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The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees) is one of the top travel credit cards available, ranking as CNBC Select's best travel credit card with an annual fee under $100 and the top travel rewards credit card for beginners.
Cardholders can take advantage of numerous travel benefits and a unique rewards program on top of the generous welcome bonus, which all make the $95 annual fee worthwhile. The Ultimate Rewards® points you earn with this card are some of the most lucrative credit card rewards due to their flexibility, including the ability to transfer points to various airline and hotel partners.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card packs a punch for a $95 annual fee card, offering annual travel credits, comprehensive travel protections and more.
- You can transfer rewards to all of Chase's travel partners including World of Hyatt, Southwest Rapid Rewards and many more
- Long list of travel and shopping protections
- $50 annual Chase Travel hotel credit
- Has an annual fee
- Requires a high credit score
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
- Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase TravelSM, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases
- Earn up to $50 in statement credits each account anniversary year for hotel stays through Chase TravelSM
- 10% anniversary points boost - each account anniversary you'll earn bonus points equal to 10% of your total purchases made the previous year.
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
- Complimentary DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees & lower service fees for a min. of one year when you activate by 12/31/27. Plus, a $10 promo each month on non-restaurant orders.
- Member FDIC
Balance transfer fee
Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater
Chase Sapphire Preferred review
Welcome bonus
New Chase Sapphire Preferred Card cardholders can earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Benefits and perks
Cardholders can benefit from various travel and purchase protections that increase the value of the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card.
Shopping
The Chase Sapphire Preferred offers high spending limits and purchases made with the card are eligible for purchase protection and extended warranty protection.
Chase Offers provides exclusive shopping discounts at select retailers. These offers typically give you a set dollar amount of cash back as a statement credit, applied to your account within 14 business days.
Chase also offers an online shopping portal that provides extra rewards on purchases made through a special link. You can receive extra points by using the link provided through the portal and paying with your qualifying Chase Sapphire Preferred.
Travel
There are a variety of perks offered that can add peace of mind to travelers, including an up to $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit, trip cancellation and interruption insurance, primary rental car insurance, baggage delay insurance, trip delay reimbursement and travel and emergency assistance services.
Plus, cardholders benefit from no foreign transaction fees on purchases made outside the U.S., which saves you the typical 3% fee other cards may charge.
Other benefits
Through Dec. 31, 2027, cardholders can enroll for a complimentary DoorDash DashPass membership, valid for a minimum of one year.
How to earn and redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards® points
Earning
This Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is geared toward travelers and foodies with the ability to earn 5X on travel purchased through Chase Travel, 3X on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2X on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases, $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit, plus more.
On top of that, the Chase Sapphire Preferred provides cardholders an anniversary bonus equal to 10% of your total purchases made the previous year. That means if you spend $25,000 on purchases, you'll get 2,500 bonus points at the end of the anniversary year.
Redeeming
There are many ways to redeem Ultimate Rewards® points. To start, you can redeem points for straight cash back or gift cards at a rate of 1 cent per point.
The card also offers an option that can potentially increase the value of your points:
- Chase TravelSM: Use your points to book hotels, airfare, cruises and more directly through the travel portal.
The most valuable option is generally to transfer your points to one of Chase's hotel and airline partners. Transferring your points to partners typically yields much higher value, especially if you want to redeem for luxury travel.
Chase's 14 transfer partners include:
- Aer Lingus AerClub
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- British Airways Executive Club
- Emirates Skywards
- Flying Blue (KLM and Air France)
- Iberia Plus
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
- United MileagePlus
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- IHG One Rewards
- Marriott Bonvoy
- World of Hyatt
To give you an idea of the redemption possibilities, you could transfer as little as 100,000 points to United to fly one-way from the U.S. to Europe in business class — a flight that normally costs thousands of dollars if you're paying with cash. Alternatively, you can transfer your points to World of Hyatt and book hotels for as little as 3,500 points per night.
Check out our guide to the best ways to use Chase Ultimate Rewards® points to learn more about this valuable travel hack.
Don't miss: What are Chase Ultimate Rewards® points worth?
Rates and fees
The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card has a $95 annual fee. This fee isn't as high as other travel credit cards, such as the luxury Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees), which has a $795 annual fee. It can be easily offset if you take full advantage of the rewards program.
You could recoup the Chase Sapphire Preferred's $95 annual fee by spending as little as $3,800 on travel and/or dining each year and redeeming points through Chase Travel. If you don't redeem points through the portal, you'd need to spend a total of $4,750 annually on combined travel and dining.
The APR is fairly typical at 19.24% - 27.49% variable on purchases and balance transfers. We recommend always paying on time and in full to avoid interest charges.
