rates |
|
|
| Foreign tx fee | None | None |
| Statement credits | 3 credits | 1 credits |
| Rewards | Chase Ultimate Rewards | Capital One Miles |
Choose Chase Sapphire Preferred®
Pick the Chase Sapphire Preferred if your spending clusters where it earns. Dining and gas and EV charging both earn 3x, online grocery and select streaming earn 3x, and travel booked through Chase Travel earns 5x. The intro offer is bigger too: 100,000 bonus points (worth about $1,250) after you spend $5,000 in the first 3 months, versus 75,000 miles on the Venture. The credits can cover the fee if you actually use them: a $100 annual hotel credit for stays booked through Chase Travel, plus up to $10 a month on eligible DoorDash grocery and retail orders. The catch is that you have to book through Chase Travel and stay on top of the categories to capture that value.
Full details →Choose Capital One Venture
Pick the Capital One Venture Rewards if you'd rather not think about it. Every purchase earns 2x miles, so no swipe lands on a 1x base rate, and hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel earn 5x. There are no monthly credits to remember to use. The bonus is easier to hit: 75,000 miles (worth about $750) after you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months, a lower bar than the $5,000 the Sapphire Preferred asks. Both cards give the same $120 Global Entry / TSA PreCheck credit and neither charges foreign transaction fees, so on the basics they're even. If your spending is spread across categories that neither card bonuses, flat 2x quietly beats the Sapphire Preferred's 1x on everything else.
Full details →Verdict
Go with the Venture for no-maintenance flat 2x on every purchase; go with the Sapphire Preferred if your dining, gas, and travel spend plus the annual credits will out-earn that simplicity.