We may receive a commission when you use our links. Monkey Miles has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Monkey Miles and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Monkey Miles is also a Senior Advisor to Bilt Rewards Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® vs Chase Sapphire Reserve®
One of the questions I get most often…Zach, should I get a Chase Sapphire Preferred® or a Chase Sapphire Reserve®. Well, simply put, I think Chase has made the Chase Sapphire Preferred® so good…they kind of killed the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. I downgraded my Chase Sapphire Reserve® years ago, but with this new 80k offer, I’m eligible for a Sapphire product again and will likely pull the trigger on the CSR.
Current Welcome Offers and Annual Fee
Both cards have had all time high offers of a 100k points, but the Chase Sapphire Reserve® currently has a much stronger offer of 80k after $4k spend in 3 months than the 60k points the CSP is offering.
The annual fee? A big difference, but remember both cards come with travel credits that lower the effective cost, but there is still over $200 of difference. Cash in your pocket.
60k points after $4k spend in 3 months | 60k after $4k spend in 3 months
|
$95 annual fee
$45 net cost |
$550 annual fee
$250 net cost |
Earn Rates
This is where the Chase Sapphire Reserve® used to really pull away from the Chase Sapphire Preferred®. Not so much anymore. The biggest differences are within the Chase Portal on travel and on Peloton.
Personally, I don’t book mucht of my travel within portals, and typically I never book hotels within a portal since you don’t earn hotel points or get elite credit. Airline purchases could still give you elite miles and credit, but the CSP and CSR earn the same rate on airlines, 5x.
The biggest difference is when it comes to travel outside of the portals whereChase Sapphire Reserve® gets 3x and Sapphire Preferred gets 2x. Preferred even has 3x categories for online groceries and select streaming.
1x on every single purchase without limit | 1x on everything |
Purchases in the Chase Travel Portal
|
Purchases in the Chase Travel Portal
|
Annual Credits
As mentioned earlier, both of these cards give credits towards travel. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® gives a $50 hotel credit when you book through the Chase Travel Portal vs the Chase Sapphire Reserve® which gets a broader $300 travel credit that is valid on travel purchases outside the Chase travel portal.
- Chase Sapphire Preferred® cost after using the travel credit is $45
- Chase Sapphire Reserve® cost after using the travel credit is $250
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
You could use the travel credit at hotels that don’t have elite programs, like Peninsula Bangkok
Using points
Both of these cards earn premium Chase Ultimate Rewards that are fully transferrable to any of the over a dozen transfer partners. Please check out our 20 best uses of Chase Ultimate Rewards for some of our favorite uses, but transfer partners are how we are able to travel in some of the finest cabins in the world.
The biggest distinction here is when you’d use your points in the Chase Travel Portal. There, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® only gets 1.25c vs the Chase Sapphire Reserve® gets 1.5c per point when used on travel.
|
|
|
|
|
Book Lufthansa First Class for 100k points one way with Air Canada Aeroplan
Lounge Access
This is where Chase Sapphire Reserve® pulls ahead of Chase Sapphire Preferred®. The Chase Sapphire Reserve® has one of the best Priority Pass memberships in the business because it includes restaurant access. However, this is the same memberships that the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card provides which is why I keep a Venture X and a Chase Sapphire Preferred® in my wallet instead of a Chase Sapphire Reserve®.
We have heard rumblings that Chase will be rolling out their own network of lounges, but the details aren’t explicit and we aren’t fully aware of who will have access aside from knowing Chase Sapphire Reserve® members will have access. Will Sapphire Preferred members get a few passes a year? Pay for entry? We just don’t know.
The other rumor is that Priority Pass Select members will have access…so that potentially means that Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card members could access via their Priority Pass membership? That sounds too good to be true.
|
|
|
|
Other Benefits
This isn’t an extensive list of benefits, but what you start to see is how good the coverage is on Chase Sapphire Preferred® for just $95 a year. While there are small differences, like trip delay starting at 12 hours vs 6 hours with the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, and emergency medical coverage, I’d say they are pretty tight competitors.
Primary Rental Car coverage excluding High Value, exotics, etc some exclusions | Primary, up to $75k, some exclusions |
Trip Cancellation
|
Trip Cancellation
|
Trip Delay
|
Trip Delay
|
Baggage delay
|
Baggage delay
|
Lost Baggage
|
Lost Baggage
|
Emergency Medical
|
Emergency Medical
|
Purchase Protection
|
Purchase Protection
|
5x on Lyft
5x total points on Peloton Bike, Tread, Row and Guide over $250
|
|
Overall
Personally, without this increased CSR offer, I don’t see a reason to spend the extra money to have the Chase Sapphire Reserve® when the Preferred earns nearly the same rates of return, offers a bevy of benefits, has transferrable points, and you could add a Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card to your wallet to earn 2x everywhere and get some more premium benefits that the Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers for lower out of pocket total cost. Every situation is different, but for most people, this is the combo I would say would give you more options for redemption for lower out of pocket cost.
