Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card review: The best travel rewards card for less than $100
A powerful combination of bonus rewards and travel perks.
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Snapshot
4.9
Bottom line
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is an excellent entry point into the world of travel rewards since it offers impressive value, multiple redemption options and premium benefits for a modest $95 annual fee.
BEST STARTER TRAVEL CARD
Intro offer
60,000 bonus points
Rewards rate
1x - 5x
Annual fee
$95
Regular APR
20.49% - 27.49% Variable
4.2
Cardholder rating
Extra perks
Online tools
Customer service
Intro APR length
4.9
Bankrate score
Rewards value
APR
Rewards flexibility
Features
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Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card Overview
The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is one of the best travel credit cards on the market. It has a relatively low annual fee, a generous rewards program and top-tier travel protections. Boasting various travel and everyday rewards categories, stellar redemption value, annual credits through Chase Travel℠ and an anniversary points bonus, the Sapphire Preferred offers significant value to everyday spenders and rewards experts alike.
Although it lacks some of the robust perks found in more premium travel cards, the card is an excellent fit for travelers who want to earn rewards on their flights and hotel stays without a hefty annual fee.
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Rewards
- 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠ (excluding hotel purchases that qualify for the $50 annual hotel credit)
- 5X total points on Lyft rides (2X on general travel and 3X-point bonus, offer ends March 31, 2025)
- 5X total points on Peloton equipment and accessory purchases over $150 (maximum of 25,000 total points; offer ends March 31, 2025)
- 3X points on dining (including eligible delivery services), select streaming services and online grocery purchases (excluding Walmart, Target and wholesale clubs)
- 2X points on other travel
- 1X points on other purchases
- Rewards value: 1.25 cents per point when redeemed through Chase Travel℠ or around 2.0 cents on average through the right transfer partner (based on Bankrate's estimated valuations)
Expert Appraisal: Exceptional
See our expert analysis -
Welcome offer
- 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first three months
Expert Appraisal: Good
See our expert analysis -
Rates and fees
- $95 annual fee
- Foreign transaction fee: $0
- No intro APR on purchases or balance transfers
- Regular APR: 20.49% - 27.49% Variable
- Balance transfer fee: 5 percent of the amount each transfer (minimum $5)
- Cash advance fee: 5 percent of the amount each transaction (minimum $10)
- Late/returned payment fee: Up to $40
Expert Appraisal: Typical
See our expert analysis -
Other cardholder perks
- 10 percent anniversary bonus points based on your total purchases the previous year
- Up to $50 in annual statement credits toward hotel stays through the Chase Travel portal
- Comprehensive travel insurance, including trip cancellation/interruption insurance, trip delay reimbursement and baggage delay insurance
- Complimentary, limited-time credits and/or other partner perks with Lyft, DoorDash and Peloton
- Purchase and extended warranty protection
- Potential access to alternative payment plans with a fixed monthly fee
Expert Appraisal: Good
See our expert analysis
Chase Sapphire Preferred pros and cons
Pros
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You can combine points from other Ultimate Rewards cards to enhance their overall value.
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This card packs phenomenal redemption value through its impressive airline and hotel transfer partners, statement credits and 25 percent point value redemption boost toward Chase Travel.
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The rich perks roster features benefits commonly found on higher-tier travel cards, including an anniversary bonus and a wide range of travel protections.
Cons
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You can earn higher bonus rates in some everyday categories with other cards.
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Although it may not be hard to offset, there’s still a $95 annual fee.
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This card doesn’t offer introductory APRs on purchases or balance transfers, unlike some no-annual-fee rivals.
Why you might want the Chase Sapphire Preferred
The Sapphire Preferred is hard to beat if you’re looking for a cost-effective travel card. Its travel perks, annual credits and bonus points are impressive for a card in its class and can easily justify the annual fee. Perhaps even more appealing is the diverse selection of bonus categories and redemption options, plus the remarkably high redemption values that can fuel your next trip.
Welcome offer: Solid additional value
With the Chase Sapphire Preferred current welcome offer, new cardholders can earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. According to Bankrate's valuations, those points can be worth around $1,200 at a value of 2.0 cents per point per point on average when transferred to the right travel partners. While a downgrade from its previous welcome offer, which offered up to $300 in statement credits on Chase Travel purchases in the first year in addition to 60,000 bonus points, this offer still adds exceptional first-year value to this card.
