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The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Rates & Fees) is one of our favorite travel rewards cards; it's a great option for beginners and seasoned travelers alike. It's got a great mix of benefits, carries a modest $95 annual fee, and currently offers new applicants a great 100,000-point welcome bonus.
However, a recent refresh has brought some positives to the card and one glaring negative, which we will explain in more detail below.
Here's everything you need to know about the Sapphire Preferred to help you decide if it's worth adding to your wallet.
- Earn 100,000 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 Travel℠, 3x on dining, 3x on vacation homes, 3x on gas & EV charging, 3x on top streaming services and online groceries (excluding Walmart, Target, and wholesale clubs), 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases
- Earn up to $100 in statement credits each account anniversary year for hotel stays through Chase Travel
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
- Get a year of complimentary Apple TV when activated by December 31, 2026 - a value of $156.
- 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.
- Receive one statement credit of up to $120 every four years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to your card for a Global Entry, TSA Precheck® or NEXUS application.
- Transfer points to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs
- Member FDIC
- 5X points on Lyft rides through September 2027
- 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3X points on dining at restaurants worldwide
- 3X points on gas and EV charging
- 3X points on vacation homes at top brands like Airbnb, Vrbo and more
- 3X points on eligible streaming services
- 3X points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs)
- 2X points on all other travel
- 1X point per dollar spent on all other purchases
Chase Sapphire Preferred Pros
- 100,000-point welcome bonus.
- Ability to transfer Ultimate Rewards to travel partners — or redeem for travel in the Chase Travel℠ portal.
- A wide array of earning categories, including travel, gas, and dining.
- Excellent trip delay, cancellation, and interruption insurance.
Chase Sapphire Preferred Cons
- Subject to Chase's 5/24 policy.
- Has an annual fee of $95.
- New applicants are subject to a 4:3 transfer ratio to World of Hyatt.
Chase Sapphire Preferred Welcome Offer
As a new applicant for the Sapphire Preferred, you can earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
The value of this welcome bonus depends on how you redeem your stash of Ultimate Rewards points. But on average, AwardWallet users extract 2.02¢ per point on redemptions through transfer partners. That makes the bonus worth around $2,000 towards award travel!
Related: Chase Credit Card Offer History: Best-Ever Offers and When You Should Apply
Chase Sapphire Preferred Benefits
Given that the Sapphire Preferred imposes just a $95 annual fee, it's got a fantastic mix of benefits. Here's an overview of what's available to cardholders:
$100 annual hotel credit
When you use your card to book a hotel through the Chase Travel℠ portal, you’ll get a $100 statement credit once per year. This benefit presents an easy way to recoup more than the card's annual fee every 12 months.
Note that the $100 in hotel purchases that get credited won’t earn rewards points. The credit typically shows up within two billing cycles after your booking.
$120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS fee credit
To help ease the burden of lines while traveling, cardmembers can use their Sapphire Preferred to pay the application fee for Global Entry, TSA Precheck or a NEXUS application and be reimbursed for the cost. This benefit can be used once every four years and is worth up to $120.
10% anniversary bonus points
Each cardmember year, you'll earn a 10% bonus on the points you’ve accumulated from purchases over the past year. The bonus is calculated at a base rate of 1 point per $1 spent, so if you spend $20,000 on your card during your cardmember year, you'll collect 2,000 bonus points.
Note: This perk will be ending on October 1, 2026, for cardmembers who applied before June 15, 2026. All spending after that date will not earn the extra 10% bonus. Anyone applying for the card after June 15 will not have this benefit at all.
Complimentary Apple TV subscription
Cardmembers can get one free year of Apple TV when activating a subscription by December 31, 2026. This is another nice perk for those who prioritize streaming services.
Travel and purchase protection benefits
The Sapphire Preferred ranks high on our list of best cards for travel protection. It features an extensive mix of travel insurance policies and purchase protection benefits — all for an annual fee that's not going to break the bank.
