Capital One Venture X vs Chase Sapphire Reserve: Which is Best?

There are plenty of credit cards out there to help you earn points and accelerate (or even improve) your travels. But if you're looking for a premium card with premium perks, you don't need to look much further than either the *venture x* or the *chase sapphire reserve*.

These aren’t introductory cards for the average Joe or Jane, but rather powerful weapons for the more-frequent traveler. And while the hefty annual fees may scare some off, they come with top-of-the-line perks that could easily justify the higher out-of-pocket cost.

With banks going all-in on premium travelers, it's time to put these two heavyweights of travel rewards under the microscope to determine which one reigns supreme. Which card comes out on top between the Capital One Venture X vs Chase Sapphire Reserve? Whose premium perks win out?

We'll break it down, category by category – whether you're a beginner looking for your first premium travel card or an advanced traveler with plenty of them – to help decide which card suits you best.

 

 

Learn more about the *venture x*.

 

 

Learn more about the *chase sapphire reserve*.

 

 

Capital One Venture X vs Chase Sapphire Reserve: Similarities & Differences

No matter which card you choose, you can't go wrong with either the Capital One Venture X or Chase Sapphire Reserve – they're both excellent options.

Here's a breakdown of what you get with each card:

	Capital One Venture X	Chase Sapphire Reserve
Welcome Offer	bonus_miles_full	bonus_miles_full
Annual Fee	annual_fees	annual_fees
Authorized User Fees	Add up to four authorized users for no additional fee	$75 for each authorized user
Point Value	1 cent per point	1.5 cents per point
Annual Travel Credits	$300 annual travel credit and a 10,000-mile anniversary bonus	Flexible $300 travel credit that can be used on any travel purchase.
Earning Points	Earn 10x on hotels & rental cars and 5x on flights booked through Capital One Travel. Earn 2x on all other purchases.	Earn 10x on hotels & rental cars and 5x on flights booked through Chase Travel. Earn 3x on dining and direct travel purchases. Earn 1x on all other purchases.
$100 TSA PreCheck or Global Entry Reimbursement	Yes, available once every four years.	Yes, available once every four years for the primary cardholder - and includes NEXUS.
Lounge Access	Complimentary access to Capital One Lounges, Plaza Premium Lounges, and Priority Pass Lounges	Complimentary access to Sapphire Lounges and Priority Pass Lounges (including Priority Pass Restaurants)
Primary Car Rental Coverage	Yes	Yes
Foreign Transaction Fees	None	None
Trip Delay Reimbursement	$500 per person for delays lasting six hours or more	$500 per person for delays lasting six hours or more
Lost Luggage Insurance	$3,000 per person per trip	$3,000 per person per trip

As you can see, these two cards have quite a bit in common. Yet a few key differences could be enough to make one a better fit than the other, depending on your personal situation.

 

Capital One Venture X vs Chase Sapphire Reserve: Welcome Offer

To start off, opening a new travel rewards card is all about the welcome offer. At first glance, one of these bonuses might seem like the obvious choice … but is it?

 

Capital One Venture X

With the Capital One Venture X Card, you’ll earn 75,000 Capital One Venture Miles after spending $4,000 in the first three months of card membership. Considering you earn at least 2x Venture Miles on every dollar you spend, that bumps your total earnings to 83,000 miles once you meet the spending requirement – worth at least $830 toward travel.

 

Chase Sapphire Reserve

Chase is currently offering a bonus of 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points to new Sapphire Reserve cardholders who spend $4,000 in the first three months of opening the card. Since Chase points can be redeemed at a rate of 1.5 cents per point in the Chase Travel portal, this bonus is worth at least $900 when used for travel.

 

Winner: Which Card has the Better Welcome Offer?

The short answer: It's too close to call.

Points and miles aren't created equally: They're worth different amounts. And beyond that, determining which offer is best will depend on how you plan to use your newfound points fortune.

