Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card review 2024
Updated 10:48 AM EDT, Wed November 8, 2023
The CNN Underscored Money editorial team has developed a star rating so you can see the best card for specific categories. While we believe this card excels in this category, its overall star rating may differ.
CNNU Money editors awarded this card 4.4 stars as the best Travel card for beginners.
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Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $750 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
Credit Score ranges are based on FICO® credit scoring. This is just one scoring method and a credit card issuer may use another method when considering your application. These are provided as guidelines only and approval is not guaranteed.
Pros:
- Earn 2 points for every dollar spent on travel or 5 total points if purchased through Chase Travel℠
- Earn 3 points for every dollar spent on dining, select streaming services and select online grocery purchases
- The welcome bonus is worth $750 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠
- Points can be redeemed for travel through the Chase Travel℠ portal at a rate of 1.25 cents per point
- Points can also be transferred to any of Chase’s 14 airline and hotel partners
- Earn a 10% anniversary point bonus on all purchases made the previous year
- $50 annual credit on hotel stays purchased through Chase Travel℠
- Strong travel and shopping protections
Cons:
- $95 annual fee isn’t waived for the first year
- No introductory rate on purchases or balance transfers
- No Global Entry or TSA PreCheck fee credit
Current welcome bonus: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
Best for: People with larger than average travel and/or dining expenses who want basic transferable travel points.
Digging into the Chase Sapphire Preferred card
If you’ve done any research on credit cards, then the Sapphire Preferred may sound familiar. At close to 15 years old, it’s practically the granddaddy of travel rewards credit cards.
The Sapphire Preferred offers 2 points per dollar on all travel or if purchased through Chase Travel℠, you’ll earn 5 total points per dollar spent. You’ll also earn 5 points per dollar on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3 points per dollar on dining, select streaming services, and online grocery purchases (excluding Walmart, Target and wholesale clubs), 2 points per dollar on all other travel purchases and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases
When you have the Sapphire Preferred, you’ll also get discounts on DoorDash food delivery orders, strong travel protections and a 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening — all for a reasonable $95 annual fee. Plus, the Chase Travel℠ points you earn with this card are among the most valuable points around.
Additionally, on your account anniversary, you’ll earn a 10% point bonus on all purchases made the previous year. That means if you spend $10,000 on the Sapphire Preferred, you’ll earn an additional 1,000 bonus points.
But is that enough for the card to justify a spot in your wallet? The credit card market has evolved immensely since the Sapphire Preferred was first introduced. Other cards now offer bonus points or cash back in those same travel and dining categories — in some cases at higher rates — as well as other notable benefits like annual travel credits and airport lounge access.
The key difference, however, is that those other cards are typically accompanied by higher annual fees. So if you aren’t ready to shell out a lot of money for an expensive credit card, the Sapphire Preferred is an excellent starting point.
Advantages of the Chase Sapphire Preferred card
The Sapphire Preferred currently offers new card holders 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. With this generous offer, it’ll get you off on the right foot for your next vacation.
This is the same number of points that you’ll earn with the more luxurious Chase Sapphire Reserve® where you’ll earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
Points earned with the card can be redeemed for travel through the Chase Travel℠ portal at a rate of 1.25 cents per point, so you’re guaranteed at least $750 in travel right off the bat.
You can potentially get even more value by taking some time and effort to maximize Chase’s airline and hotel partners. In fact, the Chase Travel℠ program features some of the best transfer partners, including United Airlines, Southwest and Hyatt hotels. And with a 2 cent apiece valuation, the 60,000 points earned are worth $1,200 when transferred to a partner loyalty program.
Here’s a complete list of Chase’s 14 partners, all of which transfer at a 1-to-1 ratio — meaning for every 1,000 Chase points, you’ll get 1,000 airline or hotel points or miles when you transfer them:
Airlines
Aer Lingus AerClub
| Air Canada Aeroplan
| Air France-KLM Flying Blue
|
British Airways Executive Club
| Emirates Skywards
| Iberia Plus
|
JetBlue TrueBlue
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
| Southwest Rapid Rewards
|
United MileagePlus
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
|
Hotels
World of Hyatt
| IHG Rewards Club
| Marriott Bonvoy
|
The reason you’d want to transfer Chase Travel℠ points instead of redeeming them through the Chase travel portal is that airlines and hotels sometimes sell travel for different rates depending on whether you’re paying in cash or points, which means you can sometimes score some fantastic deals by transferring points, especially if you want to fly in first or business class.