We’ve summarized the most valuable perks in the table below, but we recommend you check out the Sapphire Preferred Benefits Guide for a detailed breakdown of Sapphire Preferred benefits.
| Sapphire Preferred Benefits | Summary |
|---|---|
| Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver | Decline the rental company's collision insurance and charge the entire rental cost to your card. Coverage is primary and provides reimbursement up to $60,000 for the actual cash value of the vehicle for theft and collision damage for most rental cars in the U.S. and abroad. |
| Purchase Protection | Covers your new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft up to $500 per claim and $50,000 per account. |
| Extended Warranty Protection | Extends the time period of the U.S. manufacturer's warranty by an additional year, on eligible warranties of three years or less. |
| Trip Cancellation and Trip Interruption | Trip Cancellation insurance reimburses you or your Immediate Family Members for up to ten thousand ($10,000.00) dollars per person for each Covered Trip (up to $20k/trip & $40k/year) if a Covered Loss prevents you or your Immediate Family Members from traveling on or before the departure date and results in cancellation of the travel arrangements. |
| Lost Luggage | If you or your immediate family members' checked or carry-on bags are damaged or lost by the carrier, you're covered up to $3,000 per passenger per trip. |
| Trip Delay Reimbursement | If your common carrier travel is delayed more than 12 hours or requires an overnight stay, you and your family are covered for unreimbursed expenses, such as meals and lodging, up to $500 per ticket. |
| Baggage Delay | Reimburses you for essential purchases like toiletries and clothing for baggage delays over 6 hours by passenger carrier up to $100 a day for 5 days. |
| Travel Accident Insurance | When you pay for your air, bus, train or cruise transportation with your card, you are eligible to receive accidental death or dismemberment coverage of up to $500,000. |
| Travel and Emergency Assistance Services | If you run into a problem away from home, call the Benefit Administrator for legal and medical referrals or other travel and emergency assistance. (You will be responsible for the cost of any goods or services obtained.) |
| Emergency Evacuation and Transportation Coverage | If you need emergency evacuation, you are covered under the cardmember terms. |
Complimentary DoorDash DashPass — and other savings
You will receive at least 12 months of free DashPass, which you can use on DoorDash and Caviar if you activate the membership by December 31, 2027. In addition, you can also save $10 per month on a non-restaurant DoorDash order.
DoorDash DashPass normally costs $9.99 monthly and offers free delivery for restaurant orders over $12. To receive these benefits, you must first add the Sapphire Preferred as a default payment in the DoorDash app and click the DashPass activation button.
Chase Sapphire Preferred Earning Rates
When you swipe the Sapphire Preferred for purchases, you'll earn as follows:
- 5X points on Lyft rides through September 2027
- 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3X points on dining at restaurants worldwide
- 3X points on gas and EV charging
- 3X points on vacation homes at top brands like Airbnb, Vrbo and more
- 3X points on eligible streaming services
- 3X points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs)
- 2X points on all other travel
- 1X point per dollar spent on all other purchases
Chase also offers a broad definition of the travel and dining categories. So, you can earn bonus points on purchases that may not be included by other card issuers. Chase defines a travel purchase as:
“Merchants in this category include airlines, hotels, motels, timeshares, car rental agencies, cruise lines, travel agencies, discount travel sites, campgrounds and operators of passenger trains, buses, taxis, limousines, ferries, toll bridges and highways, and parking lots and garages.”
And dining is defined as:
“Sit-down or eat-in dining, including fast food restaurants and fine dining establishments.”
These broad earnings across categories like gas, travel, dining, and streaming make this card a one-size-fits-all solution for most everyday spending.
Related: The Best Credit Cards for Dining and Restaurants
5X points on qualifying Lyft rides through September 2027
Through September 30, 2027, cardholders will earn an additional 3X points for each $1 spent when using the card for qualifying Lyft products and services purchased through the Lyft app, boosting the total earnings on Lyft rides to 5x points.
