Chase Sapphire Preferred Review: Is It Worth It in March 2026?

Everyone says the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card benefits are perfect for casual travelers, but that doesn't tell you much when you're trying to decide between this and three other cards with similar perks. The $95 fee needs to work harder than just sounding reasonable, especially when DashPass only saves money if you order takeout regularly and the hotel credit requires booking through Chase at specific properties. We're showing you exactly how each benefit stacks up against your actual travel and dining habits so you know whether this card pays for itself or just sits in your drawer.

TLDR:

• The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card earns 5x on Chase Travel bookings and 3x on dining with a $95 annual fee.
• The $50 hotel credit plus free DashPass membership (worth $120) can cover more than the annual fee.
• Points transfer to 14 partners at 1:1 or can be redeemed through Chase Travel for up to 1.75 cents per point.
• Choose the Chase Sapphire Reserve® if you travel often and will use its $300 travel and dining credits.
• nextcard offers tools like a credit card wallet and nextcard notifs to help you maximize your Sapphire benefits.

How Does the Chase Sapphire Preferred Work

The Chase Sapphire Preferred uses a tiered rewards structure:

• 5x points when booking travel through Chase Travel,
• 3x points on dining (including eligible delivery services), select streaming, and online groceries,
• 2x points on other travel purchases, and
• 1x points everywhere else.

Chase Ultimate Rewards points offer flexible redemption options. You can transfer them to airline and hotel partners at a 1:1 ratio, book travel through the Chase portal where they're worth up to 1.75 cents each (note: it's not easy to get this rate), or redeem for cash back, gift cards, or statement credits at 1 cent per point.

New cardholders can earn a welcome bonus after meeting minimum spending requirements in the first few months. The card includes trip protections, cell phone protection when you pay your monthly bill with the card, and purchase protections.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Annual Fee and Value Breakdown

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card has a $95 annual fee, which is reasonable for a midtier travel card. Breaking down the built-in benefits shows how you can easily come out ahead.

The $50 annual hotel credit applies when you book through Chase Travel. If you take even one trip per year where this credit applies, you've already recovered more than half your annual fee.

DashPass membership comes free with the card and is valued at up to $120 per year. This waives delivery fees on orders over $12 from DoorDash, plus reduced service fees. If you order takeout regularly, this benefit alone covers the annual fee. DoorDash also gives you one $10 promo monthly for non-restaurant purchases made with the CSP. For example, a $15 DoorDash purchase made at a flower shop would cost just $5 with this monthly promotional credit.

You also get an anniversary bonus equal to 10% of your total purchases made during the previous account anniversary year. For example, if you spend $13,000 on purchases in your previous account anniversary year, you'll get an additional 1,300 bonus points. This effectively increases the earn rates of the cards by 0.1x additional points.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Welcome Bonus

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card currently offers a welcome bonus of 75,000 Chase points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. When redeemed through Chase Travel, those points are worth up to $1,312.50 (at up to 1.75 cents per point; note that this is for a very select set of redemptions), or potentially a whole lot more when transferred to airline and hotel partners.

The $5,000 spending requirement breaks down to about $1,667 per month over three months, which works for most cardholders who use this as their primary card for everyday purchases.

Chase Sapphire Preferred vs Chase Sapphire Reserve®: Which Card Is Right for You

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® costs $700 more annually but offers benefits that can offset the difference for frequent travelers.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve earns 8x on Chase Travel bookings, 4x on hotels and flights booked directly, and 3x on dining. The Preferred has a lower/different earning structure with 5x through Chase Travel, 3x on dining and select categories, and 2x on other travel.

Reserve points are worth up to 2 cents each when booking through Chase Travel versus the Preferred's up to 1.75 cents. That difference matters on expensive trips.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve also includes a $300 annual travel credit and $300 dining credit, plus Priority Pass/Chase Sapphire lounge access. The Preferred unfortunately does not have these perks.

Choose the Preferred if you take one or two trips yearly. Go with the Reserve if you travel often and will use both credits + lounge access.

Foreign Transaction Fees and International Travel Benefits

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card charges no foreign transaction fees, saving you a 3% fee (that a lot of cards have) on every purchase abroad. On a $3,000 international trip, that's $90 you keep. Visa's network works in over 200 countries, accepted at local vendors and fine dining alike.

Travel protections include trip cancellation insurance, baggage delay reimbursement, and emergency medical coverage.

How to Maximize Chase Ultimate Rewards Points and Transfer Partners

Chase Ultimate Rewards transfers to 14 airline and hotel partners at a 1:1 ratio, including Hyatt, United, Southwest, and British Airways. Hyatt transfers often deliver 2 cents per point or more when booking luxury properties. I personally like JetBlue because I am from the East Coast and I travel frequently from Boston to Florida.

The Points Boost feature lets you combine points with cash on Chase Travel bookings. Put down a small cash amount and stretch your points on expensive reservations.

Skip cash back redemptions at 1 cent per point. The Chase Travel portal at up to 1.75 cents per point works fine for quick bookings that you can find reasonable redemptions for, but transfer partners typically offer better returns if you research availability. Points Boost's best rates are very limited & usually lean towards premium bookings.

