The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a classic introductory favorite among travel enthusiasts, with flexible redemption options and protective travel benefits. With a relatively moderate annual fee, the card can unlock a lot of potential value for many just beginning their points journey,
Earning On The CSP
The CSP has a decent point-earning array that makes it an ok top of wallet card for a lot of purchases:
- 3x points on dining, including eligible delivery services, takeout and dining out
- 3x points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- 3x points on select streaming services
- 2x on other travel purchases
- 1x on all other purchases
For all the 3x purchases, I'm likely to use my CSP (unless I have something like the American Express® Gold Card in my wallet). The CSP otherwise has a pretty decent selection of spending categories. However, it does lack in-person grocery spending categorical power.
Transferring Points To Partners
Points earned on the Chase Sapphire Preferred can be used to book award travel. Chase Ultimate Rewards points are really valuable and can be transferred to a wide variety of travel partners. For example, when searching for a random flight from SFO to NYC, I selected the filter to look at only Chase cards and can see several options via Jetblue + United Airlines (both Chase transfer partners).
Click here to learn more about transferring your points to Chase!
Redeeming Your Points Via Chase Travel℠
Additionally, by getting the Chase Sapphire Preferred, your Chase points are immediately worth 25% more when redeeming them via the portal. Specifically, without this card, your points are only worth 1 cent in Chase Travel℠. However, when booking via Chase Travel℠ with an active Chase Sapphire Preferred card, your points are worth 1.25 cents each.
Get Up To $50 In Statement Credits Each Year For Hotel Stays Via Chase Travel℠
One of the cool benefits of the Sapphire Preferred is the annual (up to) $50 statement credit for hotel stays purchased through Chase Travel℠. This statement is rewarded retroactively after you book your stay. I like this credit because it helps to offset your annual fee, even though it needs to be used via Chase Travel℠.
Get Top Tier Travel Insurance & Protection
Chase's Sapphire line of cards is especially known for its top-tier travel insurance, which can help you out in a pinch. As long as you book the trip with your card (there are many more T&C here, so make sure you look into the requirements), you should be eligible for:
- Travel and Emergency Assistance Services
- Trip Delay Reimbursement
- Trip Cancellation / Interruption Insurance
- Baggage Delay Insurance
- Lost Luggage Reimbursement
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver
- Travel Accident Insurance
My Chase Sapphire Reserve's baggage delay insurance really came in clutch when my bag was delayed, helping me get essential lotions that were in my checked bag. These travel insurances are really awesome when you're eligible for them.
Limited-Time Partner Benefits
The Chase Sapphire Preferred also has several high-value partner benefits that can push the value of the card over the edge:
- Lyft: Earn 5x points on Lyft rides through March 31, 2025
- Instacart: Get 6 months of complimentary Instacart+ (activate by July 31, 2024). Additionally, earn up to $15 per calendar quarter in statement credits on qualifying Instacart purchases through July 31, 2024
- Doordash: Get complimentary access to DashPass (activate by Dec 31, 2027)
- Peloton: Earn 5x on Peloton equipment and accessory purchases over $150 with a max earn of 25,000 total points now through Mar. 31, 2025
I think the additional Instacart credits are the most powerful benefit of this card right now. In theory, you could breakeven on the annual fee altogether with those credits + the hotel credit. Furthermore, the 5x on Lyfts is no slouch either.
Don't Like The Card? Downgrade It!
One of the coolest benefits of many Chase cards is the ability to downgrade them to the no annual fee version of the card that is in the same family tree. So, what this means is that while you cannot downgrade a Preferred to the Chase Amazon Prime card (not in the same family), you can downgrade the Preferred to the no annual fee Chase Sapphire card or any of the Freedom cards.
What this means is that if you don't like the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you don't have to cancel the card and impact your credit score; rather, you can just simply downgrade it and move on!
Conclusion
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a decent introductory card with a wide swathe of awesome benefits. With a relatively low annual fee, there is a very viable path to breaking even on this card with its hotel credit, Instacart credits, 5x on Lyfts, and best-of-class travel insurance.
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