How Do I Know If the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card Is Right for Me?

Rosemarie ClancyFebruary 8, 2019
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If you like to travel and dine out often, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card could be a great fit for your lifestyle. You get 2 Chase Ultimate Rewards® points for every $1 spent on travel and restaurant expenses, and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card’s generous sign-up bonus and flexible points redemption options across airlines and hotels both make this card a top pick for travelers.

Earning and redeeming points is easy

The card’s current welcome offer is nothing to sneeze at: Earn 80,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,000 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

You can redeem the points you earn for cash or gift cards at a value of 1 cent per point. Keep in mind, though, that when you redeem your points through Chase’s travel-booking portal, you get a 20% discount. So in those cases, each point is worth 1.25 cents.

Chase Ultimate Rewards® can also be transferred to certain airline or hotel rewards programs. Chase partners with nine airline programs where points transfer at a 1-to-1 ratio, including: Air France KLM Flying Blue, British Airways Executive Club, JetBlue True Blue, Southwest Rapid Rewards and United MileagePlus. Hotel partners include Marriott Rewards, World of Hyatt and IHG.

» Learn More: Want to know how much your miles and points are worth? Check out our separate valuations page.

No blackout dates, foreign transaction fees or expiration dates

Another convenient thing about the Chase Ultimate Rewards® program: The points don’t expire. However you earn them — including through any one of the Chase credit cards — they’re yours as long as your account is open.

» Learn more: Chase 5/24 rule explained

There are also no blackout dates; as long as a flight is available in the travel portal, you can book it. That means you don’t have to worry about finding award availability on a specific airline. There are no foreign transaction fees on the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, and the card also offers premium travel protection benefits.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card‘s annual fee is $95. If you spend a lot on travel and dining, it’s worth holding long-term for the point-earning ability in those categories and the 20% discount through the Chase portal.

How to Maximize Your Rewards

You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of 2020, including those best for:

Planning a trip? Check out these articles for more inspiration and advice: 5 underrated reasons why you need a Chase Sapphire Preferred card NerdWallet’s top travel credit cards Landing the best airfare is a matter of timing

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