Stack your points with other Chase cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® or Chase Freedom Unlimited®, which earn bonus rates in rotating or fixed categories, then transfer those points to your Sapphire account for premium redemptions.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Requirements and Approval Process

Note: we cannot make guarantees about approvals. This is not financial advice!

Chase's 5/24 rule blocks approval if you've opened five or more personal credit cards (from any issuer) in the past 24 months. Business cards don't count toward this limit, but they do count against it if they appear on your personal credit report.

Check for pre-approval through Chase's website before applying. Pre-approval doesn't bypass 5/24 but shows your profile fits their criteria. Keep credit utilization below 30% across all cards and wait at least three months between Chase applications. Income requirements aren't publicly listed, but applicants with $30,000 or more in annual income generally qualify if other factors align.

Pairing the Sapphire Preferred with Chase Freedom Cards for Maximum Earning

The Chase Sapphire Preferred works best when paired with no-annual-fee Chase cards. The Chase Freedom Unlimited® earns 5% on travel booked through Chase, 3% on dining and drugstores, and 1.5% everywhere else. The Chase Freedom Flex® adds rotating 5% categories each quarter on up to $1,500 in purchases.

Points from all Chase cards pool into one Ultimate Rewards account. For example, aarn 5% on groceries with the Freedom Flex during a bonus quarter, transfer those points to your Sapphire Preferred, then redeem them at up to 1.75 cents each through Chase Travel or send them to transfer partners at full value.

This setup covers spending gaps the Sapphire Preferred misses. You earn 5% on quarterly categories, 3% on drugstores, and 1.5% on everything else while keeping premium redemption options.

How nextcard Simplifies Your Chase Sapphire Preferred Experience

nextcard's tools help you actually use the CSP's perks without spending hours researching.

The Transfer Portal Partners table lists all 14 Chase transfer partner ratios in one searchable view. No need to visit multiple airline sites or remember which programs offer the best value.

nextcard wallet tracks your $50 hotel credit alongside your $95 annual fee, showing net value across your entire card portfolio. You'll see exactly whether you're getting enough benefit to make the case for keeping the card.

My thoughts and experience with the Chase Sapphire Preferred

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card was an extremely valuable card in my wallet before I upgraded to the Chase Sapphire Reserve. I didn’t really use DoorDash at the time so I ignored the DashPass benefit. And even though I had the card for 3-4 years, I never made use of the $50 Chase Travel credit. But I did take full advantage of the ability to transfer to Chase’s hotel & airline partners.

I consistently transferred my Chase points to either JetBlue for flights and Hyatt for hotel redemptions. The redemption that I’m most proud of is when I transferred 70,000 Chase points to Air Canada to book a business class flight on Singapore Airlines from JFK to Paris (CDG airport). It was my first business class flight and it was a spectacular experience with lovely food and service. It was a red-eye flight and I slept most of the time!

I wouldn’t have been able to enjoy a business class flight experience without the ability to transfer to transfer partners with a card like the Chase Sapphire Preferred. And I had various weekend trips at Hyatt hotels that saved me hundreds of dollars.

I have the Chase Sapphire Reserve® now because I was able to get the old $550 annual fee with all the new benefits (before the card changed to the $795 annual fee). I’m thinking of it like a trial run before I consider downgrading back to the Chase Sapphire Preferred or sticking with the Chase Sapphire Reserve.

Final Thoughts on the Sapphire Preferred Card

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card hits a sweet spot for people who travel regularly but don't want Reserve-level costs. Between the dining multiplier and transfer partners, your Chase Sapphire Preferred points go further than basic cash back if you put in a bit of research. Add a Freedom card or two and you'll cover almost every spending category at bonus rates. Check your nextcard wallet to see if you're using all your credits.

FAQ

How much do you need to spend to make the Chase Sapphire Preferred worth the annual fee?

If you redeem your $50 hotel credit and use DashPass regularly (valued at $120/year), you've already gained $170 in benefits against the $95 fee, meaning you're ahead even with minimal spending. But the secret is that the transfer partners are where the true value lies.

Can you transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points from the Freedom Unlimited to the Sapphire Preferred?

Yes, points from the and pool into one Ultimate Rewards account, and you can transfer them to your Sapphire Preferred for premium redemptions up to 1.75 cents per point or to airline and hotel partners.

Does the Chase Sapphire Preferred charge foreign transaction fees?

No, the card has no foreign transaction fees, saving you 3% on every international purchase compared to cards that charge this fee.

What's the biggest difference between redeeming points through Chase Travel versus transferring to partners?

Chase Travel gives you up to 1.75 cents per point for eligible Chase Travel bookings, but transfer partners like Hyatt often deliver 2 cents per point or more when you research availability and book hotel stays.

Will Chase approve you for the Sapphire Preferred if you've opened multiple cards recently?

Chase's 5/24 rule blocks approval if you've opened five or more personal credit cards from any issuer in the past 24 months, regardless of your credit score.