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Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card Review

Premium travel card with point multipliers on dining and travel.

By Mandy H.|Updated on 10/4/2024

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The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is one of the best all-around cards for everyday spending. There is a $95 annual fee, but the card includes a $50 annual hotel credit. 

card art for the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

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.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is ideal for those optimizing for cash back or travel. Redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards for cash back at 1.25x on select categories through Pay Yourself Back or travel via Chase Travel℠. The card is also a basic travel card with good spend multipliers and benefits like no foreign transaction fees and primary collision damage waiver (terms apply).

Read the full review

Point Multipliers

With the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (CSP), you earn Ultimate Reward (UR) points for many everyday categories, including:

  • 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
  • 2x on other travel purchases
  • 3x on dining
  • 3x on online grocery purchases (excludes Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs)
  • 3x on select streaming
  • 1x on all other purchases

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card Calculator

Cardonomics calculates the expected value of the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card based on the information you provide. The expected value is calculated based on the dollar value you input into the calculator.

The default figures in the calculator are just an example, so you should enter your own information for more accurate results. The methodology for this calculator is explained at the bottom of the post.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card Intro Offer

Are you eligible for the intro offer? You are NOT eligible if you currently hold a Sapphire card or earned a Sapphire bonus in the last 48 months (4 years).

Are you able to complete $4,000 of spend in the first 3 months?

The current public offer is 60,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points (UR) + $300 Chase Travel℠ credit. What bonus are you considering?

URpoints

points earned from intro offer:

0

Point Multipliers: Category Spend

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Travel via Chase Travel℠
$
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Lyft purchases
$
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Dining, including eligible delivery services, takeout and dining out.
$
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Online grocery purchases
$
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Select streaming services
$
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Other travel purchases
$
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All other purchases
$

Yearly points earned from spend breakdown:

5X Travel via Chase Travel℠15,000 UR
5X Lyft2,500 UR
3X Dining30,000 UR
3X Online grocery3,000 UR
3X Select streaming services3,000 UR
2X Other travel purchases10,000 UR
1X All other purchases1,000 UR
Total points earned per year:64,500 UR
10% Anniversary points bonus
6,450 UR

Other Perks and Benefits: How do you value them?

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Up to $50 statement credit for hotel stays via Chase Travel℠ each card anniversary year
$
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Up to $15 in Instacart+ credit each quarter
$
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DoorDash DashPass Subscription
$
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Primary collision damage waiver (CDW)
$
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Other travel protections (trip delay, baggage delay, etc)
$

Value of other perks and benefits:

Hotel credit$50
Partner benefits$0
Travel benefits$150
Total value:$200

How do you plan on redeeming points?

Given how you value points...

Value of points from intro offer:$0
Value from category spend:$0
Value of perks and benefits:$200

Expected Value of Points

(Intro offer + Chase Travel℠ credit + spend + benefits - annual fee)

$0

Calculation Methodology

The calculator's results are determined by several factors, including your ability to meet the minimum spending requirement to earn the welcome offer, spending habits in different categories, point redemption strategy, and how much relative value you place on other benefits.

The "Years" in the calculator refer to the cardmember year, which begins when you are approved for the card. The first year of membership is the first 12 months after approval, and the second year is the 12 months following that.

Optimal Strategy

The CSP is one of the best “first” premium cards, given the earn rate and flexibility of Chase points.

The card includes up to $50 in hotel credits to help offset the $95 annual fee.

$50 Annual Ultimate Rewards Hotel Credit

You get up to $50 per calendar year as a statement credit when you book eligible travel through Chase Travel℠.

For many people, it’s fair to value this credit at the full $50.

Redeeming Points

The CSP earns Ultimate Reward (UR) points which offer a ton of flexibility whether you’re focused on cash back or aspirational travel.

Cash Back

If you’re focused on cash back, you can redeem UR points for 1 cent per point (1 CPP) as a statement credit against your purchases. This means that 3x * 1 CPP = 3%.

Travel / Pay Yourself Back

If you use the CSP to book travel through the Chase Travel℠ portal, you get 1.25 CPP, so 3x = 3.75% in value. You can also get 1.25 CPP when using the CSP with “Pay Yourself Back,” which allows you to redeem points at that elevated value for everyday purchases (which are decided by Chase).

If you decide to upgrade the CSP to a Chase Sapphire Reserve® in the future, you would get 1.5 CPP (so 3x = 4.5% value) for travel through the Chase portal and also Pay Yourself Back.

Aspirational Travel

If you’re willing to do the legwork, you can transfer the points to Chase’s hotel and airline partners to get more value. This is great for aspirational travel (think first and business class).

Chase Trifecta

Many people combine the CSP with the Chase Freedom Flex® and the Chase Freedom Unlimited® to form the Chase Trifecta. This allows you to get elevated value when redeeming the points earned from the two Freedom cards.

Main Takeaway

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a great card for people who want to earn elevated rewards on various everyday categories and value having flexibility with their points. For many people, the points they earn combined with the up to $50 in hotel statement credits easily offsets the $95 annual fee.