Anonymous
05/06/2026 12:11
Subject: Re:Chase vs Capital One travel card
Anonymous wrote:OP here - thx for all the input.
We are family of 4 - no one travels for work. We travel on almost any airline (not Frontier or super low budget) , happy to fly economy , minimal interest in business class/first class, neutral on lounge access as we always try to fly non stop. We travel every Christmas for a week from DC to skiing , travel for summer 1 or 2 trips , one domestic, one international to see family and friends. A few long weekend trips to NYC possibly. No preference for Marriott vs Hilton. Both kids are in HS so will be doing some college visits in next few years that would require flights. Thx!
We have a Marriott card. $95 fee gets 1 free night - easy for us to use. Marriott credits $$ spend towards "Bonvoy status nights" which helps us more than we expected. Marriott has properties almost everywhere. Over about 6 years, we were able to earn lifetime status with Marriott.
Hilton has lots of properties, but not as many as Marriott.
We do not find airline redemption options to be that great. We find it much easier to redeem for hotel stays.
Hyatt properties are nice, but many fewer locations than either Hilton or Marriott b
Anonymous
05/06/2026 12:03
Subject: Chase vs Capital One travel card
Sapphire plus Freedom Unlimited. Put the categories with the bonuses on Sapphire (restaurants, travel that counts, etc) and the rest on the FU for 1.5x on everything. You can transfer chase points freely between the two.
Anonymous
05/06/2026 11:54
Subject: Re:Chase vs Capital One travel card
OP here - thx for all the input.
We are family of 4 - no one travels for work. We travel on almost any airline (not Frontier or super low budget) , happy to fly economy , minimal interest in business class/first class, neutral on lounge access as we always try to fly non stop. We travel every Christmas for a week from DC to skiing , travel for summer 1 or 2 trips , one domestic, one international to see family and friends. A few long weekend trips to NYC possibly. No preference for Marriott vs Hilton. Both kids are in HS so will be doing some college visits in next few years that would require flights. Thx!
We are family of 4 - no one travels for work. We travel on almost any airline (not Frontier or super low budget) , happy to fly economy , minimal interest in business class/first class, neutral on lounge access as we always try to fly non stop. We travel every Christmas for a week from DC to skiing , travel for summer 1 or 2 trips , one domestic, one international to see family and friends. A few long weekend trips to NYC possibly. No preference for Marriott vs Hilton. Both kids are in HS so will be doing some college visits in next few years that would require flights. Thx!
Anonymous
05/06/2026 11:25
Subject: Chase vs Capital One travel card
Anonymous wrote:Travel card newbie here- feel like I should have done this awhile ago. Please tell me which card you prefer and why. Thx!
Tell us something about your travel habits. Do you generally fly on particular airlines and to particular destinations? Do you or your partner travel for work and, if so, particular airlines?
We have a Chase Sapphire Preferred card, two Chase United Quest cards, two Chase United Explorer cards, a Chase British Airlines card, American Express Platinum, plus various other credit cards not for travel. I generally have a good understanding of the pros and cons of each.
Anonymous
05/06/2026 11:23
Subject: Chase vs Capital One travel card
Anonymous wrote:I used to be all about the VentureX card, but after they started charging guests and family members for lounge access, it was no longer worth it.
For Chase, be careful, I am stuck with the Sapphire even though I want to get a United card because they will only let you open one at a time.
That is false. You can have a sapphire and a United card. You can't have two sapphire cards.
Source? I have a Sapphire and a United card. About to get another United card.
Anonymous
05/06/2026 11:20
Subject: Chase vs Capital One travel card
There are advantages to having both. I've had saphhire for several years now and i'm still annoyed Chase changed the redemption system. The original 1.25 was good.
Anonymous
05/06/2026 11:12
Subject: Chase vs Capital One travel card
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:For DC area, I think the Chase Sapphire Preferred is the best overall card in terms of ongoing value. With United and Southwest as exclusive transfer partners that gives you access to a ton of nonstops out of IAD and BWI, along with the other transfer partners that are more common with other cards.
