Is the Chase Sapphire Preferred $95 annual fee worth it? How to maximize its benefits
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BLUEPRINT
Updated 10:09 a.m. UTC May 3, 2024
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Before paying a credit card annual fee, you have to compare the value of the card’s benefits against the costs. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers high earning power and numerous benefits for frequent travelers. But is the card worth the $95 annual fee? In this article, you’ll learn about the Sapphire Preferred’s perks, how much points earned on the card are worth and how to maximize the value of those rewards. With that knowledge, you’ll be able to decide if this travel rewards credit card is right for you.
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Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
What benefits does the Chase Sapphire Preferred offer cardholders?
Cardholders receive numerous benefits from the Chase Sapphire Preferred that can justify paying the annual fee — if you’ll use them. These include high-value redemptions, protection for your travel plans, purchase insurance and protections and more. Here are some of the highlights:
Points are worth 25% more when booking travel
When you book flights, hotels, rental cars and more through Chase Travel℠, points are worth 1.25 cents each (compared to a value of 1 cent per point redeemed for cash back). Plus, this option lets you book with any airline, hotel or other travel provider without worrying about award availability or redemption rules.
Transfer points to airline and hotel partners
Transferring your points often yields the most value of any redemption option. Chase Ultimate Rewards® points can be transferred on a 1:1 basis to 11 airlines or three hotels, including Hyatt, United, Southwest and Marriott. When points transfer, they add to your existing balances so you can book award reservations with these partners.
Annual $50 hotel credit
When you book hotels through the Chase travel portal, you’ll get up to $50 in statement credits per year to reduce the cost of your reservation. This annual benefit helps to offset the card’s annual fee. However, remember that you won’t earn any bonus points on that purchase.
A 10% annual points bonus
Get a 10% bonus based on your annual spending each year. These points are in addition to the points you earn throughout the year. For example, if you spent $15,000 on your Chase Sapphire Preferred in a calendar year, you’d get 1,500 additional points.
Avoid interest with My Chase Plan
Sometimes you need extra time to pay off your purchases. While this card doesn’t have a 0% intro APR offer, you can repay eligible purchases of $100 or more in fixed monthly payments for up to 24 months without interest charges. But know if you use this service, you’ll be charged a fixed monthly fee as you make payments.
Trip cancellation and interruption insurance
If your trip is canceled or interrupted due to sickness, weather or other covered situations, this benefit reimburses you for prepaid, non-refundable travel expenses. Benefit limits are up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip.
Primary rental car coverage
Save money by declining the rental company’s collision insurance on your rental card. The Chase Sapphire Preferred provides primary coverage against damage or theft when you charge the entire cost of the reservation to your card. You are covered up to the actual cash value of the vehicle whether you’re renting in the U.S. or abroad.
Baggage delay insurance
When you arrive at your destination but your checked luggage did not, it can be stressful. You don’t have a change of clothes, toiletries or other important items. If your bags are delayed by six hours or more, each person on your reservation is reimbursed up to $100 per day for up to five days.
Trip delay reimbursement
With full planes and tight schedules, it seems like flights are getting delayed more than ever. When your flight is delayed by more than 12 hours or requires an overnight stay, this benefit covers unreimbursed expenses. You can get reimbursed for meals, lodging and related expenses up to $500 per person.
Purchase protection
Your purchases are covered against damage or theft for 120 days. Coverage limits are up to $500 per claim and $50,000 per account.
Extended warranty protection
Decline the extended warranty offer at checkout because the Chase Sapphire Preferred includes extended warranty protection on your purchases. Eligible purchases get one extra year of warranty coverage on eligible warranties of three years or less.
Partner benefits
Offers from Lyft, Instacart and DoorDash, trial offers and monthly credits. Offer details and expiration dates vary by partner and must be manually activated.
No foreign transaction fees
Foreign transaction fees are hidden charges that banks add to your transaction when making purchases in other countries. These fees typically add up to 3% to your transaction amount. But, the Chase Sapphire Preferred waives these fees, which makes it an ideal card when traveling internationally.
Spend instantly upon approval
If your application is approved, you can add your card to your digital wallet to start making purchases right away. Instant access is available through Apple Pay, Google Pay or Samsung Pay.
Who is the Chase Sapphire Preferred card best for?
The Chase Sapphire Preferred card is best for travelers who want to earn flexible rewards without paying a premium annual fee. With a reasonable $95 annual fee, this card earns 5 points per $1 on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3 points per $1 on dining, select streaming services, and online grocery purchases (excluding Walmart, Target and wholesale clubs), 2 points per $1 on all other travel purchases and 1 point per $1 on all other purchases, and its rewards offer additional value when redeemed for travel via the issuer’s portal.
Although the Sapphire Preferred doesn’t offer airport lounge access like the $550-annual-fee Chase Sapphire Reserve®, it does include complimentary travel and purchase protections. These benefits protect your rental cars, luggage and travel plans. Plus, eligible purchases are covered against damage or theft and receive an extended warranty.
How much are Chase Sapphire Preferred points worth?