Even with many airlines and hotel chains shifting to dynamic-pricing frequent flyer systems, award redemption rates around high-demand dates and holidays often don’t get the same markups as the cash rates.
There are also many hidden gems when booking award flights on partner airlines, particularly in premium cabins. A little bit of research and due diligence can definitely save you a lot of money (or points) in the long run.
Beyond the welcome bonus, the Sapphire Preferred earns 2 points per dollar on all travel (or 5 total points if purchased through Chase Travel℠), 5 points per dollar on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3 points per dollar on dining, select streaming services, and online grocery purchases (excluding Walmart, Target and wholesale clubs), 2 points per dollar on all other travel purchases and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases.
It should be easy to quickly score plenty of points, since Chase defines both of these popular categories very broadly. “Travel” includes purchases like cruises, mass transit, tolls, parking and even ride-shares, while “dining” includes coffee shops, bars, vending machines and most food delivery services.
Additionally, you’ll earn a 10% bonus on all purchases made the previous year on your cardmember anniversary. So if you spend $10,000 on the card during the previous year, you’ll earn an additional 1,000 bonus points.
There’s one exception to the travel bonus category, but it’s a positive one. Thanks to a partnership with Lyft, through March 2025, Sapphire Preferred card holders earn 3 additional points per dollar on Lyft rides for a whopping total of 5 points per dollar.
Other key benefits of the card include discounts on DoorDash food delivery orders via a complimentary DashPass membership that’s valid for at least 12 months as long as you activate it by Dec. 31, 2024. You’ll also receive a $50 annual credit on hotel stays purchased through Chase Travel℠.
The Sapphire Preferred also has a comprehensive suite of purchase and travel protections, including an additional year of coverage on eligible purchases with a manufacturer’s warranty of three years or less, protection on your new purchases against damage or theft, coverage of up to $10,000 in the event your trip gets delayed or canceled, reimbursement for delayed or lost baggage and, most notably, primary rental car coverage.
We receive compensation from our partners for Featured Offer placements, which impacts how and where their offer is displayed.
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $750 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
Credit Score ranges are based on FICO® credit scoring. This is just one scoring method and a credit card issuer may use another method when considering your application. These are provided as guidelines only and approval is not guaranteed.
What does “primary rental car coverage” mean? Whenever you use your card to pay for a car rental, you can safely decline the collision damage waiver offered by the rental company — which is usually expensive — and submit the claim directly to Chase instead if you have an accident with your rental car.
The car rental coverage that’s offered by other credit cards is usually secondary, meaning you have to look to your own auto policy first in the event of an accident. With the Sapphire Preferred, you can skip that step and avoid potentially seeing your auto premiums increase as a result of a claim.
To top it all off, the Sapphire Preferred has no foreign transaction fees, so you can safely use it and earn rewards when traveling overseas once borders reopen. Other credit cards can charge 3% to 5% in fees for foreign transactions, so having this benefit can make a big difference to international travelers.
Disadvantages of the Chase Sapphire Preferred card
The Sapphire Preferred doesn’t offer the same luxury travel perks — like airline lounge access and travel credits — as the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. That’s expected, considering the annual fee is also a lot lower, but worth noting given the other similarities between the two cards.
It’s also worth pointing out that although the Sapphire Preferred’s $95 annual fee is fairly standard among mid-tier travel credit cards, a few other cards in this category waive their annual fee in the first year, though many no longer do. On the flip side, the Sapphire Preferred does have a higher welcome bonus than most other cards.
While the bonus categories cover a wide range of purchases, keep in mind there are cards like the Citi Double Cash® Card that earn 2% cash back on all purchases — 1% when you make a purchase, and another 1% when you pay it off — and come with no annual fee at all.
So if it’s straight cash back you’re after, you might be better off with another card. But if you spend a lot on dining, travel (especially on Lyft rides), streaming services and online grocery shopping and could use the travel and shopping protections, you’re going to come out ahead with Sapphire Preferred.
Even if you don’t utilize the Chase Travel℠ program’s transfer partners, you’re getting at least 2.5% back toward travel on all your travel and 3.75% on all dining, select streaming services and select online grocery purchases since your points are worth at least 1.25 cents each, and 6.25% back on Lyft rides. Just don’t plan to carry a balance with the card, as there’s no introductory interest rate on purchases or balance transfers.
