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Chase Sapphire Preferred®
- Our Rating 5/5 How our ratings work
- APR20.49% - 27.49% (Variable)
- Annual Fee$95
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60,000
60,000Chase Ultimate Rewards Points
Earn 60,000 points after you spend $4,000 within three months of account opening. Dollar Equivalent: $1,320 (60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points * .022 base)
The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is one of the gold standards for earning travel rewards. It starts you off with a generous sign-up bonus, and then continues to offer strong value by allowing you to earn points on all travel and dining expenses.
One of the Best Travel Rewards Card For Beginners and Experts Alike
There’s no one best travel credit card that’s right for everyone, but the Chase Sapphire Preferred® actually works like having over a dozen different rewards credit cards. That’s because this credit card allows you to transfer your rewards points into miles with 11 airlines and points with three hotel programs.
Although the Chase Sapphire Preferred might not be ideal for the most frequent travelers and highest spenders, it’s part of a family of Chase cards that has a built-in upgrade path. So when it comes time to take your travel rewards game to the next level, you won’t have to start from scratch with an entirely different credit card and rewards program.
Pros
- Points are easily transferable to airlines and hotel partners
- Accelerated earnings on dining, travel & household purchases
- Excellent travel and purchase protections
- No foreign transaction fees
Cons
- Not ideal for the highest spenders
- $95 annual fee
Sign-Up Bonus
New cardholders can earn 60,000 bonus points after using their new credit card to spend $4,000 within three months of account opening. Right off the bat, this bonus is worth $750 when redeeming points to book travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards. However, it's possible to squeeze even more value out of this bonus if you know the best ways to redeem your points.
Our points and miles guide estimates that Chase Ultimate Rewards points are worth an average of 2.2 cents per dollar when redeemed for travel. That means this bonus could potentially be worth $1,320 (or more) if you can find a way to redeem your points for their maximum value.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred bonus is generally regarded as among the best credit card bonuses available.
Who Should (and Shouldn’t) Get the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card?
Rewards
This credit card offers accelerated rewards earning for travel and dining purchases.
| Bonus Category | Rewards Rate | Limit |
| Travel booked through Chase | 5x points per dollar | None |
| Dining | 3x points per dollar | None |
| Select Streaming Services | 3x points per dollar | None |
| Online Grocery Purchases† | 3x points per dollar | None |
| Travel | 2x points per dollar | None |
| Other Purchases | 1x points per dollar | None |
The Chase Sapphire Preferred earns 5x points per dollar spent on all travel booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3x points on dining (including eligible takeout and delivery services), 3x points on select streaming services, 3x points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs) and 2x points per dollar spent on travel purchases. In fact, Chase broadly defines travel to include not just airfare, hotels and rental cars, but expenses like parking, tolls and public transit too.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred awards 1x point per dollar on all other spending.
Related Article
13 Years After Launch, Here’s Why the Chase Sapphire Preferred is Still the Best Travel Card for Beginners
Chase Sapphire Preferred Benefits
In addition to the limited-time offer of a 60,000 point bonus and accelerated earnings for travel, household and dining purchases, the Chase Sapphire Preferred features some of the best travel and purchase protections available.
Travel Protections
The Sapphire Preferred offers valuable travel insurance benefits including trip cancellation, trip interruption and baggage and trip delay protections.
Purchase Protections
When shopping online or in-person, the Chase Sapphire Preferred includes purchase protection for damage or theft up to 120 days and an automatic extended manufacturer’s warranty where applicable.
4 of the Best Alternatives to the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
Redeeming Points
Chase Ultimate Rewards points are travel rewards points from the card issuer Chase. Points are best redeemed for non-refundable travel expenses, either through the Ultimate Rewards website or by transferring them to travel partners.
According to our points and miles valuation guide, Chase points are worth 2.2 cents each. That’s in the top tier of rewards points.
The list of Chase Ultimate Rewards airline partners includes:
- Aer Lingus
- Aeroplan/Air Canada
- British Airways
- Emirates
- Flying Blue (Air France/KLM)
- Iberia
- JetBlue
- Singapore Airlines (KrisFlyer)
- Southwest
- United Airlines
- Virgin Atlantic
Chase Ultimate Rewards gives you access to all of the three big airline alliances. For example, you could use British Airways points to book flights on American Airlines.
The list of Chase Ultimate Rewards Hotel partners includes:
- Hyatt
- IHG
- Marriott
Marriott has the biggest list of properties of any hotel chain in the world. The Hyatt program has gained popularity since Marriott launched its new Bonvoy program, however.
IHG also offers a large list of popular and luxury brands. In fact, Chase offers a fee-free IHG co-branded card that offers great value and a big signup bonus for a no-annual-fee credit card.
Related Article
10 Ways to Redeem 60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards Points for Travel
Is the Sapphire Preferred Right for You?
The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is one of the gold standards for earning travel rewards. It starts you off with a generous sign-up bonus, and then continues to offer strong value by allowing you to earn double points on all travel and dining expenses.
But when it comes time to redeem your rewards for travel, this credit card really shines. You can take advantage of some really strong transfer partners such as United, Southwest, Singapore, Virgin Atlantic and Hyatt. Or, you can very easily just book any reservation you want through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel center. Plus, the Chase Sapphire Preferred sign-up bonus is among our best credit card bonuses.
Ready to apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred? Start here.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
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Chase will evaluate your credit report and, if approved, will assign you a limit based on your creditworthiness. The minimum credit limit for the Chase Sapphire Preferred is $5,000, according to Chase’s terms and conditions. The issuer does not publish the maximum credit limit an applicant will receive after approval. However, anecdotal accounts from cardholders online report access to limits between $10,000 to as much as $20,000.
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You can avoid the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card’s annual fee by being an active duty service member or by simply asking the issuer to waive the fee. For eligible service members, Chase will need to confirm your military status, which is typically done during the initial application process. Otherwise, if you choose to call Chase customer service, your agent may offer a one-time waiver for the annual fee. In some cases, they may offer you a statement credit equal to the amount of the annual fee. Keep in mind that Chase is under no obligation to grant you an annual fee waiver.
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You’ll likely need between 10,000 and 40,000 points for a free one-way economy flight booked through Ultimate Rewards Travel. You’ll need even more points if you want to fly mixed class, premium economy, or business class for free.
Bear in mind that the amount of points you’ll actually need for a free ticket will depend on an airline’s variable pricing factors, such as the destination, time of day, date of travel, and demand, to name a few. Also, you can redeem points for outsized value by transferring your Ultimate Rewards to a Chase travel partner, but the average number of points you’ll need varies widely depending on the transfer rate and a specific airline’s rewards schedule.
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While there isn’t an official credit score requirement for the card, most online affiliates estimate that you’ll need “good” to “excellent” credit scores. As a rule of thumb, higher credit scores are more likely to be approved.
Jason Steele
Jason Steele is a journalist who specializes in covering credit cards, award travel and other areas of personal finance. As one of the nation’s leading experts in the credit card industry, Jason’s work has been featured at mainstream outlets such as Yahoo! Finance, MSN Money and Business Insider.
