You'll get higher-than-average redemption rates for travel, access to multiple travel partners and built-in travel protections.
Updated May 24, 2024 2:01 p.m. PDT · 2 min read Written by Sara Rathner Senior Writer/Spokesperson Sara Rathner
Senior Writer/Spokesperson | Credit cards, travel rewards, debt payment
Sara Rathner is a NerdWallet travel and credit cards expert. She has appeared on the “Today” show and CNBC’s “Nightly Business Report,” and has been quoted in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Yahoo Finance, Time, Reuters, NBC News, Business Insider and MarketWatch. Before joining NerdWallet, Sara worked at The Motley Fool for nearly 10 years. She also worked as a freelance personal finance writer and paraplanner and has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Northwestern University.
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Erica Corbin is a former assigning editor at NerdWallet. Erica joined NerdWallet in 2020 as an assistant assigning editor at large. In 2023, she was promoted to assigning editor and helped lead the credit cards vertical at NerdWallet Canada. She previously wrote and edited content at companies such as GOBankingRates and Nasdaq. Her work has been syndicated to USA Today, Yahoo Finance, MSN and more.
Fact Checked Co-written by Caitlin Mims Content Management Specialist Caitlin Mims
Content Management Specialist | Credit cards, credit score
Caitlin Mims is a content management specialist on the credit cards team at NerdWallet. Before joining NerdWallet, she was an editor at CreditCards.com and Bankrate. Caitlin has written about personal finance for seven years and has covered credit cards, credit scores, retirement planning and the financial challenges women face.
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Ultra-premium travel rewards cards offer every perk imaginable to soften the blow of their sky-high annual fees. But sometimes you just want a reliable card that provides excellent benefits without the huge price tag.
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Learn MoreThe Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is as faithful a travel companion as your well-worn suitcase. In exchange for a $95 annual fee, it offers valuable rewards points, worldwide acceptance and travel protections that can help when that suitcase doesn’t make it to the baggage claim.
Here are the benefits of the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card .
The issuer phrases the sign-up bonus for the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card like this: “ Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠. ”
With the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card , you'll earn 3 points per dollar spent on dining out, select streaming services and online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs). You'll earn 5 points per dollar on travel purchased through Chase and 2 points per dollar on all other travel. All other spending earns 1 point per dollar.
The travel category is very broad and includes:
Airline purchases. Hotel stays. Timeshares. Rental cars. Travel agencies and travel sites. Campgrounds.Also, through March 2025, you can earn 5 points per dollar spent on Lyft rides.
Each account anniversary, cardmembers will receive bonus points equaling 10% of total purchases that year. So if you spent $25,000, you'd earn an additional 2,500 bonus points.
The perk that makes the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card such a favorite among travelers is the higher point redemption value when you cash in points for travel through Chase. Instead of the usual penny-per-point rate, you’ll get a value of 1.25 cents each for your points, which can really add up. That's an extra $25 for every $100 worth of points you redeem.
Cardholders can receive a $50 hotel credit each year on reservations booked through Chase. New cardholders will be able to use this credit immediately. Existing cardholders can use this credit after their next account anniversary.
You can transfer points, for free, among any cards that earn Chase Ultimate Rewards® points, including the Chase Freedom® , Chase Freedom Flex® , the Chase Freedom Unlimited® and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® . You can also transfer points to and from another cardholder in your household, making it possible to create a family pool of points . Not only do you boost your points-earning potential by using multiple cards in the Chase Ultimate Rewards® universe, but transferring points into your Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card account allows you to redeem all points at that higher 1.25-cent rate, instead of the 1-cent rate you’d get with other Chase cards.
If you want to book travel directly through an airline or hotel but need just a few thousand points more in your account to get that free flight or stay, you can transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards® points earned through your Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card to 14 airline and hotel partners at a 1:1 point value. Transfer partners include:
Airlines: Aer Lingus, Air France/KLM, Air Canada, British Airways, Emirates, Iberia, JetBlue, Singapore Airlines, Southwest, United and Virgin Atlantic.
Hotels: Hyatt, IHG and Marriott Bonvoy.As a Visa card with no foreign transaction fee, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card travels well.
Get reimbursed up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip for prepaid, nonrefundable travel expenses if your trip is interrupted by sickness, severe weather or other covered situations. If your travel is delayed by more than 12 hours, or the delay requires you to stay overnight, you’re covered up to $500 per ticket for expenses like meals and a hotel stay.
If your luggage is delayed more than six hours, you can get reimbursed up to $100 a day for five days to cover the cost of new toiletries and clothing.
Charge the entire car rental to your Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and get primary insurance coverage for collision and theft in the U.S. and abroad. You must decline the rental company’s insurance to get this coverage.
Get access to legal and medical referrals, or other help as needed if you’re facing an emergency while traveling. The referrals are free, but you’re on the hook for the cost of any services you use.
New purchases are covered for up to 120 days in case of damage or theft, up to $500 per claim and $50,000 per account (perfect for those times when your doorbell camera doesn’t scare package thieves away from your front porch). You’ll also get an extra year added onto the manufacturer’s warranty on eligible warranties of three years or less.
There’s no annoying hold music and no need to yell “representative” at your phone over and over. Call the toll-free number on the back of your card and you’ll be connected to a real live human.
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Earn 60,000 bonus points when you spend $4,000 in purchases in the first 3 months – that’s $600 toward your next trip.
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