Capital One Venture Card vs. Capital One Savor Card [Detailed Comparison]

First-time credit card applicants may be drawn to credit card issuer Capital One due to the wide variety of cards the company offers, the simplicity of the card structures, and the fact that the issuer has a card option for every credit rating.

For our comparison today, we’ve selected 2 of the most popular mid-tier Capital One cards. These cards are designed for consumers with excellent credit who want to earn rewards on every purchase they make.

However, that’s where the similarity ends when comparing the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and the Capital One Savor Rewards Credit Card. Each of our featured cards has its own earning and redemption structure, and as a result, one could prove to be a better fit depending on your spending mix and redemption priorities.

Join us as we dig deeper into the attributes of these 2 Capital One cards and compare how the cards earn rewards, your options at redemption time, and the benefits you can expect to receive on each card.

Capital One Venture Card vs. Capital One Savor Card — Overview

Before we dive into the details of our 2 featured cards, we’ll compare them side-by-side to help you sort out the best features and benefits of both cards.

Here’s how the Capital One Venture card (issued as a Visa Signature card) compares overall to the Capital One Savor card (issued as a World Elite Mastercard):

The Value of a Welcome Bonus

You’ll have a unique opportunity after card approval to secure an initial welcome bonus worth hundreds of dollars with either of our featured cards.

The Capital One Venture card has a generous bonus after completing the minimum spending requirements in the first 3 months after card approval. We value Capital One miles around 1.8 cents each, but at redemption time they could be worth more if you utilize the option to transfer miles to travel partners. We’ll elaborate on this option shortly.

The Capital One Savor card offers a cash-back bonus after completing spending requirements in the first 3 months after card approval.

Welcome offers do change, so be sure to confirm the current offer before submitting an application. We’ve provided a snapshot above of the current offers for each of our featured cards.

Bottom Line: If you can complete the minimum spending requirement in the first 3 months after card approval, the Capital One Venture card offers a superior welcome bonus over the Capital One Savor card. 

Earning Rewards

Every purchase you make with either of our featured cards will earn rewards. Let’s take a closer look at how the cards differ when it comes to the level of rewards you’ll earn on each purchase.

If you spend a lot on dining, entertainment, streaming services, and at grocery stores, you’ll likely come out ahead with the Capital One Savor card. If your spending mix is mostly in categories other than those bonus categories, the Capital One Venture card may be the better earning card for your situation.

For example, if you spent $20,000 each year in 4% cash-back categories on the Capital One Savor card, you would earn $800 in cash-back, but only $720 worth of Capital One miles on the Capital One Venture card (using a value of 1.8 cents per mile).

If, however, your greatest spending is at gas stations, on school tuition, or other non-bonus categories, you may fare better with the Capital One Venture card at 2x miles per dollar spent on those (and all other purchases) versus 1% cash-back on the Capital One Savor card.

Bottom Line: The better card for earning rewards will depend on your spending mix. If you spend a lot on dining, entertainment, streaming services, and at grocery stores, the Capital One Savor card may offer greater earnings. If your greatest expenses are in other categories, you could fare better with the Capital One Venture card.

Redemption Options

When it comes time to redeem your hard-earned rewards, you’ll want to select an option that delivers the best value and matches your preferences. Here are the choices for redeeming rewards earned on our featured cards, in order of the best potential value:

If you want to redeem your rewards for travel, the Capital One Venture card would be the better card option as you have several choices to receive 1 cent in value, or better, for each mile redeemed. You may also receive greater value when transferring miles to travel partners, a travel redemption option you won’t have with the Capital One Savor card.

Bottom Line: The best value for miles earned on the Capital One Venture card may be realized by transferring miles to airline frequent flyer programs. For the Capital One Savor card, you’ll receive full value when requesting a check or statement credit. 

Travel Benefits and Protections

Both of our featured cards come with useful travel benefits and protections. But because the cards are issued by different networks, coverages will vary depending on whether your card is a Mastercard or Visa. Fortunately, you’ll enjoy worldwide acceptance with either card.

Here is an overview of the travel benefits and protections you can expect with both cards:

• Auto Rental Insurance* – Use your card to rent an eligible vehicle and you may be covered for physical damage and theft of the vehicle
• Lost Luggage Reimbursement* – You may be eligible for reimbursement due to theft or misdirection when you purchase your common carrier tickets with your card
• Roadside Dispatch^® – Take advantage of 24 hour toll-free dispatch to help with services like towing, fuel delivery and more at pre-negotiated rates. Customer is responsible for any and all costs incurred
• Travel & Emergency Assistance Services – Available 24/7 to help connect you with local emergency and assistance resources when you’re away from home

The Capital One Savor card has this additional benefit:

• Trip Interruption or Cancellation — Coverage of up to $1,500 per trip may be available when a covered event disrupts or causes you to cancel your trip.

