Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card Review
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If you've noticed an amazing amount of credit card advertising, then you know that this industry is extremely competitive. Credit card issuers are constantly looking for the right formula that will appeal to the broadest possible customer base, especially when it comes to travel rewards credit cards. For a long time, credit cards that offered frequent flyer miles were the choice of the most frequent travelers, but they are not as popular as they used to be.
As airlines started charging more miles for frequent flyer awards and made awards at the lowest prices extremely difficult to find, both frequent and occasional travelers have looked for alternative travel reward credit cards that offer more value and flexibility than airline cards that earn miles with just a single carrier. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is now one of the most popular travel reward credit cards because it offers reward points that can be redeemed for travel reservations or transferred to points or miles with airlines and hotels.
How This Card Works
Cardholders earn 3x points for dining (including eligible spending on delivery services, takeout and dining out), select streaming services and online groceries, 2x points on all travel expenses, and 1x on all other purchases. Cardholders also receive a $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit and earn 5x points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠. Points can be redeemed for 1 cent each toward a variety of options including cash back, statement credits, gift cards and merchandise. In addition, points can be redeemed for 1.25 cents each for travel reservations booked through the Chase Travel℠ including airfare, hotels, car rentals, cruises, and even tours and transfers. Finally, points can be transferred to 14 different airline and hotel partners at a 1:1 basis:
- 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 Airlines Rapid Rewards®
- United MileagePlus
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- IHG® Rewards Club
- Marriott Bonvoy™
- World of Hyatt
When cardholders are able to transfer their rewards to airline miles or hotel points, and redeem them for premium class international airfare or luxury hotels, it’s often possible to receive several cents in value for each point redeemed. Points and miles are also extremely valuable for booking awards instead of paying for them — especially for expensive flights with little advanced notice or for pricey hotel rooms during peak travel times. Furthermore, these flexible point transfer programs can be invaluable when you quickly need additional points or miles to top off your account and reserve a flight or hotel award.
New applicants can earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 in purchases within three months of account opening, worth $750 in travel reservations. Cardholders also can receive complimentary access to DashPass, which means $0 delivery fees and lower service fees on DoorDash for a minimum of one year when activated by Dec. 31, 2024.
Other benefits include numerous travel insurance and purchase protection policies. When traveling, cardholders are covered by a trip cancellation and trip interruption insurance policy which covers up to $10,000 in prepaid, nonrefundable travel expenses should your trip be canceled or interrupted due to sickness or severe weather. Trip delay insurance covers you for up to $500 per ticket if your travel is delayed for more than 12 hours or requires an overnight stay. Baggage delay insurance covers the cost of replacement items, up to $100 a day for five days if your baggage is delayed. And while most major credit cards offer a form of rental car insurance, this card offers primary coverage that allows you to avoid having to file a claim with your personal insurer.
When shopping, your purchases are protected against theft or damage of up to $500 per claim for 120 days. Also, an extended warranty policy ads a year to the manufacturer's warranty of up to three years on eligible items.
The standard interest rate for purchases is 21.49%-28.49% APR, which is a variable rate that is tied to the prime rate. There is a $95 annual fee for this card and no foreign transaction fees.
Advantages
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a premium rewards card that has the advantage of partnering with 14 different airline and hotel programs. This allows you to redeem the best awards for a particular need. For example, you could transfer points to Southwest Airlines for a domestic flight in economy class or to Singapore Airlines for long-haul international award in business class. Likewise, programs like World of Hyatt is ideal for luxury hotel stays, while Marriott and IHG offer many budget properties. Finally, travelers find that it can be worthwhile to redeem rewards for travel booked directly through Chase while realizing 1.25 cents per point in value.
Another advantage is that it's easy to earn rewards by receiving 3x points at all restaurants and 2x points on all travel purchases. These broad categories offer plenty of bonus rewards to both frequent travelers and even those who merely dine out often.
In addition, this card offers some of the best travel insurance and purchase protection benefits available, which rivals some premium travel reward cards with higher annual fees. For example, smart travelers know that when they incur damage on their rental car, they will be thankful to have used a credit card that offers primary rental car insurance. In addition, the numerous purchase protection policies will be useful when an expensive electronic purchase breaks shortly after its manufacturer's warranty expires or when a newly purchased item is lost or stolen.
This card also comes with a generous sign-up bonus that will immediately offer you the opportunity to redeem rewards for valuable travel reservations. The card also has no foreign transaction fees, which makes it ideal for use on an international trip.
Disadvantages
Like most premium travel reward credit cards, this card has a higher standard interest rate than similar cards that offer no rewards. In addition, this card has no introductory financing offer. Therefore, this card is best suited to those who always avoid interest charges by paying off each month's statement balance in full. Those who currently have credit card debt and those who plan on regularly carrying a balance on their cards should focus more on finding a card with the lowest interest rate, and forgo earning rewards. It also has a $95 annual fee, which might be out of the price range for those who don't spend enough to earn enough rewards to justify this fee.
Bottom Line
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card strikes the right balance for many reward credit card users by offering a flexible travel rewards program along with a first-rate package of benefits. If you are trying to earn travel rewards that are not tied to single airline or hotel program, this card should be one of the first that you consider.
First published , last updated
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jason Steele is one of the leading journalists covering the credit card industry and travel rewards. His work appears at many of the top personal finance websites and is regularly syndicated by mainstream sites such as MSN Money and Yahoo! Finance.
Editorial Note: Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any card issuer.
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