If you strictly plan to use the bonus to book flights, the 60,000-point welcome offer on the Chase Sapphire Reserve will actually get you a higher cash value through the Chase travel portal. Those 60,000 Chase points are worth $900, while Capital One Venture Miles are worth a flat 1 cent apiece: 75,000 miles gets you $750.

But if you typically transfer your points to airline and hotel partners to redeem for award tickets, there's no arguing that the bigger, 75,000-mile bonus on the Capital One Venture X can potentially get you further.

 

Capital One Venture X vs Chase Sapphire Reserve: Earning Points

When it comes to earning points and miles, it's important to maximize every dollar you spend.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers boosted earnings in a few spending categories, but you'll get a run-of-the-mill 1x points everywhere else. On the flip side, the Venture X offers a solid 2x earning on all purchases.

Let's take a closer look.

 

Capital One Venture X

With the Capital One Venture X, you'll earn an unlimited 2x Venture Miles on every dollar you spend. That makes this a go-to card for many travelers on their everyday spending.

Beyond that, you'll also get a whopping 10x miles per dollar spent on hotels and rental cars booked through the Capital One Travel portal. Booking flights with Capital One Travel will also earn you 5x miles – a boost from booking direct with the airline.

 

Chase Sapphire Reserve

With the Sapphire Reserve Card, you will earn 3x points per dollar spent on dining, including eligible delivery services. You'll also earn 5x total points on air travel and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards and 3x points per dollar spent on all other travel purchases.

Through 2025, Sapphire Reserve cardholders can also earn 10x points per dollar on Lyft rides, including scooters and bike rentals.

Outside of those bonus categories, the Sapphire Reserve earns 1x Ultimate Rewards on all other purchases.

 

Winner: Which Card Earns Better Points?

This one is close.

But if you ask us, the slight edge goes to Chase Sapphire Reserve thanks to earning 3x point earning on dining and travel purchases. Sure, you can get up to 10x points and miles with either of these cards when booking travel through their respective travel portals. But if you don't want to deal with that, the Sapphire Reserve will be the clear choice for earning more points.

That said, a case could certainly be made for the Venture X being the better earner overall, depending on where you spend the most money. Earning an unlimited 2x miles no matter what makes it a nice “set-it-and-forget-it” kind of card.

 

 

Learn more about the *chase sapphire reserve*.

 

Capital One Venture X vs Chase Sapphire Reserve: Redeeming Points for Travel

Enough about earning points. Let's get to the fun stuff: Using them for free (or nearly free) travel.

 

Capital One Venture X

When it comes to using your Venture Miles, you have three options: You can keep things simple and use them to cover any and all travel charges; you can use them to book travel through the Capital One Travel portal (but you shouldn't); or you can transfer them to one of Capital One's stable of transfer partners.

Here's a look at Capital One's transfer partners:

Program	Type	Ratio	Transfer Time
Aeromexico	Airline	1:1	Instant
Air Canada Aeroplan	Airline	1:1	Instant
Air France/KLM	Airline	1:1	Instant
Avianca LifeMiles	Airline	1:1	Instant
British Airways	Airline	1:1	Instant
Cathay Pacific AsiaMiles	Airline	1:1	Up to five business days
Emirates	Airline	1:1	Instant
Etihad	Airline	1:1	Up to 1 day
EVA Air	Airline	2:1.5	Up to five business days
Finnair	Airline	1:1	Instant
Qantas	Airline	1:1	Instant
Singapore	Airline	1:1	Instant
TAP Air Portugal	Airline	1:1	Same day
Turkish Airlines	Airline	1:1	Same day
Virgin Red	Other	1:1	Same day
Accor	Hotel	2:1	Up to two business days
Wyndham	Hotel	1:1	Same day
Choice Hotels	Hotel	1:1	Same day

If you opt to use your miles to cover recent travel purchases or even use them through the Capital One Travel Portal, they will be worth a flat 1 cent each. That means you can use 50,000 miles to book a $500 flight.

While that doesn't shine for value, it's incredibly simple – and many travelers value that. Plus, it opens the door to cover Airbnbs using Venture miles as well as plenty of other travel expenses you typically can't book using points.

