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Chase is one of the most popular banks in the USA, helping people manage their finances well. It offers travel credit cards through which you can earn points and cashback on travel, dining, or hotel stays.
Two famous and highly admired travel credit cards offered by this bank are Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve. Once you start exploring the premium travel reward card options, these two will top the list because of their competitive offerings and ease of redemption.
Now, when both cards sound promising in terms of rewards, annual fees, and other parameters, it is challenging to decide which one you should get!
The best way to choose is to understand your requirements, see which card aligns with them, and then proceed with the application! To help you make a decision, we will compare Chase Sapphire Preferred vs Chase Sapphire Reserve, giving you all the information you need to pick the best travel reward card.
Overview of Chase Sapphire Preferred
Chase Preferred Credit Card is a mid-tier travel reward credit card that fulfills the requirement of people who wish to enjoy the rewards but at a lower annual fee. The card offers promising rewards on gas, dining, online streaming platforms, and many other purchases you can redeem during your travels, stay, lounge access, and much more!
- Get 5X points on travel bookings made using the Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 3X points on dining, online grocery purchases, and streaming services.
- 2X points on travel-related purchases, like your flight tickets.
- 1X points on all other kinds of purchases.
- As a sign-up bonus, you get 60,000 points, which are around $750 when you wish to redeem it.
- You can redeem the points during travel-related purchases. Each point will be worth 1.25 cents.
- Redeem the points to buy flight tickets, and hotel stays with partners like United Airlines and Marriott Bonvoy.
- Points can also be redeemed as cashback at a value of 1 cent per point.
- Another way of redemption is to buy gift cards worth your points from partner retailers or restaurants.
Overview of Chase Sapphire Reserve
Chase reserve credit card is a premium category travel reward card with elaborate offerings made specifically for frequent travelers. Though the card has a higher annual fee of $500; the earning rate or rewards awarded on travel or dining-related purchases is also higher than other travel reward card options. So, if you travel often for work or leisure, Chase Sapphire Reserve is definitely the card you should consider signing up for.
- You get 10X points on car rentals or hotel bookings made through the Chase Ultimate Rewards Card.
- 5X points on flight tickets booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards.
- 3X points on all other travel and dining-related purchases.
- Priority Pass for airport lounge access
- You also get 60,000 points as a sign-up bonus, which equals $900 at the time of redemption. It is only applicable after you meet the spending requirements.
- You can redeem the rewards you earn for travel purchases, like booking a flight ticket or a hotel stay. Each point will be valued at 1.5 cents.
- You can transfer the reward points to your travel partners to get better redemption rates at popular hotels and airlines, like United, Southwest, Marriott, or Hyatt.
- Another option is the pay-yourself-back feature. Using this, you can get the flexibility to use reward points on categories other than travel.
Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve
We have explained everything you need to know about these travel reward cards, the perks they offer, and the way you can redeem the points earned through them. Moving on, let us do an elaborate comparison of Chase Sapphire Preferred vs ReserveCard on the basis of different parameters. This information will help you understand which card aligns the most with your requirements, and decision-making gets easier.
| Card Detail | Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card | Chase Sapphire Reserve® |
|---|---|---|
| Rewards and Points | It offers reward points on a wide purchasing categories other than travel. You earn rewards while making purchases at online streaming platforms and online grocery shopping. | It might not cover categories that get covered under Chase Sapphire Preferred, but it offers a higher number of reward points! Where Chase Sapphire offers 5X points on travel purchases, the reserve offers 10X! |
| Benefits and Perks | The card offers travel insurance and protections in situations like trip cancellation, collisions, or baggage delay insurance. Apart from this, there is no foreign transaction fee involved, so you can use the card confidently while you are on your foreign trips. However, there are no travel credits involved. | It offers a $300 annual travel credit, which you can use during travel-related purchases. The card also offers complimentary airport lounge access and other perks, like free breakfast and room upgrades. Chase Reserve also does not have any foreign transaction fees, making it a cost-effective option for international travelers. |
| Annual Fees and Other Costs | The annual fee for Chase Sapphire Preferred card is $95, which makes it an affordable option. | The annual fee for Chase Sapphire Reserve card is $550, which is on the higher side. However, the perks that it offers make it truly worthwhile. |
| Sign-up Bonus | New users get 60,000 points after meeting the spending requirements, which is $4000 in the first three months. These points are valued at $750 at the time of redemption. | New users get 60,000 points after meeting the same spending requirement, $4000 in the first three months. However, the points are valued at $900 at the time of redemption. |
| Customer Experience and Support | There is a majority of positive reports by the cardholders. They report higher satisfaction in terms of reward structure, annual fees, and redemption options. | Frequent travelers consider this card as a luxury product that makes their travel cost-effective and highly comfortable at the same time. They also mention the benefits of exceptional customer service that offers solutions at once. |
Conclusion
After doing a comparison of Sapphire Reserve vs Sapphire preferred travel credit cards on the basis of different parameters, it is clear that they both are promising options, but their user base is different.
While the Chase Sapphire Preferred card is apt for travelers who want to keep the annual fee lowest, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card is best for those who want premium perks and rewards and do not mind paying a higher annual fee.
The right way to choose the card is to get clarity about your requirements, keeping in mind your travel frequency.
Use the information provided above to check which card would align with your requirements and pick the one that suits you. If you still cannot come out of the dilemma, opt for the sapphire preferred and then upgrade to chase sapphire from preferred to reserve.
