Chase Sapphire Preferred Card – Full Review [2021]

Is the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card Worth It?

Chances are you’ve seen your fair share of commercials and advertisements for the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. Perhaps you’ve seen your friends using it to pay for their meal at dinner, or overheard your coworkers mention how they use their Chase Ultimate Rewards points for free flight tickets.

So what makes the card so special? Is it actually worth all of this hype?

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card gives you an excellent earning rate of 5x points on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3x points on dining, online grocery purchases, and select streaming services, 2x points on all other travel purchases, plus more, along with flexible point redemption options, no foreign transaction fees, and great travel insurance coverage.

With benefits like these, it’s easy to see why this card is one of the best travel credit cards on the market and an excellent choice for any traveler.

• Earns 5x points per $1 on all travel booked via the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal
• Earns 3x points per $1 on dining purchases, online grocery purchases, and select streaming services
• Earns 2x points per $1 on all other travel worldwide
• $60 Peloton Digital and All Access Membership statement credit (through December 31, 2021)
• Earn 5x points on each Peloton Bike, Tread, and accessory purchase over $1,800, up to 25,000 total points, and a complimentary Digital Membership from Peloton after your order (through March 2022)
• $50 annual credit on hotel stays booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal
• 10% annual bonus points
• Complimentary DoorDash DashPass subscription
• No foreign transaction fees
• 1:1 point transfer to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs like United MileagePlus and World of Hyatt
• Travel and car rental insurance
• Complimentary Spot Club Platinum status with The Parking Spot for 2 years, 20% off of your first reservation, and points for 1 free day of parking (enroll by October 26, 2023)

• $95 annual fee
• No elite benefits like airport lounge access or hotel elite status

Do you love exploring the world? Do you love trying your city’s newest restaurants with friends? Are you new to the world of points and miles and want a card with flexible redemption options? Then this Chase Sapphire Preferred card could be a great card for you!

With 5x points on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3x points on dining, online grocery purchases, and select streaming services, plus 2x points on all other travel purchases, you can earn more value for the money you’re already spending — each purchase getting you closer to your next vacation.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card Travel Protections

Your card comes with quite a few benefits to keep you insured while traveling. You’ll receive:

• Trip Delay Insurance — Receive reimbursements of up to $500 per ticket if your flight is delayed 12 hours or requires an overnight stay. This includes items like lodging, food, etc.
• Trip Cancellation and Interruption Insurance — If you need to cancel a trip due to illness, severe weather, or any other covered circumstance, you’ll receive a reimbursement of up to $10,000 in non-refundable travel expenses if you need to cancel your trip or end it early.
• Baggage Delay Insurance — If your checked baggage is delayed more than 6 hours, you’ll receive $100 in reimbursements for essential items per day for up to 5 days.
• Lost Luggage Insurance — The costs you incur to repair or replace checked and/or carry-on baggage due to physical loss, theft, or damage are covered up to a maximum of $3,000 per person.
• Travel Accident Insurance — In the case of accidental death or loss of speech, sight, or hearing during your travels, you can receive up to $500,000 when the incident happens on a common carrier (airline, cruise ship, etc.) or $100,000 at any other part of your trip.

DoorDash DashPass Subscription

Another benefit to the card is a DashPass membership valued at $9.99 a month, good through December 31, 2021.

If you’re not already familiar, a DashPass membership, from the food delivery service DoorDash, gives customers $0 delivery fees and reduced service fees on orders over $12 from eligible restaurants.

To set up your DashPass membership, all you have to do is add your Chase Sapphire Preferred card as a payment method on your DoorDash account — once you do so the app will automatically offer you a DashPass membership.

Annual Hotel Credit

Cardholders receive $50 in annual statement credits when they purchase a hotel stay through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal. Unlike other credit card credits, this $50 statement credit is very easy to use and effectively brings the annual fee of the card down to just $45.

Note that we’ve seen that this credit isn’t awarded until your card anniversary for existing cardmembers. Explore your card account to see if the credit is already available for use, or when it will be applied to your account.

Rental Car Insurance

An Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) is a form of insurance that offers protection against damage or theft of your rental car. The coverage provided by the Chase Sapphire Preferred card is primary, meaning you don’t have to file a claim with any other insurance first.

This coverage applies to rentals in the U.S. and in most other countries worldwide. Your coverage extends to any additional drivers listed on your rental agreement, plus any authorized users on your card and additional drivers listed on their car rental agreements.

To activate your coverage, be sure to decline the policy offered by the car rental agency and pay for your entire rental with your card. You’ll also be earning 2 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar when renting a car!

