Chase Sapphire Preferred Card Review

What kind of points does it earn?

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card earns Ultimate Rewards points, which are some of the best points you can earn because you can use them three great ways for travel:

Turn the points into real airline miles and hotel points. This is the secret sauce of the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. You can turn your points into real miles with 11 airline and hotel point programs like United MileagePlus®, Southwest Rapid Rewards, and Marriott Reward®. That lets you add to miles you might already have, or just take advantage of the great rewards each program can unlock. It’s like having 11 cards rolled up into one. We’ll talk more about it, but this feature is the real reason to get a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.

Use your points to buy travel on the Ultimate Rewards website. If you don’t want to mess with airline and hotel programs, you can just go onto the Chase website to search and book flights just like you’re shopping with cash. Every 10,000 points gets you $125 worth of travel on the Chase Ultimate Rewards® site. For example, if you decide to use 60,000 points to book a flight on United or most of other airlines, you can choose a ticket for up to $750.

Get cash. Even if you’re not interested in travel, you can simply redeem your points for cash back anytime. Every 1,000 points is worth $10, so you always have an ‘out.’

There are other ways to use your points, too, like gift cards, special experiences, and merchandise, but your points won’t go as far as when you use them for travel.

Why point transfer is special

The secret sauce of the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the ability to turn your points into real airline miles and hotel points with 11 airline and hotel programs.

It’s always an even exchange, so 1,000 Chase points = 1,000 airline miles or hotel points with these travel programs:

Airlines

• Air France Flying Blue
• British Airways Avios
• Singapore Krisflyer
• Southwest Rapid Rewards
• United MileagePlus®
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Hotels

• IHG® Rewards
• Hyatt Gold Passport
• Marriott Rewards®
• Ritz Carlton Rewards

Point transfer lets you unlock the rewards that only real airline miles and hotel points can offer. If you already like earning United, Southwest, Marriott, Hyatt, or IHG points, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card will let you build on miles you already have to get to your reward that much faster.

If you don’t have a favorite program, real airline miles and hotel points are great for saving big on expensive trips.

Instead of having to pay points for every dollar of airfare, you can take advantage of the award price lists airlines offer their frequent fliers, which can let you get big rewards for less.

For example, here are some big trips you can get when you use Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card point transfer partners…

60,000 points – Roundtrip to Europe on United Airlines

Why pay $1,500 for a flight to Europe when you can book it with points. Transferring points to United MileagePlus lets you book it for United’s price of 60,000 miles roundtrip. That’s also a lot cheaper than points that don’t turn into real airline miles. With traditional bank points a $1,500 flight would cost 150,000 points, so you’re saving big with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card’s airline transfer feature.

57,500 points – One way to Europe in Business Class on United Airlines

Business class tickets are incredibly expensive, often $2,000 or more for just one way. But if you transfer your points to United MileagePlus, you can get a big, comfortable seat in United’s Business Class for just 57,500 miles one way if you’re flexible with your dates and times.

Transferring points to miles isn’t for everyone.

For cheap flights, you’re probably better off paying cash, or using the Chase website to book. And if you’re not at all flexible with your dates, you’re going to want to book with cash or use the Chase website to book with your points.

Here are some advantages and disadvantages of using point transfer for travel.

Advantages

• Great for more expensive tickets
• You can choose the program that better suits your needs
• You can add to miles you already have
• You can get really fancy trips for a lot less

Disadvantages

• Booking is more complicated
• The cheapest (Saver) award ticket may not be available on the days you want, so you have to be patient and flexible
• Taxes and fees are not included
• You don’t earn frequent flyer miles on flights you book with miles

Yes, airline miles have their share of rules that can make things frustrating. You’re not always going to find awards that the price you want on the flights you want, so you need to be flexible.

But airline miles let you snag tickets you wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford in cash, making your Chase points go a lot further.

With a lot of credit cards, 1,000 points just gets you $10 in cash value, so 60,000 points is worth $600. But with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card’s transfer partners there are all kinds of possibilities to get much more out of your points, so 60,000 points could get you $1,000, $1,500, or more in travel value if you take full advantage of partners.

