The Perfect Two-Card Combo: Chase Sapphire Preferred® & Capital One Venture X

Ever heard the expression, “It takes two to tango?” Or how about, “two peas in a pod?” Whatever your favorite idiom, the point is all the same: Some things are just better together … like the *chase sapphire preferred* and the *venture x*.

These two travel rewards cards are great on their own. But put them together and you've got the perfect two-card combination no matter what kind of traveler you are.

With the Sapphire Preferred, you're getting a card that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards on all travel purchases, bonus points when dining out, and best-in-class travel protections – all for a modest annual_fees annual fee. But perhaps most importantly, this card unlocks the ability to transfer Ultimate Rewards to Chase's slew of travel partners, providing even greater value for your points.

By carrying the Venture X, you get easy-to-use rewards and premium travel perks like airport lounge access, rental car elite status, an annual $300 travel credit, and more – all at a middle-of-the-pack annual fee price point.

Put the these two cards together and you get access to two different sets of transfer partners, two big welcome offer bonuses, a solid return on all of your spending, and top-notch travel perks … for less in annual fees than any other premium travel rewards credit card on the market.

Here's everything you need to know about why this two-card combination deserves a spot in your wallet.

An Overview of Each Card's Benefits

Before we dive deeper into what makes these two cards the perfect pair, let's take a look at the benefits offered by both cards.

Each card comes with an initial welcome bonus that can be used for at least $750 worth of travel – though you can likely do far better than that by utilizing one of the cards' transfer partners. You'll also get really strong travel protections with both cards and statement credits for certain travel portal bookings.

Where they differ most is how they earn points and the different travel perks they provide.

Here's a quick look at the features of both cards.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred

Welcome Offer Bonus: bonus_miles_full
3x points per dollar spent on dining, including eligible delivery services
3x points per dollar spent on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs like Costco and Sam's Club)
3x points per dollar spent on select streaming services
2x points per dollar spent on travel purchases
Earn 5x total points on travel purchased through the Chase Travel℠, excluding hotel purchases that qualify for the $50 Anniversary Hotel Credit.
Earn up to $50 in statement credits each year for hotel stays booked through Chase Travel℠
10% Annual Points Bonus: Receive a 10% points bonus on your total spending during the account anniversary year at a rate of 1 point for every $1 spent.
Trip cancellation & interruption coverage, baggage delay and lost luggage protection, and primary rental car insurance
Foreign Transaction Fees: None
Annual Fee: annual_fees

Read our full review of the Chase Sapphire Preferred!

Learn more about the *csp*.

The Capital One Venture X

bonus_miles_full
Annual $300 travel credit to use for Capital One Travel bookings on flights, hotels, or car rentals
Earn 10x miles on hotels and rental cars and 5x miles on flights and vacation rentals booked via the Capital One Travel portal
Earn 2x miles on all other spending
Complimentary access to the Capital One Lounges, plus two free guests on each and every visit (through Jan. 31, 2026)
A Priority Pass lounge membership, which will get you and two guests into 1,300-plus other airport lounges around the globe
Get up to $120 in credit for either TSA PreCheck or Global Entry once every four years. Membership in both programs is good for five years
Get 10,000 bonus miles each year after renewing your card, starting in year two
Complimentary Hertz President’s Circle status
Access to Premier Collection Hotel bookings with VIP-like benefits
Primary Rental Car Coverage
Lost Luggage Reimbursement
Trip Delay Coverage, Trip Cancellation, and Interruption Coverage
$395 annual fee

Read our full review of the Capital One Venture X!

Learn more about the *venture x*

What Makes This Combo So Perfect?

The Chase Sapphire Preferred has long been our favorite cards for anyone just getting started with points and miles. But even if you've got lots of other travel rewards credit cards, it consistently keeps a place in many traveler's wallets thanks to its relatively low annual fee (for now) and set of great perks.

Meanwhile, the introduction of the Venture X card in late 2021 upended the travel rewards credit card market by providing travelers with a premium, easy-to-use travel card at a reasonable price. That continues to this day.

Two Welcome Offers

Both cards come with monster bonuses.

