Chase Sapphire Preferred® review: Is it worth it?
Jennifer Doss
Last Updated: August 31, 2023 Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
CardRatings Editor's Analysis: Pros & Cons
- Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months from account opening. That's worth $750 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards.
- This is the perfect card for travelers who also enjoy dining out, but recent rewards updates also mean it could work well for even a casual traveler
- CardName cardholders who also hold CardName discontinued or any other card that utilizes the Ultimate Rewards system can combine points in one bucket, meaning your points add up more quickly.
- If you're just a casual spender, the annual fee might be difficult to offset and you might want to consider a no-annual-fee card instead.
CHASE SAPPHIRE PREFERRED® SIGNUP BONUS
The CardName is a must-have credit card for any traveler who loves to dine out and reap high-rewards throughout the process. Currently, new cardholders have the opportunity to claim a nice signup bonus: 60,000 bonus points, worth up to $750 in travel via the Ultimate Rewards portal after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Did you catch that? The signup bonus is worth up to $750(!) if you redeem your points through the Ultimate Rewards portal; that's because CardName points are worth 25% more when redeemed through the portal. And, even better, those points could be worth even more if you transfer them to one of Chase's travel partners. For these reasons (and more - continue on to see why) the CardName is our 2023 CardRatings editor's top choice for the best travel rewards card.
Top Features
Chase Sapphire Reserve®
- Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®
- $300 Annual Travel Credit as reimbursement for travel purchases charged to your card each account anniversary year.
- Earn 5x total points on flights and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards® immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3x points on other travel and dining & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases
- Get 50% more value when you redeem your points for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. For example, 60,000 points are worth $900 toward travel
- 1:1 point transfer to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs
- Access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide after an easy, one-time enrollment in Priority Pass™ Select and up to $100 application fee credit every four years for Global Entry, NEXUS, or TSA PreCheck®
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more
- Member FDIC
CHASE SAPPHIRE PREFERRED® REWARDS
In addition to a solid signup bonus, the CardName offers high ongoing rewards rates as well:
- Earn 5x points on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards
- Earn 3X points on dining out
- Earn 3x points on select streaming services
- Earn 3x points on online grocery store purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- Earn 2x points on all other travel
- Earn one point per $1 spent on all other purchases worldwide
- 25% more value for your points when you redeem for airfare, hotel stays, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards
- Receive a $50 hotel credit each year for a stay booked through the Ultimate Rewards portal
- Receive an annual points bonus equal to 10% of your total purchases from the previous year
The Chase Ultimate Rewards program has also streamlined its redemption process, making it easy for cardholders to take advantage of rewards outside of travel: Exchange 5,000 rewards points for a $50 check, a $50 gift card and other eligible merchandise, etc. If you happen to also be a cardholder of other Chase cards that utilize the Ultimate Rewards system, like CardName discontinued for instance, read on to see how you can further maximize the Ultimate Rewards program. Information related to Chase Freedom FlexSM has been collected independently by CardRatings and was neither reviewed nor provided by the card issuer
CHASE SAPPHIRE PREFERRED® BENEFITS
The CardName has quickly become one of the most popular cards for CardRatings readers. The popularity stems from the ongoing value of this card: high rewards rates, no blackout dates, restrictions or expiration dates on rewards. Cardholders can even use their points to book a flight for someone else.
Cardholders can also take advantage of an additional 25% value for travel when redeeming points through the Ultimate Rewards program, allowing you to stretch your rewards even further.
Awards tracking and redemption is easy through Chase Ultimate Rewards where you can track your rewards as they accumulate and use your rewards to directly book flights, hotels, cars or cruises. Cardholders that also have the ($0 annual fee) CardName card may find additional benefits by combining the power of CardName with the CardName. Because points can be shared among the same Chase Ultimate Rewards account you can take advantage of the high cash-back rewards of CardName rotating categories, and the bonus point value for travel associated with the CardName. This situation applies across consumer and business cards that utilize Ultimate Rewards. To learn more about how to maximize your rewards, see our guide to the Chase Ultimate Rewards program.
It is also important to look at the points transfer partners, which include, among others:
- British Airways Executive Club
- World of Hyatt
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- Marriott Bonvoy™
- United MileagePlus®
- IHG® Rewards Club
- Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
- Marriott Bonvoy
- JetBlue® TrueBlue
- Flying Blue (numerous airline partners, including Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines)
- For the full list, please see our Chase Ultimate Rewards guide
If you prefer to travel with loyalty programs outside of Chase partners, the CardName may feel limiting to you even though you can use your points to book with any airline – you just can't transfer points to any airline and take advantage of possibly lower redemption rates.
In addition to easy rewards earning and spending, the CardName offers a number of other useful and money-saving benefits that you should be aware of, including:
- No foreign transaction fees
- Auto rental collision damage waiver
- Trip cancellation/trip interruption insurance
- Zero liability protections
- 24/7 direct access to customer service specialists
- Baggage delay insurance
- And more
CHASE SAPPHIRE PREFERRED® CARDHOLDER SCORES
CardRatings conducts a survey annually to learn what actual cardholders think of their cards. Here are the results:
| Current Scores | Past Scores | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Score | 86.6 | 75.9 |
| Rewards Program Satisfaction | 8.6 | 7.5 |
| Customer Service | 8.7 | 7.9 |
| Website/App Usability | 8.8 | 7.7 |
| Likelihood of Continuing to Use | 8.7 | 8.2 |
| Recommend to a Friend/Colleague | 8.6 | 7.1 |
*Scores above reflect the results of surveys with actual cardholders. Full methodology below.
