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- Chase Sapphire Preferred® Review
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card Review: A Clear Travel Rewards Credit Card Leader
By: Lyle Daly
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The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has a legion of travel fans for a reason. Everyday cardholders can expect a large sign-up bonus, premium rewards in several diverse spending categories, and perhaps most importantly, one of top 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
Apply Now
On Chase's Secure Website.
Great for: Travel sign-up bonus and transfer partners Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
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.
Bottom Line
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 up to 5x points makes it even more compelling.
Rewards
2x points on travel and dining, 1x points on all other purchases. 25% more points for travel booked through Chase's portal.
Annual Fee
$95
Intro APR
Purchases: N/A
Balance Transfers: N/A
Ongoing APR
15.99% - 22.99% Variable
Bonus
60,000 points after spending $4,000 within 3 months
Highlights
- Earn 80,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,000 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
- 2X points on travel and dining at restaurants worldwide, eligible delivery services, takeout and dining out & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases.
- Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards. For example, 80,000 points are worth $1,000 toward travel.
- Get unlimited deliveries with a $0 delivery fee and reduced service fees on orders over $12 for a minimum of one year on qualifying food purchases with DashPass, DoorDash's subscription service. Activate by 12/31/21.
- Earn 5X points on Lyft rides through March 2022. That's 3X points in addition to the 2X points you already earn on travel.
Top perks
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.
Earn up to 5 points per $1 for a limited time: The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers limited-time, bonus rewards in several spending categories. This includes:
- 5 points per $1 on Lyft rides through March 2022
- 5 points per $1 on select streaming services (including Netflix and Spotify) on up to $1,500 in spending, from July 1 to Sept. 30, 2020
- 3 points per $1 on all Instacart deliveries and pickups, on up to $3,000 in spending, from July 1 to Sept. 30, 2020
- 3 points per $1 at gas stations, on up to $1,500 in spending, from July 1 to Sept. 30, 2020
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. Outside those limited-time bonus categories, all other spending earns the standard rate of 1 point per $1.
Up to $50 credit on Instacart Express membership: Instacart Express memberships offer free delivery and reduced service fees on orders over $35.
If you sign up for an Instacart Express membership between July 1 and Sept. 30, 2020 and pay using your Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, you'll receive either:
- A $50 credit towards an annual membership, which costs $99
- A $9.99 credit towards a monthly membership, which costs $9.99
Savings with Spotify, ShopRunner, and Groupon: With Chase's Get More Now program, eligible cardholders can receive the following perks:
- Spotify: If you're new to Spotify Premium, you can receive six months of free Spotify Premium. After that, you'll receive a 5% statement credit for six months when continuing the subscription and paying with your eligible Chase card. If you're already a Spotify Premium member, you can receive the 5% statement credit for six months when paying with your eligible Chase card. Must enroll by Sept. 30, 2020.
- ShopRunner: Complimentary 12-month ShopRunner membership--which entitles you to free two-day shipping and free returns at over 100 retailers. Must enroll by Feb. 28, 2021.
- Groupon: Get 10% back in Groupon Bucks in select categories, up to a maximum of $50 back per month, for 12 months. Must enroll by Feb. 28, 2021.
Activation or enrollment is required for each of these offers, and not every cardholder is eligible.
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.
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. And through Sept. 30, 2020, you can also redeem points at that same rate for a statement credit towards purchases at grocery stores, dining at restaurants (including takeout and eligible delivery services), and home improvement stores.
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.
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 saving 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:
- Trip cancellation/interruption insurance
- Rental car insurance
- Baggage delay insurance
- Trip delay reimbursement
- Purchase protection
- Extended warranty coverage
What could be improved
Limited-time perks: Many of this card's best benefits are only offered for a limited time, which is problematic for two reasons. The first is that it's tougher to keep track of your credit card's features when they change every few months. It's also frustrating when those special offers end, because your card loses a portion of its value.
Chase has done a great job of adding perks that aren't travel-related during the coronavirus pandemic. But it'd be nice to see some of those perks become permanent additions.
Suggested credit score
The 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.
How to get more rewards using two Chase cards
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.
Chase Freedom® credit card and Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
The Chase Freedom® credit card 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® credit card for 5% cash back. You could then transfer those points instantaneously to your Chase 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 extra rewards only to incur credit card debt and costly interest charges.
Is the annual fee worth it?
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.
Alternatives to consider
- If you want more travel rewards and benefits: You should check out the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, which is 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 features can easily make up for that if you're a frequent traveler.
- If you want a no-annual-fee travel card: The Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card is a solid pick for those with smaller budgets. This card earns unlimited 1.5 miles per $1 for all purchases and includes a 25,000-point sign-up bonus after spending $1,000 within 90 days. That's a strong offer for a card that doesn't cost you an annual fee.
As of Sep. 01, 2020
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| Chase Sapphire Reserve® |
Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card |
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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 Chase's Secure Website. |
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| Read Full Review | |
| Bonus: 50,000 points after spending $4,000 within 3 months | Bonus: 25,000 points after spending $1,000 within 90 days |
| Rewards Program: 3X points on travel immediately after earning your $300 travel credit. 3X points on dining at restaurants & 1 point on all other purchases. | Rewards Program: Unlimited 1.5x points, 25%-75% more points for Bank of America Preferred Rewards members |
| Intro APR: Purchases: N/A Balance Transfers: N/A | Intro APR: Purchases: 0%, 12 billing cycles Balance Transfers: N/A |
| Regular APR: 16.99%-23.99% Variable | Regular APR: 14.99% - 22.99%, variable |
| Annual Fee: $550 | Annual Fee: $0 |
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Highlights:
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Highlights:
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Apply Now
On Chase's Secure Website. |
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This credit card is right for you if:
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.
About the Author
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.