You just need to be creative, flexible, and willing to learn. Our guide to using Chase Ultimate Rewards is a great place to start.

Is it worth $95 to keep?

With the $95 annual fee, is the card worth keeping?

If you’ve managed to take advantage of point transfers to airline and hotel programs, and are happy with how quickly you’re earning points, it’s a pretty easy decision to keep the card or switch to its more expensive sibling the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, that earns 2X points on travel and dining at restaurants & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases worldwide.

If you’re just using your points for cash back or booking travel on the Chase site, you’ll need to leverage the 2x points on dining and travel to make the fee worthwhile. To cover the fee, you’d need to spend around $4,000 a year on dining or travel, which would earn you about 8,000 points worth about $100 in travel via the Chase site or $80 in cash back.

Are you spending that much? A recent TD Bank survey suggests that an average American spends between $2,200 and $2,500 a year on eating out. And according to Hotel Online, the latest Travelex survey shows that an average American is spending $2,041 on vacation this year. Of course, your budget might be different, but if you are within this range, the extra points you earn from the 2x points on dining and travel spending will help more than cover the annual fee.

But if you’re really after cold, hard cash, there are better and sometimes cheaper options.

The no annual fee Citi® Double Cash Card – 18 month BT offer earns double cash on everything you purchase. You Earn 2% cash back on purchases 1% when you buy and 1% as you make payments for those purchases. It’s hard to beat that for straight cash rewards.

If you prefer to use your points for travel via the Chase site, and don’t spend a lot on dining or travel, the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card  ($0 intro for first year; $95 after that). You can use the points to pay for any travel purchase, no special booking site or airline point transfer required, and every 10,000 points is worth $100 in travel.

Travel protection benefits

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® isn’t just about travel rewards. It’s about covering your back when things go wrong on a trip.

With a great package of travel protection, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® can keep an accident, illness, or delay from costing you hundreds or thousands of dollars.

Get refunded if you can’t make a trip

If you get really sick and can’t make a trip, you don’t have to worry about getting a refund if you paid with a Chase Sapphire Reserve®. Trip Cancellation kicks in when due to a covered loss you can’t go on the trip, and the trip has to be canceled, and Trip Interruption coverage kicks in if you’re in the middle of a trip and can’t keep going. In both cases, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® covers you for up to $10,000 in refunds of travel that’s spoiled.

Who is covered?

You and your immediate family are covered, and they’re also covered even when you’re not traveling with them. Whatever travel you book for them with your card is covered. According to the Chase, immediate family may include your spouse or domestic partner, your and their children, legal guardians or wards, siblings or siblings-in-law, parents or parents-in-law, grandparents or grandchildren, aunts or uncles, nieces or nephews.

What triggers coverage?

You’ll be covered if any of the following causes you to miss your trip:

• Death, injury or sickness that affects you, your travel companion or an immediate family member
• Severe weather conditions that prevent you from going on the trip
• Military orders affecting you or your spouse/domestic partner
• Act of terrorism or hijacking
• Jury duty
• Court subpoena
• An accident that makes your or your travel companion house uninhabitable
• Medical quarantine
• Financial collapse of your travel provider

What if you booked an award trip?

Most airlines let you cancel and redeposit miles for a fee, so you don’t need much coverage for award travel. But if you can’t redeposit your miles, you can be reimbursed at a rate of 1 cent per point as long as you pay for the taxes or fees of your award ticket with the Chase Sapphire Reserve®.

Get paid if your flight is delayed

If your flight is delayed, airlines rarely pay for hotels and meals, so you could be on the hook for hundreds of dollars. But if you buy your flight with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® you can get reimbursed for these expenses via Trip Delay coverage, even when the airline leaves you out to dry. So when a big delay strikes you can book a comfortable bed in a hotel while other passengers are sleeping on the terminal floor.

Who is covered?

You, your spouse, and dependent children under the age of 22 are covered, even if you’re not traveling with them, as long as you pay for the flight with your card.

What is covered?

You can get up to $500 covered for delays longer than 12 hours are covered, including:

• Lodging
• Ground transportation
• Meals
• Toiletries
• Medication
• Other items for personal use

What if you booked an award trip?

