Introduction

With its $95 annual fee, the Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card is a versatile and worthwhile alternative for travelers. You can use this card to rack up points for travel rewards (called Ultimate Rewards points) and redeem them in various ways. These points are transferable to many loyalty programmes, including United Airlines and Hyatt. The Ultimate Rewards programme is simple to use and works well with a few other Chase cards offering the same perks. Generally speaking, it's not a simple card to play well; it's more of a Swiss Army knife than a butter knife compared to simpler cards. On the other hand, it's the card of choice for savvy explorers who like to maximize the value of their points.

A Deeper Examination Of The Chase Sapphire Preferred

If you've researched credit cards, you may already be familiar with the Chase Sapphire Preferred. In existence for over a decade, it might be considered the progenitor of modern travel rewards credit cards. Spending a dollar on travel will get you 2 points with the Sapphire Preferred while spending $5 will earn you 5 points with Ultimate Rewards. Spending on food, some streaming services, and online delivery will earn you 3 points for every dollar, while using Lyft will get you 5 points. The Sapphire Preferred has a reasonable annual fee of $95, and it comes with a 60,000-point sign-up bonus, discounts on DoorDash food delivery, comprehensive travel insurance, and more. What's more, the Chase Ultimate Rewards points you earn with this card are among the most valuable in the industry.

Additionally, on your account's anniversary, you will receive a 10% point bonus on all purchases completed the previous year. Therefore, you will earn an extra 1,000 bonus points if you charge $10,000 to your Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. But is that reason enough to put the card in your wallet? Numerous shifts have occurred in the credit card market since the Chase Sapphire Preferred was first introduced. Currently, alternative credit cards offer more benefits, such as annual travel credits and access to airport lounges, as well as more points or cash back in the same travel and dining categories, often at greater rates. The most noticeable difference is that alternative cards often have more expensive annual fees. If you're looking for a high-end credit card but don't want to spend much money right away, the Chase Sapphire Preferred is a good option. Here are some possible answers if you're wondering why you may desire a Chase Sapphire Preferred card.

• The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card provides travellers with a level of convenience that is hard to find at any similar cost.
• A strong sign-up bonus: If you open a credit card account and spend $4,000 during the first three months, you'll get 60,000 bonus points. A $750 can be applied to a future trip when redeemed through Chase Ultimate Rewards.
• Additional benefits for spending: Cardholders will earn bonus points equal to 10% of the previous year's expenditures every year on the account anniversary.

Getting three times the points for spending at restaurants and streaming services is a perk, but whether or not you'd put that to use when buying groceries online depends on your preferences. Any travel-related purchases made through the Chase Ultimate Rewards® travel site will be worth much more to you. Because Chase uses a broad definition of "travel," you can still earn bonus rewards on non-travel spending like parking garage fees, bus fares, and ridesharing services like Uber. And that's on top of the extra points you get for booking flights and hotels. These additional perks can be accrued worldwide through dining out and travel.

Those wage rates get a modest bump thanks to the 10% anniversary bonus hike. For instance, the streaming industry has a 3.1% incentive rate. (The anniversary bonus does not affect the number of points accumulated, only the amount paid.) As an added perk, you can get a 25% bonus on your points if you use them to book a hotel room through the Chase Ultimate Rewards® travel portal (points are worth 1.25 cents.) For example, the value of a dollar spent on dining out or streaming service would be 3.875 cents when used for travel through Chase.

Transfer Partners

You should keep this card to take advantage of the 1:1 transfer partners. A flight that ordinarily costs several hundred dollars can be reduced to fifty thousand miles plus taxes and fees if you book it through one of the airlines that is a transfer partner with Chase. Chase Ultimate Rewards points can be transferred to the airline loyalty programme.

Conclusion

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a high-end credit card for your next trip. It works well for novices and seasoned pros in the game of points and kilometers. Your $95 annual fee will get you 5 points per dollar spent on travel booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards, 3 points per dollar spent on restaurants, select streaming services, and online grocery shopping.