Chase Sapphire Preferred Review: Nearly a Must-Have for Travelers
The Bottom Line
5.0
The big sign-up bonus and high-value points have long made this a favorite among travelers.
Rates, fees and offers
Annual fee
$95
Rewards rate
1x-5x
Bonus offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Intro APR
N/A
Ongoing APR
APR: 20.99%-27.99% Variable APR
Cash Advance APR: 29.74%, Variable
Penalty APR: Up to 29.99%
Balance transfer fee
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.
Foreign transaction fee
$0
More details from Chase
- Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- Enjoy beneļ¬ts such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travelā , 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases, $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit, plus more.
- Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Travelā . For example, 60,000 points are worth $750 toward travel.
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- Member FDIC
Pros and Cons
Pros
New cardholder bonus offer
Bonus categories
Primary rental car coverage
Flexible rewards redemption
Transfer partners
Cons
Has annual fee
Requires good/excellent credit
Complicated rewards
Detailed Review
For travelers, the $95-annual-fee Chase Sapphire PreferredĀ® Card stands out as a versatile and valuable choice.
With this card, you can earn rewards ā known as Ultimate RewardsĀ® points ā in a variety of ways and redeem them strategically for travel, like transferring those points to a variety of loyalty programs, including heavy hitters such as United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Marriott and Hyatt. And it dovetails nicely with some other Chase cards that also earn Ultimate RewardsĀ® points.
Overall, it might not be the easiest card to use ā a Swiss Army knife compared with the butter knife that simpler cards are. But itās a go-to card for travelers who delight in finding ways to reap big value from their rewards.
Chase Sapphire PreferredĀ® Card: Basics
Card type: Travel.
Annual fee: $95.
Sign-up bonus: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Ongoing rewards:
5 points per $1 spent on all travel purchased 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 purchased 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.
Interest rate: The ongoing APR is 20.99%-27.99% Variable APR.
Foreign transaction fees: None.
Other benefits:
A $50 annual credit on hotel stays purchased 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.
Through Dec. 31, 2027, the Chase Sapphire PreferredĀ® Card gets you a complimentary DashPass membership if you havenāt yet activated it, or a minimum of 12 months of membership, depending on the date of activation. Youāll also be eligible for one credit of up to $10 off each calendar month at checkout on one grocery, convenience or other non-restaurant order on DoorDash. Terms apply.
How much is a point worth?
Chase Ultimate RewardsĀ® points earned on this card are worth 1.25 cents each when redeemed for travel booked through Chase. Using points this way, or transferring them to travel partners, is key to getting the most value from the Chase Sapphire PreferredĀ® Card. Otherwise, itās not quite as lucrative to use points for less-valuable redemption options, including cash back, gift cards and merchandise.
MORE NERDY PERSPECTIVES
 | This was the card that got me into the points-and-miles game. I opened it when planning my wedding and turned catering deposits into a big sign-up bonus to put toward a honeymoon in Maui. I probably didn't "optimize" points as well as I would now, but this card is forgiving for award travel newbies. Sara Rathner, writer/spokesperson, credit cards |
 | Sapphire Preferred lacks some of the flashy perks that competitors offer. You wonāt get lounge access or a statement credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry. But itās often my recommendation to friends who want their first travel credit card (and a staple in my own wallet), thanks to its extensive travel protections, rewarding bonus categories and great transfer partners. Caitlin Mims, content management specialist, credit cards and travel rewards |
 | Sapphire Preferred is the travel card I have on hand for transferring to Chase partners. The annual fee is reasonable, and you can effectively cut it in half if you make use of the $50 annual hotel credit when booking through Chase. I'm more than willing to pay less than $50 year for the ability to transfer points to Hyatt, Southwest or Flying Blue when I need to. Meghan Coyle, editor, travel rewards |
Compare to Other Cards
Benefits and Perks
The Chase Sapphire PreferredĀ® Card offers versatility for travelers that's hard to find at a similar price point.
Solid sign-up bonus
The card features 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.
Bonus rewards in multiple categories
You earn extra points in a bunch of spending categories, which is good, but also makes it complicated:
5 points per $1 spent on all travel purchased 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 purchased through Chase.
1 point per $1 spent on other purchases.
Through March 2025: 5 points per $1 spent on Lyft.
