Credit Cards

5 reasons why I keep the Chase Sapphire Preferred in my wallet

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Why should you get a Chase Sapphire Preferred?

I’m a huge fan of Chase credit cards. Not only do they have excellent co-branded cards, but their bread and butter Chase Sapphire Preferred has been a part of my wallet for years now. It’s currently advertising a 100k welcome offer after spending $4k in 3 months, and it looks like that offer ends today. Let’s take a quick look at the benefits and a few reasons why I think everyone should have one in their wallet.

You can also read our full review

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Learn More

Affiliate Link

 

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card


The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card went through a major refresh in 2026 adding new bonus categories, travel protections, statement credits, and remains one of the best travel starter cards in the market.  It earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based including Hyatt, Southwest, United, IHG, and Marriott. Note that Hyatt is now a 4:3 transfer partner

Welcome Offer

Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening 

Annual Fee

$95

Points Earned

Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards

Earn

  • 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travelâ„ 
  • NEW ACCELERATED EARN CATEGORY: 3x points on gas and EV charging
  • NEW ACCELERATED EARN CATEGORY: 3x points on vacation homes at top brands
    • Cardmembers will earn 3x points on vacation homes at these top brands: Airbnb, Vrbo, Plu Guide, HomeAway, Homestay.com and Vacasa.
  • 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
  • 3x on select streaming services
  • 3x on online grocery purchases
    • (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
  • 2x on all other travel
  • 1x on everyday purchases
  • 5x points on Lyft rides Earn 5x total points on eligible Lyft rides including ride share, bike and scooter rides and subscription and membership products through September 30, 2027.
  • 5x total points on Peloton equipment Earn 5x total points on eligible Peloton equipment and accessory purchases over $150 through December 31, 2027.

Benefits and Credits

  • $100 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travelâ„ 
  • NEW: $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS fee credit Cardmembers will receive one statement credit of up to $120 every four years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to the card.
  • NEW: Complimentary Apple TV subscription for one year
  • Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
    • Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
  • 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

We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.

Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.

Main Cast: 

Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.

Supporting Cast:

Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on. 

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is great starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.

If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex®  and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Chase Ink Business Cash® ,  Chase Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into the Sapphire Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners

Annual fee remains quite low at $95 a year and if you use the $100 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travelâ„  you’ll wipe out that annual fee every year.  It has great bonus categories and other useful statement credits to enhance your travel.

One thing that is a bummer is Chase lowered the transfer ratio to World of Hyatt from 1:1 to 4:3. 

Straight to it: The 5 Reasons I love keeping the Chase Sapphire Preferred in my wallet

1) No foreign Transaction fees

Anywhere in the world, you don’t have to worry about paying fees. For someone like myself, this is a great benefit, and means I can rest knowing anytime I swipe, I’m not paying some silly surcharge.

2) Primary Rental Car Coverage

A lot of credit cards come with secondary rental card coverage, the Chase Sapphire Preferred offers primary and that means I can select, no thank you, when it comes to paying those hefty Collision Damage Waivers. For someone who rents A LOT, that saves me wads of cash every year.

3) Access to Ultimate Rewards transfer partners ” Makes your points more valuable “

This is where you can make your travel dreams come true by accessing partner programs and redeeming for sweet spots. Ability to merge points from Chase “cash back” cards to convert into fully transferrable Ultimate Rewards

a group of logos on a white background

a blue credit card with a blue background

Learn More

Affiliate Link

 

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card


The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card went through a major refresh in 2026 adding new bonus categories, travel protections, statement credits, and remains one of the best travel starter cards in the market.  It earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based including Hyatt, Southwest, United, IHG, and Marriott. Note that Hyatt is now a 4:3 transfer partner

Welcome Offer

Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening 

Annual Fee

$95

Points Earned

Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards

Earn

  • 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travelâ„ 
  • NEW ACCELERATED EARN CATEGORY: 3x points on gas and EV charging
  • NEW ACCELERATED EARN CATEGORY: 3x points on vacation homes at top brands
    • Cardmembers will earn 3x points on vacation homes at these top brands: Airbnb, Vrbo, Plu Guide, HomeAway, Homestay.com and Vacasa.
  • 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
  • 3x on select streaming services
  • 3x on online grocery purchases
    • (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
  • 2x on all other travel
  • 1x on everyday purchases
  • 5x points on Lyft rides Earn 5x total points on eligible Lyft rides including ride share, bike and scooter rides and subscription and membership products through September 30, 2027.
  • 5x total points on Peloton equipment Earn 5x total points on eligible Peloton equipment and accessory purchases over $150 through December 31, 2027.

Benefits and Credits

  • $100 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travelâ„ 
  • NEW: $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS fee credit Cardmembers will receive one statement credit of up to $120 every four years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to the card.
  • NEW: Complimentary Apple TV subscription for one year
  • Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
    • Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
  • 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

We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.

Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.

Main Cast: 

Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.