Purchase Protection

Chase purchase protection provides reimbursement or repair for qualifying items purchased with your card in the event of theft or accidental damage. To qualify, at least part of your purchase needs to be made with your Sapphire Preferred card or points from your Chase Sapphire Preferred card account.

If the item you purchased is stolen or accidentally damaged within 120 days from the date of purchase, you can receive a replacement, repair, or reimbursement for your item at the discretion of the benefits administrator.

The card’s purchase protection policy is capped at $500 per claim and $50,000 per account.

Extended Warranty Protection

Extended warranty coverage increases the U.S. manufacturer’s warranty of an item by 1 year if the original warranty is less than 3 years. At least part of the item needs to have been purchased with your card or points in your Chase Sapphire Preferred card account.

Each claim has a $10,000 maximum, and each account has a maximum of $50,000.

• You want a card that offers flexible redemption options
• You spend a lot on travel, online grocery purchases, dining out, and food delivery
• You travel frequently for work
• You’re new to the world of points and miles
• You frequently use rideshare services like Lyft

• You seldom eat out and prefer cooking at home
• You don’t enjoy traveling
• You prefer a card with increased offerings like airport lounge access or hotel elite status

Travel Expenses

Seeing as 2 bonus categories on the Chase Sapphire Preferred card are related to travel, you’ll want to make this card your primary option for all purchases that fall within those categories.

You’re going to earn 5x points per $1 on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards and 2x points per $1 on all other travel purchases.

So what exactly counts as a “travel” purchase with Chase? You’ll be happy to know that Chase’s definition of travel is quite broad — so you’ll have plenty of opportunities to earn points.

Purchases that fall within the category include:

Hot Tip: You can monitor each of your transactions via your online Chase account. This will allow you to be certain you’re receiving the 2x multiplier on qualified purchases — and has the additional benefit of helping you keep track of your spending.

Dining, Online Grocery Purchases, and Select Streaming Services

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card also offers 3 separate bonus categories where you can earn 3x points per $1 on your spending. These are dining ( including delivery services and takeout), online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs), and select streaming services (like Netflix, Hulu, and Spotify).

Given that most people tend to spend quite a bit on these 3 categories throughout the year, these bonus categories offer a great opportunity for you to rack up the points.

Lyft Rides

Chase and Lyft have created a partnership that allows select Chase credit cards to earn additional bonus points on Lyft purchases. So, when you use your card to pay for your Lyft rides, you’ll earn 5x Ultimate Rewards points per $1 spent through March 2022.

Annual Card Spend

Chase Sapphire Preferred cardholders earn 10% of all their card spend throughout the year as bonus points during their account anniversary each year. For instance, if you spend $20,000 on your card in one year, you’ll receive 2,000 bonus points on your account anniversary.

This might not seem like much, but it can certainly add up when added to all the other points you’ll earn!

Chase Shopping Portal

If you prefer to skip the crowds and do all of your shopping online, then you’re in luck. With the Chase Ultimate Rewards shopping portal you can earn 2x, 5x, or even 20x points per $1 spent with companies like Apple, Bose, and Nike.

Just make sure to click through the Ultimate Rewards shopping portal first before heading to your chosen website to ensure that you get the bonus.

Refer-a-Friend Bonus

Select Chase credit cardholders are given the opportunity to refer their friends, family, or other business owners to apply for a Chase credit card and are rewarded when they do so.

So if you think the Chase Sapphire Preferred card might be a great fit for someone you know, you can receive up to 75,000 additional Ultimate Rewards points each year for referrals — 15,000 points per referral.

Referrals can be sent via email, social media, or by sending a direct link to the person you’re planning to refer.

Adding More Ultimate Rewards-Earning Cards

Adding more Ultimate Rewards-earning cards allows you to optimize your spending with further bonus categories. Take the Chase Freedom Unlimited®, which earns 5% Ultimate Rewards points on travel through the Chase Travel Portal, 3% Ultimate Rewards on dining and drugstore purchases, and 1.5% Ultimate Rewards points on all other purchases.

This gives cardholders a 50% increase in points earned compared to the 1x earned with the Chase Sapphire Preferred card on purchases outside of the travel and dining categories.

Bottom Line: Overall, there are many methods you can pursue to rack up the Chase Ultimate Rewards points. For even more ways to earn, check out our guide on the best ways to earn lots of Chase Ultimate Rewards points.

When it comes to Chase Ultimate Rewards points, there are 6 main redemption options that vary in flexibility and value.

