Capital One Venture vs Citi Premier

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The Citi Premier® Card and Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card are two of the best travel rewards credit cards that offer flexible rewards and generous earning opportunities. If you're looking to maximize points on every dollar you spend, these two cards will serve you well. Not only do they carry the same reasonable Citi Premier® Card annual fee, but both cards have massive welcome bonuses that can help you meet your travel goals.

So which card should you get? The answer comes down to how the two compare in their welcome bonus, earning rate, benefits, and redemption options. Here's how the Citi Premier® Card stacks up against the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card to help you make the choice.

We're focused here on the rewards and perks that come with each card. These cards won't be worth it if you're paying interest or late fees. When using a credit card, it's important to pay your balance in full each month, make payments on time, and only spend what you can afford to pay.

Capital One Venture vs Citi Premier

Venture vs Premier welcome bonus offers

The Citi Premier® Card and Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card both have generous welcome bonuses that will go a long way toward travel. Their spending requirements are identical, but the Citi Premier® Card offers more points than the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card.

We'll go beyond the numbers and evaluate how far these points will actually take you. But considering the two programs have many of the same transfer partners, the Citi Premier® Card wins out for offering a slightly better welcome bonus.

• The Citi Premier® Card offers Citi Premier® Card (worth around Citi Premier® Card in travel, based on Insider's estimate of average Citi ThankYou point value)
• The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card offers Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card (worth around Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card in travel, based on Insider's valuation of Capital One miles)

Winner: Citi Premier® Card

Rewards on everyday spending

Judging the two cards on reward potential is a tough one because their earning rates are so different. The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card earns a flat 2x miles on all spending, plus 5 miles per dollar on Capital One Travel hotel and rental car bookings. 

Meanwhile, the Citi Premier® Card earns bonus points on multiple common spending categories: 

• 3x points at restaurants (including cafes, bars, lounges, and fast-food restaurants)
• 3x points at supermarkets (excluding discount superstores and warehouse clubs)
• 3x points at gas stations (excluding gas purchases at warehouse clubs, discount stores, department stores, and convenience stores)
• 3x points on air travel and hotels (including travel agencies)
• 1 point per dollar on all other purchases

So which card offers the best rewards for everyday spending? That ultimately comes down to your spending habits. If you consider dining, gas, and groceries big spending categories, then the Citi Premier® Card is the better option. But plenty of folks would prefer the flat 2x rewards from the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. Not thinking about maximizing category bonuses is certainly a huge plus for the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. That's why we'll call it a tie.

Winner: Tie

Travel credits

The Citi Premier® Card offers $100 off a hotel booking of $500 or more every year. You must book the hotel through the Citi ThankYou travel portal, excluding taxes and fees. This benefit effectively amounts to a 20% discount if you book a $500 stay, which is pretty substantial. 

It's worth noting that many hotel loyalty programs won't extend elite benefits or issue points when you book through a third-party site like Citi ThankYou. So you'll want to compare the savings against any loss in points or elite benefits before booking. 

Capital One doesn't offer any travel or hotel credit, giving the Citi Premier® Card an advantage.

Winner: Citi Premier® Card

Travel and shopping benefits

Travel and shopping perks can put more money in your pocket, whether on vacation or going about your daily life. Some perks can even improve your travel experience, like the up to $100 Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit from the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. While this perk is pretty common on premium credit cards with annual fees over $400, you'll rarely see it on a mid-tier card like this one. 

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card cardmembers also get Hertz Five Star status and two free visits to Capital One or Plaza Premium lounges per year. All of these are substantial benefits that can enhance your travel experience.

The Citi Premier® Card doesn't offer airport lounge access, but cardmembers can access hotel benefits and discounts through Mastercard Luxury Hotels and Resorts. You'll also save on Lyft rides with a $5 credit for every three rides booked. The card also comes with perks that are useful in everyday life. Cardholders new to DoorDash get three months of free DashPass membership and $5 off the first order every month. The complimentary ShopRunner membership is valued at $79 and gets you free two-day shipping at over a hundred popular retailers. 

