4.5/5

The Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card (CSP) is the best first rewards travel credit card because it offers top of class benefits and travel protections while changing the dynamics of the game. Its annual free price point is easily negated though travel redemptions and affordable for most.  Accessed only by having a Sapphire Family Card, Ultimate Reserve (UR) Points are widely regarded as the best value transferrable currency.

The chase preferred is more than just a card. We invite you to read on to understand why we can confidently say that. But first, a word on how we integrate this card within the Deal Method to maximize your savings.

 

What is The Deal Method?

The Deal Method is a modern approach to spending. 

By spending as little as possible and getting the most value out of every step of the buying process, we can set aside the extra.  If this extra is used shrewdly the value is compounded. 

How do we do this?

For one: everything we buy is a deal! 

By knowing well each layer of incentives you might apply, you can better stack them to supercharge your savings and capture the most value. With our approach, you’ll wield the power to build a deal for almost every want or need. Oodles of travel, in this case. 

How is that related to this credit card?

This rewards card unlocks great potential you can leverage to maximize your money savings. Choosing the right card for each dollar you spend opens doors to travel more often, in luxurious style, at deeply discounted rates. This is the single best card for the purposes of both making travel arrangements and for use while traveling

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a fantastic first step towards upgrading the Deals and Travel in your life.

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Benefits Overview

Checkout the figures below for a summary of the Chase Sapphire Preferred benefits. To view the legend of our Benefits Rolodex click here

The figures to the right demonstrate the Chase Sapphire Preferred bonus trends and estimated value over time. The offered bonus is dynamic. This means it varies over time between 60,000 and 100,000 or an estimated $1,200 to $2,000 in travel redemption.

Chase Sapphire Preferred

Chase Sapphire Preferred Fees, Annual: $95 per year

Chase Sapphire Preferred Points Value

Ultimate Rewards Points are valued at around 2 cent per point

The true value of these points depends entirely on how well you spend them. Transferring during a value kicker between 20-40% for a great value redemption can equate to a value more than double the standard 2 cents/point while cashing out provides half of that value. It's crucial to be able to do some simple math to make sure you're getting a good value for your points.

Modifier Category Details

5X Lyft Rides

The $50 hotel credit is for a portal booking initiated after your first year. 

10% bonus includes points accrued aside from the sign-on bonus.

You get 5x for travel reservations made on the Chase Travel Portal. This is how I book cash Hot Deal Flight reservations I’m certain I won’t need to change. Booking them there makes them a “third party booking” the airlines won’t be able to easily change. 

 2x travel everywhere makes it a great hanger card for any and all travel-related spending, but with noteworthy exceptions below. 

Merchants in the travel 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.

Don’t Qualify (in other words, 1x points):

Real estate agents, educational merchants arranging travel, in-flight and on-board cruise goods and services, sightseeing activities, excursions, tourist attractions, RV and boat rentals, merchants within hotels and airports, public campgrounds and merchants that rent vehicles for the purpose of hauling. Purchases from gift card merchants or merchants that sell points or miles will not qualify in the travel categorys

I use this for Doordash orders and restaurants when I need Chase UR points more than the 4x AMEX Membership Rewards points I get with my gold card.

3x at restaurants without international transaction fees is HUGE when traveling internationally. 

Delivery service merchants, like Doordash, Grubhub, UberEats, etc will be included if they classify as a restaurant merchant.

the fine print: Merchants that sell food and drinks located within facilities such as sports stadiums, hotels and casinos, theme parks, grocery and department stores will not be included in this category unless the merchant has set up such purchases to be classified in a restaurant category. Purchases made at bakeries, caterers, or gift card merchants are not included in the category. 

Online grocery pickup and delivery that are placed online, including  specialty food stores or delivery service merchants that classify as grocery store merchants (excluding membership and subscription fees). 

Meal kit delivery services are included. 

What doesn’t count?

Online grocery purchases excluding Target®, Walmart® and wholesale clubs

Membership and subscription fees are also excluded

Pharmacies contained within supermarkets will not earn 

Purchases of gift cards, gift baskets and boxes that include grocery items will not be included (these ARE included for in-store purchases on other cards).

