Finder experts pick Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card as a 2020 best product for credit cards.
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Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card review
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An excellent travel card that offers top-notch reward rates through point transfers.
finder.com’s rating: 4.0 / 5.0
★★★★★
- Get this card if you travel and dine out often — and you want flexible travel points.
- Pick something else if you don’t want to pay an annual fee starting the second year or you don’t spend much on travel or dining.
- Apply with a good to excellent credit score of 670 or higher.
60,000
Points as welcome offer
Up to 5x
Points
$95
Annual fee
15.99% to 22.99%
Purchase APR (variable)
Details
| Product Name | Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card |
|---|---|
| Card type | Visa |
| Annual fee | $95 |
| Purchase APR | 15.99% to 22.99% variable |
| Balance transfer APR | 15.99% to 22.99% variable |
| Balance transfer fee | $5 or 5% of the transaction, whichever is greater |
| Cash advance rate | 24.99% variable |
| Cash advance fee | $10 or 5% of the cash advance amount, whichever is greater |
| Foreign transaction fee | None |
| Interest free period | Up to 21 days |
| Late payment fee | Up to $39 |
| Returned payment fee | Up to $39 |
| Additional cardholder fee | $0 |
| Rates & fees | rates & fees |
Expert review
Review by
Kevin Joey Chen
kevin.chen@findercrew.comKevin Joey Chen is a credit cards, banking and investments writer whose work and analysis have appeared on CNN, U.S. News & World Report, Lifehacker and CreditCards.com. He's passionate about helping you get your finances in order and expertly navigate the cutting-edge financial tools available -- including credit cards, apps and budgeting software.
Expert review
The perks
REWARDS: 5x points on Lyft rides, 2x points on travel and dining.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card rewards can be attractive if you’re a frequent traveler, as you’ll earn 5x points on Lyft rides through March 2022 and 2x points on travel and dining. Earn 1 point per dollar you spend on everything else.
SIGNUP BONUS: Earn up to 60,000 bonus points.
When you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open, you’ll earn 60,000 points. That’s worth $750 when redeemed through Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Points are worth more when redeemed through Chase Ultimate Rewards.
If you redeem your points through Chase Ultimate Rewards, they’re worth 25% more. This is a big perk that elevates the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card above the rest.
For example, you can redeem 60,000 points for $750 worth of travel purchases, rather than the industry-standard $600 — 1 point equals 1 cent.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card increases bonus to 60,000 points
Back to topIs the annual fee worth it?
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has a $95 annual fee. That’s comparable to fees of other mid-tier travel cards, but is it worth paying?
First, look at the card’s rewards
According to Chase, the card’s points are worth 25% more when redeemed for airfare, hotels, cruises and car rentals through Chase Ultimate Rewards. This gives you a 1.25% redemption rate, which is better than that of most other travel cards.
At that rate, you’d need 7,600 points to break even on the annual fee with rewards alone.
- That’s $1,520 spent on Lyft rides through March 2022.
- Or, $3,800 spent on travel or dining.
- Or, $7,600 spent on all other purchases.
You may need even fewer points to break even if you transfer them to Chase’s travel partners. For example, our January 2019 valuation pegs Southwest Airlines points at 1.6 cents each — a better rate than you’d find through Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Next, consider the signup bonus
You can redeem 60,000 points for $750 of travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards. That’s an excellent signup bonus, and it could pay for your annual fee several times over.
Other perks that add more value
Purchase protection and travel insurance are often the unsung heroes of travel cards. It can be difficult to calculate its value. But if they lead to a successful claim, your card could immediately pay for itself.
How to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points
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Point transfers at a 1:1 ratio to airline programs.
Transfer points to airline programs that include British Airways Executive Club, Flying Blue Air France KLM, Korean Air SkyPass, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards, United MileagePlus and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.
Point transfers at a 1:1 ratio to hotel programs.
Transfer points to hotel programs that include Hyatt Gold Passport, IHG Rewards Club, Marriott Rewards and Ritz-Carlton Rewards.
No Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card foreign transaction fee.
You wouldn’t expect anything less from a travel card. Many credit cards come with a 3% foreign transaction fee, making the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card an excellent choice when you’re shopping abroad.
Purchase coverage.
Purchase coverage includes purchase protection that insures your purchases against theft or damage and provides price protection, return protection and extended warranties.
Secondary Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card benefits for travel.
Enjoy Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card travel insurance, which includes trip cancellation and interruption insurance, baggage delay insurance and trip delay insurance. You’ll also get access to Chase travel and emergency assistance services.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has rental car insurance as well — specifically, collision damage waivers. If you charge your rental car to your card and decline the insurance at the counter, your eligible vehicle receives coverage against theft and collision.
Survey data on Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
What credit score did you have when you were approved for this credit card?
Based on a survey of 57 people on finder.com
| Answer choices | Responses |
|---|---|
| 740-850 | 57.89% |
| 670-739 | 35.09% |
| 580-669 | 5.26% |
| 300-579 | 5.26% |
What interests you most about this credit card?
Based on a survey of 203 people on finder.com
| Answer choices | Responses |
|---|---|
| Rewards | 35.47% |
| Signup bonus | 14.78% |
| Features and benefits | 45.81% |
| APR | 3.94% |
Does the Chase Sapphire Preferred® offer lounge access and Global Entry?
The card doesn’t offer these benefits, but you can find them with the Chase Sapphire Reserve®.
