Chase Sapphire Preferred Card – Is the 25k Point Bonus Worth It?

Chase is now offering the Sapphire Preferred credit card in addition to the normal Chase Sapphire card.

The main difference is that Sapphire Preferred has an $95 annual fee (waived the first year), while Sapphire does not. However, you get 25,000 points for signing up instead of 10,000 – aka $250 instead of $100. This means you can use the card for 2 years before you break even on annual fees. These points are transferable to major airline and hotel point programs, as well as for your normal selection of cash and retail gift cards.

In addition, you get an annual 7% bonus dividend on your point balance, which is a feature we’ve never seen before. This can really add up if you have millions of points stored up! To make the 7% feature pay for the $85 annual fee, you need 121,429 points socked away. After that, it’s all upside.

Finally, it’s worth noting that the Sapphire Preferred gets a 0% foreign transaction fee, as compared to 3% with the Sapphire. This means if you spend more than $3,167 overseas in a given year, you are better off paying the annual fee with Preferred, to avoid foreign transaction fee costs.

At the time of this writing, the interest rates are similar and attractive on both, at 8.99% plus prime. See how they stack up below:

Chase Sapphire® Preferred Card

Limited Time Offer - Earn 50,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months- that's $625 toward travel! 2 points per dollar spent on travel and dining & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases. Use 20% fewer points when you redeem for travel. Just book your flight, cruise, or other travel through Ultimate RewardsSM No foreign transaction fees Earn a 7% annual points dividend - even on points already redeemed Transfer points you've earned to participating frequent traveler programs at a 1:1 value 24/7 direct access to expert service advisors (No voice recording) No Annual Fee for your first year - A $95 value

Chase Sapphire® Card

Limited Time Offer - Earn 25,000 bonus points after you spend $3,000 in the first 3 months - that's $250 toward a flight or any other reward! 2 points per dollar spent on dining & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases. Points never expire and there are no limits on how many points you can earn Redeem points for travel, gift cards, merchandise, cash back and more 24/7 direct access to expert service advisors (No voice recording) No annual fee!