 

Chase Sapphire Reserve

With the Chase Sapphire Reserve, you've got a variety of options for using your points.

The simplest is redeeming them through the Chase Travel portal, where they're worth 1.5 cents each – so if you use them to book a flight, hotel, or other travel, your points will be worth 50% more. In this case, the card's 60,000-point bonus would be worth at least $900 towards travel booked through the Chase Travel portal.

Here's an example of what this looks like in practice. Recently, we sent our Thrifty Traveler Premium members flights from Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) to Amsterdam (AMS) for $483 roundtrip. Here's a screenshot from Google Flights, our favorite flight search engine.

 

 

Once you find the flight that will work, you can simply head to the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal within your Chase online account. Generally speaking, you should be able to pull up price in the portal as you did in Google Flights. As you can see because your points are worth 1.5 cents each when booking in the Chase Travel portal, you can book that same flight for 32,155 Ultimate Rewards points.

 

 

But there are ways you can get far more out of these points: by turning to Chase transfer partners. Chase has a full list of airline and hotel chains to which you can directly transfer your points on a 1:1 basis, including several U.S. airlines and valuable hotel chains you won't find with Capital One.

Here's a look at your options for transferring Chase points:

Program	Type	Transfer Ratio	Transfer Time
Aer Lingus	Airline	1:1	Instant
Air Canada Aeroplan	Airline	1:1	Instant
Air France/KLM	Airline	1:1	Instant
British Airways	Airline	1:1	Instant
Emirates	Airline	1:1	Instant
Iberia Plus	Airline	1:1	Instant
JetBlue	Airline	1:1	Instant
Singapore Air	Airline	1:1	12-24 hours
Southwest Airlines	Airline	1:1	Instant
United Airlines	Airline	1:1	Instant
Virgin Atlantic	Airline	1:1	Instant
World of Hyatt	Hotel	1:1	Instant
IHG	Hotel	1:1	1 day
Marriott Rewards	Hotel	1:1	2 days

Related reading: 10 Great Ways to Use a Big Chase Ultimate Rewards Bonus

 

Winner: Which Card's Miles are More Valuable?

It's close, but the edge in this category has to go to the Chase Sapphire Reserve card.

There are two reasons. First, the 50% bonus you get when redeeming points through the Chase travel portal is nice for travelers who want some extra value while keeping things relatively straightforward. But for those who want to take things further, we'd argue Chase has a stronger stable of transfer partners – especially with the option of transferring points to Hyatt hotels and a major domestic airline partner in United.

 

 

Learn more about the *chase sapphire reserve*.

 

Capital One Venture X vs Chase Sapphire Reserve: Annual Fee

Any time you're considering a premium travel rewards credit card, you should expect a premium price tag. Yet one of these cards bucks that trend and offers top-tier benefits at a mid-tier price point.

 

Capital One Venture X

The annual fee on the Capital One Venture X is $395.

That might immediately make it a non-starter for some … but it's actually quite a bit cheaper than the other premium travel rewards cards, and that includes the Sapphire Reserve. And when you consider all the travel perks and money-saving credits the Venture X carries, that price tag can be a real bargain.

For starters, you get a $300 annual credit to use in the Capital One Travel portal each year, automatically making the annual fee more like $95 a year. Plus, you'll get a 10,000-mile anniversary bonus each year you renew your card.

If you use both of the anniversary miles and travel credit to full value, it's almost as if Capital One is paying you to have this card. In fact, it seems like such a good deal that it recently got us thinking about whether or not an annual fee increase might be on the horizon. But for now, $395 seems like a steal for this travel rewards credit card.

 

Chase Sapphire Reserve

The Sapphire Reserve has an annual fee of $550 each year.

While that might sound steep, with top travel credit cards, you get what you pay for. There are plenty of extra perks and benefits on the Sapphire Reserve card that offset that cost. And it starts with a $300 annual travel credit.

Just for holding the card and paying the annual fee, you'll receive a $300 credit each year that will automatically cover any travel expense: flights, hotels, Airbnb, Uber, Lyft, cruises, parking, a Thrifty Traveler Premium subscription, and so on. It's even easier to use than the credit on the Venture X card.