Supporting Cast:

Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on. 

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is great starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.

If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex®  and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Chase Ink Business Cash® ,  Chase Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into the Sapphire Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners

Annual fee remains quite low at $95 a year and if you use the $100 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travelâ„  you’ll wipe out that annual fee every year.  It has great bonus categories and other useful statement credits to enhance your travel.

One thing that is a bummer is Chase lowered the transfer ratio to World of Hyatt from 1:1 to 4:3. 

4) 3x Bonus categories!

You’ll earn an unlimited 3x on dining + 3x on select streaming services and 3x on online grocery purchases

5) Peloton and DoorDash incentives

Now through the end of the year you can get $60 statement credit on Peloton Digital AND you’ll get a year of DoorDash DashPass which gives $0 delivery fees on eligible orders over $12 on DoorDash and Caviar.

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a close up of a text

Bonus Reason: Chase refer-a-friend

Chase recently upped the total amount of points that you can earn by referring people to 100k in a year. That’s a massive amount of points and completely outweighs the annual fee just by sharing the love.

a grey background with white text

Bonus, bonus: $50 hotel credit ad 5x Chase Travel

If you spend book hotels via Ultimate Rewards/Chase Travel you’ll get a credit up to $50 a year. This begins immediately for new cardmembers, and after your first account anniversary for existing account holders.

a screenshot of a white card

Regarding the 5x on Chase Travel…book via Chase Travel and get 5x on eligible purchases!

a screenshot of a travel overview

Don’t have one? Highest ever public offer 100k ends today

This is a great time to consider one. It comes with a great welcome offer of 100k Ultimate Rewards after $4k in purchases in 3 months

This is the best public offer we’ve seen on the card. If you’re eligible to get this card as a new cardmember and qualify for the bonus, there hasn’t been a better time to hop on it.

a blue credit card with a blue background

Learn More

Affiliate Link

 

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card


The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card went through a major refresh in 2026 adding new bonus categories, travel protections, statement credits, and remains one of the best travel starter cards in the market.  It earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based including Hyatt, Southwest, United, IHG, and Marriott. Note that Hyatt is now a 4:3 transfer partner

Welcome Offer

Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening 

Annual Fee

$95

Points Earned

Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards

Earn

  • 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travelâ„ 
  • NEW ACCELERATED EARN CATEGORY: 3x points on gas and EV charging
  • NEW ACCELERATED EARN CATEGORY: 3x points on vacation homes at top brands
    • Cardmembers will earn 3x points on vacation homes at these top brands: Airbnb, Vrbo, Plu Guide, HomeAway, Homestay.com and Vacasa.
  • 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
  • 3x on select streaming services
  • 3x on online grocery purchases
    • (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
  • 2x on all other travel
  • 1x on everyday purchases
  • 5x points on Lyft rides Earn 5x total points on eligible Lyft rides including ride share, bike and scooter rides and subscription and membership products through September 30, 2027.
  • 5x total points on Peloton equipment Earn 5x total points on eligible Peloton equipment and accessory purchases over $150 through December 31, 2027.

Benefits and Credits

  • $100 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travelâ„ 
  • NEW: $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS fee credit Cardmembers will receive one statement credit of up to $120 every four years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to the card.
  • NEW: Complimentary Apple TV subscription for one year
  • Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
    • Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
  • 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

We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.

Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.

Main Cast: 

Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.

Supporting Cast:

Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on. 

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is great starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.

If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex®  and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Chase Ink Business Cash® ,  Chase Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into the Sapphire Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners

Annual fee remains quite low at $95 a year and if you use the $100 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travelâ„  you’ll wipe out that annual fee every year.  It has great bonus categories and other useful statement credits to enhance your travel.

One thing that is a bummer is Chase lowered the transfer ratio to World of Hyatt from 1:1 to 4:3. 

Who’s eligible?

Chase has some specific restrictions in place for Chase Sapphire cards, so let’s walk through them.

5/24

  • If you’re opened more than 5 credit cards in the last 24 months Chase won’t approve you for this card
    • Make sure you check your credit report to see how many cards are listed

1/48

  • If you’ve received a sign up bonus for any Chase Sapphire card ( Preferred or Reserve ) in the past 48 months, you’ll be ineligible.

Here are some examples, but check out our Best Uses of Chase Points

Transfer to United and fly their new Polaris business class.

a stuffed animal on a seat in an airplane

30k A night for the Best Hyatt in the World ( ranked by me 🙂 ) Alila Villas Uluwatu

Transfer to British Airways and use points to upgrade. Buying cheap business out of Europe and points to first a great use. This is what it’s like:

 

Overall:

The Chase Sapphire Preferred offers some really great benefits for a card that only costs $95 annually. It not only provides primary rental car coverage, which saves me a ton at the counter, but it also means I can merge points from my Freedom, Ink Cash, and Ink Unlimited that would otherwise only earn me cash back. It’s a fantastic way to increase the value of the points earned on those cards.