If you’re looking for the Global Entry application credit without a premium price, consider the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card.
What to watch out for
Annual fee.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card comes with a $95 annual fee.
Potentially high APR.
Depending on your credit, you could be approved for a purchase and balance transfer APR as high as 22.99% variable. The average credit card APR is around 16%.
Higher cash advance APR.
Cash advances come with a 24.99% variable APR.
No grace period on balance transfers or cash advances.
Purchases come with a grace period — that is, you’ll have at least 21 days after the close of the billing cycle to pay off your balance before accruing interest. This isn’t the case with balance transfers or cash advances: You’ll start accruing interest on them immediately.
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Compare Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card with other cards
- Compare with Chase Sapphire Reserve®
- Compare with American Express® Gold Card
- Compare with Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card
- Compare with Marriott Bonvoy™ American Express® Card
- Compare with Barclaycard Arrival® Plus World Elite Mastercard®
- Compare with Barclaycard Arrival® Plus World Elite Mastercard®
- Compare with Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card
- Compare with Citi® Double Cash Card
- Compare with Citi® / AAdvantage® Executive World Elite™ Mastercard®
- Compare with Citi Prestige® Credit Card
- Compare with Chase Freedom Unlimited®
- Compare with Citi Premier℠ Card
- Compare with Chase Slate® credit card
- Compare with Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card
- Compare with Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card
- Compare with United MileagePlus® Club card
- Compare with Discover it® Miles Travel Credit Card
What should I know before I apply?
To apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, you must be at least 18 years old in most places. The minimum age requirement bumps up to 19 for residents of Alabama and Nebraska and 21 in Puerto Rico.
Required documents and information
- Your name, residential status and address
- Your Social Security number and date of birth
- Your email address and phone number
- Financial information, like your annual salary and wages
What credit score do I need?
You’ll have a better chance of approval for this card if you apply with a good to excellent credit score of 680 to 850.
What do customers say about the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card?
Cardholders generally have great things to say about the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card points and travel benefits — even if they’re not thrilled with the annual fee. They say the card is slightly easier to apply for as a Chase customer: Because the bank already has your personal details, you may not have to complete the entire credit card application.
Chase earns a Trustpilot score of 5.5 out of 10 at the time of this writing. Most negative reviews cite slow responses to fraud complaints and less-than-helpful customer service. Positive reviews cite the bank’s great mobile app and quick resolutions to their issues. Overall, your mileage may vary with Chase customer support.
The JPMorgan Chase Credit Card division earns an overall A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau.
Case study: Megan’s experience
Megan Horner
Credit Cards Publisher
After earning the signup bonus on this card, I redeemed it for two round trip flights from San Diego to Salt Lake and one round trip flight from San Diego to Sacramento. Buying these flights with my points saved me around $750.
Purchasing them was easy through the Chase Ultimate Rewards Portal. It looks like a normal flight search engine, with flight options much like Kayak.
Next time I redeem points, I’ll likely transfer points to a different airline and buy the flights directly from the airline. This option offers more value from my points, but involves doing the math on point values to make sure I’m getting the best deal.
Now that I have this card, I’ll likely upgrade to the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. As long as I use the $300 in travel credit and premium travel perks, I can make the annual fee worth it.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card was a great starting point to see if I would take advantage of a higher-level, premium travel card before I opened a card with a high annual fee.
How to apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
- Learn more about how to apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.
- Complete the application with details like your name, address, annual income and Social Security number.
- Review and submit your application.
How long will it take to be approved?
Because approval is automated on the Chase website, you’re likely to get a decision within minutes. If there are issues with your application, it could take up to a few weeks to hear back.
Is there a Chase Sapphire Preferred® authorized user fee?
There’s no fee to add an authorized user. Unfortunately, you won’t earn the 5,000-point authorized user bonus offered previously, but individuals on your card account will earn points for you whenever they spend.
I got the card. Now what?
- Make timely payments. Pay your card bill online at the Chase website, where you can enroll in autopay.
- Avoid interest. After the close of each billing cycle, you have a grace period of at least 21 days to pay your balance. If you do, you won’t pay interest on your purchases.
- Avoid fees. Late and returned payments come with fees of up to $39. The balance transfer fee is $5 of the amount of each transfer, and the cash advance fee is $10 or 5% of the cash advance amount, whichever is greater.
- Contact customer service. If you have questions, contact Chase Credit Cards support at 1-800-432-3117.
How do I redeem points from the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card?
You can redeem rewards by logging in to the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal.
There are several redemption options, including:
- Apple Ultimate Rewards Store.
- Gift cards.
- Travel (airfare, hotels, car rentals, cruises, etc.).
- Cash back.
- Experiences.
- Point transfers.
- Merchandise.
Travel is often the best use of your points. According to Chase, they’re worth 25% more when redeemed for eligible travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards. And you can often get an even higher value by transferring points to travel partners.
Bottom line
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is among the best travel cards you’ll find. With its 2x points on travel and dining, it’s a solid credit card for globetrotters and foodies.
Those points go far too, with a 25% boost if you redeem them through Chase Ultimate Rewards. And the 1:1 point transfers to airline and hotel programs means your points are extremely flexible.
Back to topFrequently asked questions
Travel card ratings
★★★★★ — Excellent
★★★★★ — Good
★★★★★ — Average
★★★★★ — Subpar
★★★★★ — Poor
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