The Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa Card - Review
Rating: 3.5/5
Pros:
Big sign-up bonus
Low annual fee ($95)
No foreign transaction fees
Great starter card for travelers
Metal card for that flex
Cons:
Cannot have both Chase Sapphire Preferred (CSP) and Chase Sapphire Reserved (CSR)
48-month re-application
Stripped benefits when compared to CSR
Lower redemption and accrual rates
Intro and Author’s Note
While I am not fully in the Chase UR ecosystem, I do use a Chase Business card for my freelance work costs. Unlike American Express’ Membership Rewards program, the Chase UR points that I accrue using my business card pools with any personal Chase cards that accrue UR points, so I can easily accrue points knowing that eventually I can jump in the Chase UR ecosystem and already have points to spend for my next travel needs.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa Card
It’s the card with “Ultimate Rewards” points (for future reference we’ll be referring to it as “UR” points), and with the huge list of transfer partners that work with Chase, it could very well be in your main cards to use. While it may not be the best card for experienced travelers, it’s a great starter card for a much more palatable $95 annual fee, whereas the CSR has a whopping $550 AF. Let’s take a look at the below details of the CSP and at the end I’ll provide my thoughts on who this card is for:
Sign-up Bonus Offer and Earned Points Rates
Current Offer as of 10/02/2020:
Earn 80,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
With the CSR offering only 50,000 bonus points at sign-up, it’s a great bonus for your next travel needs, however, make sure that you take into account your redemption rates at 1.25% instead of 1.5% on the CSR. So for every 1 point you’re getting 1.25 cents rather than 1.5 cents, which equates the CSP’s bonus of 80,000 * 1.25 = $1,000 in value versus CSR’s bonus of 50,000 * 1.5 = $750.
2x Points on Travel Worldwide
Earn 2x for every $1 spent on airfare, hotels, taxis, and trains.
2x Points on Dining at Restaurants Worldwide
Earn 2x for every $1 spent at restaurants all over the world, including takeout and delivery.
5x Points on Lyft Rides
Earn 5x (2x for travel + 3x for Lyft) on Lyft rides through March 2022.
Fees and Rates
Annual Fee: $95
To get started with a great bonus offer of 80,000 UR points with a value of $1,000, it’s a no-brainer as the bonus pays for itself 10x the annual fee, and this isn’t even counting all the points you can accrue each year.
Rates: 15.99% - 22.99% APR
Very standard for a mainstream travel card, in line with all the popular cards out there today. As always though, you should be paying off your credit cards each month anyways.
Benefits
DashPass Subscription
Get complementary DashPass subscription for 1 year, currently valued at $9.99 per month. If you’re a DashPass subscriber now, this deal alone completely negates the $95 annual fee.
Travel Protection
Trip Cancellation / Trip Interruption Insurance
If your trip is cancelled or cut short by sickness, severe weather, and other covered situations, you can be reimbursed up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip for your pre-paid, non-refundable travel expenses,, including passenger fares, tours, and hotels.
Trip Delay Reimbursement
If your travel is delayed for more than 12 hours or more, you and your family are covered for unreimbursed expenses, up to $500 per ticket for meals and lodging.
Lost Luggage Reimbursement
If you or an immediate family member’s check-in or carry-on luggage is damaged or lost by the carriers, you’re covered up to $3,000 by per passenger.
Travel Accident Insurance
You are eligible to receive up to $500,000 for accidental death or dismemberment coverage when you pay for your fare with with the CSP.
Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver
You are covered for your auto rental collision, simply decline the requested coverage from the rental company.
Pay Yourself Back
As of 05/31/2020, CSP and CSR card holders are able to utilize a new feature to allow for redemption of UR points at the same rate as their respective Chase Travel redemption rates: 1.25 for CSP, and 1.5 for CSR holders, up to 90 days back. In case you’re already a CSP or CSR card holder and need a way to use up those points, this is a great way to lower your spending.
Spending Strategy and Conclusion
My recommendation for this card is while it’s a great travel card with robust benefits, unless you’re someone who is looking to minimize the annual fee costs, I would not suggest it, as you leave plenty of money on the table when compared with the CSR. Yes, the CSR has a $550 American Express Platinum-rivaling AF, but it also has plenty of credits to negate that AF and the long-term benefits are surely worth it. Combining that with the fact that you cannot get both Sapphire cards (48 month wait once you get one of the cards) makes the choice even more difficult, with the fear-of-missing-out kicking in!
However, like I said before, if you’re someone who wants to minimize that out-of-pocket cost, the big bonus that the CSP in conjunction with the hefty list of travel benefits that the card offers, is a great entry-level, low-cost travel card that needs to be in your wallet. Pair this with a standard Chase Freedom Flex to get the most out of your points earnings to take advantage of the quarterly spend categories then redeeming for 1.25x for your next travel needs.
