Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve?

Comparing Chase Sapphire Preferred® and Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Chase Ultimate Rewards points are among my favorite reward currencies for many reasons.  These points are earned with Chase Sapphire credit cards.  One of the most common questions I get is “which is better?”  While Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve are not the only 2 cards that earn Ultimate Rewards, they are the ones you will read about the most on this site.  If you are new to miles and points, a Chase Sapphire is a great choice for your first card.  There is also a business version of this card that has its own set of perks.  In this post, I will compare the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Chase Sapphire Reserve cards.  Since these are Chase cards, please familiarize yourself with Chase’s 5/24 policy.

	Chase Sapphire Preferred	Chase Sapphire Reserve
Signup Bonus	60,000	60,000
Annual Fee	$95	$550
All other purchases	1 point per dollar	1 point per dollar
Annual travel credit	$0	$300
Global Entry fee credit	No	Yes, $100
Airport lounge access	No	Yes
Primary rental car insurance	Yes	Yes
Foreign Transaction Fees	No	No
transfer to Ultimate Rewards air and hotel partners	1:1 transfer ratio	1:1 transfer ratio
Use points to pay for travel using Ultimate Rewards booking portal	1.25 cents per point	1.50 cents per point
Trip and purchase protection	Yes	Yes
Cost to add authorized users:	$0	$75 (this includes lounge access and trip protection but not the $300 travel credit)

Chase Sapphire Preferred

Signup Bonus: 60,000 Ultimate Rewards after spending $4,000 during the first 3 months

Annual Fee: $95

Bonus Categories: 

Auto Rental Insurance: Decline the rental company’s collision insurance and charge the entire rental cost to your card. Coverage is primary and provides reimbursement up to the actual cash value of the vehicle for theft and collision damage for most rental cars in the U.S. and abroad.

No foreign transaction fees: There are no foreign transaction fees when you use your card for purchases made outside the United States.  Other cards charge about 3%.  For example, if you spend $5,000 internationally, you would avoid $150 in foreign transaction fees.

Trip and purchase protection benefits:

Redeeming points from Chase Sapphire Preferred:

See also: Ultimate Rewards booking portal vs. transferring to partners

Transfer your points to partners at a 1:1 ratio:

Get 1.25 cents per point when redeeming through Ultimate Rewards booking portal: For example, 50,000 points are worth $625 toward travel.

Chase Sapphire Reserve

Signup Bonus: 60,000 Ultimate Rewards after spending $4,000 during the first 3 months

Annual Fee: $550. I know that is a lot of money but depending on your spending habits and your travel needs, it may be worth it.

Bonus Categories: Earn 3 points per dollar on travel and dining worldwide.  Earn 1 point per dollar on all other purchases.

$300 Annual Travel Credit: Each year, automatically receive $300 in statement credits as reimbursement for travel purchases such as airfare and hotels charged to your card.

Global Entry or TSA Pre ✓^® Fee Credit: Receive a statement credit of $100 every 4 years as reimbursement for the application fee charged to your card.

Airport Lounge Access: Enjoy 900+ VIP lounges in over 400 cities worldwide after an easy, one-time enrollment in Priority Pass^™ Select.

Car Rental Insurance: Decline the rental company’s collision insurance and charge the entire rental cost to your card. Coverage is primary and provides reimbursement up to $75,000 for theft and collision damage for most rental cars in the U.S. and abroad.No foreign transaction fees: There are no foreign transaction fees when you use your card for purchases made outside the United States.  Other cards charge about 3%.  For example, if you spend $5,000 internationally, you would avoid $150 in foreign transaction fees.     Trip and purchase protection:

Redeeming points from Chase Sapphire Reserve:

Transfer your points to partners at a 1:1 ratio. These are the same partners as Chase Sapphire Preferred listed above.

Get 1.50 cents per point when redeeming through Ultimate Rewards booking portal: For example, 50,000 points are worth $750 toward travel. Remember this is 1.25 cents per point with Chase Sapphire Preferred.

Conclusion:

The Chase Sapphire Reserve and The Chase Sapphire Preferred are both great cards for anyone.  Depending on your needs and goals, one of these cards may fit your situation better than the other.

For us, the Chase Sapphire Reserve is a better fit for a few reasons:

• We can justify the annual fee in many ways:
  • $300 travel credit
  • $100 Global Entry fee reimbursement since we will likely have to get it for the babies soon
  • The bonus was actually 100,000 when I signed up.
• We eat out often, so 3 points per dollar instead of 2 is nice
• We travel a lot.  Even though we cover a lot of our travel expenses with points and miles, there are still costs such as rental cars. We get 3 points per dollar on these expenses rather than 2
• Airport lounge access is nice, although I’m not sure we would pay such a high annual fee if it weren’t for the other benefits that come with this card.

You can find a list of credit card offers that I find most valuable on the current offers page.

Worried about meeting minimum spend? Read this! Contact me with any questions and let me know which card you choose.

Chase Sapphire Preferred

Chase Sapphire Reserve

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