The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the best known of all reward cards for regular travellers. The card is a favourite for those who wish to use their rewards mainly for travel. The Chase Ultimate Rewards® points earned with daily spending can be used on almost any air ticket via the award travel portal or transferred to over a dozen domestic and international travel partners.
While the benefits may sound great, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is not the right choice for everyone. Those who don’t plan regular travel or want to carry credit on their card can quickly devalue their reward.
Is the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card the right card for you? Read on to find out who will benefit most from this card.
Chase Sapphire Preferred: An overview
With an annual fee of $0 for the first year and then $95, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is the star in the bank’s credit card portfolio. Cardholders earn 2 points for every US dollar spent using their card to pay air fares, hotels, car rentals and more. They also earn 2 points for every $1 spent in restaurants, from fast food to fine dining.
In addition to earning double points for travel and restaurants, frequent travelers also get access to a variety of travel insurance benefits when paying for their trip with the card or Ultimate Rewards® points. These benefits include:
- Travel Cancellation Insurance: Up to $10,000 for reimbursement of prepaid, non-refundable travel expenses for covered situations. Reasons include illness and storms.
- Car Rental Collision: Primary insurance cover that allows most rental cars in the U.S. and abroad to be reimbursed for theft and collision damage up to the actual cash value of the vehicle.
- Travel Delay Insurance: Reimburses you for essential purchases made more than six hours late with an airline that will pay up to $100 per day for five days.
- Reimbursement of travel delay: If your joint carrier (plane, train, bus, etc.) is more than 12 hours late or requires an overnight stay, you and your family are insured for non-reimbursed expenses, such as meals and accommodation, up to $500 per ticket.
Make sure to read also Credit Cards for people with no credit which tells in detail for all the steps you have to take in order to get one.
Frequent travellers benefit the most
With so many travel-related benefits, frequent travelers (or those who want to travel more) benefit most from the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. The reward of 2 points per 1 USD spent in two general categories – travel expenses and restaurants – makes it very easy to earn points. In addition, the Shop Through Chase portal allows cardholders to earn even more Ultimate Rewards® points by using their qualifying credit cards at participating merchants.
When you book a trip, these points can be redeemed directly with Chase or another airline or hotel partner. While travelers can earn higher value by transferring their points to one of nine airlines or four hotel partners, they can earn 1.25 cents per point on Ultimate Rewards travel page bookings.
More importantly, many of the travel insurance benefits on the card apply only to those who use their points directly from the Ultimate Rewards® site. If the cardholder’s trip is paid for with Ultimate Rewards® points, the balance on the card or a combination of both is available, travel insurance benefits may apply. However, it does not apply to award travel purchased from Ultimate Rewards® and transferred to an affiliate.
Chase Sapphire Preferred complements other cards
Chase offers multiple consumer and business cards that also earn either Cashback or Ultimate Rewards® points. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a great addition to these cards as cash back rewards can easily be converted into Ultimate Rewards® points.
On the consumer side, the Chase Freedom® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® cards get money back. However, if a cardholder also owns the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, the cash back can be converted into Ultimate Rewards® points at a rate of 100 Ultimate Rewards® points per $1 of cash. This adds value to the Chase Freedom® 5X bonus category spending each quarter.
Small businesses can also redeem additional Ultimate Rewards® points. People equipped with the Ink Business Cash credit Card credit card can also convert their cash into points at the same price of 100 Ultimate Rewards® points per $1 to credit cards.