Considering how easy it is to use that credit, you can think of the Chase Sapphire Reserve's annual fee as more like $250 – as long as you plan to spend at least $300 on travel each and every year, anyway.

 

Winner: Which Card Wins on Fees?

The Capital One Venture X Card is the clear winner for annual fees, as it comes with a lower price tag and even more ways to recoup the initial out-of-pocket cost.

 

 

Learn more about the *venture x*.

 

Capital One Venture X vs Chase Sapphire Reserve: Travel Credits

This is a big one.

Using the perks and annual travel credits that come with a credit card is essential to justifying paying an annual fee. Both of these cards include credits for travel related purchases … but one packs just a bit more punch than the other.

 

$300 Annual Travel Credits

Capital One Venture X

If you hold the Capital One Venture X Card, you'll get a $300 travel credit each and every year you hold the card redeemable towards flights, hotels, and rental cars booked through the Capital One Travel portal.

Simply head to the Capital One Travel portal in your online Capital One account and book your travel. Generally speaking, pricing should match what you find on Google Flights or directly with hotels and rental car agencies – but not always.

Once you make a selection and go through the booking process, you'll have the option to apply your $300 travel credit at checkout as a discount off the purchase price. That's a change – and not a great one: It means you won't earn bonus miles when putting that $300 to use each year.

 

 

Still, this benefit alone can make the Venture X card worth its annual fee. So long as you can use it, it effectively brings your annual fee down to $95 ($395 annual fee minus the $300 travel credit) – right on par with what the regular Venture card charges.

 

Chase Sapphire Reserve

This annual travel credit is one of the most lucrative benefits on any travel credit card … and it's also one of the easiest to use.

If you typically spend at least $300 on travel in a given year, you can essentially think of the Sapphire Reserve's annual fee as being $250. It's one of the biggest reasons why we urge readers not to rule out cards with big annual fees.

Any purchase that Chase considers travel will qualify for the $300 annual travel credit on the Chase Sapphire Reserve. And that covers a lot of ground, including many expenses you might not normally consider “travel.” For a full list of purchases that Chase will code as travel, visit the FAQs on Chase's credit cards rewards page.

 

 

One important note: While you will typically earn 3x Chase Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent on travel, purchases that are covered by your $300 credit will only earn 1x point per dollar spent. You won't start earning 3x on travel until after you have exhausted your annual travel credit each year.

 

Anniversary Bonus Miles

In addition to the annual $300 travel credit, Venture X cardholders get 10,000 Venture Miles when they renew their card for another year, starting in their second year. Considering Venture miles are worth a minimum of one cent each, these miles are worth at least $100. Combined with the $300 travel credit, these two benefits alone can easily justify your $395 annual fee.

This anniversary bonus is only offered on the Venture X. The Sapphire Reserve doesn't have a comparable benefit.

 

Global Entry or TSA PreCheck Credit

Both of these cards give you up to a $100 credit to cover the cost of Global Entry or TSA PreCheck every four years. And the Sapphire Reserve even takes things a step further by also covering the cost of NEXUS, which allows for expedited screening when traveling between the U.S. and Canada.

This perk might seem a bit redundant, as a lot of travel credit cards offer a credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck these days. But even if you're already enrolled in one of these trusted traveler programs, it could still be useful when it comes time to renew. Or you could even pay the application fee for a friend or family member and make their next airport experience a little less stressful.

 

 

Here's how it works: Just pay the application fee with either card and poof – the credit kicks in to automatically cover the cost. Once enrolled, membership lasts for five years and that means as long as you keep either card open, you’re set to keep your enrollment up to date with either program.

Can’t decide? Go for Global Entry, as that also comes with TSA PreCheck benefits as well as getting you into a designated customs and immigration line when returning to the U.S. from abroad. Just beware that signing up for Global Entry can be a much more time-consuming process than TSA PreCheck.

