Why It Makes Sense To Apply for a Chase Sapphire Preferred Card by the End of 2024

It’s not often that the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card comes with an enhanced welcome bonus offer, making this new offer particularly timely, especially if you’re aiming to save on upcoming holiday travel plans.

This popular travel credit card comes with a welcome offer we’ve never seen before. Typically, 60,000 bonus points on the card is the standard offer, but there’s now an opportunity to earn an additional $300 travel credit after meeting the minimum spend requirements.

With just a few months left in 2024, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card is the ideal addition to any traveler’s wallet — here’s why.

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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 in's and out's 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

Get up to $1,050 in Chase Travel^SM value. Earn 60,000 bonus points after $4,000 in purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. That’s worth $750 when redeemed through Chase Travel. Plus, get up to $300 in statement credits on Chase Travel purchases within your first year.

$300 Chase Travel℠ Credit + 60,000 bonus points

UP's Bonus Valuation*:

$1,500

Annual Fee

$95

APR

20.99% - 27.99% 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 (670-850)

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
• 5x points on select Peloton purchases over $150 (through March 31, 2025)
• 5x points on Lyft purchases (through March 31, 2025)

Cons

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

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Card Highlights

• Get up to $1,050 in Chase Travel℠ value. Earn 60,000 bonus points after $4,000 in purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. That's worth $750 when redeemed through Chase Travel. Plus, get up to $300 in statement credits on Chase Travel purchases within your first year.
• 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.
• Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Travel℠. For example, 60,000 points are worth $750 toward travel.
• Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
• Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
• Member FDIC

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 20.99% - 27.99% Variable
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Rewards Center

Chase Ultimate Rewards

New Welcome Offer Comes With a Valuable Travel Credit

Normally, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card comes with a 60,000-point welcome bonus after spending $4,000 within the first 3 months of account opening. Since we value Chase Ultimate Rewards points at 2.0 cents apiece, that welcome offer is worth more like $1,200.

Of course, we won’t say no to a larger welcome offer. For the first time ever, the Chase Sapphire Preferred is offering the following to new applicants:

• Earn 60,000 bonus points and a $300 Chase Travel credit after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening.

That’s a value of $1,500 for travel, which is a pretty extraordinary deal for a card that has a $95 annual fee. Based on the welcome offer history of the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, it’s easily one of the best ones we’ve seen recently.

This Chase travel credit is pretty simple to use, and you can book flights, hotels, rental cars, excursions, and cruises through the travel portal with it. $300 can certainly go a long way, especially if you’ve got upcoming holiday travel or a trip in the books for 2025. It’s important to know this statement is a one-time perk, unlike the travel credit offered by the more premium Chase Sapphire Reserve^®, which is a recurring perk that resets annually.

Elevated welcome offers on the Chase Sapphire Preferred card are typically short-lived, so applying while the offer is available can be a strategic move.

Double-up on the Hotel Statement Credit

Some credit cards offer statement credits that are issued annually. The Chase Sapphire Preferred card is a great example, as it comes with a $50 annual statement credit for hotels booked through Chase Travel.

Sure, $50 might not seem like much in the grand scheme of things, but applying before the end of the year allows you to use one $50 credit by Dec. 31, 2024, and another once it resets on Jan. 1, 2025. It’s a quick way to gain nearly $100 in immediate value, compared to the $95 annual fee.

Over the past few years, I’ve never had trouble finding use for this hotel credit. I take a few road trips per year, and sometimes all you need is a clean and budget-friendly hotel. When nightly rates are just $100, saving $50 on top of that is really the cherry on top.

Calculating the Card’s Value in the First Year

How much value can you really get from the Chase Sapphire Preferred card in the first year of card membership? We made some estimations based on the tangible benefits of the credit card, though there are a ton of important perks like travel insurance and primary rental car insurance that you can’t necessarily place a price tag on.

Welcome Bonus Offer: $1,500

You’ll earn 60,000 bonus points and a $300 Chase Travel credit after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months of account opening. It usually takes 1 billing cycle to receive the welcome bonus offer, so the sooner you’re able to meet those minimum spend requirements, the better.

Hotel Statement Credit: $100

Since you’re able to earn it twice — once by the end of 2024 and once in 2025 — we’ll assign a value of $100 to the hotel statement credit.

DoorDash Credit: $120

Good news for Chase cardholders — the issuer extended its partnership with DoorDash through Dec. 31, 2027. Chase Sapphire Preferred cardholders can activate a complimentary DashPass membership for at least one year to get free delivery and lower service fees.

Beyond that, cardholders now enjoy up to a $10 statement credit per month on non-restaurant DoorDash orders. DoorDash has expanded its offerings recently, and it’s possible to shop at supermarkets, convenience stores, pet stores, and even beauty retailers like Sephora. DoorDash frequently offers promotions on its app, so I love using my $10 credit when there’s a sale going on.

Within the first year of card membership, there’s an opportunity to get up to $120 back in statement credits with select DoorDash purchases.

Final Thoughts

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card will always remain as my favorite starter card in my wallet, and the opportunity to apply before the end of 2024 is intriguing for a number of reasons. Having Chase Ultimate Rewards points is essential to my strategy as they’re some of the best rewards to book flights and hotels.