Chase Sapphire Preferred Review: The Best Value $95 Annual Fee Card

Link: Apply now for the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card with 75K bonus points

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is one of the most popular travel rewards cards out there, and for good reason. The card has a reasonable annual fee, great rewards structure, and offers valuable travel protection. In this post, I want to take an in-depth look at this card, and share why this card can be worth having in your wallet.

Chase Sapphire Preferred bonus & fee basics

While a lot of people nowadays talk about the Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card (review), this card was built on the basics of the Chase Sapphire Preferred. For many, the Sapphire Reserve has overshadowed the Sapphire Preferred in recent years, but I’m not sure that should consistently be the case.

I consider the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card worthy of consideration for travel rewards experts and novices alike, thanks to the value it can unlock with a low annual fee. Let’s go over everything you need to know about the card.

Welcome bonus of 75K Ultimate Rewards points

The Chase Sapphire Preferred currently has an improved welcome bonus of 75,000 Ultimate Rewards points after spending $5,000 within three months. For context, previously the bonus was 60,000 points, so this is 20% better than before.

Personally, I value Ultimate Rewards points at 1.7 cents each, so to me, the welcome offer is worth $1,275. That’s a solid bonus on a rewarding card.

Card welcome bonus eligibility restrictions

Officially, here are the restrictions when it comes to applying for the Chase Sapphire Preferred:

This credit card is unavailable to you if you currently have one open. The new cardmember bonus may not be available to you if you currently have any other personal Sapphire cards open, previously held this card or received a new cardmember bonus for this card. We may also consider the number of cards you have opened and closed, as well as other factors in determining your bonus eligibility.

As you can see, officially the welcome offer isn’t available to those who currently have this card or another Sapphire card open, and it may not be available to those who have received a new cardmember bonus on this card in the past.

Chase now uses a pop-up feature during the application process, which should let you know if you’re not eligible for the bonus on a card. It’s worth emphasizing the use of the word “may” in the application terms. For example, you may not be eligible for the welcome offer if you’ve received a bonus on this exact card in the past, but that’s not a consistent policy, and there are many data points of people qualifying in spite of having received a bonus in the past.

It’s also worth being aware that Chase will often let you product change from one card to another, assuming you’ve had a card for at least 12 months. For example, if you apply for the Sapphire Preferred, you could later upgrade it to the Sapphire Reserve. Just keep in mind you wouldn’t be eligible for the bonus on a card if you get it through a product change.

Reasonable $95 annual fee

The Chase Sapphire Preferred has an affordable $95 annual fee, making it one of the best low annual fee cards. You can add authorized users to the card at no extra cost, and any spending they put on their card will contribute toward the points you earn.

Chase Sapphire Preferred points earning structure

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is an industry-leading card in terms of its rewards structure. When picking a credit card, I always recommend getting one that has bonus categories that match up with your spending profile, and I think the categories on the Sapphire Preferred will prove useful to a lot of consumers.

5x points on Chase Travel portal bookings

The Sapphire Preferred offers 5x points on travel booked through Chase Travel. This includes prepaid travel purchases made online or by phone, as long as they’re done through Chase’s Ultimate Rewards travel department. Eligible purchases include airline tickets, hotels, car rentals, vacation rentals, and cruises.

Since I value Ultimate Rewards points at 1.7 cents each, to me that’s the equivalent of an 8.5% return on travel spending, but only through Chase Travel. While some people will no doubt benefit from that, I do find this to be somewhat limiting, since there are downsides and opportunity costs to not booking direct with an airline, hotel, etc.

5x points on Lyft rides

Chase and Lyft have a partnership, and with this, the Sapphire Preferred earns 5x points on Lyft rides, valid through September 2027. To me, that’s the equivalent of an 8.5% return on Lyft spending, making this one of the best cards for rideshare spending.

3x points on dining

The Sapphire Preferred offers 3x points on dining purchases globally. The dining category includes sit-down and eat-in dining, ranging from fine dining, to fast food, to cafes. On top of that, takeout and delivery also qualifies. To me, that’s the equivalent of a 5.1% return on dining spending.

3x Points On Online Grocery Purchases

The Sapphire Preferred offers 3x points on online grocery purchases, excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs. This includes purchases for grocery pickup and delivery that are placed online with grocery stores, specialty food stores, and meal kit delivery services.

While admittedly not everyone orders groceries online, this is an excellent bonus category. To me, that’s the equivalent of a 5.1% return on online grocery store spending.

