Is Chase Sapphire Preferred Worth Its Annual Fee? (2024)

Pros

• 75,000 points - initial bonus
• Up to 6.25% back when redeeming for travel
• No foreign transaction fees

Cons

• $95 Annual fee
• 1 point per $1 base earn rate

Is Chase Sapphire Preferred Worth It?

Yes, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is absolutely worth getting, especially if you are a frequent traveler. The outstanding rewards and benefits it offers make it one of the best rewards credit cards on the market and easily justify its $95 annual fee.

With Sapphire Preferred, the average person would earn over $2,000 in net rewards value over the first two years of use. That’s with the card’s annual fee factored in, too.

How Much Do You Have to Spend?

Chase Sapphire Preferred is worth it if you spend $4,000 during the first 3 months your account is open, as you’ll qualify for an initial bonus of 75,000 points. Those bonus points are worth up to $937.50 in travel through Chase, which can cover the cost of the card’s membership fees for years.

Without the initial bonus, you’ll need to spend $1,520 to $9,500 per year for Chase Sapphire Preferred to be worth it, depending on what you purchase and how you redeem your points. When redeemed for cash back, Chase Sapphire Preferred points are worth a penny each, but the value jumps to 1.25 cents per point when you redeem for travel through Chase Travel. That’s how I use my own Chase Sapphire Preferred rewards, and I have another card for everyday cash back.

My Experience With Chase Sapphire Preferred

I got the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card a few years ago for its initial bonus, which was one of the biggest on the market at the time, just like it is today. I qualified for the bonus with no issue and used it to pay for a flight. Things went exactly as planned.

The ongoing rewards haven’t been as good, but I’ve still kept the card open for purchases in the bonus categories and because I have a fairly high credit limit. The card looks and feels very impressive, too. I feel like a big shot when I pull out my metal card.

I also get to enjoy extra savings from popular retailers via Chase Offers. Plus, my online account tells me that I’m already approved for Chase Freedom Unlimited and Chase Freedom Flex if I want them. Having Chase Sapphire Preferred and paying the bill on time every month sure has its benefits.

What I Like About Chase Sapphire Preferred

Lucrative Initial Rewards Bonus

Spending at least $4,000 during the first 3 months your account is open scores you 75,000 bonus points, redeemable for $937.50 in travel booked through Chase Travel or a $750 statement credit.

If you’re going to spend enough to qualify anyway, that’s a pretty sweet deal. For example, when I got my Sapphire Preferred sign-up bonus, I used the points to book airfare for a golf trip with friends.

$0 Foreign Transaction Fee

This is a key feature for travel rewards cards, enabling consumers to visit other countries without giving a second thought to their credit card or coming home to a bill affixed with a 2% to 4% international usage charge. Even if you don’t plan on leaving the country, this could come in handy if you ever buy something whose purchase price is expressed in a foreign currency or from an internationally based merchant.

Up To 6.25% Cash Back On Travel

Sapphire Preferred offers 5 points per $1 spent on travel booked through Chase Travel and 2 points per $1 spent on all other travel (see below for specifics). You will also earn 3 points per $1 on dining (including eligible delivery services and takeout), select streaming services, and online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs).

When you factor in the 25% point bonus that you get when redeeming your earnings for Chase travel reservations, those earning rates equate to as much as 6.25% cash back. I don’t always get that top rewards rate because I usually book travel through third-party booking sites, but I do try to use this card for travel expenses, as well as for dining and streaming.

Chase considers transactions made with the following types of providers to be travel-related:

Rewards Redemption Variety

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card enables you to choose your preferred redemption method without having to worry about your points losing much value in the process.In addition to the 1.25 cents per point that you get when redeeming for travel through Chase, points are worth a bit more than one cent each, on average, when redeemed for merchandise using “Shop Through Chase.”

You’ll also get a penny per point when you use your earnings to buy gift cards or pay your bill via statement credit. When redeemed for Amazon.com purchases, each point is worth just $0.008.

The key is not to sacrifice value for convenience. I personally ignore the Amazon option and redeem for travel when I can.

13 Rewards Transfer Partners

If you can’t find the travel accommodations that you want through Chase, you can transfer your points to one of its 13 rewards partners at a 1:1 ratio. For instance, one Sapphire Preferred point can be converted to one United Airlines mile. While doing so would mean sacrificing your 25% rewards bonus for travel redeemed directly through Chase Travel, having the option does provide a measure of flexibility – especially if you have rewards in another loyalty account that you’d like to make useful as well.

Just make sure you get your money’s worth from whichever travel provider you transfer your points to. For a point of reference, 1,000 points end up being worth around $9 on average when transferred to and redeemed with Chase’s hotel partners.

Metal Card

This is purely a flourish. Having a metal credit card instead of a standard plastic one provides no real benefit other than it being harder to damage. It certainly doesn’t hurt – Sapphire Preferred is a cool-looking card – but a credit card’s material or design should never be a prominent factor in your credit card choice.

That said, Chase Sapphire Preferred is the most impressive-looking card in my wallet, and it really does have a classy feel to it. That’s not why I got the card, but I probably do use it more than I would otherwise.

What I Don't Like About Chase Sapphire Preferred

Up To 1.25% In Rewards On Most Purchases

Even if you manage to redeem your points for travel, giving your earnings a 25% bump in value, you will still end up pulling in only one point per dollar spent on most purchases. Sapphire Preferred’s bonus points offer only applies to a few categories.

$95 Annual Fee

Many of the best rewards credit cards charge annual fees. The problem is, some of Sapphire Preferred’s chief competitors charge less.

21.49% - 28.49% (V) APR

This certainly isn’t the highest regular APR among credit cards for people with excellent credit, but it’s still above-average. So, while not paying your bill in full a given month won’t cost you too much, you shouldn’t be lulled into the comfort of consistently carrying a revolving balance. There are better cards for that.

Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. the Competition

The upper echelon of the rewards credit card market is extremely competitive. And while you can’t really go wrong with any of these top-tier offers, it makes sense to understand the differences between them in order to make the best choice for your personal spending habits.

For more information, you can also check out these in-depth comparisons:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred vs Reserve
• Chase Sapphire Preferred vs Capital One Venture

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card Review Methodology

This Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card review is based on WalletHub’s proprietary 100-point credit card rating system. By using a consistent methodology to evaluate the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and all other cards, WalletHub’s credit card experts make it easy for people to compare their options and find the best credit cards for their needs.

The WalletHub rating system uses 16 key metrics grouped into seven categories: Fees, Rewards, Two-year Cost, Interest Rates, Approval Requirements, Special Features, and Reviews. Each metric has a maximum number of points allocated to it, based on the metric’s importance as determined by our editors. The points are added up to create an overall rating for the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card out of a maximum of 100 points, which is then converted to a 5-point scale.

Ratings for each category reflect how close Chase Sapphire Preferred is to WalletHub’s definition of a 5-star credit card, which is based on market conditions and what we believe are reasonable terms. We compare Chase Sapphire Preferred to that standard to give a numerical approximation of how reasonable and competitive its terms are compared to other cards.

To learn more about how WalletHub rates credit card offers, check out our full credit card review methodology.

Ask the Experts

To gain more insight about Chase Sapphire Preferred Card Review, WalletHub posed the following questions to a panel of experts. Click on the experts below to view their bios and answers.

1. Do you expect initial rewards bonuses on travel rewards credit cards to get better or worse in the next 12 months?
2. How much do people need to travel for a travel rewards credit card that charges an annual fee to be worthwhile?
3. What should consumers watch out for when booking airfare, hotel reservations and other travel accommodations through a credit card company’s rewards portal?