At TPG, we love the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees). It was the first travel rewards credit card for many of us and remains one of the cards we can’t live without.
We love that it earns versatile Chase Ultimate Rewards points and has our backs if something goes wrong while we’re traveling. It’s perfect for the average traveler who takes one or two big trips a year and wants travel benefits but doesn’t need the extras that come with a more premium travel card.
While many of us have upgraded to the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees) as our travel habits have evolved, the Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to be one of the top cards we recommend to beginners and anyone looking for a solid set of travel benefits.
Here’s why we consider the Sapphire Preferred the best card for the average traveler.
Low annual fee
The Chase Sapphire Preferred charges a $95 annual fee, which is far more reasonable than what you’ll pay for a more premium travel card. While the trade-off is fewer perks, most average travelers won’t use benefits like lounge access or airline fee credits enough to warrant the higher fees that accompany them.
You may be skeptical of annual fees if you’re new to credit card rewards. But when you have a strong card with a manageable fee, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred, it’s easy to make up the difference so that you aren’t actually paying anything out of pocket for the card each year.
If you’re like TPG credit cards editor Olivia Mittak and use DoorDash frequently, you’ll get all of your Sapphire Preferred’s annual fee back with some to spare through its complimentary DoorDash DashPass benefit (activate by Dec. 31, 2027).
Since a DashPass membership costs $9.99 each month, using your Sapphire Preferred’s complimentary membership would get you $120 a year in value. Since the Sapphire Preferred costs $95 a year, you’d be in the green by $25.
That’s not even factoring in this card’s $50 annual hotel credit for Chase Travel℠ bookings and the value of the Ultimate Rewards points you’ll earn.
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Related: Is the Chase Sapphire Preferred worth the annual fee? I say yes
Valuable welcome bonus
New cardholders can earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. This is the best offer we’ve seen on the Sapphire Preferred in years, and it may not come around again for a while. This offer ends on May 15 at 9 a.m. EDT.
While spending $5,000 in just three months may sound like a hard task for some budgets, there are plenty of ways you can meet the minimum spend requirement to unlock the welcome bonus.
According to TPG’s May 2025 valuations, this welcome bonus is worth a whopping $2,050 in travel rewards. With 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points at your disposal, you have a ton of redemption options.
You won’t stop earning those valuable points when you’re done earning the Sapphire Preferred’s welcome offer. This card has some of the best earning rates of any mid-tier card available.
Related: I thought I’d hardly use my Sapphire Preferred, then it became one of my go-to cards
Solid earning
The Chase Sapphire Preferred earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points, some of the most versatile points available.
The welcome bonus gives you a great start toward earning the points necessary for your next vacation, but it isn’t the only way to earn points. You’ll earn points on a wide range of common purchases, including:
- 5 points per dollar spent on travel booked through Chase Travel (excluding the $50 hotel credit)
- 5 points per dollar spent on Lyft purchases (through Sept. 2027)
- 5 points per dollar spent on Peloton equipment and accessory purchases of $150 or more (through Dec. 2027, with a limit of 25,000 bonus points)
- 3 points per dollar spent on dining, select streaming services and online grocery store purchases (excluding Walmart, Target and wholesale clubs)
- 2 points per dollar spent on all other travel not booked through Chase Travel
- 1 point per dollar spent on everything else
Chase’s dining category is incredibly broad. Many issuers restrict dining purchases to just standard restaurants and maybe fast food, but Chase also includes bars, breweries, university dining halls, vending machines and even some restaurant delivery services like DoorDash and Grubhub.
The travel category is also quite generous. You’ll earn bonus points on typical travel purchases like hotels and airfare, but you’ll also earn on purchases that other popular travel cards don’t cover. These include ferries, toll bridges, parking garages, discount travel sites and some campgrounds.
Related: How to maximize your rewards earning with the Chase Sapphire Preferred
Great redemptions
In addition to flexibility in what earns bonus rewards, the Sapphire Preferred offers flexibility in how you can redeem your points.
As of May 2025, TPG values Chase Ultimate Rewards points at 2.05 cents each. That’s because Chase has many valuable travel partners that give you access to all three major airline alliances and three different hotel brands (IHG, Marriott and Hyatt).
Chase Ultimate Rewards transfers to each of its partners at a 1:1 ratio, and many of these transfers process almost instantly.