Rewards: Outstanding travel value
The Sapphire Preferred card’s rewards program is a powerhouse, offering impressive rewards rates in more travel-related categories than many competing cards. It offers rewards in plenty of popular everyday categories that may be difficult to find on typical travel cards, including dining, select streaming services and online grocery purchases (excluding wholesale clubs and superstores like Target and Walmart).
However, this card’s biggest strength is the value of Chase Ultimate Rewards points on certain redemption options. Your points are worth 25 percent more (1.25 cents per point) when booking travel through Chase Travel. You can also pool points from other Ultimate Rewards and cash back cards, giving the same boost to all your Chase cards. Chase also features an impressive list of 1:1 airline and hotel transfer partners, raising the value to about 2.0 cents per point on average, according to our most recent valuation. However, the right redemption can provide even further value.
Even this card’s non-travel redemptions can provide value and versatility. You can redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points at 1 cent apiece for cash back, statement credits, gift cards, merchandise (including Apple product purchases), Chase Experience events and Chase Dining purchases. You can also use your points at the checkout screen on Amazon.com and PayPal for a lower value (0.8 cents apiece). There’s no cap on the number of points you can receive, and points never expire, so the Sapphire Preferred has solid potential as your primary credit card.
You can earn points in a few clever ways if you don’t mind a little legwork. There’s a 10,000-point referral bonus if any friends are approved (up to ten referrals per year), which could be an easy way to earn up to 100,000 more points. Plus, the Chase Offers card-linked program could earn you an extra helping of rewards with various merchants across all categories.
Perks: High-caliber benefits for its card tier
In addition to its stand-out rewards, the Sapphire Preferred’s benefits include perks that provide excellent value for its annual fee. For example, the stellar travel insurance you’ll receive with the Sapphire Preferred includes trip cancellation and interruption insurance, trip delay reimbursement and baggage delay insurance that match those usually found among premium travel cards with higher annual fees.
Two of the most valuable perks of the Sapphire Preferred are its recurring bonuses. You’ll get up to $50 back each year in statement credits for hotel stays you purchase through Chase Travel. You’ll also get an eye-catching 10 percent points bonus on your total combined spending from the previous year, automatically added to your rewards balance each account anniversary. For example, if you spend $30,000 in a calendar year, you will earn 3,000 additional bonus points. These two yearly benefits can nearly offset the annual fee before factoring in your rewards spending.
Chase also stacks on additional, limited-time partner perks so that your first few years with the card are especially lucrative. Although these partner perks won’t last forever, you can also rack up statement credits and bonus points from the Sapphire Preferred’s Lyft and DoorDash benefits that could be worth close to $200 or more.
Why you might want a different travel card
The Sapphire Preferred is an excellent rewards card whether you are an experienced travel rewards strategist or new to cards. However, you may need convincing if you’re wary of annual fees or looking for a balance transfer offer.
Rates and fees: Annual fee may discourage newcomers
The Sapphire Preferred has a $95 annual fee, which may appear intimidating if you only travel occasionally and you’re looking for your first travel card. However, this price tag is low compared to the perks and rewards the card offers. The annual account anniversary bonus points and credits can potentially offset the annual fee alone, but the fee also isn’t too difficult to offset through your standard rewards spending.
The rewards and perks value can be difficult to find among no-annual-fee travel cards, so the Sapphire Preferred card's annual fee can be well worth it. No-annual-fee competitors also typically have lower rewards rates than the Preferred card and no yearly credits or notable travel perks.
The other rates and fees are typical for travel cards — there are no foreign transaction fees to worry about while you’re abroad, and the ongoing APR is only slightly higher than the average current credit card interest rate.
We tried it: Here’s what our experts say
Bankrate credit cards editor Nouri Zarrugh loves the flexibility that comes with the Sapphire Preferred:
"This was my first mid-tier travel card and it was a great starting point thanks to its practical bonus categories and flexible redemption. I especially love that — though I can get more value by redeeming points for travel — I have the option to get at least 1 cent per point for cash back."
— Nouri Zarrugh, Senior Editor, Credit Cards
How the Chase Sapphire Preferred compares to other travel credit cards
It’s hard for many cards to strike a balance between rewards, first-year value and benefits like the Sapphire Preferred does, but a few cards hold their own.
