Is the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card worth the $95 annual fee?

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees) is one of the best travel credit cards — period. It earns valuable flexible rewards and can save you hundreds with its built-in travel and shopping protections.

When you consider how much value and versatility this card provides, it's not difficult to justify its reasonable $95 annual fee.

Welcome bonus

The Chase Sapphire Preferred's welcome bonus can earn you 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

You can also transfer points to Chase's travel partners, like United, British Airways, Southwest or Hyatt. By taking advantage of the best travel partner deals, you can receive even more value by transferring points to book luxury hotels and expensive flights.

Rewards

The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card earns Chase points at the following rates:

• 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travel
• 5X points on all Lyft rides through Sept. 30, 2027
• 5X points on eligible Peloton purchases of $150+ (up to 25,000 total points) through December 31, 2027
• 3X points on dining
• 3X points on select streaming services
• 3X points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target®, Walmart® and wholesale clubs)
• 2X points on all other travel purchases
• 1X points on all other purchases

Based on these rewards rates, you could recoup the card's $95 annual fee after spending $2,534 on dining or $3,800 on general travel each year and redeeming your points through Chase Travel.

Additionally, Chase Sapphire Preferred cardholders earn an anniversary bonus equal to 10% of their total purchases from the previous year. That means if you spend $25,000 on purchases, you'll get 2,500 bonus points (worth $25 cash or $31.25 in travel).

Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit

Each anniversary year, you can get up to $50 in statement credits for hotel stays purchased through Chase Travel. This perk effectively reduces your annual fee to $45, helping you earn back over half of the fee.

Complimentary DashPass

Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.

Other benefits

The Chase Sapphire Preferred comes with a host of purchase and travel protections, including extended warranty protection, baggage delay insurance, primary rental car insurance, trip delay reimbursement and more. It also charges no foreign transaction fees when using the card abroad and offers high spending limits.

These perks cannot be assigned a specific dollar amount and don't always have immediate value. However, they're invaluable in certain situations and have the potential to save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

Although the Chase Sapphire Preferred is a good starter card for beginners to points and miles, it's probably not for people applying for their first-ever credit card. The Chase Sapphire Preferred requires good to excellent credit to qualify, so you should aim for a credit score of at least 700. While there's no minimum income requirement, the higher your income, the better your approval odds — and the higher credit limit you'll get. There are many resources available for you to check your credit score for free, such as CreditWise® from Capital One and Chase Credit Journey.

Note that this card doesn't offer any interest-free financing options, so you'll want to pay your balances in full so you don't incur interest charges.

Application rules

You'll have a tougher time getting approved if you exceed Chase's 5/24 limit. The unofficial Chase 5/24 rule limits your approval odds with Chase if you've opened five or more credit cards from any card issuer in the past 24 months. Business credit cards that aren't reported to your personal credit report typically don't add to your 5/24 count.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a great low-cost travel card, but if you aren't eligible for it, there are other valuable options.

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is a comparable card. For the same $95 annual fee, it offers 5X miles per dollar on hotel and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel and 2X miles per dollar on all other purchases. Standout benefits include a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit up to $120.

You can enjoy 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.

If you like what the Sapphire Preferred offers but want more premium perks like airport lounge access, consider the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees). You’ll receive an annual $300 travel credit that can offset airfare, hotels, tolls and more. Plus, you’ll get a complimentary Priority Pass^TM Select membership with access to over 1,300+ VIP airport lounges worldwide (valued at $469).

You also earn 8X points on all purchases through Chase Travel^SM, including The Edit^SM and 4X points on flights and hotels booked direct instead of the 2X points you receive on most travel you purchase with the Sapphire Preferred.

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