Chase Sapphire Preferred Card Review

If you’re a frequent traveler who wants to earn an influx of rewards to use toward free travel, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is an ideal choice. The card offers the following sign-up bonus: Earn 80,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,000 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. Plus earn a $50 statement credit towards grocery store purchases within your first year of account opening.

Cardholders also earn 2X points on dining at restaurants including eligible delivery services, takeout and dining out and travel & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases worldwide. Plus, earn rewards on grocery store purchases for a limited time.

Along with redeeming points for cash, statement credits, gift cards, travel, and products and services, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card holders can transfer points to a variety of travel transfer partners at a rate of 1:1.

Although the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card charges an annual fee of $95, the value you can get from the card’s sign-up bonus and rewards rate more than makes up for the cost.

In this review, we’ll break down the pros and cons of the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, as well as show how it compares to the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card.

• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card pros
• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card cons
• Compare it with the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
• Which credit card is right for me?

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card pros

Sign-up bonus. Earn 80,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,000 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. Plus earn a $50 statement credit towards grocery store purchases within your first year of account opening.

Rewards rate. Cardholders earn 2X points on dining at restaurants including eligible delivery services, takeout and dining out and travel & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases worldwide. Additionally, from Nov. 1, 2020 through April 30, 2021, cardholders earn 2X points on up to $1,000 in grocery store purchases per month, including pickup and eligible grocery store delivery services.

25% boost in rewards value. When you redeem your points for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards, you’ll get 25% more value from your rewards. So instead of being worth 1 cent each, points will be worth 1.25 cents each.

Pay Yourself Back limited-time offer. From May 31, 2020 through April 30, 2021, cardholders can also get 25% more value from their points when redeemed for statement credits to cover purchases in the following categories: grocery stores, dining (including restaurants, takeout and eligible delivery services) and home improvement stores, such as Home Depot and Lowes.

To receive your statement credit, select an eligible purchase made within the past 90 days and apply your points to all or part of the purchase.

Travel transfer partners. You can transfer points at a rate of 1:1 to 10 airline partners and three hotel partners. Travel transfer partners include Aer Lingus AerClub, British Airways Executive Club, Emirates Skywards, Flying Blue AIR FRANCE KLM, Iberia Plus, JetBlue TrueBlue, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards, United MileagePlus, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, IHG Rewards Club, Marriott Bonvoy and World of Hyatt.

Additional Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card benefits

• $0 foreign transaction fees
• Trip cancellation/interruption insurance
• Baggage delay insurance
• Trip delay reimbursement
• Travel and emergency assistance services
• Purchase protection
• Extended warranty protection

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card cons

Annual fee. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card comes with a $95 annual fee. However, the value of the sign-up bonus more than covers that cost during the first year of card membership.

Modest rewards rate. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers 2X points on dining at restaurants including eligible delivery services, takeout and dining out and travel & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases worldwide

That said, the travel category does include a broad range of purchases, including airlines, discounted travel sites, hotels, car rental agencies, timeshares, cruise lines, taxis, ferries, toll bridges, parking lots and more.

Compare it with the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

If you want more flexibility in how you earn bonus rewards, you may want to consider the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card.

Instead of limiting your bonus points to travel and dining purchases, the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card offers 2 miles per dollar on every purchase, every day.

	Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card	Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Annual fee	$95	$95
Sign-up bonus	Earn 80,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,000 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. Plus earn a $50 statement credit towards grocery store purchases within your first year of account opening.	Earn 100,000 bonus miles when you spend $20,000 on purchases in the first 12 months from account opening, or still earn 50,000 miles if you spend $3,000 on purchases in the first 3 months
Rewards	2X points on dining at restaurants including eligible delivery services, takeout and dining out and travel & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases worldwide	2 Miles per dollar on every purchase, every day
Intro APR on purchases	N/A	N/A
Regular purchase APR	15.99% - 22.99% variable	17.24% - 24.49% (variable)
Foreign transaction fees	$0	None

While the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card comes with several benefits, including travel accident insurance and 24-hour travel assistance services, it doesn’t offer all of the same travel protections as the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, such as trip cancellation/interruption insurance, baggage delay insurance or trip delay reimbursement.

Which credit card is right for me?

If you travel regularly, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a great option. The card offers a valuable sign-up bonus that’s worth $1,000 when redeemed for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards,  as well as an elevated rewards rate on travel, dining at restaurants and grocery store purchases.

But if you want a travel rewards card that offers bonus miles on every purchase you make, the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is more ideal.

Or, if you’d prefer a travel rewards card with a higher rewards rate and more premium benefits, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® is a step above the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.

The card offers 3X points on travel immediately after earning your $300 travel credit. 3X points on dining at restaurants including eligible delivery services, takeout and dining out & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases. Plus,  cardholders can enjoy 10x points on Lyft rides through March 2022, in addition to 15% off Lyft car rides and a year of complimentary Lyft Pink membership.

Additionally, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card offers several valuable benefits, including a $300 annual travel credit and 50% more rewards value when you redeem points for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards and as statement credits in the following categories through April 2021: grocery stores, dining and home improvement stores.

The downside? The card comes with an annual fee of $550.