Whether you are looking for cashback or travel rewards, Chase Sapphire Preferred is one of the best cards out there.
When I first learned about credit card rewards, Chase Sapphire Preferred was the very first card I applied for. With this card alone, our family of four was able to fly home for Christmas practically for free!
With Chase Sapphire Preferred, you earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points. In my opinion, these are the most valuable and flexible awards. You can redeem them for cashback, transfer them to travel partners (such as Southwest or United Airlines), or book a ride through the Ultimate Rewards portal.
When you book through the Ultimate Rewards Portal, your points earn an additional 25%! For example, a $ 500 plane ticket will cost you 40,000 points.
Welcome offer
When you spend $ 4,000 in the first three months after opening Chase Sapphire Preferred, you earn 100,000 Ultimate Rewards Points.
80,000 Ultimate Rewards points can be redeemed for $ 1,000 cash, or $ 1,250 per trip through the Chase Ultimate Rewards booking portal.
Plus, you can earn up to $ 50 in statement credit for your first year purchases.
For reference, I signed up for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card when the welcome offer was well under 100,000 points and it was still one of the best deals!
Chase Sapphire Preferred Review
Here’s a quick overview of the features of the Chase Sapphire Preferred card:
- Earn 100,000 Ultimate Rewards Points by spending at least $ 4,000 in the first three months.
- Earn 2x points on travel and restaurants (including delivery and takeaway)
- Earn 1 point per dollar on all other purchases
- $ 95 per year.
- $ 0 for overseas transactions
- Additional benefits including –
- Trip cancellation insurance
- Lost baggage insurance
- Waiver of the right to compensation for damage when renting a car
The Chase Sapphire Preferred card is one of the strongest deals available today, whether you prefer cashback or road rewards.
If you’re planning on making any kind of travel, this can be a particularly great card with double travel / lunch bonus and an additional 25% bonus on travel bookings through the Ultimate Rewards portal.
Find out how to apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card here.
How to use Ultimate Rewards points
While there are many great reward credit cards out there, Chase has built what I consider to be the best and most flexible reward system with their Ultimate Rewards points.
Typically 100 Ultimate Rewards Points = $ 1, but there are ways to get even more value out of them!
Here are just a few ways to redeem your points and get the most out of your rewards.
1. Exchange points for a refund (up to a 25% bonus)
Most cards give you either good cash back rewards or good travel rewards. But not Chase. With Ultimate Rewards Points, you get both.
If you would like to receive cashback through a credit statement or direct deposit, you can exchange them for 1 cent per point. So the 80,000 Ultimate Rewards Points welcome offer costs $ 800 in cash.
However, you can also use the Pay Yourself Back feature to receive an additional 25% of your points value when you use your credit statement to make purchases in selected, alternating categories. This increases the value of your 80,000 points to $ 1,000!
2. Book your trip through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal (25% bonus)
One of my favorite features of Chase Ultimate Rewards is their travel booking portal. This is where I book most of my travel, as you can spend your points almost like cash.
On the Chase booking portal, each Ultimate Rewards point is worth 1.25 cents if you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred card. So your 100,000 travel points are worth $ 1,250.
You can book flights, hotels and more using your points and receive a 25% increase in value.
3. Transfer of points to the airline or partner hotel Chase (variable bonus)
It’s always worth comparing the cost of booking a flight or hotel room on Ultimate Rewards versus transferring points to one of Chase’s travel partners.
For example, if you are looking for a luxury hotel stay, it is often cheaper to transfer points to Hyatt and book using Hyatt Points rather than Ultimate Rewards Points. In some cases, you can almost double the value of your points depending on your exact redemption!
Chase’s transfer partners include:
- British airways
- Southwest Airlines
- JetBlue
- Combined
- Aer lingus
- Singapore Airlines
- Virgin atlantic
- Iberia
- Hyatt
- IHG
- Marriott
Find out how to apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card here.
Other Ways to Earn Ultimate Rewards Points
One of the benefits of Chase Ultimate Rewards is that you can earn points with many of their credit cards, both business and personal.
Here are some of the other Chase credit cards that earn Ultimate Rewards points:
Chase Sapphire Preferred and Ink Business Preferred have some special perks that give you added value when redeeming through the Chase Travel Portal and also allow you to transfer your points to Chase Travel Partners.
Chase Freedom Unlimited and Ink Business Unlimited do not have these features on their own, but as long as you hold one of the above “premium” cards, you can combine your points on this account to take advantage of additional rewards.
RELATED: How we make $ 2,000 a year with credit cards
How we use our Chase Sapphire Preferred cards
Chase Sapphire Preferred is one of the main credit cards that I always keep in my wallets. Most of my daily expenses are spent using this card due to the excellent points earning potential.
When my wife and I first got our Chase Sapphire Preferred Cards, we were able to book a trip home for Christmas with two kids for almost free and we still had a few points left!
Here are some tips on how to add value to my Chase Sapphire Preferred:
- If we are dining out, I will definitely use Chase Sapphire, my preferred 2x bonus.
- My wife and I applied and received a card. This allows us to double our earning potential as well as combine our points into one account.
- Before booking a trip, I always check the booking value through the Chase portal versus transferring points. In some cases, it can be much cheaper to transfer to a partner and book from there.
- If you are transferring points, just remember that you will not be able to return them to your Chase account later.
- If you need a little help meeting minimum spending requirements, I’ve found it easy to prepay recurring bills like phone, cable, utilities, insurance, etc. They never mind paying early!
For more information on how we use credit card rewards, see how we easily earn $ 2,000 in Reward Points per year and haven’t paid for a ticket for over 4 years!
Find out how to apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card here.
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