Liquor stores and merchants that specialize in only a few grocery items

Only subscriptions paid for, or purchases made with the following select merchants will qualify for this category: Apple Music, Apple TV, Disney+, ESPN+, Fubo TV, HBO Max, Hulu, Netflix, Pandora, Paramount+, Peacock, Showtime, SiriusXM, Sling, Spotify, YouTube Premium, YouTube TV and Vudu. 

Auto Rental Collision Damage Coverage –  Never buy extended rental car coverage again. If in the US, this supplements your primary car insurance’s liability coverage.

Extended Warranty Protection – Extends the time period of the U.S. manufacturer’s warranty by an additional year, on eligible warranties of 3 years or less.

Purchase Protection – Covers new purchases for 120 days against damage or theft up to $500 per claim and $50,000 per account.

Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance – If your trip is cancelled or cut short by sickness, severe weather and other covered situations, you can be reimbursed up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip for your pre-paid, non-refundable travel expenses, including passenger fares, tours, and hotels.

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.

 

Hidden Values, Understated Perks

  • Using this card is simple.  It’s a great catch-most first travel card to dabble in the rewards travel world. Careful though, you might be hooked!
  • Chase’s online portal is reliable and their customer service is prompt and effective. 
  • Visa is accepted worldwide and there aren’t the issues with untimely fraud alerts plaguing your vacation experience while abroad.
  • Transfers are instant. ALL of them.
  • They’re the only partner that transfers to Southwest Airlines.

Pros

Cons

  1. Great sign-on bonus to jump-start your travel, especially if timed right
  2. Higher earning categories are broad, well within reach for most people
  3. Free Dashpass, Instacart+, and 3x points for restaurants, meal plan makes for painless earning while you grub
  4. Online streaming and grocery are services of the future
  5. Visa Signature cards sometimes provide the deepest discounts on car rentals
  1. 2x Travel category doesn’t include ridesharing (Note 5x Lyft, though!), during flight, cruise, or in-hotel or excursion charges
  2.  In-person grocery isn’t covered, nor are Target or Walmart online
  3. No luxury tier travel benefits like preferred traveler programs, airport lounges or general travel credit like the Reserve
  4. Their category rules allow for some travel spend to fall through the 2x cracks into 1x world

Chase Card Synergy

How does the Sapphire Preferred change the dynamics of the game?

In addition to its benefits and protections, It also morphs many other Chase cards from small time cash back cards into Ultimate Reward point generators. This substantially increases the value potential you can get from purchases you charge to this card.

Why would I forego cash back in favor or UR points?

We get it, cash is king. 

BUT, what if I told you that you could instantly double that cash back value by opting for points instead. Would you be interested? 

By committing them to travel expenses in the form of points, that’s exactly what you’re doing. You can cash them out at anytime if an emergency pops up.

Are the points more useful than the cash I would otherwise get?

This depends on how you choose to use them: there are insane Deals and mediocre Deals out there. We’ll hope learn to separate the good from the great. Cash is the most versatile because it’s accepted anywhere for anything. 

By opting for points, you get access to incentives that can increase the value capture from every dollar you spend.  Points value can be enhanced by transfer incentives.

 

Tweaked Dynamics and Business Cards

Can you give me an example of this dynamics change?

Suddenly a Chase Freedom Flex card that (currently, 3rd quarter 2022) before gave you 5 cents per dollar cash back on gas instead gives 5 UR points per dollar. Those 5 points are now worth an estimated 10 cents or more when redeemed for flights or hotels. You’ve instantly doubled your value by banking points instead of pennies.

Can I use the points for cash back if, in the end, I need the cash? 

Yes. In a pinch, you can use points to cash out at one cent per point. The amount you would have gotten via cash back originally. You can also buy back any travel expenses on Chase’s travel portal at 1.25 cents per point and with the Pay Yourself Back Program. 

Business cards? Do I even qualify for those?

Most people do, actually, yes. The Deal Method encourages folks to resell items on eBay and other marketplaces and, though not incorporated, that is a business activity. You can sign up for Ink cards with your social security number as your employee identification number (EIN). 

