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- The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is one of the best-known travel credit cards.
- Redditors and cardholders from other forums have strong opinions on this card.
- One thing many commenters get wrong is that the card is the best option for everyone.
- Read Business Insider’s review of the Chase Sapphire Preferred card.
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Reddit is an unofficial barometer of modern Internet culture. Millions of Redditors worldwide share thoughts, questions, and answers on this public platform.
As with any user-generated forum, Reddit isn’t always the arbiter of truth. We skimmed Reddit, Facebook, and other popular online communities to identify a few common misunderstandings about the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card — and some pro tips and best practices everyone should learn.
What Reddit (and other forums) get wrong
Many people come to Reddit or Facebook groups with personal finance questions about credit cards or award travel. Some have heard horror stories from their parents or Dave Ramsey fans, while others simply don’t know what they don’t know. Here are some common misconceptions about the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.
Everyone should get a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is one of the best travel rewards credit cards on the market. But it isn’t the best card for everyone. Since it’s primarily designed to optimize your travel experience, many of its best benefits aren’t valuable for someone who doesn’t travel.
If you’re thinking about getting this credit card, consider the following points:
- Will you use an annual $50 hotel credit? If so, this benefit essentially halves your Sapphire Preferred Card’s $95 annual fee.
- Do you need a credit card that doesn’t cost you extra money on international purchases? The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees.
- Do you frequently fly Southwest or United, or stay in Marriott or Hyatt hotels? You can transfer rewards from the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card to any of these travel companies for award flights and hotel stays.
People who don’t travel will get better value from a card like the Chase Freedom Flex® , which doesn’t come with an annual fee. This card earns bonus points on restaurants and drugstores, and on quarterly rotating categories such as Amazon, travel, gas, and movie theaters.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Insider’s Rating
4.4/5
Regular APR
21.49% – 28.49% Variable
Pros
- High intro bonus offer starts you off with lots of points
- Strong travel coverage
Cons
- Doesn’t offer a Global Entry/TSA PreCheck application fee credit
Product Details
- Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That’s $750 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.
- Enjoy benefits such as 5x on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases, $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit, plus more.
- Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Travel℠. For example, 60,000 points are worth $750 toward travel.
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2024.
- Member FDIC
Booking through the Chase Travel portal is the best or only way to use your points
Newbies often believe that Chase Ultimate Rewards points can only be used to book travel through Chase Travel℠ portal. If you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, your points are worth 1.25 cents apiece when you buy a flight or book a hotel through Chase Travel℠. However, transferring Chase points to travel partner airlines and hotel chains can help you get three, five, or even 10 times as much value out of each point.
You must have excellent credit to get the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
If you want to get a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card — or any other card for that matter — you’re most likely to be approved with an excellent credit score.
But there are always exceptions to the rule. If you have a good credit score with consistent income and steady improvement on timely payments, that can help your case.
What Reddit gets right
Redditors who are personal finance and credit card geeks offer consistent advice when it comes to making the most of your card. If you have a Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, keep these best practices in mind.
Never rack up high-interest debt for the sake of earning credit card rewards
“The golden rule with credit cards is [to] never carry a balance,” said Redditor Stallion_V. “The interest rates make it unsustainable.”
Credit cards typically carry very high interest rates ranging from 20% to 30% APR — the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has a 21.49% – 28.49% Variable APR.
Since the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card doesn’t offer a 0% intro APR period, you will quickly incur credit card debt if you don’t pay off your balance in full every month.
Chase Sapphire Preferred points are worth more than 1 cent apiece
Credit card points or miles that can be transferred to different airlines and hotels tend to be worth more than rewards that can only be redeemed as cash back or at a value of one cent per point. Business Insider has a full guide to award “currency” that breaks down the worth and value of different points and miles.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card earns Chase Ultimate Rewards, which are some of the most valuable rewards you can earn from a credit card. Business Insider values Ultimate Rewards at 1.8 cents apiece, on average, and you can often get significantly more value out of your points if you learn how to maximize them.
Katherine Fan
Senior Editor, Credit Cards
Katherine Fan is a personal finance expert, journalist, and public speaker with nine years of industry experience. Before joining Personal Finance Insider as Senior Editor of Credit Cards, Katherine covered aviation, award travel, loyalty programs, and credit cards as a senior reporter for The Points Guy, and small business finances as a lead writer for Nerdwallet. ExperienceSince 2015, Katherine has published 1,800+ articles, guides, and reviews covering credit card benefits and rewards, small business finances, points and miles travel, loyalty programs, and real estate investing. Katherine has also freelanced for CNN Underscored, Forbes Advisor, Wall Street Journal Buy Side, Bankrate, CreditCards.com, the Dallas Morning News, LendingTree, Upgraded Points, Fortune Recommends, Newsweek, and Slickdeals Money. Her work has been syndicated by Nasdaq, MSN and Yahoo. Katherine is a guest speaker at TravelCon, and has been featured on multiple podcasts including NPR Life Kit, Expedia’s Out Travel the System, and The Points Guy’s Miles Away. In her spare time, Katherine moonlights as a photojournalist covering Formula 1, Austin City Limits, and SXSW for the Austin American-Statesman and other media outlets. When she’s not jetsetting around the world, you’ll likely find her in Austin cooking up a batch of spicy Chinese food.ExpertiseKatherine’s expertise encompasses:
- Small business finances
- Credit cards
- Points and miles travel
- Travel insurance
- Real estate investing
Katherine’s interest in personal finance runs parallel to her passions for real estate investing and award travel. Despite a salary of just $28,000 a year from her first full-time job, Katherine built an excellent credit score of 805 from scratch through hard work [and privilege], which allowed her to purchase her first home six years after graduating college. She’s since added five more doors to her real estate portfolio, although she plans to retire on her index fund investments.Thanks to credit card travel rewards, Katherine has flown well over one million miles visiting 44 countries across all seven continents. She’s sailed with orcas in Antarctica, flown home in first class from Japan, photographed a wedding at Hobbiton in New Zealand, and gone on safari in South Africa. But her most meaningful trips always bring her home to loved ones in Taiwan. EducationKatherine holds dual degrees in photojournalism and Asian American studies from the University of Texas at Austin, and a certificate in business Chinese proficiency from National Taiwan University. She began her professional career in tech as a software sales executive for several years before returning to her media roots.