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3. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card review: Good for budget-conscious travelers

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1000

reviews

4.2

Rating: 4.2 out of 5.

Editors’ take: The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is an excellent choice for occasional travelers, offering a generous sign-up bonus and strong ongoing rewards rates and travel credits, all for a reasonable annual fee.

Great for maximizing travel rewards

Annual Fee: $95

This content is curated by Intuit Credit Karma’s Editorial team using data from members who were approved for this card or similar cards, or who self-matched this card or similar cards. Intuit Credit Karma receives compensation from third-party advertisers, but that doesn’t affect our editors’ opinions. Our third-party advertisers don’t review, approve or endorse this content. Information about financial products not offered on Credit Karma is collected independently. Our content is accurate to the best of our knowledge when posted.

Here’s the average credit limit of members who matched their Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or similar cards.

% of members by credit limit range

The average credit limit for members who have matched with this card or similar cards is $15,569, with $5,000 being the most common.

Here’s the average credit score of members who matched their Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or similar cards.

% of members by credit score range

The average credit score for members who have matched with this card or similar cards is 712, with 810 being the most common. Note this is just one of the deciding factors when it comes to getting approved.

Member stats

Updated daily

25.6%

Average credit utilization (or what percent of the card’s credit limit is being used) of members who matched with this card or similar cards.

41 years

Average age of members who matched this card or similar cards.

$106,174

Average annual income of members who matched this card or similar cards. Note: Income may be estimated for some members by Credit Karma and may differ from members’ actual incomes.

Pros and cons

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Big sign-up bonus

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Modest annual fee

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Good rewards rates for travel and dining at restaurants

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No access to airport lounges

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No credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry application fees

Is the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card worth it?

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a very good introductory travel card for people who take trips every once in a while.

While the card lacks some premium features that more expensive travel cards offer, such as airport lounge access, it has strong value when you make travel or dining purchases using your card.

A modest annual fee and solid slate of travel perks makes the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card worth considering for many people.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card at a glance

• Annual fee: $95
• Sign-up bonus: 100,000 bonus points after $5,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening.
• Editors’ estimated welcome bonus value: Up to $1,390
• Standout benefit: Bonus points worth 10% of previous year’s total purchases on your account anniversary
• Standout rewards rate: 5 points per $1 spent on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card best perks and features

A strong sign-up bonus

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has a 100,000-point sign-up bonus when you spend $5,000 on purchases during the first 3 months after account opening. Those points are worth $1,250 toward travel when redeemed through the Chase Travel℠ portal.

Good ongoing rewards

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers five points per $1 spent on travel purchased through Chase Travel. There’s an exception, though: If you book a hotel with your card through the Chase Travel portal, you’ll receive a $50 statement credit. This is a nice perk, but the hotel purchase that earns this credit won’t qualify for bonus points.

Other travel purchases will earn two points for every $1 you spend.

You’ll also earn …

• 3 points per $1 on dining purchases
• 3 points per $1 on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
• 3 points per $1 on select streaming services
• 1 point per $1 for all other purchases

Cardholders also earn bonus points on their account anniversary equal to 10% of total purchases made the previous year.

A modest annual fee

One of the biggest draws of the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is its reasonable annual fee ($95). This cost is in line with other solid travel cards.

If you’re intrigued by the higher rewards rate of the Chase Sapphire Reserve® but you just can’t bring yourself to pay the steep $550 annual fee, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card still offers quality benefits for a lower upfront cost.

A nice list of transfer partners

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card gives you access to an attractive slate of 1:1 transfer partners, so you can redeem your points for valuable flights or hotel stays.

Transfer partner reward programs include United MileagePlus®, Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards®, JetBlue TrueBlue, Marriott Bonvoy® and World of Hyatt®.

What are the drawbacks of Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card?

No airport lounge access

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card doesn’t offer free access to airport lounges — a perk that’s typically offered by more premium rewards cards.

For example, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® comes with a complimentary Priority Pass Select membership, after a one-time enrollment, which can get you into select airport lounges around the world.

No TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credit

If you want to avoid getting stuck in long airport security line, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card won’t give you any options for speeding up what can be a frustrating experience.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card doesn’t offer a statement credit for the cost of a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application, unlike other rewards cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card and Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card.

How to redeem points for Chase Ultimate Rewards^®

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers some of the most valuable points you can find using a travel card.

Your points are worth 1.25 cents each when you redeem for travel through Chase. You can also transfer your points to more than a dozen airline and hotel partners, where you might be able to earn an even better value in certain cases.

And since travel rewards offer you the most value with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, we recommend you avoid cashing out with a statement credit or gift card — you just won’t get as much bang for your buck.

Other cards to consider

If the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card isn’t the best match for you, take a look at these travel cards.

• Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card: This card is worth considering for frequent travelers who have an account with Bank of America.
• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card: This card is a solid option for people who want more flexibility when using their card for purchases.

FAQs about theChase Sapphire Preferred® Card