These are worth consideration because they offer 5x on categories otherwise rare on personal cards like office supply stores. Offering 75,000 UR points if you can spend $7,500 in three months, with no annual fee, they’re a staple for anyone serious about this hobby. More information here.

How to Earn More with this Card

1. With sign-up bonus offerings (SUBs) between 60,000-100,000, aim to coordinate your application to secure 80,000 points or better. 

2. Where possible, pocket an additional 15,000 points via referral if your significant other already has the card by referring them here.

3. Direct all high earning purchases to this card and leave them there after you meet the $4,000 over 3 months achievement. Note that the annual fee doesn’t count and overshooting by about $100 in case there’s a return or miscalculation is a safe bet.

4. At the end of your first year, consider downgrading this card to a legacy Chase Freedom Visa AFTER you’ve made the transfer connection between you and your travel partners CSP. If you’re going it alone you can’t do this. You needn’t pay for two annual fees beyond the first year. This can be used at Costco when warehouses are the chosen Flex category for the quarter and doubles your flex spending category.

5. While downgrading, (or at the yearly anniversary mark) ask for a retention bonus. Say something like “I’m considering closing this account. Is there anything you’re currently offering to maintain my business going forward?” They’re uncommonly given at chase relative to other banks but can take the edge off and its worth the time to ask.

When to Upgrade from Chase Sapphire Preferred to Reserve?

There are really only a couple scenarios in which this would be a favorable decision for most people. Those rare cases include:

  • You have a ton of UR points you want to redeem for cash travel bookings with the extra 25% in value (1.5 points/cent vs 1.25 points/cent on CSP)
  • You’re certain you’ll take advantage of the benefits to offset the $550 annual fee. 
  • You want a single card to get you lounge access and to remain within the Chase earning ecosystem exclusively. 
  • You want a 3x travel earning potential for charges outside of Chase’s Travel Portal

The verdict: unless you satisfy at least two of those rare cases, don’t do it!  High modifiers for restaurants and portal bookings isn’t the ideal way to book those respective reservations as they require prepayment and foregoing hotel/car point earnings in exchange. The Amex platinum and Chase Sapphire Reserve offer lounge access to a maximum of three people and charge extra for authorized users. That leads an odd man out for most families.

What are Chase Merchant Incentives?

These are company-specific coupons that remove a dollar amount or percentage off the charges at the level of your credit card. They vary between customers and cards. I like them because there are far fewer terms that preclude their use: any charge from that company that posts to the card is likely to qualify.

These are many big name stores and restaurants with a few more obscure ones. Note the online Kroger and restaurants that stack with the 3x grocery and restaurant and the doordash coupon that bolsters your included dashpass.

I check the offerings to pick the right card, stacking the most incentives, before I put a purchase through to take advantage.  

How do I browse and activate them?

Within the Chase website. I’ve attached some current examples to the left. Activated coupons include the green check in their upper right of the box.

Getting the Most Out of Your Ultimate Rewards Points

What’s the big deal about Chase Ultimate Rewards points?

Everyone agrees: they’re the best of the best, though more challenging to accrue. 

They’re versatile: either directly through the primary transfer partner or through group alliances, you can book almost anything you desire. It can difficult to book high redemption reward flights, however. This is especially true if you’re flying with more than two people and intent to travel in business class.

Hyatt, IHG, and Marriott are the most in demand quality hotels in the world. Some amazing values are readily available here.

They never expire.

They transfer instantly, always 1:1, free of charge.

 

What are Transfer Incentives?

Transfer incentives give you an extra 25-40% points by transferring points to the incentivized partner. You might be tempted to transfer them to a partner before you know what you’ll book but we don’t recommend this.

Transferrable points don’t expire while you kept in your Chase UR point bank. Partner miles each have their own expiration rules. Some can be renewed with any purchase while others cannot and must be used or expire. 

Caution: Only transfer points you will immediately book on a reward unless you’re familiar with the rules and willing to take the risk. No back transfers are allowed.

Still, If you can use them while offered, you’ll compound your value immensely by transferring them during an incentive.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Referral Bonus

Referring your friends, coworkers, or significant others will net you 15,000 UR points per new cardholder up to 75,000 UR points per year, per card. Thats an extra sign-up bonus per year!

