Chase Sapphire Preferred
The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is a popular credit card for those new to travel rewards, offering a low annual fee, bonus categories, flexible redemption options, and other perks. Currently, you can earn 60,000 bonus points on the card by spending $4,000 within the first three months of opening an account. While this may not be the best offer currently available, it is still a good opportunity to earn a large number of valuable points at once. In addition to the sign-up bonus, there are several other reasons to consider the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, including its various benefits and advantages.
1. Current sign-up bonus
The current sign-up bonus of 60,000 points on the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is the highest offer available on any personal Chase Ultimate Rewards credit card at the moment, even if it is not the highest bonus ever offered on this card. These points can be used for a variety of purposes, such as a three-night stay at the Alila Ventana Big Sur in the California or a round-trip ticket to Europe. Additionally, points earned with the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card do not expire as long as you keep any Chase Ultimate Rewards credit card open, even those with no annual fee. This means that you can save up your points for a future vacation.
Alila Ventana Big Sur, a Hyatt portfolio hotel that can be booked easily with the Chase Sapphire Preferred bonus
2. Excellent transfer partners
One of the key features of the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is the ability to transfer points to any of the 14 airline and hotel loyalty programs that are partners with Chase Ultimate Rewards. These programs include airlines such as Air France-KLM, British Airways, and Singapore Airlines, as well as hotels like Marriott Bonvoy and World of Hyatt. Points transfer at a 1:1 ratio, meaning that for every 1,000 points transferred, you will receive 1,000 points or miles in the airline or hotel program. This allows you to potentially get more value for your points by booking luxury travel such as first or business class flights or a resort stay in an exotic location. Alternatively, you can redeem points directly through Chase's travel portal at a rate of 1.25 cents per point, which is easier but provides less value than transferring points to partners.
Using the transfer partners on Chase Sapphire Preferred you can transfer the points to Singapore Airlines and enjoy their premium first class product
3. Bonus categories and some credits to offset your cost
The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card offers bonus points for certain types of spending, including 2 points per dollar on travel (or 5 total points if purchased through Ultimate Rewards), 3 points on dining, select streaming services, and select online grocery purchases, and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases. These categories are generally beneficial, and many food delivery services also qualify as "dining" for the purposes of earning points. The card also offers an annual credit of up to $50 for hotel bookings made through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal, which can effectively reduce the $95 annual fee by half. Additionally, current Sapphire Preferred cardholders can receive a complimentary DoorDash DashPass membership for a minimum of 12 months if they activate it by December 31, 2024. This membership offers benefits such as $0 delivery fees and a 5% credit back on pickup orders, making it a useful perk for those who use DoorDash in their area.
4. Getting the best out of the Chase trifecta
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is one of several credit cards that are part of the Chase Ultimate Rewards program, and if you have more than one of these cards, you can combine the points from all of them into one account. For example, the Chase Freedom Flex Card is advertised as a cash back credit card, but the cash back it earns is actually issued in points. While the Freedom Flex is designed to earn 5% cash back on a set of bonus categories that rotate each quarter, it actually earns 5 points per dollar in those categories. If you only have the Freedom Flex, you can redeem the points for a value of 1 cent each, but by also having the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you can transfer the points to the Sapphire Preferred and redeem them at a higher rate of 1.25 cents per point for travel. You can also transfer the pooled points to any of Chase's airline and hotel partners, but only if you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred or one of the other premium Chase credit cards that have an annual fee. This is a valuable feature for a card that only charges a $95 annual fee.
5. Travel perks
The Chase Sapphire Preferred offers a range of benefits that can be useful when you're traveling, including trip cancellation insurance, baggage delay insurance, primary auto rental insurance, and no foreign transaction fees when you pay for travel with the card. One of the standout benefits of the Sapphire Preferred is its trip delay protection, which reimburses you up to $500 in reasonable out-of-pocket expenses per family member booked on a reservation if your flight is delayed by 12 hours or more or requires an overnight stay. These expenses may include lodging, meals, transportation, and other necessary charges. It's worth noting that you're covered even if you only pay for a portion of your flight with the Sapphire Preferred, so long as you pay the taxes and fees on an award ticket with the card.
Conclusion
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a strong choice for a travel credit card due to its sign-up bonus offer, bonus categories, transfer partners, and travel benefits. Even if you don't have a trip planned at the moment, having this card means you'll be ready with a top-rated travel credit card and points to use when the opportunity arises.
