Capital One Venture X vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve: Sapphire Outshines
https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/credit-cards/capital-one-venture-x-vs-chase-sapphire-reserve
| Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card | Chase Sapphire Reserve® | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual fee | $395 | $550 |
| Sign-up bonus | Earn 75,000 bonus miles when you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel. | Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. |
| Rewards | 10 miles per $1 on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.5 miles per $1 on flights booked through Capital One Travel.2 miles per $1 on all other purchases. | 10 points per dollar spent on Chase Dining purchases.10 points per dollar spent on hotel stays and car rentals booked through Chase.5 points per dollar spent on air travel booked through Chase.3 points per dollar spent on travel and dining not booked with Chase.1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.Through March 2025: 10 points per $1 spent on Lyft (7 points per dollar spent on Lyft plus 3 points per dollar spent on travel). |
| Foreign transaction fee | None. | None. |
AmEx Points vs. Chase Points: Which Is Right for You?
https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/travel/amex-points-vs-chase-points
An overview of AmEx points vs. Chase Ultimate Rewards® points
Both Membership Rewards points and Chase Ultimate Rewards® points can be transferred to airline and hotel partners or redeemed for travel through each individual program’s online travel-booking portal. Both programs also offer other non-travel redemption options, but these generally provide lower value.
Here are the key differences between AmEx and Chase Ultimate Rewards® points:
- Number of transfer partners. AmEx leads the way with 20 airline and hotel partners versus Chase’s 14 transfer partners. That means more access to airline sweet spots for AmEx points collectors.
- Redemption rate for travel purchases. Chase offers certain Sapphire and Ink cardholders the opportunity to redeem points for travel at 1.25 to 1.5 cents per point. Meanwhile, AmEx travel redemptions generally top out at 1 cent per point (unless you know where to transfer them, which can get you a value of up to 1.2 cents per point).
- Redeeming points for purchases. Chase Ultimate Rewards® points are more valuable when using points to pay for purchases. You can redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards® points for at least 1 cent per point to cover card charges. Meanwhile, AmEx point redemptions top out at just 0.7 cent per point when paying with points at checkout at select retailers.
- Cash out/statement credit rates. Chase lets cardholders redeem Ultimate Rewards® points for cash back at a rate of 1 cent per point. AmEx points can be redeemed to Cover Your Card Charges at a rate of just 0.6 cent per point, remitted as a statement credit.
- The quality of the portal. In next-level points nerdiness, we dived deep to analyze and compare the online travel portals of Chase and AmEx, as well as Citi Thank You and Capital One (two other heavy hitters in the transferable currency space). Chase’s portal beat AmEx’s at nearly every turn.
- Types of cards offered. AmEx and Chase both offer credit cards that earn points within their programs. The cards are different and target consumers with varying travel needs.
What are AmEx points good for?
- Airline point redemptions. If you love flying, AmEx is the program for you, as 17 of AmEx’s 20 transfer partners are airline loyalty programs. Also, airline bookings, including upgrades with points, provide among the highest redemption rates when booking through AmEx Travel. Even still, you’ll generally get more value when redeeming points through transfer partners.
- Booking niche mileage sweet spots. AmEx points unlock some of the highest-value sweet spots in the points and miles world — from 44,000-point business class flights to Africa (via the Etihad Guest sweet spot on Royal Air Maroc) to 220,000-point around-the-world award tickets in business class (via Aeromexico Club Premier).
- Lounge access. While AmEx points themselves don’t get you into lounges, premium AmEx cards do offer lounge access. Through AmEx’s expansive Global Lounge Collection, eligible cardmembers get access to over 1,400 lounges in 140 countries.
What are Chase Ultimate Rewards® points best for?
- United and Southwest redemptions. Chase Ultimate Rewards® points transfer to both United MileagePlus and Southwest Rapid Rewards at a 1:1 transfer ratio. That makes earning Chase Ultimate Rewards® points a great way to top off your points collection in either of these airline programs.
- World of Hyatt bookings. Hotel transfer partners generally provide poorer value than airline partners; however, Hyatt is a key exception. With the introduction of off-peak award pricing, Hyatt reward nights now start at just 3,500 points per night. Collecting Chase Ultimate Rewards® points can be a shortcut for accumulating Hyatt points to take advantage of Hyatt’s high-value redemptions.
- Redeeming points for paid travel. Depending on which card you have, Chase Ultimate Rewards® provide either 1.25 or 1.5 cents per point in value toward paid travel purchases through Chase’s portal. That provides an excellent way to take advantage of booking cheap flights and hotel stays — using fewer points than it would take to redeem for a reward flight or night.