Capital One Venture X & Chase Sapphire Preferred Combo- Amazing Two-Card Setup!
Combining credit cards from different issuers can be a great way to diversify your points balances and expose yourself to more transfer partners that can create opportunities for some nice redemption. Today, I’ll be talking about how both the Capital One Venture X and the Chase Sapphire Preferred complement each other well.
Capital One Miles & Chase Ultimate Rewards Transfer Partners
One of the main reasons to get both cards is to get access to both Capital One Miles and Chase Ultimate Rewards transfer partners. It’s a great way to diversify points and earn more signup bonuses from two different ecosystems.
For Capital One Miles, you’d need a card from its Venture series, with the Venture X being the most premium. On the other side with Chase Ultimate Rewards, you’d need at least the
| Capital One Miles Transfer Partners | Mutual Transfer Partners | Chase Ultimate Rewards Transfer Partners |
|---|---|---|
| Aeromexico | Air Canada | AerClub |
| Avianca | British Airways | Iberia |
| Cathay Pacific | Emirates | JetBlue |
| Etihad | Air France-KLM | Southwest |
| EVA Air (2:1.5) | Singapore Airlines | United |
| Qantas | Virgin Atlantic | IHG |
| TAP Portugal | Marriott | |
| Turkish Airlines | Hyatt | |
| Accor (2:1) | ||
| Choice | ||
| Wyndham |
Both programs share really high-value transfer partners like:
- Air Canada Aeroplan for Star Alliance flights
- British Airways Avios for Qatar Airways QSuites
- Air France-KLM for flights to Europe
- Emirates for aspirational Emirates flights
- Singapore Airlines for Singapore Airlines First Class Suites
- Virgin Atlantic for ANA First Class to Japan
Then, Capital One Miles have Turkish Airlines, which can be great for Europe, Central Asia, and Hawaii with Star Alliance flights and Turkish Airlines, which flies to most countries compared to all other airlines. Chase Ultimate Rewards have the highly-coveted Hyatt as a transfer partner which can get you free nights at hotels at less points compared to other hotel loyalty programs like Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, and IHG.
Capital One Venture X is a Great Alternative to Chase Sapphire Reserve
Capital One Venture X positions itself to be a major rival to the Chase Sapphire Reserve with its lower annual fee. Even with the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you’d still be paying less than just the CSR for the annual fee ($395+$95 vs. $550).
Travel benefits with both rivaling cards are also pretty similar.
| Chase Sapphire Reserve | Capital One Venture X | |
|---|---|---|
| Travel Credit | $300 on Travel Portal & Outside of Travel Portal | $300 on Travel Portal Only |
| Global Entry Credit | $100 in every 4 years, with option to choose NEXUS instead for US-Canada border | $100 in every 4 years, no NEXUS option |
| Airport Lounge Access | Priority Pass Select + Chase Sapphire Lounges | Priority Pass Select + Capital One Lounges |
| No Foreign Transaction Fee | Yes | Yes |
| Car Rental Status | None | Hertz President's Circle |
| Car Rental Insurance | Primary Coverage for up to $75,000 | Primary Coverage for up to $75,000 |
| Trip Delay | Up to $500 if flight is delayed more than 6 hours due to covered reasons | Up to $500 if flight is delayed more than 6 hours due to covered reasons |
| Lost Baggage | Up to $3000 ($2000 for New York residents) per covered trip | Up to $3000 ($2000 for New York residents) per covered trip |
| Trip Cancellation | Up to $2000 if trip is cancelled due to sickness or death of the insured or family members & default of airline | Up to $2000 if trip is cancelled due to sickness or death of the insured or family members & default of airline |
| Anniversary Miles | None | 10,000 Miles |
Because the Chase Sapphire Preferred does not give travel benefits as good as the Sapphire Reserve, the Venture X can fill that need. The only upside to the CSR is that it gives an edge in travel category with 1x more in return on spend.
CSR may work better for few people that spends a lot of money on travel. The catch is that the objective with earning points in the first place is to not pay cash as much for travel by burning the points earned instead. Thus, most people will be better off with the Venture X and the Sapphire Preferred.
If you are interested in applying for the CapitalOne Venture X, please consider using my referral link to help support the site!
Capital One SavorOne is Great for Groceries
A glaring weakness of the Chase Ultimate Rewards ecosystem is the lack of consistent bonus on grocery spend. This is where the Capital One SavorOne comes in to fix that hole. A no annual fee card with 3x back on groceries uncapped. With the Venture X, you can move cashback rewards earned on your SavorOne’s spend towards Capital One Miles. This no annual fee card is very strong that it competes with the American Express Gold Card provided that the user have a card from the Venture series.
If you are interested in applying for the CapitalOne SavorOne, please consider using my referral link to help support the site!
Access to Chase No Annual Fee Cards
The major problem with Capital One is that you’re only allowed to have 2 cards opened in one. This is why I recommend having both the Venture X and SavorOne for the optimal Capital One setup. Meanwhile, there’s no hard limit in how many Chase credit cards you have. They’re just subject to the Chase 5/24 rule.
The no annual fee Chase cards can earn you lots of points with the 5x rotating category from the Chase Freedom Flex and 5x from cell phone and internet bills from the Chase Ink Cash if you can qualify for a business credit card. Chase Freedom Unlimited, in my opinion, can be skipped or saved for way later in your credit card setup. With the Venture X, the CFU is a bit null since the Venture X earns 2x on non-category spend while the CFU only earns 1.5x.
If you are interested in applying for the Chase Freedom Flex/Unlimited, please consider using my referral link to help support the site!
Also, if you are interested in applying for the Chase Ink Cash/Unlimited/Preferred, please consider using my referral link to help support the site!
Chase Sapphire Preferred Has Referral Links, Chase Sapphire Reserve Does Not
I’ve compared the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Reserve in the past, and I feel that the CSP makes more sense for most people, especially if you have the Venture X. On top of that, the CSP offers referral link where you can share friends, families, and even strangers on the Internet. Referral bonuses can move the needles in earning you extra points outside of signup bonuses. The CSR unfortunately does not offer referral links, so the incentive to have the CSP instead is definitely stronger now. It’s also often the case that the CSP has higher signup bonuses in general, which will help the people you refer to more.
If you are interested in applying for the Chase Sapphire Preferred, please consider using my referral link to help support the site!
Conclusion
The Capital One Venture X & Chase Sapphire Preferred combo is definitely a card combo you’d want to have if you’re looking to get outsized value from your earned points. Both cards will serve as pathways to their respective points programs, and credit cards that will cover their programs’ weak points. More credit cards mean yielding more rewards through more signup and specialized category spend bonuses. In my opinion, this combo trumps the Chase Sapphire Reserve by a mile, while also having less annual fees to pay!