The travel delay insurance and rental car coverage is excellent and easily worth the $95 annual fee.
I love the Capital One lounge at IAD and the Landing at DCA so I vote Capital One.
OP--as you can see, there is not a best card. It depends on how you travel and what benefits you're looking for.
Oh yes those lounges are fantastic for sure, but yes with the new guest restrictions (which were understandable), if most of your travel is as a family that perk isn't worth much anymore.
Anonymous
05/06/2026 11:12
Subject: Chase vs Capital One travel card
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I used to be all about the VentureX card, but after they started charging guests and family members for lounge access, it was no longer worth it.
For Chase, be careful, I am stuck with the Sapphire even though I want to get a United card because they will only let you open one at a time.
Not true. I hold the Sapphire Preferred and the United Quest cards. From Chase, I also have an Amazon card.
Yeah not sure why that PP said that- you can absolutely get multiple different cards as long as it's not the same one you currently have.
Anonymous
05/06/2026 11:11
Subject: Chase vs Capital One travel card
Anonymous wrote:I used to be all about the VentureX card, but after they started charging guests and family members for lounge access, it was no longer worth it.
For Chase, be careful, I am stuck with the Sapphire even though I want to get a United card because they will only let you open one at a time.
Not true. I hold the Sapphire Preferred and the United Quest cards. From Chase, I also have an Amazon card.
Anonymous
05/06/2026 11:09
Subject: Chase vs Capital One travel card
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:For DC area, I think the Chase Sapphire Preferred is the best overall card in terms of ongoing value. With United and Southwest as exclusive transfer partners that gives you access to a ton of nonstops out of IAD and BWI, along with the other transfer partners that are more common with other cards.
The travel delay insurance and rental car coverage is excellent and easily worth the $95 annual fee.
I love the Capital One lounge at IAD and the Landing at DCA so I vote Capital One.
OP--as you can see, there is not a best card. It depends on how you travel and what benefits you're looking for.
Yes, the main reason for me to get these cards is for lounges. And I LOVE Capital One for the lounges. About the same as American Express for a much lower fee.
Anonymous
05/06/2026 11:03
Subject: Chase vs Capital One travel card
I used to be all about the VentureX card, but after they started charging guests and family members for lounge access, it was no longer worth it.
For Chase, be careful, I am stuck with the Sapphire even though I want to get a United card because they will only let you open one at a time.
For Chase, be careful, I am stuck with the Sapphire even though I want to get a United card because they will only let you open one at a time.
Anonymous
05/06/2026 11:02
Subject: Chase vs Capital One travel card
Chase has better travel partners
Anonymous
05/06/2026 10:56
Subject: Chase vs Capital One travel card
Anonymous wrote:For DC area, I think the Chase Sapphire Preferred is the best overall card in terms of ongoing value. With United and Southwest as exclusive transfer partners that gives you access to a ton of nonstops out of IAD and BWI, along with the other transfer partners that are more common with other cards.
The travel delay insurance and rental car coverage is excellent and easily worth the $95 annual fee.
I love the Capital One lounge at IAD and the Landing at DCA so I vote Capital One.
OP--as you can see, there is not a best card. It depends on how you travel and what benefits you're looking for.
Anonymous
05/06/2026 10:55
Subject: Chase vs Capital One travel card
For DC area, I think the Chase Sapphire Preferred is the best overall card in terms of ongoing value. With United and Southwest as exclusive transfer partners that gives you access to a ton of nonstops out of IAD and BWI, along with the other transfer partners that are more common with other cards.
The travel delay insurance and rental car coverage is excellent and easily worth the $95 annual fee.
The travel delay insurance and rental car coverage is excellent and easily worth the $95 annual fee.
Anonymous
05/06/2026 10:49
Subject: Chase vs Capital One travel card
Travel card newbie here- feel like I should have done this awhile ago. Please tell me which card you prefer and why. Thx!