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Rates and bonus offers checked as of August 2, 2024.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a powerful travel tool that could land you a nice vacation this fall. Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. These points are worth $750 toward travel when redeemed through Chase Travel℠, or you can swap them on a 1:1 basis for a number of airline frequent flyer schemes.
This intro bonus beats much of the competition among rival rewards credit cards as it’s one of the most generous we’ve seen recently. You earn points the moment you begin using your card, even during the time when you wait to hit the spending limit for the bonus. Moreover, it’s a good card to take abroad as there are no overseas transaction fees.
And because Chase permits transferring points between members of the same household, your spouse may also sign up and earn the same bonus, giving your family up to 120,000 bonus points, or $1,500+ in travel value. With good planning, you and your partner could be on a flight to Europe or the Caribbean with airfare covered by these bonus points.
Kiplinger readers' voted this card "outstanding" for customer service, overall satisfaction and most recommended in the 2024 Kiplinger Readers Choice Awards for travel rewards credit cards.
Kiplinger's take on Chase Sapphire Preferred
The Chase Sapphire Preferred card is the Swiss-army knife of travel cards, providing solid benefits for frequent travelers from a trusted brand. In addition to the generous bonus offer, cardholders can accrue points quickly, especially if they use the card for travel expenses. There is no limit to the rewards points you can earn, and they never expire as long as you have an open Chase card at the Ultimate Rewards tier.
The Chase Travel℠ program outperforms many of its competitors for ease of use and the value of its points. You can transfer your Chase points to any of its eleven airline partners at a one-to-one rate. And you get 25% more value when you redeem points for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through the Chase Travel℠ portal; for example, 10,000 points are worth $125 toward travel.
This card also stands out for its ability to help you rack up frequent flyer miles. Most cards do not let customers earn frequent flyer miles when booking with their travel card but the Chase Sapphire Preferred card allows you to accrue frequent flyer miles when booking air travel, increasing the overall value of your points. Hotel and other travel expenses are excluded from this perk.
Finally, Chase cards are highly rated for their travel perks. For example, WalletHub found that Chase credit cards provide the best rental car insurance coverage.
What can you spend the bonus points on?
You may use the 60,000 bonus points in several ways.
Cash Back ($600 value) – By logging into your Chase Ultimate Rewards account, you will see options for cash back at the rate of one penny for each point. You may redeem any amount for deposit into your checking or savings account – at Chase or other major banks – or as a statement credit on your Sapphire Preferred account. And with the Chase Pay Yourself Back program, you can get 1.25 cents back per point when donating to certain charities.
Transfer points to a partner airline frequent flyer or hotel program ($600 variable value) – Chase Travel℠ partners with eleven airlines and three hotel chains, so you can easily transfer your Chase points to your preferred partner program at a one-penny-per-point ratio. Since the points on these partner programs may vary in value depending on how and when you use them, the actual value of your transferred Chase points may be more or less than 1:1.
Purchase airfare, hotel or other travel through the Chase Travel℠ portal ($750 value) – You may redeem the points through the Chase Travel portal at a 25% higher value.
As an example of using the bonus points, imagine you are planning to use the 60,000-point bonus on an upcoming trip. Once you’ve spent at least $4,000 in the first three months of owning the card, you will need to wait an additional six to eight weeks for the bonus points to post to your account, so don’t plan on redeeming the bonus points immediately.
Let’s say you have a frequent flyer account with United Airlines. You may transfer the bonus 60,000 points to your United account, adding the equivalent of 60,000 miles. However, if you book your flight through the Chase Travel portal, you may redeem them at a 1:25 rate, rather than 1:1, making your United miles worth 75,000 miles on the Chase platform.
If anything goes wrong on your trip, you will interact with customer service agents from Chase Travel rather than United. That’s why understanding how credit card travel portals work is important. Chase tends to get average to high marks for its travel portal customer service. And according to The Points Guy, the airline prices on Chase’s portal are similar to those booked directly with the airline.
