Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card vs Chase Sapphire Reserve®: Which is Right For You? [2024]

One of the most common questions I’m asked is which Sapphire card somebody should start with: the Chase Sapphire Reserve® or the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Let’s take a quick step back. There are four primary cards that Chase offers that earn Ultimate Rewards points on the consumer side:

• Chase Sapphire Reserve®
• Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
• Chase Freedom Unlimited®
• Chase Freedom Flex℠

In another post, we compare the Chase Freedom Unlimited vs the Chase Freedom Flex.

NOTE:

On August 16th, 2021, the following changes occurred:

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card Changes

• You now earn 5x total points on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠; and
• 3x points on dining, including eligible delivery services, takeout and dining out (previously 2x)
• 3x points on select streaming services
• 3x points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
• A $50 Annual Credit on hotel stays purchased through Chase Travel℠. New cardmembers will start earning towards the credit immediately and existing cardmembers will start earning after their next account anniversary.
• A 10% Anniversary point bonus.
  • Each account anniversary year, you’ll earn bonus points that equal 10% of your total spend in points from purchases made with your card during the previous account anniversary year at a rate of 1 point for each $1 spent.

Chase Sapphire Reserve® Changes

• 10x total points on Chase Dining purchases through Chase Travel℠ (This is powered by Tock Dining and is only in select markets)
• 10x total points on hotel stays and car rentals purchased through Chase Travel℠
• 5x total points on air travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
• In addition to earning points, later this year Reserve cardmembers will have access to “Reserved by Sapphire,” featuring exclusive opportunities to book reservations at some of the most sought-after restaurants across the country including Canlis in Seattle, Redbird in Los Angeles, SingleThread Farms in Healdsburg, Calif., Reverence in New York, NY and One Off Hospitality in Chicago.
• NEW: Access to Chase Sapphire Lounge by The Club airport lounges

Prior to that, on January 12th, 2020, the Chase Sapphire Reserve‘s annual fee went from $450 to $550 and added new benefits with Lyft. This post compares the two cards taking into account the new benefits.

The new Lyft benefits are:

• Earn 10X Ultimate Rewards points on Lyft rides (Chase Sapphire Reserve only) through March 2025.
• Earn 5X Ultimate Rewards points on Lyft rides (Chase Sapphire Preferred only) through March 2025.

Head to Head Sapphire Benefits Comparison

It’s very important to note that you can combine your rewards from any Ultimate Rewards earning Chase credit card. So if you have a Chase Sapphire Reserve, which allows redemptions in the UR portal at 1.5 cents per point, you can combine points earned on a Chase Freedom Unlimited or Chase Freedom Flex into your Chase Sapphire Reserve account. Many people carry multiple cards for this reason. You simply put whatever purchase you are making on the card that will earn the most points and combine later.  Even with the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you could transfer in points from a no-fee Freedom card in order to utilize transfer partners.

Now, let’s get back to the topic at hand.

You want the ability to transfer to Chase’s nice list of transfer partners such as United or Hyatt, so that rules out the Freedom cards as cards to start with.

Do you choose the Chase Sapphire Reserve or the Chase Sapphire Preferred?

The answer to that is, of course, based on your own needs.

My goal is to give you the most efficient comparison so that you can make an informed decision.

Comparing the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve® Bonus Offers

Chase Sapphire Reserve® Bonus Offer

60,000 Ultimate Rewards points when you spend $4,000 in 3 months

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card Bonus Offer

Get up to $1,050 in Chase Travel℠ value: Earn 60,000 bonus points after $4,000 in purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. That’s worth $750 when redeemed through Chase Travel. Plus, get up to $300 in statement credits on Chase Travel purchases within your first year.

The Preferred wins by quite a bit right now.

Comparing the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Chase Sapphire Reserve® Annual Fees

The Chase Sapphire Reserve has a “sticker” annual fee of $550, while the Chase Sapphire Preferred has a $95 annual fee.

If you spend $300 a year on travel – which Chase loosely defines as all airline, hotel, parking, Uber/Lyft, and taxi purchases – then your $550 annual fee on the Chase Sapphire Reserve is reduced down to $250. This is because these travel credits are automatic. Spend them within a cardmember year and you will see them instantly refunded to you until the credit is used up. I personally use mine up within a month each year.  So, most consider the travel credit to be like cash.

To make that even simpler: If you spend $300 in travel purchases per year, your net effective annual fee is $250 on the Chase Sapphire Reserve vs $95 on a Chase Sapphire Preferred. This is a $155 difference.

Decision tree: If you DO NOT spend $300 a year on Travel, you most likely should get the Chase Sapphire Preferred for now.  If you do, continue….

I can’t stress enough that if you want a Chase Sapphire card (because you want to be able to transfer points to airline or hotel partners), you need one or the other. So once we know you are getting either a Chase Sapphire Reserve or Chase Sapphire Preferred card, the decision comes down to the $155 difference in annual fee.

What Do You Get For the Extra $155 a Year with the Chase Sapphire Reserve®?

• 3x points on Travel and Dining (Chase Sapphire Preferred gets 3X on dining but only 2X on travel)
• Priority Pass Lounge access for you and two guests (Very valuable if you don’t already have another credit card with Priority Pass airport lounge access)
• 10X on Lyft rides vs. 5X on the Chase Sapphire Preferred through March 2025 (worth a lot if you use Lyft a lot, else not worth much at all)
• 10x total points on hotel stays and car rentals purchased through Chase Travel℠ (vs. 5x on all Chase Travel℠-booked travel with the Sapphire Preferred).
• 5x total points on air travel purchased through Chase Travel℠ 
• Redemption of your points with Chase Travel℠ for 1.5 cents per point (vs. 1.25)
• $100 Global Entry/PreCheck/NEXUS credit every 5 years
• Trip Delay coverage at 6 hours (vs. 12 hours)
• 10x total points on Chase Dining purchases through Chase Travel℠ (This is powered by Tock Dining and is only in select markets – making it a negligible benefit for most.)

Now we also have to take into account the things that the $95 annual fee Sapphire Preferred offers that the Sapphire Reserve does not. Those are:

• 3x points on select streaming services
• 3x points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
• A $50 Annual Credit on hotel stays purchased through Chase Travel℠. New cardmembers will start earning towards the credit immediately and existing cardmembers will start earning after their next account anniversary.
• A 10% Anniversary point bonus.
  • Each account anniversary year, you’ll earn bonus points that equal 10% of your total spend in points from purchases made with your card during the previous account anniversary year at a rate of 1 point for each $1 spent.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card ENDS by NOV 14, 2024: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. Plus, get up to $300 in Chase Travel statement credits in the first year of account opening for any purchases made on Chase Travel. How to apply for this offer.

Additional Reading:

• Chase Sapphire Preferred® vs. Amex Gold Card
• Chase Confirms Sapphire Changes and Sapphire Lounges
• Chase Adds Aeroplan as Ultimate Rewards transfer partner
• Why the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card Remains the Best Starter Points Card
• How Many Chase Credit Cards Can You Have?

Questions?

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You can find credit cards that best match your spending habits and bonus categories at Your Best Credit Cards. 

New to all of this? My “introduction to miles and points” book, MilesTalk: Live Your Wildest Travel Dreams Using Miles and Points is available on Amazon and at major booksellers.