Capital One Savor Cash Rewards vs. Capital One Venture Rewards: Cash back, miles or both?

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers. Two of the most popular Capital One cards are the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card. The Venture Rewards charges a $95 annual fee, while the Capital One Savor Cash has no …

Mar 10, 2025 - 16:06

Capital One Savor Cash Rewards vs. Capital One Venture Rewards: Cash back, miles or both?

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers.

Two of the most popular Capital One cards are the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card and the Capital One Savor Cash Rewards Credit Card. The Venture Rewards charges a $95 annual fee, while the Capital One Savor Cash has no annual fee.

These cards differ in the type of rewards they provide, their redemption options and the extensiveness of their benefits. The Savor is a cash-back card, while the Venture Rewards is a travel rewards card. Which card is better for you will depend on your spending habits and rewards preferences.

Let’s take a closer look at their features to decide which card is a better fit for your lifestyle and spending.

Capital One Venture Rewards vs. Capital One Savor comparison

	Capital One Venture Rewards	Capital One Savor Rewards
Welcome bonus	Earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening. Plus, receive a $250 credit for Capital One Travel bookings in the first cardholder year.	Earn a one-time $200 cash bonus after spending $500 on purchases within three months of account opening.
Annual fee	$95	$0
Earning rates	5 miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel 2 miles per dollar on all other purchases	5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel 3% cash back at grocery stores and on dining, entertainment and popular streaming services (excluding superstores like Walmart® and Target®), 1% cash back on all other purchases
Benefits	Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit (up to $120) Access to Capital One Entertainment and Capital One Dining Extended warranty protection 24-hour travel assistance No foreign transaction fees	Access to Capital One Entertainment and Capital One Dining Extended warranty protection Travel accident insurance 50% off handcrafted beverages at any U.S. Capital One Cafe

Capital One Savor vs. Capital One Venture Rewards welcome bonus

Currently, new Capital One Savor cardholders can earn a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in the first three months of account opening.

Meanwhile, new Venture Rewards cardholders can earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening. Plus, new cardholders will receive a $250 credit for Capital One Travel bookings in the first cardholder year. This is a limited-time offer.

TPG’s March 2025 valuations peg Capital One miles at 1.85 cents each, making those 75,000 miles worth $1,388 — which brings the full bonus up to $1,638 when you factor in the Capital One Travel credit.

Winner: Capital One Venture Rewards. It has a higher spending requirement, but its bonus is worth significantly more than the Savor’s welcome offer.

Capital One Savor vs. Capital One Venture Rewards benefits

Cash-back cards aren’t known for offering extensive benefits, and the Capital One Savor is no exception. Still, it comes with a solid suite of benefits for a no-annual-fee card:

Access to Capital One Entertainment and Capital One Dining
Travel accident insurance
Extended warranty protection
50% off handcrafted beverages at any U.S. Capital One Cafe

Businessman drinking coffee in cafe — JOHNER IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES

As a travel rewards card, the Capital One Venture Rewards comes with a longer list of travel benefits:

Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit (up to $120)
$50 experience credit to use on Lifestyle Collection bookings
Access to Capital One Entertainment and Capital One Dining
Extended warranty protection
Travel accident insurance
Access to Capital One’s 15-plus transfer partners
Auto collision damage waiver
No foreign transaction fees

This is a solid list of benefits for a card with a $95 annual fee, especially with the Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit.

Winner: Venture Rewards. Its travel benefits are more valuable than those you’ll get with the Savor.

Earning rewards on the Capital One Savor vs. Capital One Venture Rewards

The Capital One Savor has some impressive bonus categories:

5% back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
3% back at grocery stores and on dining, entertainment and popular streaming services
1% back on all other purchases

This is a great earnings structure if you want to earn cash-back rewards on everyday purchases. However, if you spend much of your budget on general travel, you’ll do better with a different card.

Woman purchasing groceries at a market — FG TRADE/GETTY IMAGES

On the other hand, the Capital One Venture Rewards earns 5 miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 2 miles per dollar on all other purchases.

If you hold both cards, the cash back you earn on the Savor card can convert to Venture miles. That means you could earn 3 miles on dining, entertainment and streaming and 3 miles at the grocery store. Then you could use your Venture Rewards card for all travel and nonbonus spending. These cards are a great combination.

Winner: Tie. If most of your spending falls into the Savor’s bonus categories, it’s your better option. But if you spend more on purchases outside those categories, the Venture Rewards is your better earner.

Redeeming rewards with the Capital One Savor vs. Capital One Venture Rewards

Since the Capital One Savor is a cash-back card, your simplest redemption option is for cash-back as a statement credit or check. You can also redeem your rewards for gift cards or purchases at Amazon, or you can donate them to charity.

On the other hand, the Capital One Venture Rewards earns Capital One miles and gives you a wider range of redemption options. You can transfer your miles to any of Capital One’s 15-plus hotel and airline partners to get the most value. You can also redeem them for travel by booking through Capital One Travel.

Two people eating lunch together — MILKO/GETTY IMAGES

Less valuable redemption options include redeeming your miles for gift cards or using them to pay when you shop through Amazon, PayPal or Capital One Entertainment and for cash back. You can also donate your miles to charity.

However, if you hold both cards, you can combine your rewards and unlock the best redemption options for each. By transferring your Savor rewards to your Venture Rewards and turning them into miles, you can take advantage of Capital One’s transfer partners.

Winner: Venture Rewards. It gives you the more valuable redemption option of transferring your miles to airline and hotel partners.

Transferring rewards with the Capital One Savor vs. Capital One Venture Rewards

With the Capital One Venture Rewards, you can transfer your miles to any of Capital One’s 15-plus hotel and airline partners, including valuable options like Avianca LifeMiles, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer and Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles.

TPG contributing editor Matt Moffitt especially loves to transfer his miles to Air France-KLM Flying Blue to get great deals on business-class flights to Europe and to British Airways Executive Club to book nonstop domestic flights on American Airlines.

Transferring your rewards is the best way to get maximum value from your miles. By utilizing Capital One’s transfer partners, you can achieve TPG’s March 2025 valuation of Capital One miles at 1.85 cents per mile.

An Air France flight — CAROLINE TANNER/THE POINTS GUY

On its own, the Capital One Savor doesn’t have any transfer partners. As we discussed above, however, pairing it with a card that earns Capital One miles unlocks the ability to use your Savor rewards with Capital One’s partners.

Winner: Venture Rewards. Since the Savor doesn’t have access to Capital One’s transfer partners on its own, the Venture Rewards is the clear winner.

Should I get the Capital One Savor or the Capital One Venture Rewards?

The Capital One Savor is your better option if you’re focused on earning cash-back rewards or you don’t want to pay an annual fee. But if you want more travel perks and to earn transferable miles, you’ll want to go with the Capital One Venture Rewards. It may be worth opening both of these cards, since they are great complements to one another.

Related: The best Capital One cards

Bottom line

Whether the Capital One Savor or the Capital One Venture Rewards is a better fit for you depends on your spending habits and rewards goals.

If you want the versatility of cash-back rewards and spend most of your budget on everyday expenses, you’ll get great value with the Capital One Savor. If you want travel benefits, the Capital One Venture Rewards is your winner.

Of course, no rule says you have to choose. You can get both cards and benefit from their complementary earning structures and wide range of redemption options. No matter what you decide, you’ll have excellent earning potential with either (or both) of these cards.

To learn more, please see our full reviews of the Capital One Savor and Capital One Venture Rewards.

Learn more: Capital One Savor Cash Rewards
Learn more: Capital One Venture Rewards

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