Well first I'd verify that all the same visa benefits the CSR has are indeed offered by the Venture X. Also, I know the Venture X comes as a Visa Signature, but I'm not sure about Visa Infinite.
Then I'd also analyze whether you wouldn't be spreading yourself spend-wise too thin, thus diluting rewards on both ecosystems. And of course, you'd have to start building up your points with Cap One now, not including the SUB.
Finally, remember that Cap One does a triple pull (1 HP per bureau) for any and all card applications.
It's a solid, low maintenance, yet powerful combo. I'm looking to pair my Savor One with a Venture X as soon as it seems like they'll approve me.
@OmarGB9 it's been my understanding that the Venture X is only issued as a Visa Infinite, similar to the CSR.
@quikj9 wrote:It's a solid, low maintenance, yet powerful combo. I'm looking to pair my Savor One with a Venture X as soon as it seems like they'll approve me.
@OmarGB9 it's been my understanding that the Venture X is only issued as a Visa Infinite, similar to the CSR.
Reading through the CapOne details, and the TPG write up, I'd think Venture X is not specific, but depends on the cardholder. Both VISA Signature or VISA Infinite are possible to issue. Case in point, when you get to the TPG listing of Main Benefits / Benefits Overview, several of the benefits are asterisked. The asterisk says "Benefits available on VISA Infinite cards".
I think the Venture X is a compelling card for the mid-market consumer that it's targeted towards. I did consider it, but decided not to take that plunge at this time. IMO, it's not a comparable replacement for the Chase Sapphire Reserve but it's possibly the most worthy contender in that segment other than the US Bank Altitude Reserve, especially since AMEX raised the Platinum AF to $695. I didn't want to take the Capital One triple-pull for a new card, I had other plans for new credit when it came out, and I also had concerns about overly diluting my travel rewards with another travel card.
We all know that all "Visa Signature" or "Visa Infinite" cards are not created equal when it comes to which Visa benefits that a lender decides to offer. As @wasCB14 pointed out above, the trip cancellation coverage lags significantly on the Capital One card. (Trips are covered up to only $2K versus up to $10K on the Chase Sapphire Reserve.) Purchase Return Protection on Venture X is limited to $300 per purchase versus $500 per purchase on CSR, but annual limit on both is still $1K. I haven't poured over the other details but there may be more. I don't know of any area that the Venture X is better than CSR on trip insurances and cancellations, but in many coverages it is comparable. If perks are important to you at all, I would spend some time studying these differences before committing.
Sapphire Reserve's 3x UR on dining and the ability to redeem those points at 1.5% to 2% on travel, either directly through the Chase travel portal or by transfer to partners is a huge difference between a Venture X - Savor combo. That means dining out with Chase earns 3% in cash, or 4.5% in travel portal, or up to 6% if transferred. Savor earns 4% on dining (the 3% mentioned upthread is for the no-AF Savor ONE) but it adds another $95 AF to the equation, bringing total AF up to $490 with both cards versus the $550 with the CSR alone. However, correct me if I'm wrong but I don't believe Capital One allows "pooling" of cash back credits to be transferred between Savor and Venture cards. Meanwhile, the Chase UR points can be easily pooled between Sapphires, Freedoms, and INKS. That makes a Chase bi-fecta, tri-fecta, or quad-fecta still a stronger overall combo.
As a stand-alone card, the Savor may not be as rewarding as it appears, thanks to that $95 AF, unless your spending is pretty heavy on dining and entertainment. This is similar to my critiques of the AMEX Blue Cash Preferred which advertises 6% on groceries but that is subject to both an AF and a spending cap of $6K, which work from both the low and high end of spending to offset net earnings. At least Savor doesn't cap spending. If you spend $1K monthly (or $12K annually) on those categories, you earn $480 minus the $95 AF = $385/12,000 makes for a NET return of only 3.2%, barely above the 3% you would earn on the Savor ONE at 3% with no fee. The breakeven point on Savor is about $10K annually, or about $192 average every week out of the year. That level of spend would give you the same 3% you would earn with Savor ONE or a no-AF 3% card. Even if you spend an average of $1500 per month ($346 per week; $18K annually) on Savor, your net return only goes up to about 3.47%. So I would carefully consider whether a Savor ONE might be a better pairing with the Venture X, based on someone's spending habits on dining and entertainment.
Capital One has made improvements to travel partners but Chase still is far better in that area IMO.
The Savor card does give the benefit of 4% on streaming services and 3% on groceries. I could see how a VentureX - Savor Rewards combo could cover a lot of spend and make for a simple two-card wallet. Downsizing to two cards is something I brought up for discussion in a recent Smorgasbord thread. There's a lot to be said for simplicity in managing cards for many of us, and accounting for how much (often small) incremental rewards we earn by adding additional cards beyond a certain point.