The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card comes with a $300 travel portal credit and a 10k anniversary points bonus all for a $395 annual fee.
Appreciate anybody who uses my link! Now you can earn 60,000 bonus points with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® credit card. If you apply and get approved, we can both earn rewards:
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/6f/G069MR0DXX
Thank you if use my link. Earn $200 cash back with the Chase Freedom Unlimited® or Chase Freedom Flex℠ credit card.
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/18o/700HASWMPM
My spouse and I each have one, and these miles are taking us to Europe on Business later this year. Great products! Appreciate you using our links:
Sapphire Preferred:
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/6f/GEV132VFJS
Sapphire Reserve:
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/19/3H2W8815GI
Thank you to anyone who uses my link! Now you can earn 60,000 bonus points with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® credit card.
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/6f/G069MR0DXX
Appreciate you if use my link. Earn $200 cash back with the Chase Freedom Unlimited® or Chase Freedom Flex℠ credit card.
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/18o/700HASWMPM
THANK YOU!
Earn 60,000 bonus points with Chase Sapphire Preferred. I can be rewarded, learn more.
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/6f/T6ZSM0687L
Thank you in advance to anyone who uses my links! Now you can earn 60,000 bonus points with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® credit card.
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/6f/G069MR0DXX
Earn $200 cash back with the Chase Freedom Unlimited® or Chase Freedom Flex℠ credit card.
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/18o/700HASWMPM
Appreciate you using my link! Saving up points for a family trip to Japan!
Earn 60,000 bonus points with Chase Sapphire Reserve. I can be rewarded, learn more.
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/19/3H2W8815GI
If you are looking to sign up for the reserve I would appreciate you using my link so we can both be rewarded!!!
60k bonus points Chase Sapphire Reserve referral offer
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/19/PKF98S3VB7
Appreciate anyone who uses my links! Now you can earn 60,000 bonus points with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® credit card. If you apply and get approved, we can both earn rewards: https://www.referyourchasecard.com/6f/6R5V9L627Z
Hey Travel Friends! I just started learning about points and miles this year from Monkey Miles and Zach! I’ve been working on accumulating points and am hoping to do my first redemption next year on a trip to Paris! I would love if you use my referral link if you’re considering the Chase Sapphire Preferred! Thanks and happy traveling!
Chase Sapphire Preferred: Earn 60,000 bonus points:
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/6f/VT6DDX5VFG
-This has been a great card for me this year – good for restaurants, travel, etc! I went with this card over the Sapphire Reserve because I also have the Capital One Venture X and get lounge access through that so this annual fee made more sense for me 🙂
Thank you so much if you use my links! Now you can earn 60,000 bonus points with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® credit card. If you apply and get approved, we can both earn rewards: https://www.referyourchasecard.com/6f/6R5V9L627Z
Earn $200 cash back with the Chase Freedom Unlimited® or Chase Freedom Flex℠ credit card. I can be rewarded, learn more.
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/18o/700HASWMPM
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/6f/IRPSTPI5PH
Now you can earn 60,000 bonus points with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® credit card. If you apply and get approved, we can both earn rewards:
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/6f/IRPSTPI5PH
I don’t really travel ever, so earning points is kinda hard. Appreciate the help using the link
Thank you to anyone who uses my link. Now you can earn 60,000 bonus points with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® credit card. If you apply and get approved, we can both earn rewards: https://www.referyourchasecard.com/6f/6R5V9L627Z
Earn $200 cash back with the Chase Freedom Unlimited® or Chase Freedom Flex℠ credit card. I can be rewarded, learn more.
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/18o/700HASWMPM
Earn 60,000 bonus points with Chase Sapphire Preferred.
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/6f/BRYC9DJZGR
Here’s my Venture X referral link: https://capital.one/3DvaOjG
Chase Sapphire Preferred: Earn 60k points after spending $4000 in the first 3 months.
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/6f/8LBOYMRO94
Good Luck! Thank You So Much!
Chase Sapphire Preferred is my go-to card. Really appreciate the low annual fee.
Earn 60,000 bonus points with Chase Sapphire Preferred. I can be rewarded, learn more.
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/6f/DKZGRP3482
Now you can earn 60,000 bonus points with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® credit card. If you apply and get approved, we can both earn rewards:
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/6f/3WSWUR1NXK
Now you can earn 60,000 bonus points with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® credit card. If you apply and get approved, we can both earn rewards:
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/6f/3WSWUR1NXK
And how about the pay yourself back benefit of the reserve? does that figure into the equation at all?
Let’s not ignore the horrible experience of the Chase travel portal. Want to change a flight / deal with irrops and it’s a painstaking procedure, starting with a CSR that has no idea of what they’re actually doing beyond a script, and online tools that don’t let you do much of anything by yourself.
