Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Reserve: Why You Should Act Fast on This 100K Offer

Updated: May 9, 2025, 8:30am CDT

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Table of Contents

Comparing Chase Sapphire Welcome Offers
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve Card
Final Thoughts

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The Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve^® are exceptional travel credit cards for earning points. If you’re considering either one, you may wonder which is the better fit for you.

One massive pro for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card is its much larger welcome bonus offer, which may surprise you given its much lower $95 annual fee. However, this is your last chance to snag this increased welcome bonus — it ends on Thursday, May 15, at 9 a.m. ET.

Let’s examine the benefits to help you decide which card you should get.

Comparing Chase Sapphire Welcome Offers

For starters, here’s a look at the welcome bonus each card is currently offering.

Chase Sapphire Preferred card: Earn 100,000 points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
Chase Sapphire Reserve card: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.

With the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, you’ll earn an additional 40,000 points from the welcome bonus. We value Chase Ultimate Rewards points at 2 cents per point, making this 100,000-point welcome bonus offer on the Chase Sapphire Preferred card worth $2,000, compared to a valuation of $1,200 with the Chase Sapphire Reserve card.

In other words, you’ll earn over 66% more points with the Chase Sapphire Preferred card.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve Card

As Chase only allows you to have one Chase Sapphire card at a time, it’s especially important to think through which Sapphire card aligns best with your long-term travel goals.

Chase Sapphire Reserve vs Sapphire Preferred Upgraded Points LLC Large — Image Credit: Upgraded Points

For most travelers, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card is the smarter choice to earn the bigger 100,000-point bonus. Not only that, if you think you might not need all of the bells and whistles that come with the Chase Sapphire Reserve card, and also aren’t sure if you want a card with a hefty annual fee, then the Chase Sapphire Preferred card might be the better fit for you.

Since the Chase Sapphire Preferred card has a superior welcome bonus offer and a lower annual fee, a solid strategy would be to apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card to take advantage of its large welcome offer, then upgrade to the Chase Sapphire Reserve card after a year if you find that you want to take advantage of its additional benefits like airport lounge access.

Here’s a quick head-to-head comparison of each card’s benefits:

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Benefits	Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card	Chase Sapphire Reserve^®
Rewards	5x on Chase Travel 3x on dining purchases, online grocery purchases, and select streaming services 2x on all other purchases	10x on hotels and rental cars though Chase Travel 5x on airfare through Chase Travel 3x on dining and travel
Access to Chase Transfer Partners	Yes	Yes
Travel Perks	$50 annual Chase Travel hotel credit 10% annual bonus points No foreign transaction fees	$300 annual travel credit Priority Pass and Chase Sapphire lounge access TSA PreCheck, Global Entry, or NEXUS credit Access to The Edit by Chase Travel Rental car elite status with National and Avis No foreign transaction fees
Travel Protections	Trip delay reimbursement Trip cancellation and interruption insurance Baggage delay insurance Lost luggage reimbursement Travel accident insurance Auto rental collision damage waiver
Annual Fee	$95	$550

In summary, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card offers more benefits and rewards-earning opportunities than the Chase Sapphire Preferred card, but that doesn’t mean it is a better fit for everyone.

Hot Tip:

Still undecided? Read our detailed comparison of the Chase Sapphire Preferred card vs. the Chase Sapphire Reserve card.

Final Thoughts

While both cards are excellent, the Chase Sapphire Preferred card offers far better value right now, thanks to its much larger welcome bonus, lower annual fee, and overall, better fit for those new to the world of travel rewards.

This significantly increased welcome offer is set to end soon, so if you’ve been hesitant about adding the Chase Sapphire Preferred card to your wallet, be sure to do so before May 15 at 9 a.m. ET.