Card comparison
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card vs. Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card are two comparable cards that both have $95 annual fees and an array of travel perks. For the same $95 annual fee, the Venture Rewards Card offers 5X miles on hotel and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 2X miles on all other purchases. Standout benefits include a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit up to $120 every four years.
The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card has a reasonable annual fee and earns flexible travel rewards, which makes it a great travel card for beginners or heavy travelers.
- Valuable welcome offer worth at least $750 in travel
- You can transfer miles to over 15 Capital One partners, including Emirates Skywards, Choice Privileges and Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- No foreign transaction fees
- Lacks ongoing travel benefits such as statement credits or lounge access
- Limited bonus spending category that only applies to certain Capital One Travel bookings
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- Earn a one-time bonus of 75,000 miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening, equal to $750 in travel
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day
- Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- Miles won't expire for the life of the account and there's no limit to how many you can earn
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®
- Use your miles to get reimbursed for any travel purchase—or redeem by booking a trip through Capital One Travel
- Enjoy a $50 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Lifestyle Collection
- Transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Top rated mobile app
Balance transfer fee
$0 at the Transfer APR, 4% of the amount of each transferred balance that posts to your account at a promotional APR that Capital One may offer to you
Foreign transaction fee
None
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card vs. American Express Gold Card
If you spend a lot of money on food — whether it be at grocery stores or restaurants — consider the American Express® Gold Card. The card has a slightly higher annual fee of $325 (see rates and fees) but also comes with more statement credits to make up for it.
Cardmembers earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year, 3X Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com or on the Amex Travel App and 1X Membership Rewards point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases. Benefits include up to $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Enjoy up to $120 in Uber Cash annually with your Gold Card. Just add your Card to your Uber account and you'll get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an Amex Card for your transaction. Point caps and terms apply. Earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express Gold Card at Grubhub(including Seamless), Buffalo Wild Wings, Five Guys, The Cheesecake Factory, and Wonder. Enrollment required. Terms Apply.
The American Express Gold Card is great for earning valuable Membership Rewards® points at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets.
- You can earn $400+ in dining and rideshare credits every year (Enrollment required for select benefits mentioned)
- Exceptionally rewarding for eligible restaurant and U.S. supermarket purchases
- No foreign transaction fees
- Larger annual fee
- Credits are more complicated, you earn them monthly or semi-annually
Highlights
Highlights shown here are provided by the issuer and have not been reviewed by CNBC Select's editorial staff.
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you're approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you're approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- New! Earn 5X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotel stays booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked through AmexTravel.com, the Amex Travel App, or purchased directly from airlines.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid car rentals booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App and cruises booked and paid through AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- Pay It® lets you tap in the American Express® App to quickly pay for small purchase amounts throughout the month and still earn rewards the way you usually do. Plan It® gives you the option to split up big purchases into equal monthly payments with a fixed fee. You'll know upfront exactly how much you'll pay.
- Updated! $120 Dining Credit: Earn up to a total of $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the Gold Card at Grubhub (including Seamless), Buffalo Wild Wings, Five Guys, The Cheesecake Factory, and Wonder. This can be an annual savings of up to $120. Enrollment required.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year at over 10,000 qualifying U.S. Resy restaurants after you pay for eligible purchases with the American Express® Gold Card. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: Earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment required.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Enjoy up to $120 in Uber Cash annually with your Gold Card. Just add your Card to your Uber account and you'll get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an Amex Card for your transaction.
- New! As an American Express® Gold Card Member, you can enjoy complimentary Hertz Five Star® Status. Enjoy benefits like skipping the counter at select locations, adding an additional driver at no additional cost*, and vehicle upgrades**. Benefit enrollment and Hertz Gold+ registration are required. *Additional drivers must meet standard rental qualifications and must be a spouse or domestic partner to qualify as complimentary. Other additional drivers subject to fees. **Benefits are subject to availability and vary by location. Additional Hertz program Terms and Conditions including age restrictions apply.
- Take advantage of a $100 credit towards eligible charges* at over 1,300 upscale hotels worldwide when you book The Hotel Collection through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App **. *Eligible charges vary by property. **The Hotel Collection requires a two-night minimum stay.
- Book your travel through the Amex Travel App with added peace of mind – backed by American Express® service and support. Only for American Express® Card Members.
- Whenever you need us, we're here. Our Member Services team will ensure you are taken care of. From lost Card replacement to statement questions, we are available to help 24/7.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.
- See Rates & Fees
Foreign transaction fee
None
Bottom line
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a great choice for travelers looking to enjoy added value on travel-related point redemptions, travel protections and discounts. The $95 annual fee is modest compared to some competing travel credit cards and can easily be recouped if you maximize using the card.
If you want a luxury travel card with more benefits and don't mind paying a higher fee, consider the Chase Sapphire Reserve. (Check out the five best perks provided by the Chase Sapphire Reserve.)
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For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here.