Each account anniversary, cardmembers will earn bonus points equal to 10% of total purchases made the previous year.
Triple points on dining and streaming services is useful, while online grocery purchases may or may not be, depending on your lifestyle. Travel-related purchases are far more lucrative if youāre willing to book through Chase's travel portal. Even if youāre not, Chaseās definition of "travel" is fortunately broad; in addition to airfare and hotel stays, you can also earn bonus rewards on expenses like parking garage fees, bus fares and campgrounds. And these bonus rewards arenāt just available for travel and dining in the U.S., they can be earned worldwide.
Those earnings rates are, in effect, slightly higher because of the 10% anniversary bonus boost. For example, streaming services rewards effectively have a rewards rate of 3.1%. (The anniversary bonus applies to dollars spent, not points earned.)
And if youāre willing to use points to book travel through the Chase portal, your points will get a 25% boost (points are worth 1.25 cents). All told, a dollar spent at a restaurant or for a streaming service, for example, would earn a total value of 3.75 cents when used for travel through Chase.
Transfer partners
This cardās valuable 1:1 transfer partners make it a keeper, especially if you're willing to look for good redemption opportunities. Say you spot a nice deal with one of Chaseās airline transfer partners ā maybe a flight that normally costs thousands of dollars going for a mere 50,000 miles plus taxes and fees. With this card, you have the ability to transfer your Chase Ultimate RewardsĀ® points into that airlineās loyalty program and pounce on that deal.
Here are the transfer partners:
Full list of Chase transfer partners
Airlines
Aer Lingus (1:1 ratio).
Air Canada (1:1 ratio).
Air France-KLM (1:1 ratio).
British Airways (1:1 ratio).
Emirates (1:1 ratio).
Iberia (1:1 ratio).
JetBlue (1:1 ratio).
Singapore (1:1 ratio).
Southwest (1:1 ratio).
United (1:1 ratio).
Virgin Atlantic (1:1 ratio).
Hotels
Hyatt (1:1 ratio).
InterContinental Hotels Group (1:1 ratio).
Marriott (1:1 ratio).
Complementary cards
The Chase Sapphire PreferredĀ® Card is an excellent companion to other cards in the Chase Ultimate RewardsĀ® family. Thatās because you can move points to this card from your other cards that earn Chase Ultimate RewardsĀ®, potentially opening up more redemption options.
Consider the Chase Freedom FlexĀ®. It earns 5% cash back on rotating quarterly categories (on up to the first $1,500 in purchases, upon activation) in addition to rewards for other spending. You could potentially move the rewards you earn on that card to the Chase Sapphire PreferredĀ® Card. From there, you could get more value out of your points by transferring points at a 1:1 ratio to other loyalty programs or redeeming them for 1.25 cents apiece when booking travel through Chase. (See our comparison article on Flex versus Sapphire Preferred.)
Ā» MORE: What is the āChase Trifectaā?
The Chase Sapphire PreferredĀ® Card and its more upscale sibling, the Chase Sapphire ReserveĀ®, have had their rewards, perks and bonuses tweaked over the years as the issuer has worked to keep them at the top of travelers' wallets. See our Chase Sapphire cards news page for a rundown.
Sapphire Preferred vs. Sapphire Reserve
If you have your eye on the Chase Sapphire PreferredĀ® Card, you might also be checking out the pricier Chase Sapphire ReserveĀ®. A premium travel card, the Chase Sapphire ReserveĀ® comes with an annual fee of $550 and several rich perks and benefits, including airline lounge access and an annual $300 travel credit. If you travel enough, going for the more expensive option could be well worth the cost.
Read NerdWalletās full comparison of these two cards to learn more about the differences.
Hereās a look at how the cards stack up on major features:
Empty Table Header | Chase Sapphire PreferredĀ® Card | Chase Sapphire ReserveĀ® |
|---|---|---|
Annual fee | $95. | $550. |
Sign-up bonus | Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. | Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. |
Rewards |
Points are worth 1.25 cents apiece when redeemed for travel through Chase. |
Points are worth 1.5 cents apiece when redeemed for travel through Chase. |
Other benefits |
|
|
Learn more |
Drawbacks and Considerations
It's complicated
All those reward categories with different rates, an anniversary bonus and a 1.25 cents per point redemption for travel through Chase? Dizzying.