HOW THE CHASE SAPPHIRE PREFERRED® COMPARES TO OTHER TRAVEL REWARDS CARDS
CardName vs. CardName
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At AnnualFees the annual fee is a bit steep with the CardName, however, that annual fee gets you a lot.
To start, points are worth 50% more when redeemed for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards. That means that the signup bonus of 60,000 points once spending $4,000 in the first three months is worth $900 when redeemed through Chase Ultimate Rewards. Additionally, the CardName offers a $300 Annual Travel Credit for reimbursement for travel purchases charged to your card, as well as up to a $100 reimbursement to cover the application fee to Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.
As far as rewards go, the CardName earns a bit more: 5X total points on flights and 10X total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually; 3X points on other travel and dining; and 1X point per dollar spent on all other purchases. There's also a 1:1 point transfer value to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs, and access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide after an easy, one-time enrollment in Priority Pass Select.
CardName vs. CardName
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CardName and CardName both have solid bonus opportunities for new cardholders. New CardName members can earn 60,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first three months, worth $750 in travel through the Chase portal. The CardName offers a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within three months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel. The CardName also carries a AnnualFees annual fee.
The big difference between these two cards is that you earn two times the miles on all your purchases with the CardName as compared to the tiered points earning with the CardName.
Chase Ultimate Rewards points are transferable to a number of airline and hotel loyalty programs and so are CardName miles, though to different partners than with the Chase card. With the CardName you can fly any airline, stay at any hotel, anytime and not have to worry about blackout dates. Plus, you can transfer your miles to numerous leading travel loyalty programs. Those points might be valuable to you if you have some travel loyalties. Let's not forget though that Chase Ultimate Rewards points are worth 25% more when you redeem them for travel through the Chase portal.
To learn more about how these two cards line up side-by-side, check out our in depth Chase Sapphire Preferred® vs. Capital One Venture comparison.
CardName vs. CardName
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In many ways CardName is closer to the CardName than it is the CardName, especially when considering the fact that is has a AnnualFees annual fee. American Express is a CardRatings advertiser.
With CardName cardholders can earn 80,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $8,000 within the first six months; enjoy Uber VIP status and up to $15 each month, and $35 in December, in Uber Cash for rides or Uber Eats orders; earn 5X Membership Rewards points on flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express travel (up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year) as well as on prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com; enjoy access to the Global Lounge Collection® earn up to $200 per calendar year in baggage fees and more at one qualifying pre-selected airline; and get up to $100 in statement credits annually for purchases at Saks Fifth Avenue. In total, the benefits during the first year of card membership add up to more than $1,400 in value – and that's without taking the value of rewards into the equation. Enrollment required for select benefits.
The big advantage that the CardName has is that points are worth 25% more when booked for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards. However, CardName may be the better choice for luxury travelers who can offset the annual fee with the various elite perks offered with the card.
IS CHASE SAPPHIRE PREFERRED® WORTH THE ANNUAL FEE?
In order to take full advantage of Sapphire Preferred®, cardholders should regularly spend more of their budget dining out than on supermarket purchases (though, if online grocery shopping is your thing, that could work). For general ongoing supermarket spending, there are better offers, such as CardName, which offers 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets throughout the year (up to $6,000 annually) as well as bonus cash back earning on a variety of other categories. Savvy spenders might consider getting both cards and using them in the respective categories that earn them the most.
Also, cardholders will need to use their Preferred® card regularly. The AnnualFees annual fee can be offset with a few trips booked each year, but those that do not use their credit card for categories which earn the most points will have a hard time offsetting the annual fee.
Survey Methodology: CardRatings commissioned Op4G in September and October 2022 to conduct surveys among 1,554 cardholders nationwide. CardRatings website analytics from Jan. 1, 2022-Aug. 31, 2022 were used to determine a selection of the most popular cards and additional cards were included to add survey breadth. Responses to each of nine questions were given on a scale of 1-10 and respondents' scores were then averaged under broad topics. To determine the overall score, responses from questions 1-8 were summed and the answer to "How likely are you to recommend this card to a friend, coworker or family member?" was double weighted. "Current Scores" reflect scores from the most recent survey (2022); "Past Scores" reflect scores from the 2021 survey.
To see the rates and fees of the American Express cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: CardName (See Rates and Fees); CardName (See Rates and Fees)
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card Compared to Other Travel rewards Cards
Disclaimer: The information in this article is believed to be accurate as of the date it was written. Please keep in mind that credit card offers change frequently. Therefore, we cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information in this article. Reasonable efforts are made to maintain accurate information. See the online credit card application for full terms and conditions on offers and rewards. Please verify all terms and conditions of any credit card prior to applying.
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