Trip Delay insurance does cover award flights as long as some of your roundtrip flight, bus, train travel or cruise charges are paid for by the card. So even if you only pay the airport taxes with the card, you are still eligible.

Get covered if your baggage is delayed

If your bags are delayed, the airline doesn’t owe you much until it actually says the bags are gone for good. But when you book your flight with a Chase Sapphire Reserve®, you can get reimbursed for buying things you need while the bags are delayed, like a change of clothes or toiletries.

Who is covered?

You and all of your immediate family members are covered when you use your card to pay for their travel.

What is covered?

You can get up to $100 a day for up to 5 days to pay for essential items like clothing, toiletries, and charging cables.

Questions and Answers

What credit do I need to qualify?

You should have good to excellent credit and decent income to qualify for this card. There’s no explicit minimum FICO score to be approved, but generally scores of 700 or above are Excellent.

Who should not get this card?

Obviously, if you have a low credit score you might want to work on it before applying for a premium card like Chase Sapphire Reserve®. Other reasons you might not want to apply:

• You’re more interested in cash back than travel.
• You don’t eat out nearly enough to maximize the 2x category.
• You hate cards with an annual fee.

Can you get approved if you had a Chase Sapphire Reserve® a few years ago?

Yes. According to the core Chase rule, you can receive the sign up bonus if you don’t currently have the card and have not received the bonus in the last 24 months.

Can you combine points with existing Chase Ultimate Rewards points?

Yes, you can combine points across all Chase Ultimate Rewards cards.

Can you share points with family / friends?

Yes, but with a qualification. You can transfer points to the Chase Ultimate Rewards account of a family member who lives at the same address.  You can also transfer points to an authorized user’s partner airline mile or hotel point account, like United MileagePlus or Marriott Rewards, in which case you can have different addresses.

What card is a good companion to the Chase Sapphire Reserve®?

A great companion for the Chase Sapphire Reserve® is the no annual fee Chase Freedom Unlimited® which lets you earn 1.5% cash back offer The Chase Freedom® lets you earn Earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter you activate. Enjoy new 5% categories every 3 months. Unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases.. You can combine points from all of them into yourChase Sapphire Reserve® account, so you can maximize what you earn from your purchases and take advantage of all the travel rewards perks of the Chase Sapphire Reserve®.

Is there a business version of this card?

No, but there is a card that earns Ultimate Rewards you can transfer to airline partners called the Ink Business Preferred℠ Credit Card. It has different category spending bonuses, but the points work the same way.

Is there lounge access?

No. If you want free lounge access, you need one of the “ultra-premium” cards with a $450+ annual fee, such as Chase Sapphire Reserve®, The Ritz-Carlton™ Credit Card*, United MileagePlus® Club Card*, The Platinum Card® from American Express, or Citi Prestige®*.

When do points expire?

They won’t for as long as you keep your card account open. If you decide to close your account, make sure to redeem your points or transfer them to a loyalty program first, otherwise you’ll lose the points. You’ll be fine, though, if you have another premium Chase Ultimate Rewards card, such as the Chase Sapphire Reserve® or Ink Business Preferred℠ Credit Card. If you have a no annual fee card, such as the Chase Freedom® or Chase Freedom Unlimited®, you won’t lose the points, but you won’t be able to transfer them to a transfer partner once you close your Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card account.

What does 25% more value for travel mean?

It means that 1 point is worth 1.25 cents when you book travel on the Chase Ultimate Rewards site. So, 10,000 points is worth $125 in travel booked via the Chase site.

How do you file a Trip Cancelation or Interruption claim?

You must file the claim within 20 days after you know you’ll need to cancel and submit the proof of loss within 90 days, or as soon as reasonably possible. Aside from the claim form, you might need to send in a copy of your itinerary, the documentation supporting the reason for the cancellation or interruption, a copy of credit card statement, receipts, as well as a proof of the refund or cancellation.

How do you file a Trip Delay claim?

You must initiate your claim within 60 days of your delay and submit all the required documents within 100 days.

