A great card just got even better - and might prove the Chase card to beat.
Big changes abound for this Chase travel favorite. The newly improved Chase Sapphire Preferred offers 5x Ultimate Rewards points on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3x points on dining, eligible streaming services and eligible online grocery purchases, and 1x points on everything else. The card maintains an incredible signup bonus of 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 in your first 3 months. But now the card also offers a $50 annual credit on hotel stays purchased through Chase and 10% anniversary bonus points on purchases made the previous year, all for the same $95 annual fee.
Over the last year or so, Chase has pumped some serious juice into the Preferred to make it worth. The card now earns the same points on travel as the Freedom cards, but also earns bigger points on everyday purchases like dining, streaming and online groceries. It’s now an outstanding all-arounder for value and can easily fit into the wallets of most consumers.
The card consistently garners attention for its reward boost: I get 25% more value when I redeem points for airfare, hotel stays, cruises and car rentals through Chase Ultimate Rewards. I redeemed my signup bonus 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.
Up to now, the Chase Sapphire Reserve was still the ideal choice for most consumers thanks to the overall value it offered and the stronger earning potential. With these changes, the gap between the Preferred and Reserve is much narrower. In fact, the Chase Sapphire Preferred is now the better choice for a majority of consumers, with the Reserve, well, reserved for frequent travelers interested in travel perks.
finder.com's rating: 4.6 / 5
★★★★★
| Annual fee | $95 |
| Welcome offer | 60,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months |
| Rewards | 5x on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, and 2x on all other travel |
| Purchase APR | 21.49% to 28.49% variable |
| Balance transfer APR | 21.49% to 28.49% variable |
| Minimum credit score | 670 |
| Issuer | Visa |
| Cash advance rate | 29.99% variable |
| Cash advance fee | $10 or 5% of the cash advance amount, whichever is greater |
| Penalty APR | Up to 29.99% variable |
| Foreign transaction fee | None |
| Interest free period | Up to 21 days |
| Late payment fee | Up to $40 |
| Returned payment fee | Up to $40 |
| Additional cardholder fee | $0 |
| Security deposit | N/A |
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.
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.
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.
Based on our gathered data, there’s a clear drop off point for qualification when moving from good to fair. Having a credit score on the upper-end of “Good” is your best bet for qualifying. If your credit score is on the lower-end of “Good” or dips into “Fair,” you might want to just apply for a card better matched for your credit history.
Based on a survey of 64 people (out of 365 respondents) on finder.com
| Answer choices | Responses |
|---|---|
| 740-850 | 57.81% |
| 670-739 | 35.94% |
| 580-669 | 4.69% |
| 300-579 | 1.56% |
Yes. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has a $95 annual fee. That’s comparable to fees of other mid-tier travel cards, and for the price, you get perks and rewards greater than the price would suggest. The points you earn for example 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.
The card’s signup bonus is also one of the largest for the price on the market and it can pay for your annual fee several times over alone.
Select up to four credit cards and select Compare to see how the other credit cards stack up to the competition and find the best card that suits you.
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. Which you get greatly depends on how invested you are in the Chase Ultimate Rewards program. You can read our full Sapphire comparison for more insight on which is the better choice for you.
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.
JPMorgan Chase Credit Card is not accredited with the Better Business Bureau, but it has an A+ rating and a composite score of 1.06 out of 5 stars based on 176 customer reviews as of June 2022. Most customer complaints revolve around poor customer service and hidden costs Chase credit cards in general. Make sure you read your card’s terms and the rewards agreement to avoid issues with your account.
As of June 2022, Chase earns a Trustpilot score of 1.4 out of 5. 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.
Based on a survey of 215 people (out of 365 respondents) on finder.com
| Answer choices | Responses |
|---|---|
| Rewards | 34.42% |
| Signup bonus | 17.21% |
| Features and benefits | 44.65% |
| APR | 3.72% |
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is among the best travel cards you’ll find. With its impressive earning rates on travel, dining and more, it’s a steal at $95 a year and one of the best all-around cards on the market.
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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.
Megan Finder
Publisher
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