Transferring to Airline or Hotel Partners

Chase makes it easy for you to transfer your Ultimate Rewards points to a number of airlines and hotels that it has partnered with. For the most part, these transfers happen almost instantaneously and can make for some very high-value redemptions.

If you’ve never transferred points before, or you’re new to the world of points and miles, it can seem like a daunting task. However, it’s not nearly as difficult as it may seem. With just a little extra work, utilizing transfer partners can help you get huge value from your points.

Using Points Through the Chase Ultimate Rewards Travel Portal

This method is great for travelers looking for simplicity and flexibility. With the Ultimate Rewards travel portal, there’s no need to worry about transfers, comparing point values, finding award space, or blackout dates.

When booking through the travel portal with your Chase Sapphire Preferred card, your points are worth a fixed 1.25 cents each — meaning 60,000 points are worth $750 in travel purchases.

Through the portal, you can use your points to book flights, hotels, rental cars, cruises, and other experiences.

For those who aren’t interested in dealing with point transfers, the Ultimate Rewards travel portal offers a simple way to book travel while still providing good value for your points.

Redeeming for Gift Cards

You also have the option of redeeming your points for gift cards from over 150 different brands. Unless a deal or promotion is being run with a certain brand, your points are worth 1 cent each for the gift card of your choice — meaning a $50 Starbucks gift card would cost 5,000 Ultimate Rewards points.

Redeeming for Cash-Back

If you’re not interested in using your points toward travel, you can easily redeem them for cash-back at a fixed rate of 1 cent per point. You can use the cash-back as a statement credit toward your purchases, or have the money deposited straight into your bank account.

Use Points With Amazon or Apple

If you have an Ultimate Rewards-earning card linked as a payment option on your Amazon or Apple account, you’ll have the option to pay for your item using points. As with previous options, your points will be worth 1 cent each.

Chase Experiences Portal

With the Chase Experiences portal, you can use your points to book VIP access to select sports, entertainment, and dining experiences. You can purchase experiences with points or cash, and point redemption options are most often valued at 1 cent each.

Hot Tip: We don’t usually recommend redeeming your points for cash-back, Amazon purchases, or any option that only earns you 1 cent per point in value. Instead, consider transferring your points to airline and hotel travel partners, so you can use your Chase points for maximum value.

Chase Airline Transfer Partners

Chase Hotel Transfer Partners

Interested in the Chase Sapphire Preferred card but curious to learn about your other options? Check out these other offerings:

Capital One Venture Rewards Card

Credit Card

Benefits & Info

Capital One Venture Rewards card Learn More (at our partner's secure site)

Earn 60,000 miles once you spend $3,000 on purchases within 3 months from account opening. Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day. Miles won't expire for the life of the account and there's no limit to how many you can earn Receive up to $100 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck No Foreign Transaction Fees Excellent Credit Recommended (740-850) Annual Fee: $95 Must Reads: For more info on the CapOne Venture card, see our thoughts on its benefits and our full review.

There’s a lot to love about the CapOne Venture card. With a variety of airline and hotel transfer partners and 2x on all other purchases, it’s easy to see why this is a direct competitor of the Chase Sapphire Preferred card.

If the majority of your daily spending comes from purchases outside of dining and travel categories, then the CapOne Venture card might be a great option for you.

For more information, check out our detailed analysis of the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card vs. the CapOne Venture card.

Citi Premier® Card

Credit Card

Benefits & Info

Citi Premier® Card Learn More (at our partner's secure site)

Earn 80,000 bonus ThankYou® Points after you spend $4,000 in purchases within the first 3 months of account opening. Earn 3 Points per $1 spent at Restaurants, Supermarkets, Gas Stations, Air Travel and Hotels. Earn 1 Point per $1 spent on all other purchases. Annual Hotel Savings Benefit 80,000 Points are redeemable for $800 in gift cards when redeemed at thankyou.com No expiration and no limit to the amount of points you can earn with this card No Foreign Transaction Fees on purchases Good to Excellent Credit Recommended (670-850) Annual Fee: $95 UP's Bonus Valuation*: $1,280

The Citi Premier card is one of the few travel credit cards on the market to offer a high return on gas purchases. This makes the card an excellent choice for those who drive often for work or love taking road trips.

We’ve also compared the Chase Sapphire Preferred card with other popular cards:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred card vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve®
• Chase Sapphire Preferred card vs. American Express® Gold Card

The information regarding the Chase Freedom Unlimited®, Capital One Venture Rewards Card, and Chase Freedom Flex℠ Credit Card was independently collected by Upgraded Points and not provided nor reviewed by the issuer.