Very important: Do not throw away your boarding pass and keep the receipts for all your expenses (meals, purchases, etc.). You’ll need documentation of everything when you file your claim, including a statement from the airline with an explanation for the delay.

What are car rental privileges?

TheChase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers primary car rental collision damage coverage, which means you don’t have to file a claim with your own insurance company if you damage your rental car.

Most credit cards provide secondary coverage when you rent domestically, which means the coverage only kicks in after your own car insurance company pays for the damage up to the maximum. Needless to say, using your own car insurance to cover the damage to a rental car may raise your premiums.

There are some exclusions like…

• Rentals over 31 consecutive days.
• Exotic cars like Aston Martin, Bentley, Ferrari, etc.
• Antique cars or cars that have “not been manufactured for 10 years or more.”
• Large vans (over 8 people)

And know that injuries and liability aren’t covered by this or most credit card coverage.

Your credit card only covers theft and damage to the vehicle you rent, not injuries to you or other people.

If you have your own auto insurance policy, it probably already covers liability, but if you don’t, you can buy a supplementary liability insurance from your car rental agency.

Likewise, if you have personal injury protection from your own car insurance provider, it will cover injuries or death to you and/or your passengers. If not (not all states require this policy) you can buy personal accident insurance from your car rental agency.

Is it a Chip and PIN card?

No. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a Chip and Signature card which may or may not work in some overseas unmanned machines, for example in Europe. Unfortunately, it’s not possible to say beforehand whether it’s going to work or not, but you have a better chance if the charge is small. In many cases your Cash Advance Pin will work too, so have it with you even if you never take cash from your credit card.

Is it a MasterCard or Visa?

The card is typically issued as a Visa.

Can you earn Southwest Companion Pass with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card?

Transferring points from the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card to Southwest won’t help you earn Companion Pass status. But there are ways to transfer Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card points to a hotel partner like Marriott or Hyatt, and then from the hotel partner to Southwest that will help you earn Companion Pass.

What counts as a travel purchase?

Airfares, lodging, timeshares, campgrounds, car rentals, cruises, travel agencies including OTAs, trains and buses (commuter too), taxis, rideshare services, ferries, tolls and parking all count as travel purchases that earn 2x points with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. Gas does NOT count as a travel purchase. There’s a list of what earns 2x on travel on the Chase website.

How does the card stack up?

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a pretty strong card, but with an annual fee to think about, you’ll want to compare it to other popular travel rewards cards before you decide to apply.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card vs Chase Sapphire Reserve®

If you’re interested in the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, there’s a good chance you’ll find the Chase Sapphire Reserve® even more rewarding.

• Points are worth 1.5 cents with the Chase Sapphire Reserve® on the Chase website vs 1.25 cents with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.
• The Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers 3X points on travel immediately after earning your $300 travel credit. 3X points on dining at restaurants & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases. $0 foreign transaction fees. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers 2X points on travel and dining at restaurants & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases worldwide
• The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has no lounge access, while the Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers access to over 900 lounges.
• The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has no travel credit, while the Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers a $300 automatic credit per calendar year.
• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card’s Trip Delay coverage kicks in after 12 hours, while Chase Sapphire Reserve®’s after just 6.
• The Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers Medical Evacuation insurance.
• But the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has a $95 annual fee while the Chase Sapphire Reserve® has a $450 annual fee.

You’re a good candidate for the Chase Sapphire Reserve® if you spend over $500 a month on dining or travel to take advantage of the 3x points in those categories.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card vs Chase Freedom®

Get the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card if you want airline transfer partner options or spend a lot on dining and travel, or even better, pair it with the Chase Freedom® to maximize your point earning.

• The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card carries a $95 annual fee, while the Chase Freedom® is a $0 annual fee card.
• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card UR points can be transferred to airlines and hotels, while Chase Freedom® UR points can’t.
• The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers 2X points on travel and dining at restaurants & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases worldwide, while the Chase Freedom® lets you Earn 5% cash back on up to $1,500 in combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter you activate. Enjoy new 5% categories every 3 months. Unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases..
• The points from both cards can be redeemed for cash at the same rate – 1,000 points = $10 in cash back.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card vs Citi Premier℠ Card

The Citi Premier℠ Card would be a great card if it had stronger airline and hotel transfer partners, but it falls flat because none of the big U.S. airlines is a Citi ThankYou® partner, while the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card lets you leverage both United MileagePlus and Southwest Rapid Rewards.