 

Winner: Which Card Provides the Best Travel Credits?

Both cards come with credits for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry and an annual $300 travel credit.

The Sapphire Reserve's annual travel credit is undoubtedly easier to use and deserves some extra points. But at the end of the day the 10,000-mile anniversary bonus that comes with the Venture X give it the edge in this category.

 

 

Learn more about the *venture x*.

 

Capital One Venture X vs Chase Sapphire Reserve: Lounge Access

If it's lounge access you want, both cards are up to the task.

Capital One and Chase have both been building out their own lounges across the U.S., though just a few are open to date. Plus, both cards come with a Priority Pass membership for access to 1,200-plus lounges across the globe – although one card's Priority Pass membership is a little better than the other's.

Let's take a closer look at what kind of lounge access you get with these two cards.

 

Capital One Venture X

With the Capital One Venture X Card, you'll get access to the new Capital One Lounges. Capital One opened its very first lounge in Dallas in late 2021, giving Venture X cardholders unlimited complimentary access. It’s a truly incredible space, with great design, fun amenities, and outstanding food. Venture X cardholders and two guests can get in for free.

 

 

Take a look inside the Capital One DFW Lounge!

They recently followed that up with a second, equally impressive lounge in Washington, D.C.-Dulles (IAD).

 

 

Beyond that, the company is expected to open its long-awaited lounge in Denver in 2023 and also has a space planned in Las Vegas (LAS). The company also has dining spaces in the works at New York City-LaGuardia (LGA) and Washington, D.C.-Reagan (DCA) called Capital One Landings.

In addition to Capital One Lounge access, Venture X cardholders get a Priority Pass Select membership, opening the doors of 1,200-plus airport lounges in cities big and small across the globe. However, earlier this year Capital One stripped access to Priority Pass restaurants for Venture X cardholders – putting this Priority Pass Select membership on par with the ones that come from American Express.

Capital One also gives access to Plaza Premium Lounges, opening the doors to dozens more lounges abroad and at home. The Plaza Premium name also includes Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse lounges in four U.S. airports like New York City (JFK) and Washington, D.C.-Dulles (IAD); several lounges at the Cancún (CUN) airport; and Avianca lounges throughout Colombia. Here’s the full list of Plaza Premium Lounges accessible with the Venture X Card.

Want to bring in guests? You're in luck. Not only can primary Venture X cardholders bring in an unlimited amount of guests for free, but they can also add up to four authorized users to their accounts at no additional cost. Those Venture X authorized users will also get the same lounge memberships – with the ability to bring in an unlimited amount of their own guests on each and every visit.

 

Chase Sapphire Reserve

The Sapphire Reserve comes with a complimentary Priority Pass Lounge membership. This is the gateway for you (and up to two guests) to hang out in thousands of airport lounges all over the world. Additionally, you will even have access to a growing list of airport restaurants where you can dine for free during your travels.

While both the Sapphire Reserve and Venture X come with a complimentary Priority Pass Membership, having access to Priority Pass Restaurants makes the Sapphire Reserve's pass a little stronger.

Additionally, Sapphire Reserve cardholders will also get access to Chase's new Sapphire Airport Lounges. The first of those Chase-branded lounges in the U.S. opened in Boston earlier this year, while a lounge in Hong Kong opened late last year. Chase has plans for seven additional locations including Las Vegas (LAS), New York LaGuardia (LGA), San Diego (SAN), and more – though the timeline for future locations isn't clear.

 

 

Sapphire Reserve cardholders get unlimited complimentary access to the Sapphire Lounges. They will also have the ability to bring up to two guests with them on each visit free of charge. Authorized users on the Reserve (which cost an extra $75 a year per card) will also get their own access and guests, too.

One small hitch: It's not the Reserve that gets you in but the Priority Pass membership you get from your Reserve card that gets you access. Just be sure to activate that account and you should be set.

 

Winner: Which Card Offers the Best Lounge Access?

The Capital One Venture X takes the crown for best lounge access as there are more Capital One Lounges in the U.S. than Sapphire Lounges … barely. Additionally, Venture X cardholders get access to both Plaza Premium and Priority Pass Lounges.