Additionally, the best rewards and redemptions are tightly tied to using the Chase portal to book travel or to transferring points to a different loyalty program, which is more to figure out. And to really boost your points, many people will use the card in conjunction with other Chase cards.
Phew.
In the end, making the most of the Chase Sapphire PreferredĀ® Card requires a learning curve and an ongoing juggling act that some consumers simply donāt want to deal with. If you're interested in earning travel rewards, but want something a little easier to use, the $95-annual-fee Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card has a much simpler rewards structure.
You'll earn 5 miles per dollar on hotels and car rentals booked through Capital One Travel. Other purchases earn 2 miles per dollar. But like the Chase Sapphire PreferredĀ® Card, there's multiple ways to redeem rewards with this card, including transferring them to travel partners. If you want something even more straightforward, consider a cash-back credit card.
Few premium perks
The Chase Sapphire PreferredĀ® Card is an excellent card for travelers in general. It even has a few travel perks, such as primary rental car insurance, trip cancellation/interruption insurance and lost luggage insurance.
But for those who love to travel in style, the more expensive Chase Sapphire ReserveĀ® could be a better fit.
The Chase Sapphire ReserveĀ® with an annual fee of $550 comes with an annual $300 travel credit and Priority Pass Select access, which gets you into several airport lounges for free and includes meal credits for certain airport eateries. And it comes with a credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry (or NEXUS), worth up to $100 once every four years.
To see how these cards compare to the competition, check out NerdWallet's list of best credit cards to get.
How To Decide If It's Right For You
Using the Chase Sapphire PreferredĀ® Card for simple rewards ā say, earning cash back ā would be akin to buying a top-of-the-line multipurpose tool just to use the nail file. The card offers outstanding value, but to fully appreciate it, a traveler needs to take advantage of its versatility. If that appeals to you, this card is an excellent choice.
With no annual fee, this card gives you 1.5 miles for every $1 you spend. It comes with a new-cardmember bonus offer, and points are redeemable for statement credit against many kinds of travel expenses.
Looking For Something Else?
Methodology
NerdWallet reviews credit cards with an eye toward both the quantitative and qualitative features of a card. Quantitative features are those that boil down to dollars and cents, such as fees, interest rates, rewards (including earning rates and redemption values) and the cash value of benefits and perks. Qualitative factors are those that affect how easy or difficult it is for a typical cardholder to get good value from the card. They include such things as the ease of application, simplicity of the rewards structure, the likelihood of using certain features, and whether a card is well-suited to everyday use or is best reserved for specific purchases. Our star ratings serve as a general gauge of how each card compares with others in its class, but star ratings are intended to be just one consideration when a consumer is choosing a credit card. Learn how NerdWallet rates credit cards.
Frequently asked questions
What are the rewards on the Chase Sapphire Preferred?Ā
Rewards are: 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 and 1 point per $1 spent on other purchases. Occasionally, the issuer may offer bonus rewards in specific categories for a limited time.
How much are points worth on the Chase Sapphire Preferred?
That depends on how you redeem them. If you use them to book travel through Chase ā such as for airfare, hotels, rental cars or cruises ā points are worth 1.25 cents each. If you redeem them for cash, theyāll be worth 1 cent apiece. You can also transfer points to about a dozen airline and hotel loyalty programs; the value you get depends on how you redeem them in those programs.
Do rewards on the Chase Sapphire Preferred expire?
As long as your account is open, your points wonāt expire. Thereās no limit to the number of points you can earn.
Whatās the difference between Sapphire Preferred and Sapphire Reserve?
The Chase Sapphire ReserveĀ® has a much higher annual fee ā $550, compared with $95 for the Chase Sapphire PreferredĀ® Card ā but it offers richer rewards and more perks. Points are worth 1.5 cents apiece when redeemed for travel through Chase (versus 1.25 cents for the Chase Sapphire PreferredĀ® Card). Perks include an annual $300 travel credit that offsets a big slice of the annual fee. See our comparison article for more details.
What credit score do I need to get the Chase Sapphire Preferred?
If you have good to excellent credit and youāre in line with Chaseās 5/24 rule, you could be approved for the Chase Sapphire PreferredĀ® Card. Good credit is generally defined as a FICO of 690 or higher, although issuers also take into account your income, existing debts and other information.
