Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Reserve: Which Should You Get in 2026?

Although you can now carry the Chase Sapphire Reserve^® and the Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card simultaneously, one might be a better fit over the other, depending on your travel, lifestyle, and spending habits.

I’ve held each travel card at different points in my life, but as each one has evolved, reevaluating which has been right for me has been key to optimizing my spending, benefits, earnings, and redemptions.

In this post, I’ll compare the 2 personal Chase Sapphire cards to help you decide which is a better fit for you this year.

Chase Sapphire Reserve Card vs. the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card

The Chase Sapphire Reserve card is Chase’s most premium card, with a $795 annual fee and a collection of lifestyle and travel benefits that can help you offset it.

Terms Apply / Rates & Fees

Chase Sapphire Reserve^®

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 top player in the high-end premium travel credit card space that earns points on travel and dining while offering top luxury perks.

Apply Now(at Chase's secure site)

Chase Sapphire Reserve^®

A top player in the high-end premium travel credit card space that earns points on travel and dining while offering top luxury perks.

Welcome Offer

Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

100,000 points

UP's Offer Valuation*:

$2,000

Annual Fee

$795

APR

19.49% - 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 card application.

Excellent

Why We Like This Card

If you’re looking for an all-around excellent travel rewards card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve^® is one of the best options.

The card combines elite travel benefits and perks like worldwide airport lounge access, with excellent point earning and redemption options. Plus, it offers top-notch travel insurance protections to cover you at home or on the road.

Don’t forget the more than $2,000 in annual credits, which can offset the annual fee!

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 8x points on all Chase Travel purchases
• 5x points on Lyft rides
• 4x points on flights and hotels booked directly

Cons

• $795 annual fee

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Card Highlights

• Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
• Get $3,000 in annual value with Sapphire Reserve.
• Earn 8x points on all purchases through Chase Travel℠, including The Edit℠ and 4x points on flights and hotels booked direct. Plus, earn 3x points on dining worldwide & 1x points on all other purchases
• $300 annual travel credit as reimbursement for travel purchases charged to your card each account anniversary year.
• Access over 1,300 airport lounges worldwide with a complimentary Priority Pass™ Select membership, plus every Chase Sapphire Lounge^® by The Club with two guests. Plus, up to $120 towards Global Entry, NEXUS, or TSA PreCheck^® every 4 years
• Get up to $150 in statement credits every six months for a maximum of $300 annually for dining at restaurants that are part of Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables.
• Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Coverage, Lost Luggage Insurance, no foreign transaction fees, and more.
• Get complimentary subscriptions to Apple TV and Apple Music for a minimum of one year when activated by June 22, 2027, a value of $288 annually.
• Member FDIC

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 19.49% - 27.99% Variable
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Rewards Center

Chase Ultimate Rewards

Meanwhile, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card comes with fewer perks, though the ones it does come with have been newly revamped and can easily help you outweigh the $95 annual fee.

LAST CHANCE

Terms Apply / Rates & Fees

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.

Apply Now(at Chase's secure site)

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 75,000 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Offer ends at 9 AM EST on 7/30/2026.

75,000 100,000 points

UP's Offer Valuation*:

$2,000

Annual Fee

$95

APR

19.24% - 27.49% 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 card application.

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, gas, EV charging, vacation homes, 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 and emergency evacuation. 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 (excluding Walmart, Target, and wholesale clubs), gas, EV charging, vacation homes (such as Airbnb and Vrbo), 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

Read Full Review

Card Highlights

• Earn 100,000 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, 3x on vacation homes, 3x on gas & EV charging, 3x on top streaming services and online groceries (excluding Walmart, Target, and wholesale clubs), 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases
• Earn up to $100 in statement credits each account anniversary year for hotel stays through Chase Travel
• Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
• Get a year of complimentary Apple TV when activated by December 31, 2026 - a value of $156.
• 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.
• Receive one statement credit of up to $120 every four years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to your card for a Global Entry, TSA Precheck^® or NEXUS application.
• Transfer points to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs
• Member FDIC

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 19.24% - 27.49% Variable
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Rewards Center

Chase Ultimate Rewards

Welcome Offer

Right now, you can take advantage of this welcome offer on the Chase Sapphire Reserve card:

• Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

Meanwhile, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card currently has a higher-than-usual welcome offer:

• Earn 75,000 100,000 points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Offer ends 9 AM EST on 7/30/2026.

As you can see, you can currently earn the same 100,000 bonus points from each card’s welcome offer, but the Chase Sapphire Preferred card is the winner here (at least until the elevated bonus offer ends), because the card has a lower spending threshold to reach the bonus and a significantly lower annual fee.

However, Chase has officially notified us that the 100,000-point bonus offer on the Chase Sapphire Preferred card is ending on Thursday, July 30, at 9 a.m. Eastern, so you’ll want to pick it up before it’s too late.

Hot Tip:

Welcome offers, especially elevated ones, don’t last forever. If you see a higher offer, apply for the card ASAP to avoid missing out.