Transferring your points to airline partners is key if you want to fly business or first class internationally, but it offers real value to those who prefer travel without bells and whistles, too.
For example, you could transfer just 10,800 Ultimate Rewards points to United and book a one-way economy flight from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Orlando International Airport (MCO) on select dates this August. Or, you could transfer as few as 3,500 points per night for an off-peak stay at a Category 1 Hyatt property.
Many TPGers, including TPG senior credit cards editor Giselle Gomez, use their Ultimate Rewards points for Hyatt redemptions. Some of her best recent redemptions weren’t for hard-to-snag international flights or world-class luxury hotels but instead to fulfill her MLB park bucket list.
If you want to start with something easier, you can redeem your points for 1.25 cents each when booking through Chase Travel. This redemption rate is generally a good deal if you’re booking economy awards or standard room rates. Just keep in mind that you won’t earn elite night credits when booking hotels through Chase Travel.
Another bonus to booking airfare, especially through the portal, is that airlines consider your redemption cash. That means your points will also cover any taxes and fees associated with your flight.
Related: 21 ways to use 100K Chase Ultimate Rewards points: Budget-friendly redemptions and luxurious trips
Helpful travel benefits
The Sapphire Preferred may not come with lounge access or hundreds of dollars in travel credits, but that doesn’t mean it lacks valuable benefits.
The Sapphire Preferred has some of the best travel protections of any mid-tier credit card on the market, including:
This card also comes with primary rental car insurance — a rarity for any card, let alone a mid-tier card. Note that your Sapphire Preferred’s insurance policies may have additional terms, so make sure to check your card’s guide to benefits for full details.
TPG credit cards writer Augusta Stone recently used her Sapphire Preferred’s trip cancellation insurance to cover a missed hotel stay. Thanks to her card’s coverage, she saved almost $250.
The Sapphire Preferred also comes with a $50 hotel credit for bookings made through Chase Travel. This credit is great for booking boutique hotels that aren’t part of a major hotel loyalty program, or if there isn’t great award availability for your stay. Giselle used this credit in addition to transferring her points to Hyatt for her bucket list baseball trip.
Finally, the card offers Visa Signature benefits (including access to the Visa Signature Concierge Service) and no foreign transaction fees.
Related: How I got a 20X return on my Chase Sapphire Preferred last year
A great sibling
Most average travelers probably don’t have 15-plus credit cards in their wallet, which means the cards you have need to make an impact. The Chase Sapphire Preferred can easily be paired with Chase’s no-annual-fee cash-back cards to help you maximize your earning potential across spending categories, without adding hundreds of dollars in annual fees to your plate.
The rewards you earn on the Chase Freedom Flex® (see rates and fees) and Chase Freedom Unlimited® (see rates and fees) can’t be transferred to partners without help from a card like the Sapphire Preferred.
With the Sapphire Preferred in your wallet, you can move the rewards you earn from either of the Freedom cards to the Chase Sapphire Preferred to take advantage of transfer partners or an increased redemption rate through Chase Travel.
The Chase Freedom Flex has rotating quarterly bonus categories that earn 5% cash back on the first $1,500 you spend each quarter you activate, while the Chase Freedom Unlimited earns at least 1.5% cash back on all purchases.
Both cards also earn 5% back on Chase Travel and 3% back on dining at restaurants and drugstores. Neither card has an annual fee.
The Freedom Flex and Freedom Unlimited can help fill gaps in your wallet that the Sapphire Preferred can’t cover. Common quarterly categories for the Freedom Flex that aren’t included among the Sapphire Preferred’s bonus categories include Amazon, PayPal, gyms and charity donations.
The Freedom Unlimited can cover any purchases that don’t fall into the Sapphire Preferred or Freedom Flex’s bonus categories.
Related: Chase Freedom Flex vs. Chase Freedom Unlimited
Bottom line
The points and miles world isn’t just for those who travel for work or spend all of their free time on the road. With the Chase Sapphire Preferred, the average traveler can earn valuable points that can turn into flights and/or hotel stays for a much-deserved vacation.
Having the Chase Sapphire Preferred is a great first step to exploring the world through award travel. If you’re sold on this being the right card for you, don’t wait. The card’s best offer this year will be gone soon, and you don’t want to miss out.
Not convinced yet? To learn more, check out our full review of the Sapphire Preferred.
Apply here: Chase Sapphire Preferred with a current offer of 100,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.