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- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Review
Lyle is a writer specializing in credit cards, travel rewards programs, and banking. His work has also appeared on MSN Money, USA Today, and Yahoo! Finance.
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The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has a legion of travel fans for a reason. Everyday cardholders can expect a large new sign-up bonus, premium rewards for travel and dining, and perhaps most importantly, one of the most versatile travel rewards programs we've come across. Check out our in-depth Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card review to see if this card is a fit for your needs.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
On Chase's Secure Website.
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.With a leading sign-up bonus, the sky’s the limit for this top-rated travel rewards card. Plus, the premium points program for travel and dining make it a no brainer for travel enthusiasts everywhere. The limited time offer of 3x points for groceries through June 30, 2020 rounds out the lucrative perks.
3x points for groceries through June 30 2020, 2x points on travel and dining, 1x points on all other purchases. 25% more points for travel booked through Chase's portal.
$95
Purchases: N/A
Balance Transfers: N/A
15.99% - 22.99% Variable
60,000 points after spending $4,000 within three months -- worth $750 of travel redeemed through Chase
60,000-point sign-up bonus: You earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months. That's worth $750 for travel when redeemed through Chase's travel portal.
5 points per $1 on Lyft rides: This rewards rate applies to all your Lyft rides through March 2022.
Limited time 3 points per $1 for groceries: Through June 30th, 2020, cardholders will receive lucrative rewards for groceries.
2 points per $1 on travel and dining: Your travel and dining spending earns 2 points per $1, and there's no cap on how many bonus points you can earn this way. All other spending earns the standard rate of 1 point per $1.
Chase Ultimate Rewards redemptions: This card earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points, one of the most valuable types of travel rewards. You can redeem points toward cash travel purchases through Chase's travel portal at a rate of $0.0125 per point. Another option is transferring points to the loyalty program of Chase's many airline and hotel partners. These give you a chance to make very high-value award bookings, which are a great way to maximize the value of Ultimate Rewards points.
DoorDash benefits: Through Chase's partnership with DoorDash, this card gets you a $0 delivery fee and reduced service fees on orders over $12 on qualifying food purchases with DashPass, DoorDash's subscription service. The benefit lasts for a minimum of one year, and you must activate it by Dec. 31, 2021.
No foreign transaction fee: Foreign transaction fees can quickly add up when whipping out credit cards for purchases abroad. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card's foreign transaction fee is 0% -- that's a savings of $60 on $2,000 worth of international spending that would otherwise incur a typical 3% fee on many other cards.
Consumer and travel protections: Chase's travel insurances and consumer protections are robust when compared to other credit card issuers. They include:
Weak rewards rate: There's really only one gripe to mention about the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card -- it could offer more rewards. While 5 points per $1 on Lyft rides is good, most consumers probably don't spend a ton in that area per month. 2 points per $1 on travel and dining are solid, but there are credit cards in the same price range that offer more back, either through a higher rate on bonus categories or by earning 2 points per $1 in more categories.
The rewards are the one area where this card isn't quite top of the line.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is intended for people with good to excellent credit. A FICO® Score of 670 or higher gives you the best chance for approval. It is possible to be approved with a lower score and even to not be approved with a higher score. Many factors are considered during the underwriting process, including the notorious Chase 5/24 rule, and these can sway an approval decision beyond just your credit score.
Chase Ultimate Rewards points can be transferred easily not only to airline and hotel loyalty programs, but also among other Chase credit cards. There can be benefits to carrying two Chase-branded credit cards. Here's an example of how this works.
The Chase Freedom® earns 5% cash back (on up to $1,500 of spending each quarter) in rotating quarterly categories you activate. Chase’s cash-back calendar covers all the essentials, such as groceries, gas, restaurants, and online shopping.
You could put purchases that would otherwise earn an equivalent 1% rate with your Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card on your Chase Freedom® for 5% cash back. You could then transfer those points instantaneously to aChase Sapphire Preferred® Card to stretch the value even further for travel.
A word of caution is warranted. Carrying multiple credit cards introduces complexity to your budget, which increases the possibility of racking up costly credit card debt. Simply put, there’s no sense earning rewards only to incur credit card debt and costly interest charges.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card's $95 annual fee is worth it for many travelers, given the rewards, sign-up bonus, and extra perks it offers.
The sign-up bonus is already worth $750 in travel. On a year-to-year basis, you'd need to earn only 7,600 Ultimate Rewards points to balance out the annual fee. That's because, at a rate of $0.0125 per point for travel purchases, 7,600 points is worth $95 in travel. In practice, most cardholders will use their cards much more than that and earn far more points.
However, there are situations in which you could find a better deal with another card. For example, if you spend only a few hundred dollars per month on your credit card, you'd be better off with a no-annual-fee card. And on the opposite end of the equation, if you're a big spender, it could be worth looking at travel rewards cards with more benefits and higher rewards, even though the cards may cost more.
Consumers who spend and travel frequently should also look at the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, which is basically the upgraded version of the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. It boosts your rewards rate to 3 points per $1 on travel and dining and includes a lot more travel perks, including a $300 annual travel credit. While it does charge a $550 annual fee, its benefits can easily make up for that.
Cardholders with smaller credit budgets who can't take advantage of Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card's premium perks may be better of with a no-annual-fee credit card, and Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card is a solid pick. Importantly, the card earns unlimited 1.5 miles per $1 for all purchases and includes a big 20,000 points sign-up bonus.
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| Discover it® Cash Back | Chase Sapphire Reserve® |
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Rating image, 4.5 out of 5 stars.
4.5 stars
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. |
Rating image, 4.5 out of 5 stars.
4.5 stars
We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. |
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Apply Now
On Discover's Secure Website. |
Apply Now
On Chase's Secure Website. |
| Read Full Review | Read Full Review |
| Rates & Fees | |
| Bonus: Double cash back in the first year | Bonus: 50,000 points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Worth $750 redeemed for travel through Chase |
| Rewards Program: Earn 5% cash back in rotating quarterly categories you activate ($1,500 quarterly spending cap), 1% back on all else | Rewards Program: 5x points for groceries through June 30, 2020, 3X points on travel immediately after earning your $300 travel credit. 3X points on dining at restaurants & 1 point on all other purchases. |
| Intro APR: Purchases: 0%, 14 months Balance Transfers: 0%, 14 months | Intro APR: Purchases: N/A Balance Transfers: N/A |
| Regular APR: 11.99% - 22.99% Variable | Regular APR: 16.99% - 23.99% Variable |
| Annual Fee: $0 | Annual Fee: $550 |
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Apply Now
On Discover's Secure Website. |
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Apply Now
On Chase's Secure Website. |
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card will be a match if you want a card that offers versatile travel rewards and a solid rewards rate, and that doesn't cost much per year.
The best thing about the Chase Ultimate Rewards program is all the redemption opportunities it offers. You can transfer your points if there's an award booking you like, and if not, you can always use the Chase travel portal to book travel at cash prices. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card can earn you a lot of points in this program at a reasonable annual fee.
Lyle Daly is a personal finance writer who specializes in credit cards, travel rewards programs, and banking. He writes for The Ascent and The Motley Fool, and his work has appeared in USA Today and Yahoo! Finance. He was born in California but currently lives as a digital nomad with a home base in Colombia.
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