However, if you frequent an airport with a good Priority Pass Restaurant, you may be better off with the Chase Sapphire Reserve instead due to its access to these locations.

 

 

Learn more about the *venture x*.

 

Capital One Venture X vs Chase Sapphire Reserve: Travel Insurance

The best travel credit cards protect you when things go wrong and help you avoid paying more for add-on coverage.

Pay for your trips with either of these cards, and you'll get nearly identical protection for many travel-related mishaps. Here's what you can expect if your trip goes awry.

 

Trip Delay Coverage

While you'll be on the hook to cover the expenses upfront, you may be eligible for reimbursement when your trip gets held up due to a covered event like weather or airline maintenance.

• As long as your airfare was booked at least in part with your Venture X or Sapphire Reserve card, you are eligible for up to $500 if your travel is delayed by six or more hours – or forces an overnight stay.
• You, your spouse, and your dependent children under 22 years of age are automatically covered if they are traveling with you.
• You must also be traveling outside of your home city to be eligible.

Read next: The 4 Best Credit Cards with Travel Insurance

 

Trip Cancellation and Interruption Coverage

If you've got the Venture X and something goes seriously wrong on your trip like an accident, illness, or death that forces you to cancel or cut it short, you’re covered for up to $2,000 per person in expenses – and you, a spouse, and any dependent children are all eligible.

The following situations qualify:

• The death, accidental bodily injury, disease, or physical illness of you or an immediate family member of the cardholder. The death, accidental injury, disease, or physical illness must be verified by a physician and must prevent you from traveling on the trip.
• Default of the common carrier resulting from financial insolvency.

Meanwhile the Chase Sapphire Reserve ups the coverage even further by reimbursing up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip for your pre-paid, non-refundable travel expenses.

This includes passenger airfare, tours, and hotels booked with your Sapphire Reserve Card. There is a maximum benefit amount of $40,000 for a twelve-month period.

Chase lists the following examples as situations that would be covered, but notes that it isn't an exhaustive list:

• Accidental bodily injury, loss of life, or sickness experienced by the cardholder, a traveling companion, an immediate family member of the cardholder, or a traveling companion.
• Severe weather that prevents the start or continuation of a covered trip.
• Terrorist action or hijacking.
• Jury duty or a court subpoena that cannot be postponed or waived.

Again, the kicker here is that the trip must have been paid for with your Venture X or Sapphire Reserve card.

 

Lost Luggage Coverage

Lost luggage reimbursement is something you typically don't think about until you need it. Did an airline lose or damage your luggage – or did it get stolen?

• As long as you paid for your airfare with one of these cards, you can get up to $3,000 to replace or repair the bag and its contents (or $2,000 per bag for New York residents).
• The cardholders and all immediate family members are covered.

While it's definitely a pain to replace all your personal items, knowing that you've got some extra protection with the Venture X Card should help provide travelers with some additional peace of mind.

 

Rental Car Coverage

Here's how it works: Charge your rental car to your Venture X or Sapphire Reserve card and you get some of the strongest rental car insurance of any travel rewards credit card. When picking up your rental, simply decline the rental car agency’s policy and either card's primary car rental insurance policy will kick in to cover most damages or even the theft of your rental vehicle. It applies to rentals in the U.S. for as long as 15 days and in most foreign countries for up to 31 days.

 

 

Read more about the Capital One Venture X rental car insurance benefits!

In addition to primary car rental insurance, Venture X cardholders also get complimentary Hertz President’s Circle status.

As the highest level of elite status in their Gold Plus Rewards program, President’s Circle elite members who book an intermediate car or higher get guaranteed upgrades to the next available car class or the ability to choose a car from the President’s Circle Ultimate Choice aisle. Members can also skip the counter when renting a car, have access to a dedicated Hertz Rewards customer service line, and can add an additional driver at no cost.

 

Travel Accident and Medical Coverage

You always hope you never need Medical Evacuation & Travel Accident coverage. But if you ever need it, it’s invaluable.

