Is Chase Sapphire Reserve or Capital One Venture better?

Chase Sapphire Reserve vs. Capital One Venture is a win for Capital One Venture. Venture’s annual fee is only $95, and it offers more flexible rewards redemption. You can use your Venture card points for any travel purchase. With Chase Sapphire Reserve, you have to redeem through the Chase travel portal. Venture is also an easier card to obtain, requiring just good credit vs. Reserve’s excellent. Finally, Venture offers 2x miles on all purchases for a significantly lower annual fee, making it a much better everyday spending card. But just because Venture is better overall doesn’t mean it’s better for everyone. You might be an exception if you frequent airport lounges and plan to spend upwards of $1,400 on trips every year. If that’s the case, the Sapphire Reserve rewards will be worth the extra cost. But for the majority of people who would appreciate some travel rewards yet don’t necessarily travel enough to use perks like free airport lounge access, the Venture card is a better option.

Those are the key points, but you’ll need to know some specifics to make a truly informed decision. Let’s take a look at which card wins in some major categories.

Here’s who wins Chase Sapphire Reserve vs. Capital One Venture:

• Credit score needed: Capital One Venture wins, requiring good credit as opposed to Reserve, which requires excellent credit.
• Annual fee: Capital One Venture wins with a $95. The Chase Sapphire Reserve annual fee is $550.
• Initial Bonus: Both cards have similar initial bonuses.
• Rewards earning: Venture wins, giving you 5 miles per $1 spent on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, and 2 miles per $1 on all other purchases. Chase Sapphire Reserve offers a total of 10 points per $1 spent on hotels and car rentals booked through Chase, a total of 10 points per $1 spent on prepaid restaurant reservations or takeout orders made through Chase, a total of 5 points per $1 spent on flights purchased through Chase, 3 points per $1 spent on all other travel and dining purchases, and 1 point per $1 on all other purchases.
• Rewards redemption: Venture wins because it’s much more flexible. Venture not only gives you 2 points per $1 on most purchases, it lets you redeem them to cover any travel purchase. Chase gives you 1.5 cents per point, but only on travel booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards. For statement credits, you get 1 cent per point.
• Travel credit: Sapphire Reserve wins, since it gives you $300 in statement credits to cover travel purchases annually. Capital One Venture does not offer any travel credit.
• Airport lounge access: The Reserve card wins with free access to over 1,300 airport lounges worldwide through a Priority Pass membership, which would otherwise cost $429 annually. Capital One Venture only offers two complimentary visits per year to Capital One Lounges or to 100+ Plaza Premium Lounges through Capital One Partner Lounge Network.
• Foreign transaction fee: It’s a tie, since neither card charges one.

For Chase Sapphire Reserve vs. Capital One Venture, categories like balance transfer fees and purchase APRs aren’t that important. That’s because both cards are rewards cards, and the best way to get value out of them is paying your balance in full every month. Venture has a slight edge on Reserve because its lower cost and flexible rewards fit more people’s lifestyle.

It's pretty hard to tell, to be honest, because they're not exactly meant for the same thing. Right off the numbers, Venture wins, but that's mainly because Venture's an "overall expenses" credit card, whereas Sapphire Reserve is a "sctrictly travel" credit cards. With Venture. you get more points, and they're easier to get. However, Sapphire  gives you travel credit as well as Priority Pass.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers a better initial bonus ($750 in travel vs. $400).

Not only that, but if offers some premium features the Venture doesn't:

• Annual $300 Travel Credit
• Complimentary Priority Pass Select airport lounge access
• $100 Application fee reimbursed for Global Entry & TSA Precheck
  
• Visa Infinite Concierge Benefits
  

I'd get the Reserve.