Citi Premier vs Capital One Venture Rewards Review

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The Citi Premier® Card and Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card are two highly popular travel cards, primarily due to their user-friendly features and benefits. Both cards allow you to earn points/miles, offer travel perks, and the transferring of points/miles to airlines. But which one comes out on top? Our comparison of Citi Premier vs. Capital One Venture Rewards aims to help you settle this debate and make an informed decision.

75,000 Bonus miles, at least 2x miles on all purchases: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Up to 3x points on travel purchases, 60,000 bonus points: Citi Premier Card

Citi Premier vs Capital One Venture Rewards Review

The information for the Citi Premier® Card has been collected independently by Johnny Jet. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Both the Citi Premier and the Capital One Venture Rewards are packed with benefits. As some of the best of the best miles credit cards, you can use either card to earn points/miles for travel spending.

Both cards also have a low $95 annual fee and a $0 foreign transaction fee.

Earning Points/Miles

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card miles system is easy. Every purchase earns unlimited 2x miles per $1 spent. However, you can also earn 5x miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. But, can you receive a Capital One Venture bonus more than once?

The Citi Premier Card earns up to 3x points per $1 spent depending on the purchase:

• 3x points at:
  • Restaurants
  • Gas stations
  • Air travel
  • Hotels
  • Supermarkets
• 1x points on everything else

Which card is better depends on your spending habits. Earning triple points makes the Citi Premier® Card one of the best travel rewards cards for these unique bonus categories. However, if your non-bonus spending exceeds the Premier Card’s 3x categories, the Capital One Venture Rewards is better.

Verdict: Citi Premier® Card

Redeeming Capital One & Citi Travel Points

Maybe your decision for this Citi Premier vs Capital One Venture Rewards battle depends on which card has the most valuable redemption options. After all, being unable to redeem your points/miles for a good value means you are missing out on the best award travel options.

Additionally, the most valuable redemption option for both cards is award travel. Both cards are great for domestic travel.

Redeeming Capital One Miles

It’s best to redeem Capital One Venture Miles for award travel. Your miles are worth 1 cent each for travel statement credits or booking upcoming travel on the Orbitz-powered Capital One travel portal.

Redeeming your miles for gift cards is the best non-travel award, as each mile is usually worth 1 cent each. But your miles are usually worth 0.5 cents each for cash back.

So, of the various redemption options, the travel statement credits might be your best option. You can pay cash for your plane tickets and other travel purchases to earn loyalty miles. Then, you can request your statement credit to erase all or part of the purchase amount.

Redeeming Citi ThankYou Points

The Citi Premier® Card points are most valuable when booking upcoming travel on the Citi ThankYou Travel Center or transferring to the ThankYou airline partners on a 1:1 basis. Redeeming your points for statement credits only makes them worth 0.5 cents each.

You can also redeem points for gift cards. While that might not sound too exciting, note that those gift cards include travel brands like Airbnb, several cruise lines, and other partners.

Verdict: Citi Premier® Card

Signup Bonus: Citi Premier vs Capital One Venture

Let’s get to the good stuff.

Enjoy a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel, with the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card.

New Citi Premier® Card cardmembers can earn 60,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after spending $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. This bonus is redeemable for $600 in gift cards when redeemed at thankyou.com.

If this sounds like a good choice for you, check out the CardMatch™ tool, which is a free resource for finding personalized offers that best serve you. It can help you determine if the Citi Premier is a card you can get. Additionally, you may be offered a higher targeted signup bonus that isn’t available to the general public.

Verdict: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Transferring Miles to Airline Partners

In continuation of this Citi Premier vs Capital One Venture review, both of these travel rewards cards let you transfer points/miles to select domestic and international airlines. Additionally, most transfers are completed instantly with these cards.

The Capital One travel transfer partners are:

• Aeromexico
• Aeroplan (Air Canada)
• Air France/KLM
• Avianca
• British Airways
• Cathay Pacific
• Emirates
• Etihad
• EVA Air
• Finnair
• Qantas
• Singapore Airlines
• TAP Air Portugal
• Turkish Airlines

Capital One also has ALL Accor, Choice Privileges, and Wyndham Rewards as hotel transfer partners.

Here are the Citi travel partners:

• Aeromexico
• Asia Miles
• Avianca LifeMiles
• Emirates
• Etihad
• EVA Air
• Air France KLM (Flying Blue)
• JetBlue
• Qantas
• Qatar
• Singapore Airlines
• Thai Airways
• Turkish Airlines
• Virgin Atlantic

Not only does Citi have several overlapping partners, but these transfers also happen on a 1:1 ratio.

Verdict: Citi Premier® Card

Additional Card Benefits

Both cards offer some extra card benefits. As both cards have a $95 annual fee, these cards are not as benefit-rich as one of the best premium travel credit cards with a $250+ annual fee.

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card probably has the most valuable additional benefits at this time:

• Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit of up to $100
• Secondary car rental collision damage waiver
• Extended warranty on select purchases
• No foreign transaction fee

Related: What You Need In Order To Get The Capital One Venture Rewards

Citi Premier Card

Additionally, there is also an exciting annual $100 hotel savings benefit that comes with the Citi Premier Card. Cardholders who spend $500 or more (excluding taxes and fees) on a single stay at a hotel purchased through thankyou.com can take advantage of this annual $100 benefit.

Additionally, you also get these World Elite Mastercard benefits:

• Secondary car rental collision damage waiver
• Special discounts at select golf courses and the Luxury Hotel Collection
• Extended warranty on select purchases

Here is the credit score needed for the Citi Premier.

Verdict: Tie

Quick Recap

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Here’s a quick rundown of everything the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card offers:

• Earn 2x miles on every purchase
• Earn 5x miles on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
• Redeem miles for travel statement credits and upcoming travel for 1 cent each
• Transfer miles to loyalty partners
• Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit
• $95 annual fee
• No foreign transaction fee

If you want more details on the benefits and ways you can benefit from this card, check out our in-depth Capital One Venture Rewards Card review.

Citi Premier Card

These are the key benefits of the Citi Premier:

• Earn 3x points on air travel, hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, and gas stations
• Get 1x points on all non-bonus purchases
• $100 annual hotel benefit
• Transfer points to airlines on a 1:1 basis
• No foreign transaction fee

Still on the fence? You can get more information in our in-depth Citi Premier Card review.

Summary of Capital One Venture vs Citi Premier

In conclusion, in this Citi Premier vs Capital One Venture review, both cards make it easy to earn bonus points/miles to redeem for travel. The largest difference between both cards is how to redeem your points/miles for the most value.

Travel statement credits for recent travel bookings are arguably the best booking option for the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card.

However, if airline point transfers are your preference, go with the Citi Premier® Card.

75,000 Bonus miles, at least 2x miles on all purchases: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Up to 3x points on travel purchases, 60,000 bonus points: Citi Premier Card

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