Here's what you can currently get with the Chase Sapphire Preferred: bonus_miles_full

Meanwhile, with the Venture X's standard welcome offer, you'll get 75,000 miles after spending $4,000 on the card in the first three months. Once you factor in the rewards earned on the spending required to meet the bonus criteria, you've got a total of 83,000 miles worth a bare minimum of $830 towards travel.

Add it all up, and you've got 150,000 transferable points and miles between the two cards.

More Options for Redeeming Rewards

Earning all those points is one thing, but the fun part is using them for (nearly) free travel. Thankfully, both the Sapphire Preferred and Venture X make it simple to put your rewards to good use.

With the Sapphire Preferred, you can book all kinds of travel through Chase Travel℠ and get 1 cent per point in value – sometimes more with Chase's new “Points Boost” offers – from your Ultimate Rewards. Capital One has a travel portal that you can use to book travel and redeem your miles as well … but you probably shouldn't.

The better choice for redeeming Capital One miles is to use them to cover any travel purchase made with your card from flights and hotels to Airbnbs, taxis and rideshares, and even a bucket list golf trip. When you do it this way, you'll be earning rewards on your purchase and getting 1 cent per mile in value – meaning you could remove a $500 travel purchase with 50,000 miles.

But if you want to get the most out of your points and miles, it pays to familiarize yourself with each bank's set of transfer partners.

By moving your points to a hotel or airline partner, you can often get far more value out of them than by simply removing the travel purchase or redeeming them through a travel portal. And with this two-card combination, you'll have even more transfer partners to choose from.

With Chase's transfer partners, you'll have access to some favorites like United and Hyatt – our favorite hotel loyalty program – among many others. Capital One's portfolio of transfer partners opens the door to some incredible sweet spots with the likes of Turkish Airlines, Avianca LifeMiles, and EVA Air – one of our favorite airlines for crossing the Pacific.

Of course, with more than 30 transfer partners between the two cards, there's bound to be a little overlap as well – and that's actually a good thing. With major programs like Virgin Atlantic, Flying Blue, and Air Canada Aeroplan being transfer partners of both banks, you'll have the option to move points from whichever card makes the most sense (or both if you need to top off your account) – and maybe even take advantage of a transfer bonus in the process.

Simply put, two is better than one … especially when it comes to ways for redeeming your points.

Premium Travel Perks

The Sapphire Preferred is a great card but it doesn't come with much in the way of travel perks and benefits. Yes, you do get an annual $50 statement credit for hotels booked through Chase Travel℠ … but that's about it. Don't worry: This is where the Venture X pulls its weight … and then some.

With the Venture X, you'll get access to the outstanding new Capital One Lounges. Venture X cardholders currently get unlimited complimentary access for themselves and two guests – but that's changing next year.

Come Feb. 1, 2026, Venture X cardholders will have to pay an additional $45 to bring a guest into Capital One Lounges – or a discounted rate of $25 for children 17 and under. Kids under 2 years old will remain free. If you're a big spender, you can retain complimentary guest access by charging a whopping $75,000 to their card in a calendar year – a carbon copy of the policy American Express adopted at Centurion Lounges a few years ago.

Take a look inside the Capital One DFW Lounge!

Capital One is also rolling out a hybrid lounge-restaurant concept, called Capital One Landings, the first of which opened at Washington, D.C.'s Reagan National Airport (DCA) late last year. The D.C. location features both a sit-down dining space and grab-and-go options. The food and beverage program is spearheaded by award-winning celebrity chef José Andrés, with made-to-order Spanish-style tapas and drinks delivered directly to your seat.

dining room with tables, chairs and booths — *Photo courtesy of Capital One*

Related reading: Capital One Slashes Free Guests at Lounges

In addition to Capital One Landings and Lounges, Venture X cardholders also get a Priority Pass Select membership, opening the door to 1,300-plus airport lounges in cities big and small across the globe. But Venture X cardholders' Priority Pass lounge access is taking a hit next year, too. Cardholders will soon have to pay an additional $35 per guest – and even if you do manage to spend $75,000 on your card each year, that won't get you free guest access at these lounges.

