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The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is a solid credit card for travel rewards that offers several ways to maximize bonus points. Cardholders get 1x–5x points on both travel and everyday purchases, plus travel protections and perks that make this credit card stand out among similar low-cost travel rewards cards.
Quick Review
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® card appeals to a wide range of customers, because it offers great rewards and benefits without being overly expensive or complicated.
Rewards operate on a tiered system that earns you:
- 5x points when you book travel through Chase’s platform
- 3x points on dining, online grocery shopping, and streaming services
- 2x points on other travel expenses
- 1 point per dollar spent on everything else
To get this card, you need to have good credit and be willing to pay an annual fee. It’s also not the best choice for those looking to consolidate debt or pay off a large purchase gradually, since it doesn’t come with an introductory 0% APR offer for purchases or balance transfers.
That being said, the card’s $95 annual fee is quickly offset by bonus rewards, including a generous welcome bonus of 60,000 points when you charge $4,000 to your card in the first 3 months. Overall, this card is an excellent choice if your main motivation is to enter the travel rewards game or expand upon your current rewards programs.
To top it all off, the Sapphire Preferred® card doesn’t charge a fee for foreign transactions, which is why it made our list for best no-foreign-transaction-fee credit cards.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Important Details
Basic Card Details
- Purchase APR: 19.74%–26.74% (variable)
- Annual fee: $95
- Rewards rate: 1%–5%
- Welcome bonus: 60,000 points
Additional Information
- Travel insurance & purchase protection
- Annual $50 hotel credit
- Instant access to your card through a digital wallet
- 24/7 access to customer service worldwide
- Add an authorized user to your card for free
- Partner benefits with Lyft, Gopuff, and DoorDash
- Frequent promotional offers in addition to the card’s base rewards
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Feature Breakdown
In this section, we’ll take a closer look at some of the fees, interest rates, and benefits to consider when deciding if this card is right for you:
Fees
- Annual fee: $95
- Foreign transaction fee: None
- Balance transfer fee: $5 or 5% (whichever is greater)
- Cash advance fee: $10 or 5% (whichever is greater)
- Late payment fee: Up to $40
Interest Rates
- Regular APR: 19.74%–26.74% (variable)
- Balance transfer APR: 19.74%–26.74% (variable)
- Cash advance APR: 27.24%–29.99%
- Penalty APR: Up to 29.99%
Certain customers may be eligible for promotional fixed APR offers, but in general, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® card doesn’t offer an introductory APR period, so you’ll start paying interest on balances right away.
Cash Advance
With the Chase Sapphire Preferred® card, you can get a cash advance for a fee of either $10 or 5% of the transaction, whichever is greater. The APR for cash advances is 27.24%, but can vary up to a max of 29.99%.
Because cash advance fees and interest charges stack up, you should only withdraw one if absolutely necessary, and prioritize paying it off quickly if you do.
Balance Transfers
If you want to transfer existing debt to your Chase Sapphire Preferred® card, you’ll pay an interest rate of 19.74%–26.74% (variable). Because of its relatively high APR and lack of 0% interest period, this card is not the best choice for consolidating credit card debt.
Rewards
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® card has an accessible rewards program that allows you to earn points in a tiered system. As you use your credit card for purchases, you’ll get:
- 5x points on travel booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
- 3x points on dining, takeout, and eligible delivery
- 3x points on online grocery shopping (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs)
- 3x points on eligible streaming services
- 2x points on travel expenses (like taxis or travel booked outside of Chase’s platform)
- 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases
Reward Redemption
The basic value of your bonus points is $0.01 per point, but there are some redemption perks that can increase the value of or help you maximize your bonus points.
Points can be redeemed in several ways, including as:
- Statement credit
- Travel booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards
- Point transfers to travel partners
- Direct deposits
- Chase Pay Yourself Back tool
- Gift cards
If you’re already a member of a partnered airline or hotel point system, your Chase rewards points can transfer to their system at a 1:1 rate, which makes it easy to build upon existing rewards programs. You can also book travel directly through Chase’s travel portal, where points are worth 25% more.
Welcome Bonus
This card comes with a welcome bonus of 60,000 points when you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months after opening your account. This equates to $600, or $750 if you use it to book travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards® portal.
This is an incredibly lucrative welcome bonus if you can meet the $4,000 spending threshold easily.
Annual Bonus
Cardholders get an annual $50 hotel credit that can be used right away, and a 10% point bonus on your card anniversary. Even better, the anniversary bonus is calculated based on 10% of your total purchases—not based on points earned.
Referral Bonus
If you recommend Chase Sapphire Preferred® to friends, you can get 15,000 bonus points (up to 75,000 points per year) for each friend that gets approved.
Travel Benefits
This card comes with some generous benefits to give you peace of mind when traveling:
- Trip cancellation/interruption insurance: If you get sick or your trip is canceled due to severe weather, Chase will reimburse you up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip for non-refundable airfare, hotels, etc.
- Auto rental collision damage waiver: When you charge the cost of an auto rental to your card and decline the rental company’s insurance, Chase will provide reimbursement up to the cash value of the vehicle for theft or damage.
- Baggage delay insurance: Get reimbursed up to $100 per day for 5 days for purchases like toiletries if your baggage is delayed over 6 hours.
- Reimbursement for delayed trips: If your trip is delayed for more than 12 hours or requires an overnight stay, Chase will cover meals and accommodation up to $500 per ticket.
- Emergency assistance services: Get access to legal and medical referrals and other emergency assistance wherever you travel.
Other Benefits
- Purchase protection: New purchases are covered for 120 days against theft and damage. You can claim up to $50,000 per account and $500 per item.
- Extended warranty protection: US manufacturers’ warranties of 3 years or less are extended by an additional year.
- 24/7 customer service: Access customer service at any time worldwide by calling the number on your card.
- Chase Credit Journey: monitor your credit with VantageScore.
- My Chase Plan: Break up purchases of $100 or more into monthly payments with no interest.
Should You Get the Chase Sapphire Preferred®?
FinanceJar verdict
Considering the rewards and benefits, plus the relatively low annual fee compared to similar cards, Chase Sapphire Preferred® is a great card to start earning travel rewards or points on everyday spending. However, make sure your rewards earnings can easily offset the $95 annual fee, otherwise look into credit cards with no annual fee instead.
If you’re looking for a debt-consolidation card or don’t travel enough to benefit from the card’s reward system, there’s certainly a better card out there for your needs.
Who is this card for?
- Frequent flyers: Even if you’re inexperienced with travel rewards cards, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® card doesn’t require too much finessing to start earning rewards on both travel and everyday purchases. Rewards categories are non-rotating and unlimited, so you can just swipe and earn. Plus, you’ll benefit from some great protections and benefits when you travel.
- Chase customers: If you have multiple Chase credit cards, you can move your Ultimate Rewards points to whichever account offers a higher point value, allowing you to fully maximize redemption benefits.
Comparable Cards
See how the Chase Sapphire Preferred® compares to similar cards on the market to decide whether it’s the right choice for you.