Annual fee
Intro offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Rewards rate
5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠. 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries. 2x on all other travel purchases. 1x on all other purchases.
Recommended Credit Score
A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
Annual fee
Intro offer
Earn 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months of account opening, plus receive a one-time $250 Capital One Travel credit to use in your first cardholder year – that’s equal to $1,000 in travel.
Rewards rate
5 Miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel. 2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day.
Recommended Credit Score
A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
Annual fee
Intro offer
For a limited time, earn 75,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening, redeemable for $750 in gift cards or travel rewards at thankyou.com.
Rewards rate
Earn 10 Points per $1 spent on Hotels, Car Rentals, and Attractions booked on CitiTravel.com. Earn 3 Points per $1 on Air Travel and Other Hotel Purchases, at Restaurants, Supermarkets, Gas and EV Charging Stations. Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on all other purchases.
Recommended Credit Score
A FICO score/credit score is used to represent the creditworthiness of a person and may be one indicator to the credit type you are eligible for. However, credit score alone does not guarantee or imply approval for any financial product.
Best cards to pair with the Chase Sapphire Preferred
Other Chase credit cards are your best pairing option because of their complementary rewards categories and the ability to pool your earned rewards onto one card. Because the Sapphire Preferred is a part of the traditional Chase trifecta, this card’s fantastic reward opportunities and redemption values make pairing the Chase Sapphire Preferred with the Chase Freedom Unlimited® and/or Chase Freedom Flex®* one of the best combinations available.
Just keep Chase’s 5/24 rule in mind as you search for cards to pair with the Sapphire Preferred: You may not be eligible to open a Chase credit card if you’ve already opened five or more credit cards (no matter the issuer) in the past 24 months.
Who is the Chase Sapphire Preferred right for?
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a flexible and valuable rewards card that can suit several cardholders. Here’s who’s most likely to squeeze the most value from the card.
Bankrate’s Take — Is the Chase Sapphire Preferred worth it?
The Chase Sapphire Preferred card’s great travel and dining rewards, everyday bonus categories and annual bonuses make it one of the best — if not the best — travel cards with a $95 annual fee. The Sapphire Preferred can be rewarding for both infrequent travelers and rewards experts, thanks to its flexible rewards program and terrific card pairing options. Just be aware of the number of cards you have if you want to pair it with a Chase card, and make sure your monthly budget will benefit from the rewards categories.
The information about the Citi Premier® Card and Chase Freedom Flex® has been collected independently by Bankrate.com. The card details have not been reviewed or approved by the card issuer.
How we rated this card
We rate credit cards using a proprietary card scoring system that ranks each card’s estimated average rewards rate, estimated annual earnings, welcome bonus value, APR, fees, perks and more against those of other cards in its primary category.
Each card feature is assigned a weighting based on how important it is to people looking for a card in a given category. These features are then scored based on how they rank relative to the features on other cards in the category. Based on these calculations, each card receives an overall rating of 1-5 stars (with 5 being the highest possible score and 1 being the lowest).
We analyzed over 150 of the most popular rewards and cash back cards to determine where each stacked up based on their value, cost, benefits and more. Here are some of the key factors that influenced this card’s overall score and how the score influenced our review:
Frequently asked questions
What cardholders think
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
In May 2024, Bankrate collaborated with third-party SliceMR to survey 6160 cardholders nationwide. Bankrate and Slice MR collected, averaged and presented website analytics and cardholder responses to six questions on a 5-point scale. Responses are based on individual cardholder’s product details, and therefore cannot be verified for accuracy. Users received an incentive for their feedback. User ratings are unedited and have not been reviewed or approved by credit card issuers, nor do these ratings reflect Bankrate’s own reviews of these cards.
Community Reviews
* See the online application for details about terms and conditions for these offers. Every reasonable effort has been made to maintain accurate information. However all credit card information is presented without warranty. After you click on the offer you desire you will be directed to the credit card issuer's web site where you can review the terms and conditions for your selected offer.
Editorial Disclosure: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser. The information, including card rates and fees, is accurate as of the publish date. All products or services are presented without warranty. Check the bank’s website for the most current information.
