Capital One Venture X vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve: Venture X Delivers, for Less

Both the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve® have much to offer seasoned travelers seeking high-end perks. They each provide annual travel credits, airport lounge access, credits toward Global Entry or TSA PreCheck and other valuable benefits — in exchange for sizable annual fees.

However, the Venture X is a simpler (yet still rewarding) card to manage, making it a better fit if you want a premium experience without having to work as hard for it. Also worth noting: Its annual fee is much smaller.

Here’s how to decide which is right for you.

» MORE: NerdWallet’s best travel credit cards

» MORE: TSA PreCheck vs. Global Entry: Which is right for you?

Why you may pick the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card

The Venture X is an impressive card, especially for anyone who wants a premium experience with relatively little fuss.

Lower annual fee

The annual fee is a still-high $395 (see rates and fees), but that’s certainly lower than the $795 you’d pay with the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. If you max out the $300 annual travel credit, you’ve offset much of the cost. Plus, the card provides a 10,000-mile anniversary bonus worth $100 toward travel, which also helps lower the price of carrying the card in year two and beyond.

Simplicity

While the Chase Sapphire Reserve® has around a half-dozen different reward tiers, the Venture X has just three to track. And its "everything else" category is more lucrative: 2X miles back, as opposed to just 1 point back with the Chase card.

In addition to redeeming rewards for bookings through Capital One Travel, you can use your Capital One Miles to reimburse yourself for the cost of recent travel purchases. Eligible travel expenses include airline purchases, hotel bookings, rental cars, trains, buses, taxis, cruises, travel agents and timeshares. This gives you the option to book award travel any way you want, without limiting yourself to a card’s travel portal.

As noted earlier, the Venture X card’s headlining benefit is a $300 travel credit that applies automatically toward eligible purchases. If only things were so straightforward with the Sapphire Reserve, which is laden with credits, only some of which will be useful depending on your spending habits. Moreover, most of the Reserve’s credits are doled out in piecemeal fashion, meaning that you’ll likely end up spending more to earn the full credit.

Capital One Lounge access

Both cards grant you access to Priority Pass airport lounges, which can be hit-or-miss experiences, frankly.

More importantly, though, both cards also gain you access to issuer-branded lounges. Chase operates a handful of airport lounges of its own, but they can be a mixed bag. Capital One-branded lounges, on the other hand, are almost always exceptional.

The current Capital One Lounge network is small but growing. Lounges open thus far can be found at airports including Dulles International Airport, Denver International Airport and Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

If you happen to pass through an airport with a Capital One lounge, make an effort to stop. Amenities vary by lounge, but the Peloton room in Dallas offers sweeping views of the airfield. Meanwhile, the Denver Capital One Lounge embraces local foodie culture with beers from nearby breweries and regional cuisine such as bison sloppy Joe.

Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card cardholders get free access to Capital One Lounges, which feature amenities such as food, drinks, high-speed Wi-Fi, luggage lockers, showers and more. Plus, you'll get access to Capital One's Partner Lounge Network, including Plaza Premium lounges, Virgin Clubhouses and more.

» MORE: Goodbye, Chase Sapphire Reserve®; hello, Capital One Venture X

Why you might prefer the Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Though it has a formidable $795 annual fee, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® has lots of valuable travel extras that can effectively bring down that cost — but you have to be willing to put in the work to get your money’s worth.

» SEE: Why I might finally get the Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Flexible travel credit

The $300 annual travel credit is hassle-free. Whenever you use the card to make a travel purchase, you automatically get a statement credit covering the cost until you reach the $300 limit. Travel purchases include airlines, hotel and timeshare bookings, car rentals, cruises, travel agencies and discount travel sites, campgrounds, trains, buses, taxis, limos, ferries, tolls and parking. The one drawback is that until you're awarded the full travel credit, you won’t earn points on travel purchases.

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card also offers a $300 annual travel credit, but it doesn’t cover every travel expense. Instead, it only covers bookings made through Capital One's travel portal.

Combines with other Chase cards

A hallmark of the Chase Sapphire Reserve® is the ability to transfer rewards over from other cards that earn Chase Ultimate Rewards® points, including the Chase Freedom Flex® and the Chase Freedom Unlimited®. Those transferred points may be eligible for "Points Boost" redemptions, giving them a potential value of 2 cents each when used to redeem for qualifying travel through Chase's portal. (More on this below.)

And because Chase allows you to combine points with another member of your household for free, you can pair up to earn double the rewards.

Some Capital One cards allow you to transfer rewards among cards, but not all are eligible. And in any case, point values still top out at 1 cent apiece when you book via Capital One's travel portal.

So in this area, Chase provides a more seamless and potentially more valuable experience.

» MORE: What is the ‘Chase Trifecta’?

More domestic transfer partners

With both cards, you can transfer points to select airline and hotel loyalty programs, but Chase partners with several U.S. airlines and major hotel brands:

Compare those to Capital One’s transfer partners, which are notably light on domestic partners:

More robust travel insurance

Both cards offer primary rental car coverage and reimbursement for lost luggage. Each features trip delay reimbursement worth up to $500 per ticket if your travel is delayed by more than six hours or requires an unexpected overnight stay.

But the travel coverage that comes with Chase Sapphire Reserve® goes further. It offers up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip to cover prepaid, non-refundable travel costs if your trip is canceled or shortened due to a covered reason, like illness or severe weather. (The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card will reimburse up to $2,000 per person.)

The Chase card also offers up to $100,000 for medical services and transportation when you’re far from home and require an emergency evacuation, and its travel accident insurance is more robust, too.

The one area where the Venture X card wins out? It features cell phone insurance, unlike the Chase card.

While these are benefits you hope never to use, they’re certainly nice to have if you need them. Just keep in mind that there are terms, conditions and limitations to the coverage provided by both cards.

Potentially higher point values

Points can be worth up to 2 cents each when redeemed for travel booked through Chase, compared to 1 cent apiece with the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card. Note, though, that this value applies only to flights and hotel bookings that have the “Points Boost” designation. Redeeming for non-Points Boost bookings will net you less value.

As noted above, with the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, point values top out at 1 cent apiece when you book via Capital One Travel or use points to cover other travel expenses.

Which card should you get?

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® is targeted at a very specific audience: Credit card enthusiasts who enjoy the game of optimizing rewards and credits. Oh, and those people also don’t mind spending close to $1,000 in annual fees.