You'll also get an annual $300 travel credit to put towards bookings made through the Capital One Travel portal. While booking through the portal ordinarily isn't our first choice, this benefit alone is nearly enough to justify the Venture X's $395 annual fee. Add in the 10,000-mile anniversary bonus (worth at least $100) that you get each year when renewing your card, and it's almost like Capital One is paying you to carry the Venture X.

The Venture X also provides up to $120 in credit every four years to cover the cost of either TSA PreCheck or Global Entry. Plus, you'll get automatic top-tier Hertz President's Circle status when renting cars, and the card even provides primary rental car insurance.

Both cards also include travel protection such as trip delay reimbursement, coverage for lost or delayed baggage (delayed baggage coverage only on the Sapphire Preferred), and travel accident insurance. All these additional travel protections have earned both cards a spot on our list of the best credit cards with travel insurance.

But What About the Sapphire Reserve?

Look, we get it – not everyone wants to juggle multiple credit cards just to maximize their point earning and benefits.

You might be thinking that all this sounds great but why would you open two different cards when it would be far easier to just get the *chase sapphire reserve* instead? You're not wrong: That would be the easiest solution. But that doesn't make it the better one.

Here's how the Sapphire Reserve stacks up against the two-card combination of the Sapphire Preferred and Venture X.

What Makes This Combo Better?

Perhaps most importantly, having both the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Capital One Venture X will cost you way less in annual fees than having the Sapphire Reserve alone. With these two cards, you'd be out of pocket $490 in annual fees each year compared to $795 with the Sapphire Reserve – before taking any of the cards' benefits into account.

If you were able to get full value out of the $300 annual travel credit on the Venture X, the 10,000-mile anniversary bonus, and the Sapphire Preferred's $50 hotel credit, you'd be looking at a net cost of just $40 each year. The Sapphire Reserve comes with a $300 travel credit of its own – and it's far easier to use – essentially making the Reserve a $495 annual fee card. Beyond that, the card also comes with a slew of other statement credits and benefits that can outweigh the higher annual fee … but those are far harder to use.

While there's certainly something to be said about the simplicity of only carrying one card, the better value is to go with the combination of the Sapphire Preferred and Venture X. And if you're not looking to jump through a bunch of hoops to get your money back … it could end up being easier, too.

Where This Combo Falls Short

Just because the Sapphire Preferred and Venture X provide a better value than the Sapphire Reserve doesn't mean it comes without sacrifice.

While both the Sapphire Reserve and Venture X come with an annual $300 travel credit that helps offset the cards' annual fees, the credit on the Sapphire Reserve is far easier to use than that of the Venture X. Simply make any travel purchase with your Sapphire Reserve and Chase will automatically credit you back up to $300 each year. No portals or hoops to jump through.

With the Sapphire Reserve, you'll also get unlimited complimentary access to the growing list of Chase Sapphire Lounges. So far there are seven locations open – six in the U.S. – but more are on the way. If having unlimited, complimentary access to these lounges is important to you, you'll need the Sapphire Reserve to do it.

Oddly enough, you can also get into a Sapphire Lounge once per year with the Priority Pass membership that comes with the Venture X card. If that one visit is all you need, then having the Sapphire Reserve isn't a necessity.

Finally, while the Sapphire Preferred and Venture X both provide outstanding travel protections, they simply can't compete with the Sapphire Reserve. The Sapphire Reserve matches all the coverage that you'll get with the Sapphire Preferred and Venture X, but ramps it up even further by providing emergency medical and dental benefits to cardholders and eligible family members.

If you get sick or hurt when traveling more than 100 miles from home, you're covered up to $2,500 for emergency dental or medical treatment with your Sapphire Reserve Card.

Bottom Line

If you're searching for the perfect two-card combination of travel rewards credit cards, look no further than the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Capital One Venture X.

With this two-card setup, you get most of the same perks offered by the Chase Sapphire Reserve for a much lower out-of-pocket cost. In the process, you also unlock the ability to redeem your rewards in more ways and get to pick up two welcome offers.