Why the Chase Sapphire Preferred is a great first travel card

Whether you’re a travel newbie or a globetrotter, travel rewards cards are a great way to leverage your spending to earn free travel and premium perks. But with so many travel cards currently on the market, choosing the right one can be a daunting task – especially if you are a first-time travel rewards cardholder.

Before deciding, there are several key things to consider: Does the card offer a generous sign-up bonus? Will you earn bonus points on travel-related purchases? Is the annual fee affordable? Are the points flexible?

One travel rewards card that answers “yes” to all of those questions is the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. In addition to offering a 60,000-point sign-up bonus (after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months), the card gives a 2-point bonus on travel purchases and charges a $95 annual fee. Additionally, the Preferred card offers several flexible options for redeeming rewards.

Chase Sapphire Preferred card details

Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
	Rewards rate 2 points per dollar on all travel and restaurant purchases 1 point per dollar on general purchases
	Sign-up bonus 60,000 points if you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months
Why use it? The Preferred card offers a generous 2-point bonus on a broad range of travel-related expenses, from airfare and hotels to taxis and trains. Read full review	Estimated Yearly Rewards Value ($15,900 spend) $408
	Annual Fee $95

While cardholders will incur an annual fee of $95 in the first year, the Preferred card’s yearly rewards value more than makes up for it. By our estimates, the average consumer who spends $15,900 on food, gas, clothing and general purchases can easily squeeze $397 worth of value from the Sapphire Preferred card’s rewards each year.

Moreover, cardholders can get a 25 percent boost on their rewards when they are redeemed through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal.

25 percent bonus on your points 

As a Chase Ultimate Rewards card, the Sapphire Preferred card offers a variety of flexible redemption options. Cardholders can redeem points as statement credits, direct deposits, gift cards, travel or to purchase merchandise through Apple, Amazon.com or the Chase Pay app.

See Related: Guide to the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal

Additionally, cardholders get a 25 percent bonus when they redeem their points for travel through the Chase Ultimate rewards portal – taking the already generous 60,000-point sign-up bonus to another level. For example, if you redeem the 60,000-point bonus for statement credits, it will be worth $600. However, with the 25-percent boost, that same bonus will be worth $750 when redeemed through Chase’s travel portal.

Value of the Sapphire Preferred card’s sign-up bonus

Not only does the Preferred card offer a lot of value from its sign-up bonus, but its points are flexible and easy to redeem – making it an excellent choice for newbies. But if you’re feeling more adventurous and want transfer points to another program for a higher value, you have that option too.

Chase Sapphire Preferred transfer options

Pairing with other Ultimate Rewards cards 

One other major advantage of the Sapphire Preferred card is that it’s part of the Chase Ultimate Rewards card family. If you are eager to break into the world of rewards credit cards, Chase Ultimate Rewards are a fan-favorite of points hackers – due to a high point value combined with a suite of cards that can be easily paired to boost earning. That means the Sapphire Preferred is a great introductory travel card, as well as an introduction to maximizing rewards program combinations.

Chase allows you to transfer points from other Ultimate Rewards cards to your Sapphire Preferred card, which means you can rotate your Sapphire Preferred card with other Ultimate Rewards cards to earn extra points on categories not covered by the Sapphire Preferred card, boosting your overall earning rate.

See Related: Earn more Ultimate Rewards points with the Chase trifecta

For example, you can rotate in the Chase Freedom card to earn 5 percent on its rotating quarterly categories (on up to $1,500 per quarter), use the Sapphire Preferred card to earn 2 points per dollar on your dining and travel purchases and use the Chase Freedom Unlimited as your go-to card to earn 1.5 percent on the rest of your purchases, and then transfer all these earnings to your Sapphire Preferred card to score the 25-percent travel redemption bonus.

Should you apply? 

If you’re looking to dip your toe in the travel rewards game, but don’t know where to start, the Chase Sapphire Preferred is a great entry card. Along with its simplified rewards structure and bonus on travel and dining purchases, the card offers a generous sign-up bonus. Plus, the $95 annual fee is much less daunting than that of a luxury travel card.

See related: Earn up to 60,000 bonus points with Chase Sapphire cards