The value of your Ultimate Rewards points varies depending on how they are used:
- Cash back. When you redeem points for cash back, you get 1 cent per point. Redeeming 100 points provides cash back for $1 deposited into your linked bank account.
- Gift cards. Chase offers gift cards in varying amounts from more than 175 retailers. In most cases, you’ll receive 1 cent per point in value.
- Travel through Chase Travel. Booking travel through the Chase travel portal gets 25% more value on flights, hotels and more. Points are worth 1.25 cents each on these purchases. You can redeem points to pay for some or all of your travel reservations.
- Pay Yourself Back. Cardholders get additional value of 25% to 50% through limited-time offers in select categories in the last 90 days. Examples of bonus categories include grocery stores, gas stations, select charities and annual fees.
- Partner transfers. Transfers to airlines and hotel partners typically offer the highest potential value. However, the actual value received varies based on where you transfer your points and how they are used. Booking high-end hotels, premium flights and peak travel dates generally offer maximum value.
Strategies to maximize the value of points
Chase Ultimate Rewards points have tremendous value because they are so flexible. However, if you want to maximize the value of your points, you have to be strategic with how you redeem them. Follow these strategies to get maximum value from your rewards.
Redeem points for travel
When you redeem points for travel booked through Chase, you get 25% more value toward your purchase (1.25 cents per point). For example, 50,000 points are worth over $625 in travel.
Transfer points to partners
Chase Ultimate Rewards has more than a dozen airline and hotel loyalty transfer partners. You can extract a much higher value from your points by transferring them at a 1:1 rate to your preferred loyalty programs and then booking high-end hotels, premium airfares and during peak travel periods.
Bonus transfer offers
Periodically, Chase offers bonuses on transfers to select airline or hotel partners. When you take advantage of those promotions, you’ll get additional value from your points.
Top-off loyalty accounts
Sometimes you don’t have enough miles or points in your loyalty accounts to book an award reward reservation. For example, you have 23,000 miles but need 2,000 more to book your flight. In that situation, it makes sense to transfer Ultimate Rewards points to the loyalty program where you have the rewards balance, even if you aren’t getting the highest value on a per-point basis.
Chase Sapphire Preferred bonus categories
One of the benefits of using your Chase Sapphire Preferred for purchases is the bonus points you earn on select categories. This card offers several bonus categories where you can maximize your rewards earnings:
- Enjoy 5 points per $1 on flights and 10 points per $1 on hotels and car rentals purchased through Chase Travel℠ after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3 points per $1 on other travel and dining and 1 point per $1 on other purchases.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred also comes with an up to $50 annual hotel credit when booking through Chase Travel. Hotel purchases that qualify for the $50 credit do not earn points.
Situations not to use the Chase Sapphire Preferred
While the Chase Sapphire Preferred is a valuable credit card for travelers, it isn’t always the best card to use in all situations. Here are a few circumstances where you shouldn’t use the card to pay for purchases.
For everyday purchases
While the Chase Sapphire Preferred has several lucrative bonus categories, it only earns 1 point per dollar on non-bonus spending. You are better off using another card that offers bonus points for each of your big spending categories or a card with a strong rewards rate on every purchase. For example, the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card has no annual fee and earns a flat 2% cash rewards on purchases.
To carry a balance
Sometimes you need more time to pay off your charges. The Chase Sapphire Preferred charges a 21.49% to 28.49% variable APR on purchases and balance transfers and does not offer an intro period on purchases or balance transfers.
You can use the card’s Pay Over Time feature on eligible purchases, but there is a monthly fee for this service. A better option would likely be a balance transfer credit card or one with a 0% intro offer on purchases.
Perks from other credit cards
Some credit cards offer perks on specific purchases. For those purchases, you’re better off using that card to leverage those benefits instead of the Chase Sapphire Preferred. For example, many airline credit cards, like the United℠ Explorer Card * The information for the United℠ Explorer Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. , offer free checked bags when used to pay for your flight. In that case, you should use the airline credit card to avoid checked bag fees.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
The value of a Chase Ultimate Rewards point depends on which redemption option you choose. Cash back is 1 cent per point, while gift cards vary between 0.7 to 1 cent per point. Travel booked through Chase gets a point value of 1.25 cents each. The value per point with airline and hotel partners varies based on the specifics of the partner program you transfer your points to and the details of the award booking you use them for.
Chase points are flexible and offer numerous redemption options. They can be used to get cash back, book travel, transfer to airline and hotel partners, buy gift cards and more. Each option offers different redemption values, typically starting at 1 cent per point and higher.
Chase Sapphire Preferred cardholders can transfer points on a 1:1 basis to 11 different airlines. Domestic airlines include JetBlue, Southwest and United. Chase’s international airline partners are Aer Lingus, Air Canada, British Airways, Emirates, Flying Blue, Iberia, Singapore Airlines and Virgin Atlantic. The transferred points are added to your existing balance so you can book an award flight at your convenience.
*The information for the United℠ Explorer Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Blueprint is an independent publisher and comparison service, not an investment advisor. The information provided is for educational purposes only and we encourage you to seek personalized advice from qualified professionals regarding specific financial decisions. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
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