The one other downside of the Sapphire Preferred pertains to the application process, and it applies to all Chase credit cards. Chase has an unpublished “5/24” rule, which means if you’ve gotten five or more credit cards across all banks in the previous 24 months, your application for a new card from Chase will be automatically denied. Given this restriction, it’s important to time your credit card applications and apply for the Sapphire Preferred early on.
Other credit cards similar to the Chase Sapphire Preferred
Aside from the Sapphire Preferred’s older sibling, the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, the closest comparison to the Sapphire Preferred would be the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card * The information for the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card has been collected independently by CNN Underscored. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. (terms apply, see rates and fees).
It has the same $95 annual fee as the Sapphire Preferred, but it comes with a Global Entry/TSA PreCheck application fee credit worth up to $100 that helps offset it in the first year. It currently has a welcome bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within three months from account opening.
Capital One miles are somewhat less valuable, as they’re worth only 1 cent apiece when redeemed toward travel. They can also transfer to Capital One’s airline and hotel partners, and the issuer has recently improved its transfer program by setting almost all of its transfer ratios at 1-to-1, with just one hotel at 2-to-1 and one airline at 2-to-1.5.
American Express fields the American Express® Green Card * The information for the American Express® Green Card has been collected independently by CNN Underscored. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. (terms apply, see rates and fees), which was refreshed in 2019 and now offers 3 points per dollar on all travel and dining, and 1 point per dollar on everything else. It also features an up to $189 annual CLEAR® credit for expedited airport security, and up to $100 in annual LoungeBuddy credits for purchasing airport lounge access.
All information about American Express® Green Card has been collected independently by CNN Underscored.
However, these additional perks come at a cost. The American Express® Green Card * The information for the American Express® Green Card has been collected independently by CNN Underscored. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. has a higher price tag of $150 a year.
All information about American Express® Green Card has been collected independently by CNN Underscored.
All information about the American Express® Green Card * The information for the American Express® Green Card has been collected independently by CNN Underscored. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. has been collected independently by CNN Underscored.
All information about American Express® Green Card has been collected independently by CNN Underscored.
Should you get the Chase Sapphire Preferred card?
Having a stash of travel points is extremely useful. But whether the Sapphire Preferred makes sense for you personally ultimately depends on what you spend the majority of your money on, and what you hope to get in return.
Given its bonus categories, the Sapphire Preferred is ideal for those who spend a significant amount of money on travel, dining, online groceries and streaming services. Likewise, while you don’t need to be loyal to a particular airline or hotel chain, you do need to actually travel (or at least want to travel more) to maximize the card’s benefits and redemption opportunities.
While you can get decent value from your points with the card’s fixed-value redemption option, the Sapphire Preferred unlocks access to some of the best transfer partners around, so it’s also an excellent opportunity to dip your toes in the world of travel rewards and grow your knowledge on loyalty programs.
We receive compensation from our partners for Featured Offer placements, which impacts how and where their offer is displayed.
Earn $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.
Credit Score ranges are based on FICO® credit scoring. This is just one scoring method and a credit card issuer may use another method when considering your application. These are provided as guidelines only and approval is not guaranteed.
If cash back sounds more appealing to you, a card like the Citi Double Cash® Card could make more sense. Or if you’re chasing more luxurious travel perks like airport lounge access, you’ll also want to look elsewhere — the premium Chase Sapphire Reserve® version of this card is a great alternative for that, and The Platinum Card® from American Express * The information for the The Platinum Card® from American Express has been collected independently by CNN Underscored. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. is also a popular option.
All information about The Platinum Card® from American Express has been collected independently by CNN Underscored.
But in the end, regardless of which redemption option you pick, the Sapphire Preferred’s 60,000-point welcome bonus (after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening) is more than sufficient to book your first award trip. So consider whether the card fits your needs, and as always, be sure to pay your balance in full each month to avoid high interest rates.
To view rates and fees of the American Express® Green Card * The information for the American Express® Green Card has been collected independently by CNN Underscored. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. , please visit rates and fees.
All information about American Express® Green Card has been collected independently by CNN Underscored.
*The information for the following card(s) has been collected independently by CNN Underscored Money: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card * The information for the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card has been collected independently by CNN Underscored. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. , and American Express® Green Card * The information for the American Express® Green Card has been collected independently by CNN Underscored. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. . The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
All information about American Express® Green Card has been collected independently by CNN Underscored.
All information about American Express® Green Card and The Platinum Card® from American Express has been collected independently by CNN Underscored.