The Bottom Line

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is the lynch pin in Chase’s versatile Reward Travel Fabric. It’s a great choice for folks that want to travel more as well as those that already travel who want more from the money they’re spending.

It unlocks doubling potential with Freedom Cards for 5x Flex and 1.5x Unlimited Categories and provides a litany of redemption multipliers, protections and benefits. The annual fee is easy to absorb given an estimated potential peak bonus value of $2,000+. 

Subscribe to our newsletter in the upper right to be kept in the loop on which cards have the most rewarding intro bonuses and the best trending incentives! We’ll help you catch an 80 or 100k offer if you can wait!

Frequently Asked Questions

Most likely, yes. Nobody can predict for sure but as its been offered twice in the past 18 months, I would say that it’s likely to return.

In the past it was offered in the fall and spring approaching the holidays. Even the 80,000 offer, which is more often available, is a reasonable consideration if you can get a referral for someone who has the card.  

It’s within your interest to wait for a good offer as you can only get one offer every 4 years.

The sapphire preferred card is entry-level and designed to appeal to a broad spectrum of spending habits.  The reserve is a travel purist card, built for those who travel frequently and aim to accrue maximum points from those purchases by booking in the Chase portal exclusively. These extra points come at the expense of flexibility in changing flight arrangements. It’s also limited in that it requires you use the travel portal to get anything more than 2x. 

Cash redemption: UR points on the CSP can be used after-the-fact to cover any purchases at a 1.25 redemption level versus 1.50 cents/point with a reserve card. You’ll get a 20% discount on anything you buy this way. For Apple products, for which there are also 25% discount incentives, that’s not half bad.

It is possible to upgrade that cash redemption value by transferring them from any other other chase product onto your chase sapphire reserve. That value is more aligned with some of the fixed redemptions of their reward partners but far less than the best redemptions you might achieve. One might consider the CSR for that reason.

Annual Fee: It carries a far greater annual fee of $595 without extra UR points to justify it; the SUB is actually typically lower. A $300 travel credit takes the edge off somewhat and it does come with limited lounge access. I find it a poor choice for most with better benefit offerings from the AMEX platinum and Venture X cards.

This card is outdated and overhyped by those that recommend it. There are far better options unless you aim to convert a large number of chase points at the increased 1.50 rate. With its current terms, I would not.

You need to keep this card to earn UR points unless you’re pooling points with a travel partner or significant other. This is done on the phone with Chase. After the transfer connection is setup so that you can transfer points between accounts, that connection will ensure you can still earn UR points without two active CSP cards.

We recommend that you downgrade to the original, now discontinued, Chase Freedom Visa Card when you’re ready to downgrade. 

DO NOT CLOSE the account before you transfer points out or before you’ve had the card for around a year. Closing the account may harm your credit.

If you’ve recently downgraded, wait two weeks before reapplying after the 48 month limit.

Yes. As long as you can pay off the charges entirely as they post, you’ll bank valuable points and reap the benefits. 

This is a reservations system for high-end restaurants that also provides access to private in-restaurant and at-home food experiences. 

As a Chase Sapphire Preferred or Freedom cardholder you can access and use the system but there is no 10x increased modifier like there is with the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card. 

690 or higher, minimum. You can get almost any card in this space with a score of  720+.

It requires a brief application and a hard credit (typically Experian) pull. A score of at least 670 is required with a great chance of success in the 690-720 range. 

A household income (including spouse and student aid disbursements) of $30,000 is typically required.

No, Chase will allow you to have one or the other at onces. You can product change from one to the other, however.

It can’t be done directly. However, in taking advantage of its benefits to accrue oodles of points, you can easily offset the amount you’ve paid with free or deeply discounted travel. Dasspass, Instacart+, the hotel credit, and merchant incentives are my go-tos.

You need to call the reconsideration line at 888-270-2127. Those agents can look into what the issue is and give you an explanation. Often doing that alone will the application approved but, if not, hang up and call back. Second or third time is typically the charm as long as you’ve not opened 5 new accounts within the last 2 years. This is called the 5/24 rule. 

A year of established, favorable credit history is required in most cases.

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