How I pair the Capital One Venture X and SavorOne

The only thing better than a great credit card is two great credit cards.

As a credit card journalist and nerd, I have six credit cards, and each has its own job. However, a couple of cards are working in tandem: my Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card and the Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card. This allows me to earn close to 50 percent more miles with little extra effort.

Here’s how I pair these two Capital One cards — plus some other card combinations that I like.

How I use the SavorOne

The Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card is my “foodie” credit card. It earns 3 percent cash back on dining and grocery store purchases — a very solid rate for a card without annual fees. I spend around $500 on food per month, which totals $6,000 per year. That means I earn around $180 in cash back annually just on two categories in my budget (eating in and dining out).

The card also offers 3 percent cash back on entertainment and popular streaming services, and 8 percent cash back on purchases made through the Capital One Entertainment ticketing platform. I don’t spend on entertainment too often, despite being a live music lover. There are very few artists I’m ready to spend a few hundred dollars to see these days. When it does happen, however, it’s nice to earn at least some of that money back.

As for streaming services, I only have one and a half of those. (A half because I cancel my Netflix subscription every once in a while when I catch up on all the shows I’m interested in.) These charges live on my Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. It earns 3X points on eligible streaming services and lets you redeem rewards at 1.25 cents per point at Chase Travel. This way, I squeeze all the value I can out of this tiny category in my budget.

How I use the Venture X

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card earns 10X miles on hotel and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, 5X miles on flights through Capital One Travel and 2X miles on all other purchases. Because of that double rate on general spending, I use this card on everything bonus categories on my other cards don’t cover — which makes it the card I charge the most. I use it for utilities, hair salon appointments, a PlayStation subscription, car and pet insurance, non-Amazon shopping … You get the picture.

On average, I spend around $1,550 with the Venture X each month. That’s $18,600 per year, which translates to 37,200 miles in annual rewards earnings (worth $372 when redeemed for travel).

I also love this card for its benefits. I take advantage of the $100 credit every four years to cover the cost of Global Entry membership, which includes TSA PreCheck. This makes my airport security experience so much faster. Additionally, the card provides unlimited access for the cardholder and two guests to over 1,300 airport lounges worldwide — including Priority Pass and Capital One lounges. That’s another benefit I never let go to waste.

The same goes for $300 in annual statement credits for Capital One Travel purchases and the 10,000-mile anniversary bonus worth $100 when redeemed for travel. Together, they more than offset the card’s hefty $395 annual fee.

How I combine Capital One rewards

I move the cash back I earn with the SavorOne to the Venture X. The transfer rate is 1 cent per mile, meaning the $180 in cash back I earn annually turns into 18,000 miles on the Venture X. This increases my annual mile earnings to 55,200 miles.

The SavorOne gives me a way to easily boost my Capital One travel rewards without adding to my annual fees. I use my miles to book air travel through Capital One at 1 cent per mile to take advantage of the $300 annual credit. Once I spend it, I sometimes book outside of the portal and then reimburse myself with rewards at the same rate. The issuer has transfer partners too. I’ve yet to use this option because I prefer keeping things simple, but it’s nice to have. This kind of flexibility is exactly what I look for in my card strategy.

Other card combos I like

As you can see, combining the right credit cards can earn you rewards more quickly. And my Capital One duo is just one of the many options. Here’s a couple of other combos that I like (spoiler alert: the Amex Trifecta isn’t included).

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Freedom Unlimited®

The Chase Sapphire Preferred earns 5X points on travel booked through Chase Travel, 3X points on dining, select streaming and online grocery purchases (excluding Walmart, Target and wholesale clubs), 2X points on all travel purchases and 1X points on everything else. Plus, it offers solid benefits like travel protections, $50 in statement credits each year for hotel stays purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards and a 10% anniversary point bonus. This travel credit card only charges $95 in annual fees.

The Chase Freedom Unlimited® is a cash back card. It earns 5 percent cash back on travel booked through Chase Travel, 3 percent cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery service, and 1.5 percent cash back on all other purchases.

The mechanism here is similar to how my Capital One duo works. You’ll use the cards to maximize their bonus categories and charge purchases outside of them to the Freedom Unlimited. Then, you’ll combine the rewards from both cards to book travel with the Sapphire Preferred at 1.25 cents per point through the issuer’s portal — or possibly more if you move them to Chase’s transfer partners.

Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card and Attune℠ Card

If travel rewards aren’t your thing, you can use a card combo to maximize cash back.

Take the recently launched Wells Fargo Attune℠ Card*. It earns unlimited 4% cash rewards on gym memberships, salons and spas, select sports, recreation and entertainment, public transit, EV charging and select thrift stores. These categories are rather diverse, too.

For example, select sports, recreation and entertainment include gardening and floral stores, campgrounds, sports supplies, movie theaters, live shows and sporting events, amusement parks, tourist attractions, pet supplies, boarding and grooming. Streaming, music, movies and books are also included, rewarding you for purchases at book and record stores, cable, digital media, streaming subscriptions and more. If you’re a city dweller with any kind of hobby, this card most likely has you covered.

For the rest of your spending, you can use the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card. It earns unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases, so you’ll get double rewards outside of your bonus categories.

Plus, neither card charges an annual fee.

The bottom line

As a big Capital One Venture X fan, I find that pairing it with the SavorOne brings me extra value without much extra work — and that’s exactly what I want from my credit cards.

Of course, multiple other combinations exist that might better serve a different kind of cardholder. If you decide to create a credit card combo too, consider your end goal and your top spending categories. And be honest with yourself: rewards credit cards only make sense if you’re consistently responsible with them. Make a habit of never carrying a balance and avoiding common pitfalls before you add more cards to your wallet.

*Information about the Wells Fargo Attune℠ Card has been collected independently by Bankrate. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the issuer.