3x points on select streaming services

The Sapphire Preferred offers 3x points on select streaming services. Select streaming services include Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+, Netflix, Sling, Vudu, Fubo TV, Apple Music, Pandora, Spotify, and YouTube TV. To me that’s the equivalent of a 5.1% return on streaming services spending.

2x points on travel

The Sapphire Preferred offers 2x points on travel purchases globally. Of course, you can earn 5x points on travel purchases directly through Chase, but all other travel purchases are eligible to earn 2x points. To me that’s the equivalent of a 3.4% return on travel spending. The travel category includes airlines, airports, car rental agencies, cruise ships, hotels and motels, timeshares, local and commuter transportation, and travel agencies.

10% anniversary bonus points

The Sapphire Preferred offers a 10% anniversary points bonus. The way this works, each account anniversary year you’ll earn bonus points equal to 10% of the total spending in points from purchases made with your credit card during the previous account anniversary year.

You won’t receive the 10% anniversary points bonus based on any sign-up bonuses or bonus categories, but rather the 10% bonus applies to base spending. In other words, if you had $50,000 in eligible purchases on the card in an anniversary year, you’d receive 5,000 bonus points.

No foreign transaction fees on spending

The Sapphire Preferred has no foreign transaction fees, so this is an excellent card to use for purchases globally since you can earn valuable rewards while not being stuck with those fees, which can be as high as 3%.

Chase Sapphire Preferred points redemption options

The Chase Sapphire Preferred earns Ultimate Rewards Points, which I find to be one of the most valuable flexible points currencies. Ultimate Rewards points can be redeemed in a variety of ways, though personally, my favorite use is transferring them to airline & hotel partners. Points can be moved at a 1:1 ratio to the below programs. transfer at a 1:1 ratio to the below programs.

Personally, this is my favorite way to redeem Ultimate Rewards points, given the outsized value this can offer for luxury travel, whether it’s a five-star hotel, or a first and business class flight.

For example, you could transfer 25,000-35,000 points to World of Hyatt for a free night redemption at the Park Hyatt Maldives.

Or you could transfer 72,500 points to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club for a redemption in All Nippon Airways first class between the west coast of the United States and Japan.

However, that’s not the only way you can redeem Ultimate Rewards points. You can also redeem them through the Ultimate Rewards portal, for everything from gift cards, to flight and hotel redemptions. Typically, Ultimate Rewards points will get you a minimum of one cent per point of value toward travel redemptions, though thanks to the Points Boost feature, you can sometimes get more value with points than that.

Chase Sapphire Preferred benefits & perks

The Chase Sapphire Preferred offers quite a few benefits that make this card even more valuable, from car rental coverage, to benefits that can earn you more points, to other travel and purchase protection. Let’s take a look at how those benefits work.

$50 anniversary hotel credit

The Sapphire Preferred offers a $50 annual Ultimate Rewards hotel credit. The way this works, you receive a statement credit for a hotel accommodation purchase made through Chase Travel, up to $50. There’s no minimum spending required, so in theory, you could book a $50 hotel room, and then get a $50 statement credit.

This benefit is based on your account anniversary year, and you even receive this in the first year that you have the card.

Travel protection and purchase coverage

The Chase Sapphire Preferred offers quite a bit of valuable travel and purchase protection, including the below.

Primary rental car coverage

The Chase Sapphire Preferred offers primary collision damage waiver coverage against damage up to the cost of most rental car vehicles, provided you decline the CDW coverage offered by the rental agency. You’ll want to check your cardmember agreement for full details. To me, this is one of the most important perks offered by any premium credit card.

DoorDash DashPass membership

The Sapphire Preferred offers a DoorDash DashPass membership, for a minimum of one year, when enrolled by December 31, 2027.

With DoorDash DashPass, you pay a $0 delivery fee when placing eligible orders with thousands of restaurants and grocery stores nationwide. You just need to place an order of at least $12 from an eligible restaurant, or $25 from an eligible grocery store, and you’ll get a $0 delivery fee and a reduced service fee.

Chase Offers

One of the great features of Chase cards is access to Chase Offers, which provides savings on purchases with all kinds of retailers. This program has saved me a significant amount of money, as I’ve seen offers with retailers I’d make purchases with anyway.

Is the Chase Sapphire Preferred worth it?

Let me answer this question very simply — if you don’t have the Chase Sapphire Preferred and are eligible, then yes, the card is worth getting. The card’s welcome bonus is excellent, the bonus categories are great, the perks are awesome, and this is also a fantastic “hub” card for Chase Ultimate Rewards.

