3 Ways Your Chase Sapphire Preferred Card Can Get You Amazing Deals

If you're looking for a good all-purpose travel rewards credit card (as opposed to one tied to a specific hotel chain or airline), the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is worth a look. It has a $95 annual fee, but gives you the chance to earn rewards on your everyday spending that can be easily translated to free or lower-cost travel. Here are a few ways this card can get you amazing deals.

1. Turn the welcome bonus into free travel

When you open your Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, you'll have the opportunity to earn a decent welcome bonus. If you spend $4,000 on the card in the first 3 months, you'll earn 60,000 bonus points. Chase Ultimate Rewards points are some of the most valuable credit card rewards out there because Chase has loads of travel partners you can transfer those points to.

You can also book travel directly through the Chase Travel portal, and if you do this, your points will be worth $0.0125 apiece. That makes your 60,000 bonus points worth $750. But they could be worth even more if you transfer them to a hotel or airline partner, so it pays to do your research.

A quick note about welcome bonuses: They can be great, but don't increase your credit card spending just to qualify for one. Owing interest on your purchases will quickly eat up any reward points you earn on a credit card, and the go-to APR for this card is 21.49%-28.49% Variable.

2. Use it to earn points on food delivery

If you spend a lot on grocery and meal delivery, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card might be an excellent fit for you, as these spending categories are where the card really shines. It earns 3x points per $1 for dining, and this rate applies whether you like to go out for food or have it delivered right to your door. You'll also earn 3x points per $1 on online grocery orders, so if you've been leaning into grocery delivery for the time and hassle it can save, you'll have the chance to translate that spending into more points.

You can also take advantage of Chase Sapphire partnership deals in these categories. There are a few current ones that are worth signing up for if you love it when people bring food to your house. You can get at least a year of DoorDash's DashPass when you sign up by Dec. 31, 2024. I've had a DashPass membership for a while, and was happy to extend it with my Chase card. With DashPass, you can get free delivery and lower service fees on orders of $12 or more from eligible restaurants.

Chase also has a partnership with Instacart that gives Sapphire cardholders a complimentary Instacart+ membership -- for the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, it's six months long and comes with a quarterly $15 credit through July 2024. I deliberately waited to sign up for this perk until last fall so I could take advantage of lower-cost grocery delivery over winter and potentially avoid driving to the grocery store on snowy mornings.

3. Pair it with another Chase card

Finally, if you want to get the most out of your Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, using it alongside another Chase card can help you maximize the points you earn and get even more amazing deals in the future. You might even decide to go whole hog and build a Chase Trifecta -- this means pairing your Sapphire card with a card from Chase's Freedom line and one from its Ink line.

I haven't gone this route -- I do have three Chase cards currently, but one of them is the Prime Visa, which earns cash back that I use on Amazon, rather than Chase Ultimate Rewards Points. But I earn cash back in the form of points with my Chase Freedom Unlimited®, and I transfer those points to the Sapphire card so I can book travel with them. For example, I'm currently looking forward to getting a few free hotel nights in Liverpool, England next month.

All the Chase cards that earn Ultimate Rewards Points have different bonus categories, so it's worth diving in to see if you can match your spending with another card besides a Sapphire. The Chase Freedom Unlimited® was my pick because of its flat 1.5% rate across all purchases. Its bonus categories include drugstores (3%) and dining (3% -- I typically use my Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card for this, but it's nice to have options).

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a solid option for travelers and dining enthusiasts, with a very reasonable annual fee based on the perks. If you've been curious about this card, you are now armed with more information about how it can get you amazing deals.