Both cards will provide coverage for accidental death or dismemberment, or a combined loss of speech, sight, or hearing, experienced on a covered trip. Benefits are available when a covered trip has been purchased with either card – or with the points earned on either card.

One key difference in the accident coverage provided by these two cards: Only the Sapphire Reserve card will provide coverage for a medical evacuation. If you or a member of your immediate family are injured or become sick during a trip away from home that results in an emergency evacuation, you can be covered for medical services and transportation for up to $100,000.

Finally, Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders and eligible family members can also receive up to $2,500 (with a $50 deductible) for emergency dental or medical treatment should anything happen when traveling 100 miles or more from home.

 

Winner: Which Card Provides the Best Travel Insurance?

This one is close. Both cards come with primary rental car coverage, reimbursement for lost luggage, and identical trip delay insurance.

However, the Sapphire Reserve takes things a step further by reimbursing more money for a trip cancellation or interruption – and includes additional coverage for a medical evacuation. And that makes it the better option overall.

 

 

Learn more about the *chase sapphire reserve*.

 

Capital One Venture X vs Chase Sapphire Reserve: Authorized Users

There are many reasons why adding an authorized user to your account makes good sense.

Perhaps you and a spouse share expenses equally and paying all your bills with one account is easiest for your bookkeeping. Or maybe you're trying to earn a big welcome offer and having someone else put their every day expenses on your account is the extra push you need.

One of the biggest, and best, reasons for adding authorized users to your account is to extend the many great travel benefits and perks that come with these cards to a friend or family member.

 

Capital One Venture X

In a world where adding authorized users to a premium travel rewards card usually means forking over even more money on top of an already steep annual fee, Capital One broke the mold.

Shockingly, you can add up to four authorized users to your Venture X Card at no additional cost. Better yet, those authorized users will get their own lounge memberships to be used regardless of whether or not they're traveling with the main cardholder. That's simply unheard of in the world of premium travel credit cards.

Take, for example, The Platinum Card® from American Express and its massive annual fee of $695 each year (see rates & fees). If you want to add two authorized users, that will set you back another $195 each year, per card: A total of $1,085 a year. Ouch.

With the Venture X, you can add two (or four) authorized users and still pay just $395 a year. It's a big reason why we feel that Venture X is the best card for traveling families.

 

Chase Sapphire Reserve

Adding an authorized user to the Sapphire Reserve will cost $75 each year for every cardholder you add. If your authorized user often travels without you, that fee can easily be worth it.

While Sapphire Reserve authorized users won't get as much as Venture X card authorized users, they will get a few worthwhile perks including:

• Their own Priority Pass lounge membership with the ability to bring two of their own guests at no additional cost
• 12 months of their own DoorDash DashPass membership for free food delivery on orders starting at $12
• All the travel insurance protections provided by the card, regardless of whether they are traveling with the primary cardholder

 

Winner: Which Card is Best for Authorized Users?

Being able to add up to four additional cardmembers for free makes the Venture X the clear winner in this category. Not only are those extra four cards not costing you a penny more in annual fees, they're also getting many of the same great benefits as the primary cardholder, like lounge access

 

 

Learn more about the *venture x*.

 

Bottom Line

By the numbers, the Venture X card takes four categories, while the Sapphire Reserve takes three – and one category was too close to pick a winner.

So does that make the Venture X the clear cut winner? Not necessarily…

Every traveler can – and should – weigh each of these categories differently. If you spend a lot on travel and dining, getting 3x Ultimate Rewards with the Chase Sapphire Reserve might make it the obvious choice. If booking Hyatt hotels is your top priority, the ability to transfer Chase points to that chain makes it a no-brainer.

But if you're looking for a premium travel rewards card without breaking the bank, the Venture X and its substantially lower annual fee will be the clear choice for you.

 

When comparing the Capital One Venture X vs the Chase Sapphire Reserve, there is a lot to unpack. While many of the benefit offerings are the same, there are some key differences that could sway you one way or another.

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