Could you find cheaper hotels and flights than those offered on the Chase Travel portal? Quite possibly. You’d also find more variation in hotels, and be more likely to get off the beaten tourist track if you find a small hotel or B&B that’s not affiliated with a credit card brand. But still, you just got yourself a vacation for the card’s annual fee of $95, and that’s a good deal any way you look at it.
Overview of fees and terms
- Sign-up bonus: 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening; that's $750 when redeemed for travel through Chase Travel℠.
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Rewards:
- Five points per dollar on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠ and two points per dollar on other travel spending;
- three points per dollar on dining, select streaming services and online groceries; and
- one point per dollar on other spending.
- Other benefits: $50 annual Hotel Credit. Get $50 in statement credits annually for hotel stays booked through Chase Travel℠. And on each yearly anniversary of opening your account, you get a 10% points bonus on total purchases made the previous year. Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- Redemption: Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Travel℠. For example, 60,000 points are worth about $750 toward travel. You can transfer Chase points to a partner like British Airways at a one-to-one ratio, where one Chase point is equal to one British Airways frequent flyer point. But if you book your trip through the Chase Travel℠ portal, your points are worth 1.25 miles on British Airway's frequent flier program. This 25% boost does not expire but is built into the Chase Travel program.
- Interest rate: 21.49% to 28.49% variable APR for purchases and balance transfers, and 29.99% variable APR on cash advances.
- Annual fee: $95
- Foreign transaction fee: None, so this is an excellent card for international travel.
Chase Travel transfer partners
Chase Travel℠ has partnerships with 11 airlines, allowing cardholders to transfer points to the airlines’ frequent flyer programs. These partners cover destinations across much of the globe, including off-the-beaten-path destinations like Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts and the Canary Islands of Spain.
Chase points are worth one point on each of these carriers when you log in to your Chase Travel account, transfer Chase points to the frequent flyer account of a partner, and book your travel on the partner's website. To get more value out of your Chase points, log in the Chase travel portal and click on "book travel" to get an increased redemption rate of 1.25 points. These Chase transfer partners are:
- Aer Lingus AerClub
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- British Airways Executive Club
- Emirates Skywards®
- Flying Blue Air France KLM
- Iberia Plus
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards®
- United MileagePlus®
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
The Chase Travel℠ program also partners with three hotel chains. Points may be redeemed at these properties, but points cannot be earned when using the card to purchase a hotel room. Chase points are worth one point at each of these hotels, but are worth 1.25 points if booked through Chase's travel portal.
- IHG® Rewards Club
- Marriott Bonvoy™
- World of Hyatt®
Pros and cons of the Chase Sapphire Preferred card
Pros:
- Very generous bonus offer
- Unlimited points that do not expire
- 25% point bonus when redeeming travel through Chase
- No foreign transaction fee
- One of the best credit cards for rental car insurance and travel insurance coverage.
- Perks designed for travelers
Cons:
- Annual fee of $95
- No airport lounge passes
- You must book through Chase to get the best transfer value for your points
- No credit for Global Entry or TSA Precheck fees
Rewards cards dos and don'ts
As with any rewards credit card, be sure to weigh these benefits against fees — a $95 annual fee in this case — and make sure you understand how to use the card effectively. That said, $95 may be more than offset by those maxing out the benefits.
In addition, while reward credit cards are great if you use them wisely, always pay them off in full and on time each month to avoid interest, which can dwarf any rewards you earn. Don't change your spending habits to earn extra points. That's a slippery slope that can lead to overspending.
If this is your first foray into credit cards, or you just want a refresher, make sure you know how to choose a credit card. And ensure you are familiar with what counts as a good credit score.
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As an independent publication dedicated to helping you make the most of your money, the article above is our view and is not the opinion of any entity mentioned such as a card issuer, hotel, airline, etc. Similarly, the content has not been reviewed or endorsed by any of those entities.
