7 Reasons NerdWallet Calls Chase Sapphire a “Must-Have for Travelers”
Two card options, limitless travel opportunities... By Erin Hurd Director, Travel
Smart travelers know that travel rewards can help them take more trips and pay less out of pocket.
And the best way to rack up rewards is by using a travel credit card. The best travel cards also pile on valuable perks, protections and even money-saving credits.
But not all travel credit cards are created equal. Far from it.
NerdWallet is a leading, trusted source in helping consumers find the best credit card. The team of experts has reviewed 400+ credit cards and spent more than 27,000 hours researching and reviewing financial products in the last 12 months.
And there’s one brand of travel credit cards that NerdWallet consistently ranks among the best: the Chase Sapphire® credit cards.
Both the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® reward travelers richly and come packed with benefits for your lifestyle.
The points these cards earn, called Ultimate Rewards®, are ranked by NerdWallet as having the highest value of all credit card rewards.
Whether you’re dreaming of first-class flights, luxury hotels, exclusive access or simply free travel to visit loved ones, a Chase Sapphire® card should be a staple in your wallet. Here’s why.
1. New cardholders start with a massive bonus
Travelers can earn a huge pile of travel points right from the start with a new Chase Sapphire® credit card.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers this huge welcome bonus:
Earn 125,000 bonus points after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers new cardholders the ability to:
Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
That’s 15,000 more points than the previous bonus offer.
2. 2x-10x points bonus categories
Both the Chase Sapphire® cards really multiply the points earned when used on a wide range of bonus categories.
In fact, the ability to rack up points quickly is what makes the Sapphire cards some of the best and most rewarding cards to use for travel and dining.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve®, for example, earns:
8 points per dollar spent on travel bookings purchased through Chase, including flights, hotels, rental cars, cruises, activities and tours.
4 points per $1 spent on flights and hotel stays booked directly with airlines or hotels.
3 points per $1 spent on dining.
Plus, an incredible 10 points per $1 spent on select Peloton purchases and 5 points per $1 spent on Lyft!
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers:
5 points per $1 spent on all travel purchased through Chase.
3 points per $1 spent on dining (including eligible delivery services and takeout).
3 points per $1 spent on select streaming services.
3 points per $1 spent on online grocery purchases (not including Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs).
2 points per $1 spent on travel not purchased through Chase.
1 point per $1 spent on other purchases.
3. Travel and lifestyle credits galore
On top of all the Ultimate Rewards® points you’ll earn from spending on your Chase Sapphire® card of choice, the cards are loaded with credits that can help offset – or even handily outweigh– the annual fee.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® comes with a super easy-to-use $300 annual travel credit. Just charge things like airline tickets, baggage fees, hotel room charges, buses and more directly on your card, and you’ll get up to $300 credited back on your statement automatically.
That represents a solid chunk of the annual fee back in your pocket.
But the Chase Sapphire Reserve® also comes packed with an exciting array of travel and lifestyle credits that make the card a no-brainer to carry, including:
Up to $500 in credits for The Edit, Chase’s high-end hotel portal, in the form of two $250 credits a year.
Up to $300 in credits at restaurants in the Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables program. You get this as two separate credits of $150 in each half of the year.
Up to $300 in statement credits for StubHub, in the form of two $150 credits a year.
Up to $250 toward Apple TV and Apple Music subscriptions.
Up to $120 in credits toward Peloton membership, available at $10 a month. Plus you earn 10 points per dollar on eligible Peloton purchases.
Even if you only take advantage of a portion of these credits, you’re likely to still come out ahead even with the card’s $795 annual fee factored in.
The $95-annual-fee Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card comes with a $50 annual credit on hotel stays booked through Chase. That effectively wipes out more than half the card’s annual fee just with one hotel booking! Plus, each account anniversary, Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card members will earn bonus points equal to 10% of total purchases made the previous year.
4. You can turbocharge the value of Ultimate Rewards® with Points Boost
A 1-cent baseline value for credit card points is a common rule of thumb.
In fact, certain travel credit card rewards can be worth far less than 1 cent when you use them to book certain types of travel!
When you redeem your Chase Ultimate Rewards® points through Chase’s travel portal, you’ll get a value of 1 cent per point. But, when you hold a Chase Sapphire Reserve® or Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, you’ll see a “Points Boost” label on select flights and hotels.
When you see this label, it’s like a blinking green sign to book!
That’s because it signifies that you can get up to twice as much as value from your points and you can redeem your Chase Ultimate Rewards® points up to 2 cents per point.
5. 1:1 point transfers to leading airline and hotel programs
One of the best benefits of the Ultimate Rewards® earned from both the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is that you get access to more than a dozen partner programs to book awards using their loyalty miles or points.
These include Hyatt, Marriott, Air Canada Aeroplan, Southwest Airlines, United Airlines and others.
Transferring your points to some of these programs may allow you to spend fewer points than you would if you were booking through Chase’s travel portal.
6. Best-in-class travel protections
It’s hard to put a price on peace of mind that your travel and important purchases will be covered in case anything goes wrong.
Some people shell out substantial bucks for travel insurance. But when you use a Chase Sapphire card to book your trip, you get insurance built right in.
Both the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® offer travel protection benefits including:
Auto Rental Coverage.
Trip Delay Reimbursement.
Lost Luggage Reimbursement.
Trip Cancellation and Interruption Insurance.
The coverage varies by card, so be sure to check your card member benefits for details.
7. Combine points and earn referrals to reach travel goals faster
On top of all the points you’ll earn from spending on your Chase Sapphire® card, there are easy ways to rack up even more Ultimate Rewards®. That means you’ll have more points to cover more of your travels.
Chase allows you to combine points with one member of your household. Once you call Chase to designate a family member who shares the same addresses, you can share points easily in your account with a few clicks. And combining points this way is totally free!
You can also transfer points among any cards that earn Chase Ultimate Rewards® points, including the Chase Freedom Flex®, the Chase Freedom Unlimited®.
Better yet, you can help your friends and family earn Ultimate Rewards® for their trips and get rewarded in the process.
When you refer friends for the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, you can earn up to 100,000 bonus points per year. That's 15,000 bonus points for each friend who gets approved.
NerdWallet’s bottom line on Chase Sapphire® cards
Both the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® are among the top-ranked travel credit cards, and one should be a staple in most travelers’ wallets.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® packs more than $2,700 in annual value, far outweighing the card’s $795 annual fee. Especially when you factor in the value of the huge welcome bonus: Earn 125,000 bonus points after you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
This math on this card works out to be a no-brainer for many travelers, even those who only take occasional trips.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is an outstanding choice packed with rewards for those who prefer a lower annual fee.
Either way, a Chase Sapphire® card is a must-have for most travelers.