Selecting the perfect travel rewards credit card is a difficult task. The overwhelming number of choices can be confusing. Still, it’s an important decision if you want to get the most out of your regular purchases and earn valuable benefits like free hotel stays and award flights. Unfortunately, sometimes people tend to fall into the trap of owning more cards than they should. People also do less research as some companies show off the benefits and sneak the drawbacks out.
After making purchases worth $4,000 on items within the first three months of account opening to get 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points with the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. For example, when you withdraw through the Chase travel site, you’ll get $750 in travel.
One of our most recommended credit cards is the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, especially for first-time travellers. We’ll look at who should (and shouldn’t) apply for it today.
The overview of the card
Let’s begin with a easy and brief rundown of the Chase Sapphire Preferred’s primary, recurring benefits:
- When you book your stay through the Chase travel site, you’ll get a $50 hotel credit annually.
- In addition, 10% bonus points are awarded every year (based on spending).
- When you sign by March 31, 2022, you’ll get a year of free DoorDash DashPass membership, which eliminates delivery charges on orders over $12 and lowers service fees at participating restaurants.
- There are no fees for international transactions.
- You won’t have to file any claims with your own insurance provider when your rental car is damaged because you have primary car rental coverage.
- Insurance against flight delays and cancellations.
- Baggage delay insurance is a type of insurance that pays out if your luggage is
On the card, you’ll also get some fantastic earning rates:
- For travels that are booked through the Chase travel portal, you’ll earn 5 points for each dollar spent.
- Over $1,800 in Peloton Bike, Tread, and accessory purchases will earn you 5 points per dollar, up to a maximum of 25,000 points through March 2022.
- Lyft offers 5 points per dollar till March 2022.
- Dining out, online streaming services, and online grocery store purchases earn 3 points for every dollar spent (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs).
- Every travel that is not booked through the Chase travel portal earns 2 points per dollar.
- Everything else is worth one point per dollar.
All of this comes at a reasonable cost, as the card has an annual charge of only $95.
Should you get one for yourself?
Does the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card make logical sense for you now that you’ve got a quick refresher on the card’s features? Here’s a quick breakdown of who should consider carrying this card in their wallet:
If you are in search of a card with an annual fee
Many people think that getting a card with no annual fee is better than getting a one with a yearly fee. At first, it may seem logical because, let’s be honest, if it has no annual fee, it quickly becomes very tempting. But there are many benefits that cards with annual fees have to offer. Once you see them, you will realize that paying a small yearly fee is actually worth it.
The Sapphire Preferred is a terrific place to start for someone new to points and miles. In addition, the Chase Sapphire Preferred could be a great option if you’re prepared to get serious about optimizing your earnings and redemptions.
If you own a Chase Freedom Flex or Unlimited card,
Someone who already possesses the Chase Freedom Flex or Chase Freedom Unlimited card is another excellent candidate for the card. One of the simplest methods to maximizing your points is to combine the Sapphire Preferred with one of these cards. In case you didn’t know, the Ultimate Rewards program allows you to freely transfer points between participating credit cards. As a result, the points earned on the two Freedom cards, which usually are solely eligible for cashback, can be transferred to your Sapphire Preferred account and instantly increased in value.
When you reserve travels directly through the Chase travel site, you’ll gain at least 1.25 cents in value per point, but you can get considerably more if you use one of the program’s valuable transfer partners.
If you own a small business and have the Ink Cash or Unlimited Ink accounts,
This method isn’t just for people who have personal cards. If you own the Ink Business Cash Credit Card or the Ink Business Unlimited Credit Card and is a small or large business owner, you can use the identical technique stated above. You may believe that your business and personal cards must be kept separate. While this is true for spending charged to the card, it does not apply to its revenues.
As a consequence, as an Ink Cash cardholder, you can qualify for the Chase Sapphire Preferred and then move your earnings from your small-business account to the Sapphire Preferred.
If you shouldn’t get a Chase Sapphire Preferred, why?
If you already own a Chase Sapphire Reserve card,
When the Chase Sapphire Reserve debuted in August 2016, it turned the credit card world on its head. It has a much higher annual price of $550, as well as a plethora of premium travel features. Unfortunately, you can’t apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred if you already have the card in your wallet.
If you’ve got a Sapphire card sign-up bonus in the recent 48 months,
When Chase decided to make it impossible for current Sapphire Reserve cardholders to sign up for the Chase Sapphire Preferred (and vice versa), it also limited the number of times you could get a sign-up bonus from a Sapphire credit card. As a result, if you’ve received a sign-up bonus from any Sapphire card in the last 48 months, you won’t be eligible for one on the Sapphire Preferred card. As a result, if you just received a Sapphire card bonus, you should wait for at least a minimum of four years before applying for the Chase Sapphire Preferred.
If you’ve applied for five or more credit cards in the previous 24 months from any provider,
The third group of people who should not apply for the Sapphire Preferred is subject to the infamous Chase 5/24 restriction. If you’re unfamiliar, Chase typically denies credit card applications if you’ve opened five or more new credit cards in the previous 24 months (thus the “5/24” designation).
It’s worth noting that the 5/24 rule applies to accounts on which you’re an authorized user. When I was refused the United Explorer Card, and my fifth newly established card was my wife’s account, I had some luck phoning Chase’s reconsideration department. However, suppose your credit report now shows five or more new credit cards. In that case, it’s definitely best to avoid wasting a hard inquiry by applying for the Sapphire Preferred since you’ll almost certainly be disappointed.
Summary
In conclusion, the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is an excellent choice for anyone interested in delving further into travel rewards since it offers a variety of options for redeeming for lucrative benefits that go well beyond those provided by more straightforward, fixed-value cards. However, it isn’t the ideal solution for everyone, so think about your own particular scenario before deciding whether this card is the one that fills all your needs for you.