Hot Tip: Keep in mind that most of these benefits, although not marketed on Capital One’s website, are available to you by virtue of the Capital One Savor card’s status as a World Mastercard or World Elite Mastercard and the Capital One Venture card’s status as a Visa Signature card.

This is just an overview of some of the key travel benefits and protections and not an all-inclusive list. The actual benefit and protection descriptions, limits, terms, and conditions will be spelled out in each card’s Guide to Benefits.

Bottom Line: Both the Capital One Venture card and the Capital One Savor card come with several valuable travel benefits and protections that can save you money or provide help when you need it. The level of benefits will vary, depending on whether your card is a Visa Signature or World Elite Mastercard.

Shopping Benefits and Protections

Shopping benefits and protections can save you money or provide coverage should you experience a covered loss to an eligible item purchased with your card. Here are some of the coverages you can expect to find on our featured cards.

• Warranty Manager Service* – Provides you with valuable features to help manage, use and even extend warranties of qualifying items purchased with your card
• Purchase Security* – Eligible purchases made with your card are replaced, repaired or reimbursed if a covered loss occurs within the first 90 days of purchase
• Capital One Offers — Log in to your account and click through Capital One Offers for cash-back on purchases at select retailers.

Additionally, the Capital One Savor card comes with price protection coverage:

• Price Protection — Purchase a qualifying item with your card and if you find the item advertised for less within 120 days from the date of purchase, you could receive up to $250 per item. There is a limit of 4 claims for each 12-month period.

Bottom Line: While both of our featured cards come with an extended warranty, purchase security, and Capital One Offers, the Capital One Savor card comes with hard-to-find price protection.

Minimum Qualification Requirements

It’s recommended that you have an excellent credit score (generally 740 to 850) to qualify for either of our featured cards. Capital One defines excellent as “have never declared bankruptcy or defaulted on a loan, not been more than 60 days late on any credit card, loan, or medical bill in the last year, and have had a loan or credit card for 3 years or more with a credit limit above $5,000.”

Fortunately, you can find out in advance if you may be targeted for a Capital One credit card offer by utilizing the CardMatch tool. This risk-free tool is easy to use, requires minimal information, and there’s no hard inquiry done on your credit report. You’ll know immediately if you have card offers available to you.

Capital One also offers its own risk-free inquiry tool, but it does require you to submit a lot more information.

These pre-qualification tools do not guarantee that you will be approved for a card but do give you an idea of which cards you’re likely to be approved for.

Prior to applying for any card, you’ll want to obtain a (free) copy of your credit report to find out where you stand and to check it for any potential errors.

You may also find value in reviewing this article on the pre-qualification process and how to find card offers.

Bottom Line: Capital One recommends you have excellent credit to qualify for the Capital One Venture card or the Capital One Savor card. Use the CardMatch tool or Capital One pre-qualification tool to see if you have card offers available to you prior to submitting a card application and review your credit report for accuracy. 

Alternative Cards To Consider

You’ll generally need excellent credit to qualify for either of our featured cards. With excellent credit, you’ll be in a position to have choices when it comes to rewards-earning cards.

While either of our featured cards may be a good choice for your situation, here are 2 additional recommended rewards cards, for comparison, that require excellent credit.

Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card

We like that the Chase Sapphire Preferred card comes with a generous welcome bonus and that the card earns valuable and flexible Ultimate Rewards points. Additionally, when you redeem points for travel via the Chase travel portal, your points will be worth 25% more. You can also transfer points to the Chase airline and hotel transfer partners for even greater potential value.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card is also one of the best cards for travel benefits including primary car rental insurance, trip cancellation and interruption, luggage insurance, and more. Read more about the associated travel insurance benefits of the card.

American Express^® Gold Card

If your spending centers more around everyday purchases such as those made at U.S. supermarkets or at restaurants (plus takeout and delivery in the U.S.), you’ll find rewards will add up quickly with the Amex Gold card.

This dual-purpose card is also great for earning Amex Membership Rewards points on travel purchases. Membership Rewards points, in turn, can be redeemed for travel or transferred to airline or hotel partners for the possibility of greater value.

Hot Tip: Learn more about these 2 popular cards in our detailed comparison of the Chase Sapphire Preferred card and the Amex Gold card.

Final Thoughts

If you travel and prefer a card that earns rewards you can redeem for travel purchases, the Capital One Venture card may be the better choice of our 2 featured cards.

The Capital One Savor card, however, is an excellent everyday spending card that helps you earn cash-back quickly. If you spend a lot in everyday categories such as dining out, groceries, entertainment, and streaming services, you could fare better with this card.

The better of the 2 cards for you will, of course, depend on your spending mix, redemption preferences, and which benefits you will be able to utilize.

If you own a business, regardless of size, you may also want to explore some of the best business cards Capital One has to offer.

For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the above benefits are provided by Visa® or Mastercard® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.

The information regarding the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer. 

For rates and fees of the American Express^® Gold Card, click here.