Related: All of the Lyft Benefits Available Through Credit Cards
5X on Peloton equipment and accessory purchases through December 2027
Cardholders earn 5X points for each $1 spent on Peloton equipment and accessory purchases over $150 through December 31, 2027 — up to 25,000 points.
Redeeming Points With the Chase Sapphire Preferred
You can redeem Ultimate Rewards points earned with the Sapphire Preferred in several ways. We recommend redeeming your points towards travel if you want to maximize your return on spending.
Rather than list all the redemption options, let's focus on the two options that return the best value for your points: redeeming points via the Chase Travel℠ portal and transferring points to airline and hotel partners.
Related: 20+ Different Ways To Redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards
Book through the Chase Travel℠ portal
You can redeem Ultimate Rewards points from your Sapphire Preferred for up to 1.5 cents per point toward travel through the Chase Travel portal. Select hotels and flights may be eligible for Points Boost, which unlocks that 1.5 cents per point value; non-Points Boost bookings redeem at 1 cent per point.
Note: If you opened your Chase card before 6/23/2025, you may still be eligible to redeem your points at a higher value. See our post for more details on how Chase Travel℠ redemptions are changing for cardmembers who opened their account before the new Points Boost feature was announced.
Extract more value with Chase transfer partners
By far, the most valuable use of Ultimate Rewards points is transferring them to one of Chase's airline and hotel partners — particularly when booking premium-cabin airline awards or luxury hotel redemptions.
This is where we have to discuss the glaring negative from the recent refresh to the Sapphire Preferred. Chase has broken its longstanding insistence on 1:1 transfers, now making transfers to World of Hyatt at a ratio of 4:3.
This is a 25% haircut versus most other partners. Unfortunately, this really diminishes the value of Ultimate Rewards when transferring for either a couple of nights in luxurious suites or several nights at budget-friendly properties with World of Hyatt.
Cardmembers who applied before June 15, 2026, will still have 1:1 transfers until October 1, 2026. The 4:3 ratio will go into effect after that. Meanwhile, anyone applying for the card after June 15, 2026, starts with the new 4:3 transfer ratio.
There are still other solid options among Chase's 1:1 transfer partners. High-value uses of Ultimate Rewards points still exist when transferring them to airline partners for premium cabin award redemptions. Redeeming airline miles for long-haul business- and first-class experiences yields the highest return from your Ultimate Rewards points.
In recent AwardWallet user redemptions, travelers have yielded an average of 3.1¢ per point for business- and first-class redemptions. Transferring Ultimate Rewards to Virgin Atlantic to book ANA first class is just one such example of maximizing your points.
Related: Do Chase Points Expire?
Application Restrictions
We recommend applying for Chase cards early in your application strategy, as Chase cards feature some of the strictest application restrictions of any card issuer.
The first is the 5/24 policy, which affects all Chase cards. If you’ve been approved for five or more credit cards (from any card issuer) in the previous 24 months, you likely won’t get approved for a new Chase credit card — even if you've now closed some of those other cards.
In addition to the 5/24 policy, Chase has updated its language on the 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 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 in determining your bonus eligibility.
This seems to indicate that you can only receive the welcome offer on this card once. Luckily, earning the welcome offer on Chase's other personal Sapphire-branded card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Rates & Fees), doesn't disqualify you from earning the one on this card.
Lastly, know that Chase is unlikely to approve you for more than two cards in a 30-day period.
Related: Who Is Eligible to Earn the Welcome Bonus on the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card?
Card That Compete With the Chase Sapphire Preferred
It's hard to deny the value one can unlock with the Sapphire Preferred. But if you're ineligible to apply or want to consider other options to make a more informed decision, here are some of the top options to weigh:
- If you want a Chase rewards card without an annual fee, consider the Chase Freedom Flex℠. You'll earn 5% cash back in rotating quarterly bonus categories and on travel booked through Ultimate Rewards, plus 3% on dining and drugstore purchases. While you can't transfer earned points to Chase travel partners unless you have another card to pair with this one, you can redeem your earnings for cash back or in the travel portal. Learn more in our full Chase Freedom Flex review.