Travel and Lifestyle Perks and Benefits

Regardless of the amount of each card’s annual fee, the key to outweighing either fee is to utilize the benefits and perks.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve card has a higher annual fee but also offers a wide array of benefits. In fact, we estimate the card offers more than $7,000 in value thanks to its over 40 benefits. For example, the card offers perks such as:

• $300 annual travel credit 
• Complimentary Priority Pass membership with access to more than 1,300 airport lounges worldwide (with 2 guests)
• Chase Sapphire Lounge access that includes the cardholder plus 2 guests, as well as access to select Air Canada lounges with 1 guest
• A complimentary subscription to Apple TV and Apple Music that’s valid when activated by June 22, 2027, a value of $288 annually
• $300 annually in monthly DoorDash promos and complimentary access to DashPass for a minimum of 1 year (activate by December 31, 2027)
• Complimentary IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite Status
• Up to $500 in credits annually with The Edit by Chase Travel
• Book a restaurant that is part of Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables and receive up to $300 in annual dining credits.
• TSA PreCheck, Global Entry, or NEXUS credit of up to $120 every 4 years
• Up to $120 annually (up to $10 monthly) in Lyft credit when you use your Chase Sapphire Reserve card to pay for your ride (through September 30, 2027)
• A wide range of travel and spending protections

If cardholders spend $75,000 annually, they unlock additional perks, including IHG One Rewards Diamond elite status, World of Hyatt Explorist status, Southwest Airlines A-List status, a $500 Southwest Airlines Chase Travel credit, and a $250 credit for the Shops at Chase.

Meanwhile, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card has a selection of newly updated perks, which include:

• Get up to $100 in hotel credit on Chase Travel hotel bookings annually
• A complimentary 1-year Apple TV subscription (activate by December 31, 2026)
• Up to $120 toward Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS every 4 years
• Complimentary subscription to DoorDash DashPass (activate by December 31, 2027) and $10 monthly ($120 annually) in DoorDash credits.
• A collection of purchase and travel protections, including the newly added emergency evacuation and transportation coverage

It’s true that the Chase Sapphire Preferred card has fewer benefits, but that makes it infinitely easier to offset the lower annual fee. Just using the hotel credit alone could make the card worth having. We estimate the value of the card’s many benefits to be nearly $5,000.

The winner?

We love that the Chase Sapphire Preferred card’s benefits make it easy to offset the annual fee, but we can’t ignore the sheer volume of perks the Chase Sapphire Reserve card offers. The card features some of the most generous lounge access of any credit card, allowing 2 guests per lounge visit (at a time when many cards are reducing guest access) and numerous statement credits. It’s true that you have to keep track of more benefits, but the high value of these benefits definitely makes the Chase Sapphire Reserve card the winner in this category.

Points Earnings

Both cards earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points, a valuable, flexible rewards currency. The Chase Sapphire Reserve card offers the ability to earn big in specific categories:

• 8x points on all Chase Travel purchases
• 5x points on Lyft rides (through September 30, 2027)
• 4x points on flights and hotels booked directly
• 3x points on all dining purchases worldwide
• 1x points on everything else

On the other hand, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card features the following spending bonus categories:

• 5x points on all travel booked via the Chase Travel portal
• 3x points on dining purchases, online grocery purchases (excluding Walmart, Target, and wholesale clubs), gas, EV charging, vacation homes (such as Airbnb and Vrbo), and some streaming services
• 2x points on all other travel worldwide
• 1x points on everything else

While we appreciate the ability to earn more points with the big bonus categories on the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card is the real winner when it comes to earnings.

Why? Because the bonus categories are for things that many people tend to buy often. For example, I rarely spend on Lyft or in Chase Travel, but gas, general travel, and streaming are regular, frequent purchases for me.

When you’re getting bonus points for regular, everyday purchases, it’s easier to accrue more points.

Redemptions

Both personal Sapphire cards make it easy for cardholders to redeem their Ultimate Rewards points, whether that’s for purchases in Chase Travel or for transferring points to airline and hotel partners.

Below, you can see a list of Chase’s airline and hotel partners, which is the same for both the Chase Sapphire Reserve card and the Chase Sapphire Preferred card.

However, there’s one major difference that makes the Chase Sapphire Reserve card win in this category: the transfer ratio to Hyatt.

Hyatt is one of the top transfer partners for Chase, and I’ve had incredible luck staying at top properties using Hyatt points, such as all-inclusive Dreams hotels in Cancun, Mexico, and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, the Hyatt Regency Koh Samui in Thailand, and the Hyatt Regency Kotor Bay in Montenegro — many of which I transferred from Chase.

For new cardholders of the Chase Sapphire Preferred card (existing cardholders can continue to transfer at the 1:1 ratio until October 1, 2026), the transfer ratio to Hyatt is now 4:3, which means you’re technically losing 33% of your points on every Hyatt transfer.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve card’s transfer ratio to Hyatt is a solid 1:1. So while both cards offer largely the same redemption options, the Hyatt ratio is a dealbreaker at redemption time. It’s also worth noting that you can get more value (up to 2.5 cents per point) with Chase Points Boost using your Chase Sapphire Reserve card.

Because of this, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card wins in the redemptions category.

Annual Fee

The annual fees on these cards are wildly different — $700 different, to be exact. The Chase Sapphire Reserve card has an annual fee of $795, while the Chase Sapphire Preferred card has a much more affordable annual fee of $95.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card is the obvious winner in this category, thanks to its lower fee. But as I mentioned above, both cards’ value is tied to the ability to offset the annual fee by using their benefits.

So, while the Chase Sapphire Preferred card does have a lower fee, if the benefits of the Chase Sapphire Reserve card resonate with you and you’ll be able to use them, this card could be the winner in your case.

Final Thoughts

Deciding whether the Chase Sapphire Reserve card or the Chase Sapphire Preferred card is right for you depends mostly on your spending, travel, and lifestyle habits — and what you’re willing to pay in annual fees.

If you frequently spend on airlines and hotels, have the ability to use and stay on top of many statement credits, value airport lounge access, want the most premium Chase card available, and don’t mind paying a high fee, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card should be your pick.

If you’d rather pay a lower annual fee, spend a lot on gas, dining, travel, and streaming, and don’t use Hyatt as a transfer partner, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card is probably right for you.

And if you’re truly dedicated to earning Chase Ultimate Rewards points, get both cards and be savvy about what spending you put on each in order to best maximize each card’s bonus categories and benefits.