The Chase Sapphire cards are among the most popular travel rewards cards, and for good reason. These cards allow you to earn bonus points for travel and dining purchases, and then redeem your points directly for travel or transfer them to airline and hotel partners.
Currently, there are two different credit cards offered in the Sapphire lineup, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, which has an annual fee of $95 and the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, which has an annual fee of $550. Let’s take a look at these two cards, and see which one is right for you.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Although it’s less expensive than the Sapphire Reserve, surprisingly this card offers a more generous sign-up bonus. You’ll earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. That's worth $750 toward travel when you redeem your points for travel reservations made directly through the Chase Ultimate Rewards® travel center, which is powered by Expedia.
This card offers you 2x points on all travel and dining purchases, and one point per dollar spent elsewhere. Points are worth 1.25 cents each towards travel reservations, or can be transferred to airline miles or hotel points. Transfer partners include United, Southwest, Singapore and Virgin Atlantic airlines, as well as Hyatt, Marriott and Hilton hotels.
This card also includes free deliveries with the DoorPass subscription from DoorDash. You also earn up to 5x points on Lyft rides through March 2022.
Related: The Travel Rewards Credit Cards You Need in Your Wallet
Chase Sapphire Reserve®
The Sapphire Reserve now has an annual fee of $550, which may only be worth it when you utilize all of its features, benefits and fee credits. Cardholders begin with 50,000 points after spending $4,000 on new purchases within three months of account opening. But since Sapphire Reserve cardholders can redeem their points for 1.5 cents each, this is also worth $750 toward travel when you redeem your points for travel reservations made directly through the Chase Ultimate Rewards® travel center, which is powered by Expedia.
This card offers 3x points on travel and dining, and one point per dollar spent elsewhere. You also get up to a $300 annual statement credit towards travel expenses and up to $100 in statement credits towards a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application. You also get a one-year complimentary Lyft Pink ($199 minimum value) and a complimentary DashPass subscription from DoorDash after activating by 12/31/21. You even get $120 in DoorDash statement credits ($60 in 2020 and $60 in 2021). But most importantly, this card comes with a Priority Pass Select membership which offers you and two guests unlimited access to over 1,400 airport lounges worldwide. You even get up to $28 in credit, per person, per visit at select airport restaurants.
Which is right for you?
If you add up the value of all of the Sapphire Reserve fee credits and other benefits, then you’ll largely make up the difference between the two cards. This makes the Sapphire Reserve the best choice for frequent travelers. Infrequent travelers on a tight budget may be happier with the Sapphire Preferred, which is also a great card. By closely examining the features and benefits of these two cards, you’ll find the one that’s right for you.
Stay on top of breaking sales, fare drops, and more! Follow us on Twitter at @Airfarewatchdog. And make sure to sign up for FREE alerts to be notified when prices drop.