Every situation is different, but I ultimately decided to keep a Chase Sapphire Preferred en lieu of the Chase Sapphire Reserve. Do the math yourself, but the Chase Sapphire Preferred offers a lot of bang for the buck, and is squarely positioned in my wallet.

Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

a blue credit card with a blue background

Learn More

Affiliate Link

 

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card


The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card went through a major refresh in 2026 adding new bonus categories, travel protections, statement credits, and remains one of the best travel starter cards in the market.  It earns Premium Ultimate Rewards that can be transferred into over a dozen partners many of which are US based including Hyatt, Southwest, United, IHG, and Marriott. Note that Hyatt is now a 4:3 transfer partner

Welcome Offer

Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening 

Annual Fee

$95

Points Earned

Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards

Earn

  • 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travelâ„ 
  • NEW ACCELERATED EARN CATEGORY: 3x points on gas and EV charging
  • NEW ACCELERATED EARN CATEGORY: 3x points on vacation homes at top brands
    • Cardmembers will earn 3x points on vacation homes at these top brands: Airbnb, Vrbo, Plu Guide, HomeAway, Homestay.com and Vacasa.
  • 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
  • 3x on select streaming services
  • 3x on online grocery purchases
    • (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
  • 2x on all other travel
  • 1x on everyday purchases
  • 5x points on Lyft rides Earn 5x total points on eligible Lyft rides including ride share, bike and scooter rides and subscription and membership products through September 30, 2027.
  • 5x total points on Peloton equipment Earn 5x total points on eligible Peloton equipment and accessory purchases over $150 through December 31, 2027.

Benefits and Credits

  • $100 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travelâ„ 
  • NEW: $120 Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or NEXUS fee credit Cardmembers will receive one statement credit of up to $120 every four years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to the card.
  • NEW: Complimentary Apple TV subscription for one year
  • Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
  • No foreign transaction fees
  • Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
    • Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
  • 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

We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.

Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.

Main Cast: 

Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.

Supporting Cast:

Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on. 

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is great starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.

If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex®  and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Chase Ink Business Cash® ,  Chase Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into the Sapphire Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners

Annual fee remains quite low at $95 a year and if you use the $100 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travelâ„  you’ll wipe out that annual fee every year.  It has great bonus categories and other useful statement credits to enhance your travel.

One thing that is a bummer is Chase lowered the transfer ratio to World of Hyatt from 1:1 to 4:3. 

The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

6 Comments

  • Patti May 6, 2024

    Thank you! Earn 75,000 bonus points with either Chase Sapphire Reserve or Preferred. https://www.referyourchasecard.com/19n/RYG0JN507S

  • Jacob S April 10, 2024

    Appreciate anyone who uses my link! Earn 60,000 bonus points with the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Reserve. https://www.referyourchasecard.com/19l/YX6R415PNZ

  • Steph January 13, 2024

    Earn 60,000 bonus points with either Chase Sapphire card: https://www.referyourchasecard.com/19l/BKH9E1QA81

  • Robert October 6, 2021

    Keeping the card and carrying it in your wallet are two very different things. There’s little reason to put spend on the CSP though the reasons to hold the card are compelling

  • Jeremy October 9, 2019

    Miles,

    Why do you keep the CSP over the CSR? The CSR is $55/year more after the travel credit. It also means you have a minimum point value of 1.5 cpp. Anyone spending over $5500/year on the card is almost always better off with the CSR. I do advocate signing up for the CSP though since the sign-up bonus is better. I would upgrade when the fee came due though.

    That being said I have neither the CSP nor the CSR. I have the Citi Prestige (for now) and Chase Ink Preferred and Cash. Chase Ink Cash + Chase Ink Preferred is pretty close to the CSR in terms of spending, minus lounge access I get from other cards and the 1.5 cpp. Ink Cash gets 2x on restaurants (up to 25k) and Ink Preferred gets 3x on travel (up to 150k).

    • Miles October 9, 2019

      Jeremy – I had a reserve and downgraded actually. The reasons I keep it and highlighted have quite little to do with spend, and more to do with benefits + refer a friend, and I don’t really ever redeem my ultimate rewards in the chase travel center. I think the $55 argument is a really good one and for people that don’t keep a lot of cards like myself, it makes total sense ( you also need to assess opportunity cost of that $300 credit, i.e – other cards with higher category bonuses). For me…my dining gets split between amex gold and citi prestige ( which also gives me my priority pass w/ restaurants ) and flights go to amex plat, biz plat, or chase ink biz pref. My other expenses go on cards that earn 1.5x and now 2x with citi double cash. I push spend on this when I’m abroad b/c so many places take Visa, and freedoms/ink cash/unlimited assess foreign transaction, I use it on all my car rentals, and the 75k a year refer a friend is mega valuable – reserve doesn’t have one ongoing. So when it came time for me to keep the reserve, it just didn’t make sense, but easily makes up the $95 a year fee.

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