The Citi Premier® Card's benefits are shopping focused and the Mastercard Luxury Hotel program might not deliver the savings you want. Not to mention bookings might preclude you from earning points and elite night credits with loyalty programs. The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card has fewer benefits but they're more valuable. Getting the Global Entry Fee credit reimbursed every four years, along with two annual lounge visits, is substantially more beneficial than the Citi Premier® Card's shopping perks.

Winner: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Travel and purchase protections

The Citi Premier® Card offers up to $10,000 in purchase protection and 24 months of extended warranty. This will come in handy when purchasing expensive items you want to protect against loss or theft. Unfortunately, the Citi Premier® Card doesn't offer any travel protection, which makes it less than ideal for your travel bookings.

The Citi Premier® Card includes:

• Purchase protection: $10,000 per incident (up to $50,000 per year)
• Extended warranty: An extra 24 months beyond the manufacturer's warranty

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card includes:

• Travel accident insurance: Up to $250,000 per covered loss***
• Lost luggage reimbursement: Up to $3,000 for lost or stolen luggage
• Secondary auto rental collision coverage
• 24-hour travel assistance services
• Purchase protection: Up to $500 per claim and $50,000 per cardholder
• Extended warranty: Up to one additional year on eligible warranties of three years or less

With all the travel interruptions happening in the world, the last thing you want is to travel without insurance. You can buy travel insurance, but why do that when cards like the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card offer it free of charge? While there are limitations to credit card travel insurance, it's still better than nothing. Which, unfortunately, is what the Citi Premier® Card gets you. 

Winner: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Redeeming rewards

Citi has 16 airline and hotel transfer partners, while Capital One has 18. In total, they have 13 partners in common, so you could do well choosing either card. However, Capital One offers better transfer ratios to Choice Privileges and has British Airways Executive Club and Air Canada Aeroplan in its lineup. Both programs have multiple sweet spots that can help you travel for less. 

For example, you can fly United business class to Hawaii for just 25,000 Aeroplan points round-trip. International flights are also affordable, with Aeroplan charging just 55,000 miles each way for ANA's acclaimed business class seat to Tokyo.

Meanwhile, British Airways has one-way flights between the East Coast and Dublin from just 13,000 miles on partner Aer Lingus. That's less than what some airlines charge for a one-way domestic award. British Airways Avios points are also great for short-haul flights starting at just 4,000 miles each way.

Regardless of which program you choose, both partner with Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles. This program allows you to book one-way business class tickets to Turkey for as little as 45,000 miles and economy tickets to Hawaii for 7,500 miles. However, Capital One offers a clearly superior program to Citi, with more transfer partners and better transfer ratios.

Citi ThankYou Rewards points transfer partners

• Aeromexico Club Premier
• Air France-KLM Flying Blue
• Avianca LifeMiles
• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
• Choice Privileges 
• Emirates Skywards
• Etihad Guest
• Eva Air Infinity MileageLands
• JetBlue TrueBlue
• Qantas Frequent Flyer
• Qatar Airways Privilege Club
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
• Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus
• Turkish Airlines Miles & Smiles
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
• Wyndham Rewards

Capital One transfer partners

• Aeromexico Club Premier 
• Air Canada Aeroplan 
• Air France-KLM Flying Blue 
• ALL - Accor Live Limitless 
• Avianca LifeMiles 
• British Airways Executive Club 
• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles 
• Choice Privileges 
• Emirates Skywards
• Etihad Guest 
• EVA Infinity MileageLands 
• Finnair Plus 
• Qantas Frequent Flyer 
• Singapore KrisFlyer 
• TAP Air Portugal Miles&Go 
• Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles 
• Virgin Red 
• Wyndham Rewards 

Winner: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Citi Premier and Capital One Venture: Side-by-side comparison

How to decide between the Capital One Venture and Citi Premier

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card beats out the Citi Premier® Card on three out of six criteria, while Citi wins out in just two. Depending on your spending patterns, each card's earning rate will be a significant factor in determining which card is best for you. That being said, it's important to take Capital One's travel and purchase protections into consideration. Having your trip, rental car, and luggage insured can be massively valuable. The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card offers this coverage while Citi Premier® Card does not. 

If you're even an occasional traveler and don't want to pay for these protections, the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is the better card. However, if you want a credit card that offers generous category bonuses on everyday spending and don't mind the lack of protections, the Citi Premier® Card might be a better fit.