How the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card Can Pay for Its Annual Fee 8 Times Over

The hardest part about paying a credit card annual fee is trusting that it will actually earn its keep.

That is why the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees) stands out in 2026. At $95 per year, it's one of the most affordable rewards cards on the market.

Between the welcome offer, built-in credits, and how easily the points add up on normal spending, this card can realistically cover its annual fee eight times over or more, often in the first year alone.

Start with the welcome bonus

The card currently offers 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 in the first 3 months.

At a very conservative value of $0.01 per point, that bonus alone is worth at least $750 in Chase Travel℠ value.

That already covers the $95 annual fee nearly eight times over before you factor in anything else.

The $50 annual hotel credit cuts the fee in half

Each account anniversary year, you get up to $50 in statement credits for hotel bookings made through Chase Travel.

You do not have to activate anything. Book a hotel through the portal and the credit posts automatically.

That means the effective cost of holding the card drops from $95 to $45. At that point, you only need 4,500 points per year to break even.

Everyday spending does the rest

You earn:

• 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
• 3X points on dining, select streaming services, and online groceries
• 2X points on all other travel purchases
• 1X points on all other purchases

If you spend $1,000 a month on dining and groceries combined, that is 36,000 points per year from those categories alone.

Even at a basic $0.01 valuation, that is $360 in travel value without changing how you spend.

The 10% anniversary points boost is real money

Each year on your card anniversary, Chase adds bonus points equal to 10% of your total purchases from the previous year.

Spend $30,000 across the card in a year and you get 3,000 bonus points for doing nothing extra.

In this example, that's another $30 in value, every single year.

Is the annual fee worth it?

Here is what a realistic first-year snapshot can look like:

• Welcome bonus value: ~$750
• Annual hotel credit: $50
• Points from normal spending: $300 to $500
• Anniversary boost and protections: meaningful upside

That puts the total first-year value at about $1,100 to $1,400, depending on how you use the card.

Against a $95 annual fee, the math speaks for itself. You can learn more about the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and apply right now here.