Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Discover it Miles: You Can’t Beat Sapphire’s Sparkle
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If you’re looking for a travel credit card that offers value and simplicity, the Discover it® Miles card could be a good option. It earns a flat rewards rate on all purchases and has a straightforward welcome bonus. Redeeming miles is easy, too.
But there are good reasons the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a popular travel card. Despite its annual fee and more complicated rewards program, it has much to offer the frequent traveler who’s willing to put in a bit more effort to manage their card.
Let’s see which card is better for your next trip.
on Chase's website
on Discover's website, or call 800-347-0264
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
UNLIMITED BONUS: Unlimited Mile-for-Mile match for all new cardmembers—only from Discover. Discover gives you an unlimited match of all the Miles you’ve earned at the end of your first year. There’s no signing up, no minimum spending or maximum rewards. Just a Miles-for-Miles match. You could turn 35,000 Miles to 70,000 Miles.
5 points per $1 spent on all travel booked through Chase.
3 points per $1 spent on dining (including eligible delivery services and takeout).
3 points per $1 spent on select streaming services.
3 points per $1 spent on online grocery purchases (not including Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs).
2 points per $1 spent on travel not booked through Chase.
1 point per $1 spent on other purchases.
Through March 2025: 5 points per $1 spent on eligible Peloton purchases (with a maximum earning of 25,000 points) and on Lyft.
1.5 miles per dollar spent on all purchases.
A $50 annual credit on hotel stays booked through Chase.
Each account anniversary, cardmembers will earn bonus points equal to 10% of total purchases made the previous year.
Hotel and airline transfer partners.
Access to Discover's free Social Security number monitoring service.
The ongoing APR is 20.49%-27.49% Variable APR.
0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers, and then the ongoing APR of 18.24%-27.24% Variable APR.
Why you might choose the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Rewards go further
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card earns bonus rewards in a variety of popular spending categories, including dining and travel. It has a generous sign-up bonus: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
When you redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards® points for travel through Chase, they’re worth 1.25 cents each. You can also transfer them to one of Chase’s partner programs for a potentially higher value.
Plus, you can boost your earning potential if you carry another card that earns Chase Ultimate Rewards® points. That’s because you can transfer points from that other card to your Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card rewards account, and then redeem all those points for travel at a higher rate. Another member of your household can also transfer their points to you, which can get both of you a discounted vacation at a faster pace.
Though the card charges a $95 annual fee, you get up to $50 in statement credits per year for hotel stays booked through Chase. And every anniversary year, you’ll get a points bonus of 10% of your total purchases from the previous year.
Overseas acceptance
Because it runs on the Visa payment network, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card will be widely accepted around the world. Within the U.S., Discover cards are accepted at similar rates to Visa cards, but acceptance overseas is inconsistent and varies by country.
Travel protections
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card includes coverage for trip interruptions and cancellations (for specific covered reasons, like illness or severe weather) and trip delays, insurance for baggage delays, and primary rental car coverage.
Why you might prefer the Discover it® Miles
No annual fee
If paying an annual fee is a no-go, or you don’t plan to use enough of the benefits of the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card to make paying a fee worth it, this gives the $0-annual-fee Discover it® Miles the advantage.
But it’s not the only no-annual-fee travel card option around. The Wells Fargo Autograph® Card also has a $0 annual fee, and it earns 3 points per $1 on dining, travel, gas and electric vehicle charging, transit, streaming services and phone plans (other purchases earn 1 point per $1). The card also offers a sign-up bonus: Earn 20,000 bonus points when you spend $1,000 in purchases in the first 3 months - that's a $200 cash redemption value.
Double miles in the first year
The Discover it® Miles card has a welcome offer that, depending on your spending levels, has the potential to be quite rewarding: UNLIMITED BONUS: Unlimited Mile-for-Mile match for all new cardmembers—only from Discover. Discover gives you an unlimited match of all the Miles you’ve earned at the end of your first year. There’s no signing up, no minimum spending or maximum rewards. Just a Miles-for-Miles match. You could turn 35,000 Miles to 70,000 Miles.
0% intro APR promotion
With the Discover it® Miles card, you’ll pay 0% intro APR for 15 months on purchases and balance transfers, and then the ongoing APR of 18.24%-27.24% Variable APR. The ongoing APR is 20.49%-27.49% Variable APR with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.
If you’re weighing the Discover it® Miles against the Wells Fargo Autograph® Card, the latter card also has a promotion: pay 0% intro APR on Purchases for 12 months from account opening, and then the ongoing APR of 19.24%, 24.24%, or 29.24% Variable APR.
Which card should you get?
If travel and dining are big expenses for you, you spend enough each year to justify an annual fee, and you plan on taking your card overseas, then the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the way to go.
However, if you’re a smaller spender and want an introductory 0% offer, the Discover it® Miles is probably the better deal for you.
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