- If you want Chase points plus more perks, check out the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Rates & Fees). For a $795 annual fee, you'll get top-of-the-line insurance benefits, airport lounge access, great earning rates, increased value on points in the travel portal, and a $300 annual travel credit. You'll also enjoy reimbursement for your application fee to Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS once every four years. But most importantly, this card transfers points to World of Hyatt at a 1:1 ratio, making it more valuable for Hyatt fans. Our full Chase Sapphire Reserve review has more information.
- If you want a more rewarding everyday spending card (or if you're over 5/24), the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card offers some similarities in terms of earning power, welcome bonus, list of travel partners, and annual credits for a $95 annual fee. The Capital One Venture is one of the best cards for everyday spending and also offers some travel protection benefits, but these aren't quite as good as the Sapphire Preferred. Read our full Capital One Venture review to learn more.
$0
- Earn 5% on up to $1,500 on combined purchases in bonus categories each quarter you activate
- Earn 5% cash back on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- Earn 3% on dining at restaurants, including takeout and eligible delivery services
- Earn 3% on drugstore purchases
- Earn 1% on all other purchases
$795Rates & Fees
- 8x points on all purchases through Chase Travel℠
- 4x points on flights and hotels booked directly
- 3x points on dining worldwide
- 1x points on all other purchases
$95
- 5X miles per dollar on purchases through Capital One Entertainment
- 5X miles per dollar on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
- 2X miles per dollar on all other purchases
Related: Should You Get the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Chase Sapphire Reserve?
Our Take
The Sapphire Preferred continues to be one of our favorite travel cards. And the incredible 100,000-point welcome bonus is just the start; there's so much more to this card.
The flexibility to choose between top travel partners or redeem for travel in the Chase Travel℠ portal makes the card extremely valuable and highly regarded by award-travel enthusiasts. However, reducing World of Hyatt transfers to 4:3 doesn't make this the slam-dunk starter card it once was. Prospective cardholders should pause if 1:1 World of Hyatt transfers are their most important card attribute.
The Sapphire Preferred also features some of the best travel protection benefits of any card in its class. Plus, you’ll pay no foreign transaction fees when making purchases overseas, get an annual hotel spending credit, and earn in popular spending categories.
All to say, there's a reason why we consistently rank the Chase Sapphire Preferred as the best beginner's card for award travel.
- Earn 100,000 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 Travel℠, 3x on dining, 3x on vacation homes, 3x on gas & EV charging, 3x on top streaming services and online groceries (excluding Walmart, Target, and wholesale clubs), 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases
- Earn up to $100 in statement credits each account anniversary year for hotel stays through Chase Travel
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
- Get a year of complimentary Apple TV when activated by December 31, 2026 - a value of $156.
- 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.
- Receive one statement credit of up to $120 every four years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to your card for a Global Entry, TSA Precheck® or NEXUS application.
- Transfer points to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs
- Member FDIC
- 5X points on Lyft rides through September 2027
- 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3X points on dining at restaurants worldwide
- 3X points on gas and EV charging
- 3X points on vacation homes at top brands like Airbnb, Vrbo and more
- 3X points on eligible streaming services
- 3X points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs)
- 2X points on all other travel
- 1X point per dollar spent on all other purchases
Page Contents
- Chase Sapphire Preferred Pros
- Chase Sapphire Preferred Cons
- Chase Sapphire Preferred Welcome Offer
- Chase Sapphire Preferred Benefits
- Chase Sapphire Preferred Earning Rates
- Redeeming Points With the Chase Sapphire Preferred
- Application Restrictions
- Card That Compete With the Chase Sapphire Preferred
- Our Take
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (Rates & Fees), and Chase Sapphire Reserve® (Rates & Fees)