I tried it early on in my relationship with Chase, then learned booking direct with airlines and hotels (on other cards with various rewards structures) is much, much less complicated.
Now you can earn 60,000 bonus points with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® credit card. If you apply and get approved, we can both earn rewards:
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/6f/G069MR0DXX
Chase Sapphire Preferred: Earn 60K points after spending $4000
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/6f/8LBOYMRO94
Good Luck! Thanks a lot!
I have the CSP and absolutely love it! The 10% bonus points I receive every year alone offset my annual fee. I’ve managed to book many trips with the referral program and the bonus points, I’ve received over the years. I’m currently planning my honeymoon and trying to get those bonus points to offset the cost!
Here is my referral link where you can receive 80k bonus for signing up when you get approved and meet the spending guidelines.
https://www.referyourchasecard.com/6p/5IVEDLBWNZ
I have the CSR and am thinking about downgrading to the CSP so I can refer friends. Don’t pay the annual fee so I figured I should stick to the CSR but am just unsure! 🙁
Great Article
Quick question “Amex is rumored to be releasing a beastly new Gold card” .. I have not found any references to this. May I request you to point me to a potential link … I’d certainly be interested in this . TIA !!
Sure thing DOC has the latest http://www.doctorofcredit.com/additional-details-regarding-premier-rewards-gold-card-update-sign-up-bonus-annual-fee-more/amp/
I have learned a lot from your website posts over the years. Thank you very much.
At present I have the following fee-cards mainly for travel/dining related spending:
* CitiPremier ($75)
* Chase Sapphire ($95)
* Alaska-Bank of America ($75)
I also have no fee cards: Chase Freedom & Discover for quarterly category bonus, Chase Unlimited for everyday use.
If I need to remove/downgrade/upgrade, what do you recommend? My family travel/dining expenses are estimated about $8k-$10k annually.
Hey Kim – Thanks so much, that’s what we try our best to do 🙂 You’ll need to keep at least one premium chase UR card active to be able to transfer points, so I’d keep your Sapphire. If you’re not getting much use out of your CitiPremier then you could downgrade it to a Citi Preferred, but remember if you cancel that you’ll need to use the points in ( I believe 60 days – doing this off the top of my head ) and also your Citi Thank You clock resets – this is circumvented by just downgrading. There’s also rumor of a new Citi Prestige coming… Up to you with the Alaska Bank of America card – i keep a biz version active usually. I’d keep your eye out for Oct 4th when the new Amex Gold is rumored to debut – will be a killer for your categories and open you up to earning Amex – which would round you out.
I think there’s an error here in your math? You notate $6850 in dining spending required for either the 3x or 2x points recieved to compensate for the annual fee. Perhaps I’m reading it wrong , but it should really be $2283.33 and $3425 respectively, which is more than doable given your spending area/where you live ($190 or $285 a month). This is not even factoring in that this benefit is for both dining AND travel, in which case the monthly spending would surely be made up by travel if you don’t spend that much on dining. If you feel you’re not going to hit that, the card is simply not a good choice for you and a lower tier card should be registered as you notated. Also the travel benefits are completely unparalleled in comparison to the reserve (especially flight delay) against any other high end travel card, including primary rental insurance.
Just my sense/reaction on this article. Maybe I misread the $6850 calculation but wanted to point out incase it was pivotal to your downgrade. Well written and definitely made me think!
Michael – ahhhhh – good catch! I valued them at a penny a point which I should have at the least done 1.5 cents and I believe your math is doing 2 cents – I’ll update to reflect. Thanks for the head’s up and detailed response 🙂
I don’t travel for work but my business spend is higher than personal. I put a lot of that spend on an Ink card. If I earn a modest 100k URs a year on my Ink organically, I’m leaving up $250 on the table in terms of direct travel redemptions by not having a CSR.
Even if I transfer some of those points to partners I’m definitely still making up that $68 in redemptions directly through Chase.
For this reason I’ll never downgrade. The ability to move points from other UR earning cards where their redemption value is 1.25 to the CSR where they’re 1.5, easley covers the annual fee difference. Every year!
Completely agree with you. You only need 1 chase annual fee card to transfer points (in this case, you have the preferred). The preferred offers cell phone protection which offsets the annual fee. The question comes down to dining, and the 5.4% rate of return offered by the Reserve. Given that one can get 3.6 to 4.5% pretty easily on dining on a card which has no annual fee or benefits which fully offset the annual fee, one has to be spending quite a bit on eating out to cover the $150.
One question, why not downgrade to a freedom or freedom unlimited instead given you have the preferred for partner transfers?
Steve – great primary rental car coverage – i probably rent 20-30 times a year and refer-a-friend bonuses are nice as well – i already have one freedom…