• Both cards offer transfers to airlines and hotels, but the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has stronger partners like United and Southwest. The Citi Premier℠ Card doesn’t have a major U.S. airline partner.
• Both offer a 25% bonus for booking travel on their respective websites.
• Both offer 2X on dining.
• The Citi Premier℠ Card has 3X on travel while the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has 2X.
• The Citi Premier℠ Card includes gas and vacation rentals in its travel category, while the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card doesn’t.
• ThankYou® points can be combined between unrelated accounts, but they expire in 90 days.
• The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has Trip Delay and Primary Car Rental coverage.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card vs United℠ Explorer Card

If you’re trying to earn United miles, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a great choice with more flexibility, but you give up some special United perks like free bags and priority boarding that come with the United℠ Explorer Card.

• Both cards have a $0 Intro for First Year, then $95 annual fee.
• Both have primary Car Rental coverage.
• United miles can only be used on United and its partners, while Ultimate Rewards points can be transferred to United and 6 other airline programs.
• United cardholders earn 2x on United airfare purchases, while the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers 2x on all travel purchases.
• The United℠ Explorer Card offers a free first checked bag and priority boarding.
• The United℠ Explorer Card offers 2 lounge passes per year.
• You get access to better award availability on United flights with the United℠ Explorer Card.

The information related to the United℠ Explorer Card has been collected by CompareCards and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card prior to publication.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card vs Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card

If you don’t want to deal with airline miles at all, the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card is a great choice, but you give up the chance to book amazing rewards that real airline miles offer.

• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card’s annual fee $95, while the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card’s is $0 intro for first year; $95 after that.
• The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card earns 2X points on travel and dining at restaurants & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases worldwide, while the Capital One® Venture® Rewards Credit Card earns 2x in all categories.
• Venture points are not transferable to real miles with airline and hotel partners.
• You can use Venture points to pay for any flight – just buy it with your card and use points to erase it. Every 10,000 points is worth $100 in travel.
• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card points are worth more when you book via the Chase site. 10,000 points gets you $125 in travel.
• The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has Trip Delay insurance and Trip Cancellation coverage.
• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card points can be redeemed for cash at a rate of 10,000 points = $100, while Venture points can only be redeemed for cash at half that rate, so 10,000 points =$50 in cash back.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card vs Barclaycard Arrival Plus® World Elite Mastercard®

• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card’s annual fee is $95, while Barclaycard Arrival Plus® World Elite Mastercard®’s is $89 (waived first year).
• The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card earns 2X points on travel and dining at restaurants & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases worldwide.
• Barclaycard Arrival Plus® World Elite Mastercard® points are not transferable.
• The Barclaycard Arrival Plus® World Elite Mastercard® doesn’t let you book travel on its website.
• The redemption threshold is 10,000 points ($100).
• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card points can be redeemed for cash at 100:1, while Barclaycard Arrival Plus® World Elite Mastercard®’s for 100:0.5.

*The information related to the Barclaycard Arrival Plus® World Elite Mastercard®, the Citi Prestige®, The Ritz-Carlton™ Credit Card and the United MileagePlus® Club Card has been collected by CompareCards and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card vs  Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card

*If you’re trying to earn Southwest A list or Companion Pass status, Southwest’s own card is a better choice, but if you just want to add to your Rapid Rewards account with some flexibility to choose other airlines the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a better choice.

• You can use Southwest Rapid Rewards points only on Southwest, while the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card’s Ultimate Rewards points can be transferred to Southwest and 6 other airlines.
• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card’s $95 annual fee, while the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card’s $99 annual fee is not.
• The Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card gives you 6,000 points each year you renew the card, which can be worth almost $100 in Southwest travel
• Points you earn on the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card all count toward Companion Pass, while points you transfer from theChase Sapphire Preferred® Card don’t count.