This is one of the few cards that’s both ideal for someone just getting started in miles & points, while also being a card that lots of experienced points junkies have.

Beyond that, let’s take a look at some of the factors to consider when applying for this card, ranging from a comparison to the Sapphire Reserve, to other cards to consider in place of this, to cards to consider as complements.

Comparison: Sapphire Preferred vs. Sapphire Reserve

The Sapphire Reserve is an even more premium version of the Sapphire Preferred — which of these two cards is better? Let’s compare them across a few categories:

• Welcome bonus: The Sapphire Preferred has a welcome bonus of 75,000 points upon completing minimum spending, while the Sapphire Reserve has a welcome bonus of 100,000 points plus a $500 Chase Travel credit after completing minimum spending
• Annual fee: The Sapphire Preferred has a $95 annual fee, while the Sapphire Reserve has a $795 annual fee
• Points earning: The Sapphire Preferred offers 3x points on dining, online grocery purchases, and select streaming services, 2x points on travel, and 10% anniversary points bonus, while the Sapphire Reserve offers 8x points on Chase Travel, 4x points on flights and hotels booked directly, and 3x points on dining
• Other perks: The cards have some overlap in terms of benefits, though the Sapphire Reserve has the edge of offering a bunch of benefits, including up to $500 in annual hotel credits, up to $300 in annual travel credits, up to $300 in annual dining credits, a Priority Pass membership, access to Chase Sapphire Lounges, a TSA PreCheck, NEXUS, or Global Entry fee credit every four years, Visa Infinite perks, and more

Long term, I think the Sapphire Reserve could be worth it if you can maximize all the benefits and credits, and also if you value lounge access. However, if you don’t value that as much, I think there’s a case to be made for the Sapphire Preferred. The card offers some better bonus categories on spending (plus the 10% anniversary points bonus), and a $50 hotel credit, all with a lower annual fee.

I think there’s no right or wrong answer as to which card is better. It all comes down to whether you value the incremental perks of the Sapphire Reserve, including lounge access. You can always apply for one card, and once you’ve had the card for at least a year, you could product change to the other card.

Complements: Freedom Flex & Freedom Unlimited

If you have the Sapphire Preferred, then it’s totally also worth picking up the Chase Freedom Flex^SM (review) and Chase Freedom Unlimited® (review). These cards have no annual fees and can hugely supercharge your points earning, and you can combine them with Ultimate Rewards points:

• Both cards offer 3x points on drugstores, so you can earn more Ultimate Rewards points using those cards for another category
• The Freedom Flex offers 5x points in rotating quarterly categories, on up to $1,500 of spending per quarter
• The Freedom Unlimited offers 1.5x points on all purchases, making it one of the best cards for everyday spending

Both cards offer you better rewards on drugstores than the Sapphire Preferred directly does, and then the Freedom Unlimited offers more points on everyday spending, while the Freedom Flex offers more points in rotating categories.

Chase Sapphire Preferred alternatives

The Chase Sapphire Preferred has some cards in its competitive set, so let’s take a look at how they compare, and how to decide which card is best for you.

Citi Strata Premier Card

I’d argue that the Citi Strata Premier℠ Card (review) is the most direct competitor to the Sapphire Preferred. The big benefit of the Citi Strata Premier is that the card offers 3x points on dining, gas, groceries, air travel, and hotels. I’d argue that makes this the best mid-range card purely in terms of the bonus categories.

Here’s a detailed comparison of the Chase Sapphire Preferred & Citi Strata Premier.

Amex Gold Card

The American Express® Gold Card (review) has some spectacular bonus categories, including:

• 4x points at restaurants worldwide (on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, and then 1x)
• 4x points for purchases at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 of spending per year, and then 1x), and
• 3x points on airfare purchased directly from airlines or AmexTravel.com.

The Amex Gold has a $325 annual fee (Rates & Fees), though offers up to $424 in dining-related credits. This is an awesome card for those who love to eat.

Bottom line

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is one of the most well-rounded credit cards out there, whether you’re a beginner, or experienced credit card user. From the 2-5x points bonus categories, to the 10% anniversary bonus points, to the $50 annual hotel credit, there’s a lot to love about this card, especially with such a reasonable annual fee.

I think the biggest question is simply deciding whether this or the Chase Sapphire Reserve is a better fit for you. The Chase Sapphire Reserve has a much higher annual fee, but offers lounge access and credits, which can largely offset that annual fee.

To learn more about the Chase Sapphire Preferred or to apply, follow this link.

The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: American Express® Gold Card (Rates & Fees).