Managing Money In A Crisis
Weekly tips sent straight to your inbox
Finder is committed to editorial independence. While we receive compensation when you click links to partners, they do not influence our opinions or reviews. Learn how we make money.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card review
Last updated:
An excellent travel card that offers top-notch reward rates through point transfers.
finder.com’s rating: 4.3 / 5
★★★★★
- Get this card if you want a new, huge signup bonus worth up to $1,000, and you enjoy 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.
80,000
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, Business.com, Lifehacker and CreditCards.com. He's passionate about helping you get your finances in order by expertly navigating cutting-edge financial tools — including credit cards, apps and budgeting software.
Expert review
Finder experts pick Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card as a 2020 best product for credit cards.
New limited-time Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card benefits until September 30, 2020
Chase has added new perks to the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card for a limited time, starting July 1, 2020.
Until September 30, 2020, get access to these perks as a cardholder:
- 3x points on delivery and pickups through Instacart. This applies on up to $3,000 in qualifying spending.
- Up to $50 in statement credits when you purchase a membership to Instacart Express. You can apply these statement credits to a monthly or annual subscription.
You’ll also find these bonus categories until September 30, 2020:
- 3x points at gas stations. This applies on up to $1,500 in qualifying spending.
- 5x points on select streaming services. This includes platforms such as Netflix and Spotify. The bonus rewards apply on up to $1,500 in qualifying spending.
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.Pay attention to the bonus categories before getting this card. If you rarely travel or dine out, you might be better served by a different product. If you spend consistently in those categories, however, this card might be a great choice for you. A 2x-point earn rate easily turns into a 2.5% redemption rate if you redeem your points for eligible travel through the Chase portal.
SIGNUP BONUS: Earn up to 80,000 bonus points.
When you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months your account is open, you’ll earn 80,000 points. That’s worth $1,000 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 80,000 points for $1,000 worth of travel purchases, rather than the industry-standard $600 — 1 point equals 1 cent.
New limited-time Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card benefits and rewards
Chase has stealthily added several new perks to its premium Sapphire cards within recent months. While not explicitly stated, these perks appear aimed at helping consumers better earn rewards during the pandemic – a time where many are spending more on essentials and less on travel.
| Credit card | Limited-time perks | Availability |
|---|---|---|
| Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | Pay Yourself Back. Points are worth 25% more when you redeem them as statement credits against purchases in grocery stores, dining and home improvement stores. | May 31 through September 30, 2020 |
| Earn 5x points on up to $500 in combined DoorDash and Tock purchases, then 1x points. | Ended May 31, 2020 | |
| Earn 3x points on grocery store purchases on up to $1,500 a month. Usually 1x points. | Ended June 30, 2020 |
Should I get the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve®?
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a mid-tier travel card that can be an excellent starting product to get into the travel game. The Chase Sapphire Reserve®, meanwhile, is a premium card with a hefty price tag — but you’ll find many top-of-the-line features.
Here are a few of the sharpest differences:
- Annual fee. Choose between a $95 and $550 annual fee.
- Signup bonus. At the time of this writing, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card actually has a better bonus than its counterpart.
- Rewards. For both cards, earn bonus points on travel and dining. However, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers more rewards.
- Point boost. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers a 25% point boost when you redeem for eligible travel through Chase’s portal. The Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers a 50% boost.
- Point transfers. Both cards offer 1:1 point transfers to Chase’s airline and hotel partners.
- Premium perks. The Chase Sapphire Reserve® wins handily here, offering a $300 annual travel credit, a Global Entry/TSA PreCheck application fee credit and Priority Pass Select.
If you don’t want to take the plunge on the higher-priced offering right now, know that you can always upgrade later.
Here’s another pro tip: If you reach your first card anniversary, you can even downgrade to the no-annual-fee Sapphire Preferred, which is an unadvertised card. At the time of this writing, it offers 2x points on dining and 1x points on all other purchases. Note that you’ll have to give up the points boost and the ability to transfer your rewards to Chase’s partners.
Is 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 80,000 points for $1,000 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
You’ll also like…
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.
Lesser-known Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card benefits
Enjoy Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card travel and purchase benefits, such as:
- Trip cancelation. With this card, you can get reimbursement up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip in case your trip is canceled due to severe weather or other covered situations. It is also covered if you get sick prior to the trip. The card covers your pre-paid, non-refundable travel expenses, like passenger fares, tours and hotels.
- Trip delay reimbursement. This is another Sapphire Preferred benefit in situations when your common carrier is delayed for more than 12 hours and you need an overnight stay or meals. With this benefit, you can get reimbursement of up to $500 per ticket.
- Travel and emergency assistance services. Get legal and medical referrals or other travel and emergency assistance in case you run into problems when traveling. But unlike the other Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card benefits where you’re covered for a certain amount, here you’ll have to pay for any charges that occur.
- Baggage delay insurance. In cases when your common carrier is delayed for more than six hours, you can get reimbursement for toiletries and clothing up to $100 a day for five days.
- Auto rental collision damage wavier. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card car rental insurance offers primary car rental coverage. This means if you qualify for coverage and you need to make a claim, you can claim with your Chase benefit administrator first.
- Purchase protection. This Sapphire Preferred benefit covers your new purchases against damage or theft up to $500 per claim and $50,000 per account. Your coverage lasts 120 days from the day of purchase.
- Extended warranty protection. Every time you buy an item, you get a warranty extension by an additional year on eligible warranties of three years or less.
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® Card offer lounge access and Global Entry?
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® 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.
Chase transfer partners
One great feature of the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is it allows 1:1 point transfers to a good mix of airline and hotel travel partners.
Here are the eligible airlines:
- Aer Lingus AerClub
- British Airways Executive Club
- Emirates Skywards
- Air France/KLM Flying Blue
- Iberia Plus
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
- United MileagePlus
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
And here are the eligible hotels:
- IHG Rewards Club
- Marriott Bonvoy
- World of Hyatt
According to our Chase redemption guide, Aer Lingus AerClub, Air France/KLM Flying Blue and Iberia Plus may offer some of the best values for your point transfers. On the hotel side, World of Hyatt redemptions can offer stellar value.
Compare travel credit cards
{"niche":"USCCF"}
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 670 to 850.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card reviews and complaints
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
- Click Apply now.
- 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® Card 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
Credit card ratings
★★★★★ — Excellent
★★★★★ — Good
★★★★★ — Average
★★★★★ — Subpar
★★★★★ — Poor
Our team evaluates credit cards to determine their value against similar cards on the market.
We rank card types — travel, cash back, business — on a set of factors that are most relevant to that type of card. We create these rankings to help you narrow down a credit card that best suits your spending and budget.
