Chase Sapphire Preferred Card – Requirements, Ideal Credit Score & Approval Tips

The Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card is one of the most popular travel rewards cards on the market — and it’s easy to see why.

Not only is it excellent at earning points, but it also offers flexible redemption options, including access to transfer partners and solid travel and purchase protections, all for a relatively low annual fee.

If the Chase Sapphire Preferred card sounds like it would be a good fit for you, then you might be wondering, “What qualifications do I need to have in order to be approved for the card?” This post will walk you through just that!

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card Snapshot

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Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the ins and outs of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

A fantastic travel card with a great welcome offer, good benefits, and perks for a moderate annual fee.

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Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card

A fantastic travel card with a great welcome offer, good benefits, and perks for a moderate annual fee.

Welcome Offer

Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

60,000 points

UP's Offer Valuation*:

$1,200

Annual Fee

$95

APR

19.99% - 28.24% Variable

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^®Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit cardapplication.

Good to Excellent

Why We Like This Card

The Chase Sapphire Preferred^® card is one of the best travel rewards cards on the market. Its bonus categories include travel, dining, online grocery purchases, and streaming services, which gives you the opportunity to earn lots of bonus points on these purchases.

Additionally, it offers flexible point redemption options, no foreign transaction fees, and excellent travel insurance coverage including primary car rental insurance. With benefits like these, it’s easy to see why this card is an excellent choice for any traveler.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 5x points on all travel booked via the Chase Travel portal
• 3x points on dining purchases, online grocery purchases, and select streaming services
• 2x points on all other travel worldwide

Cons

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

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Card Highlights

• Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
• Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases, $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit, plus more.
• Earn up to $50 in statement credits each account anniversary year for hotel stays through Chase Travel℠
• 10% anniversary points boost - each account anniversary you'll earn bonus points equal to 10% of your total purchases made the previous year.
• Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
• 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.
• Member FDIC

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 19.99% - 28.24% Variable
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

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Top Benefits of the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

Earning 5x points per $1 spent on Chase Travel purchases, 3x points per $1 spent on dining, online grocery purchases, and select streaming services, plus 2x points per $1 spent on all other travel purchases, this card can really help you rack up points quickly.

It offers a $50 annual statement credit for a hotel stay booked through Chase Travel and access to Chase transfer partners. You’ll also get 25% more value when you redeem your points through Chase Travel, and you’ll receive an annual point bonus that amounts to 10% of your total card spend throughout the year (i.e. spend $15,000, get 1,500 bonus points).

Further, the card offers great protections like trip delay insurance, primary rental car coverage, baggage delay insurance, purchase protection, and more.

Hot Tip: If you’re interested in learning more about the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, read through our guide on all of the card’s top benefits.

700+ Credit Score for the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

While there is no set credit score that will guarantee your approval for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, we’d recommend that you have a credit score of at least 700 or higher in order to have reasonably high odds of being approved for the card.

Again, even if you have a perfect credit score of 850, there is no guarantee that you will be approved for the card, as issuers take other considerations into account as well when deciding whether or not to approve you for a new card.

Hot Tip: If you’re not sure what your credit score is, we recommend using a free tool to check it, like Experian or Credit Karma. 

Other Approval Considerations

Beyond your credit score, here are some of the other top factors that can determine whether you’d be approved for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card:

Income

When filling out your application, one item that the issuer will ask for is your annual income. This figure is not only used to determine your approval for the card but also how much credit will be extended to you.

In order to be approved for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, you must be eligible to receive a credit line of at least $5,000. Chase does not publish any information pertaining to what level of income is needed for approval, but we can assume that the higher your income is, the more likely you are to be approved.

That said, don’t be discouraged if you don’t have a 6-figure income, as we often see individuals get approved for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card with incomes in the $35,000 to $40,000 range, so long as they also have a strong credit score as well.

Years of Credit History

Another important factor that issuers look at when approving you for a new card is your length of credit history. This is to say that even if you have a solid income and credit score, you may have to be patient if you have a short credit history — it could take some time before you’re approved for something like the Chase Sapphire Preferred card.

In our experience, we recommend having at least 2 years of blemish-free credit history before looking to add a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred card.

Number of New Accounts

If you’ve opened many new credit card accounts recently, this can make credit issuers hesitant to approve you for another new account. In fact, Chase even has a widely documented 5/24 rule, that prohibits you from being approved for many of the issuer’s best cards — including the Chase Sapphire Preferred card — if you’ve opened 5 or more new credit cards accounts in the last 24 months.

Keep in mind that this only applies to new credit card accounts, and not items like home loans, auto loans, or personal loans.

Tips To Boost Your Credit Score

If you’ve been denied for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, or you think your score isn’t high enough to be approved, take note of these steps you can take to help improve your score so that you can add the card to your wallet in the future.

Get a Starter Credit Card

If you’re just beginning your credit journey, then you’ll want to consider applying for a starter credit card first, as these cards are designed for individuals starting to build their credit history.

As you use this card responsibly, you will both improve your credit score and add to your credit history, which will make it much easier for you to get approved for travel rewards cards later on.

Keep Your Credit Utilization Low and Pay Your Bill On-time

Your credit utilization and your payment history make up 30% and 35% of your credit score, respectively, so it is vitally important that you stay on top of both of these if you are looking to improve your score.

In terms of your payment history, even a single payment more than 30 days past due can massively hamper your credit score, so make certain to always submit a payment. As a best practice, you should always be paying the full statement balance on your card to avoid paying any interest fees, but if for some reason you cannot in a given month, you’ll still want to pay as much as you can to keep your record of on-time payments high.

Your credit utilization is the amount of credit you’ve currently used in a given billing cycle divided by your overall credit limit. For instance, if the credit limit on your card is $2,000 and you spend $500 in your last statement cycle, your credit utilization will be 25%. Ideally, you’ll want to keep your overall credit utilization as low as possible, and definitely below 30% for the best impact on your credit score.

Hot Tip: A helpful trick to keep your credit utilization low is to make a payment on your credit card a few days before your credit card statement posts for the month. 

Get Added as an Authorized User

A great way to boost your score is to be added as an authorized user on the credit card of a trusted friend or family member. This is helpful to credit issuers because it shows them that someone else is willing to trust you with their credit as well.

Keep in mind, though, that the primary account holders managing their credit will impact your score now, and vice versa. This means you’ll only want to be added by someone who is responsible with their credit usage.

Final Thoughts

It’s unsurprising to see why so many travelers are interested in the Chase Sapphire Preferred card as it is a great tool to earn a valuable rewards currency that offers multiple redemption options, and it offers great perks and protections, all for a reasonable annual fee.

Fortunately, the card is not especially difficult to get approved for so long as you have a good credit score and some credit history under your belt. If the card seems like it would be a good fit for you, you could be well on your way to booking your next trip with points in no time!