Why I’m convinced the Chase Sapphire Preferred is one of the best starter cards to earn points and miles

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

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Annual Fee

$95

Regular APR

15.99%-22.99% Variable

Credit Score

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Recommended credit score. Note that credit card lenders may use many different variations of credit score models when considering your application.

Good to Excellent

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4.8 out of 5 Stars

Editor’s Rating

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Our editor’s ratings are primarily based on 3 things: simplicity, affordability, and value. Our credit card editor takes those factors into account, and comes up with a rating to best reflect how the card performs in that criteria – relative to other products we’ve reviewed.

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But the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has one major thing going for it: It’s cheap. At $95 a year, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a premium card packed with tons of potential at an entry-level price. Plus, it’s actually offering a higher sign-up bonus than the Chase Sapphire Reserve®.

With the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, you can earn 80,000 points after you spend $4,000 in the first three months of account opening. With the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, the sign-up offer has the same minimum spending requirement in the first three months, but you’ll earn 60,000 points instead of 80,000 points.

Read more: Preferred versus Reserve: How to decide which Chase Sapphire credit card is right for you

That small fee grants access to a bevy of impressive perks for such an inexpensive card which includes, but is certainly not limited to, primary car rental insurance, trip cancellation insurance, and trip delay reimbursement.

Additionally, the card earns Ultimate Rewards points, which are one of the top currencies in the points and miles world. Their value, like most other bank points, is enhanced because of their flexibility — you can transfer the Ultimate Rewards points in your Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card account to a number of travel partner loyalty programs.

Or, as mentioned earlier, you can use those points to book travel reservations through Chase’s native booking portal. When doing so, your points are worth 1.25 cents each, which provides a hefty discount compared to booking directly with cash.

Read more: How to use the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal to book flights, hotels, rental cars and more — and get the most from your points

The Sapphire Preferred earns flexible points, which can be hugely valuable

If you’re new to booking travel reservations with points and miles, you should know that flexible currencies like Chase Ultimate Rewards points are great because you have so many options for using them.

Many newcomers to the points and miles world start their journey by identifying an airline or hotel program they frequently use, then applying for that specific airline or hotel’s co-branded credit card, thinking those cards would provide significant value. They’re not wrong, necessarily, but the points and miles earned through co-branded cards are generally less valuable than transferable points (although, as with most things to do with credit rewards, that measure is somewhat subjective).

Flexible points are more valuable because when you earn points with a specific program, like Southwest Rapid Rewards, for example, they typically can not be moved or redeemed elsewhere. There are, of course, a few exceptions to this. However, bank points, like those earned with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, offer much more flexibility, which makes them more valuable by nature.

Read more: Chase Sapphire Preferred card review

For example, let’s say I earn 80,000 Southwest Rapid Rewards points with a Southwest credit card. I may find some great deals, redeeming those points for fares that would have otherwise cost quite a bit in cash. But, if I’m determined to only keep a few credit cards in my portfolio, those points can come at a moderately high opportunity cost.

In contrast, let’s say I earn 80,000 points using the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. If I need to fly on a route serviced by Southwest that costs, say, 15,000 Rapid Rewards points, I can transfer my points from Chase directly to Southwest to cover the cost. Now, I have 65,000 points left over to use as I wish. I could use my remaining points for different airline or hotel program transfers or bookings, depending on where my travels take me — or even for non-travel redemptions.

Read more: I’ve had over a dozen travel credit cards, and the Chase Ultimate Rewards program has been the most useful during the pandemic

This is how I typically use my points, transferring between various travel partners as the need arises.

The Sapphire Preferred is easy to combine with other Chase cards

Another reason I like the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is that it plays along nicely with other Chase Ultimate Rewards point-earning cards.

In addition to the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, I also have the Chase Freedom®A tooltip