Chase Sapphire Preferred
Chase's Starter Travel Card
Practical Recommendation
The Sapphire Preferred is Chase's approachable travel card that hits the sweet spot between earning power and manageable complexity. At $95 per year, it's one of the few travel cards that can genuinely pay for itself through normal spending without requiring you to change your lifestyle or track monthly credits. The $50 hotel credit alone gets you halfway to breaking even, and the strong dining/grocery earning rates do the rest.
Day-to-day: Put all dining and online grocery shopping on this card for 3x points. Book travel through Chase Travel when convenient for 5x points, or transfer to partners when award seats make sense. Use the portal's boosted redemptions (often 1.25-1.5x on flights) when transfers don't beat cash prices. Set a calendar reminder to book one prepaid hotel through Chase Travel each year to trigger the $50 credit—it's free money if you travel even occasionally.
Caveats: No lounge access, so you're paying gate prices for airport food. The 3x grocery only works for online orders, not in-store shopping. Chase Travel can sometimes be pricier than booking direct, especially for hotels where you'd earn elite benefits. The portal's boosted redemptions vary wildly—flights might get 1.25x while rental cars stay at 1x, so always do the math.
Best pairing: This card works well as a standalone travel setup, but if you want to maximize the Chase ecosystem, add a Chase Freedom Flex or Freedom Unlimited for rotating 5x categories or flat 1.5x earning. All points pool together, giving you more flexibility for transfers and redemptions without stepping up to the Reserve's $550 fee.
Credits
Practical Advice
This is what makes or breaks a card for you. If you can use these credits in your normal spend, the perks and protections are all bonus for you. We have a calculator at the bottom of this section to help you calculate that. Below we break down exactly what every credit is to show you if it's easy or if they're going to make you jump through 17 hoops to redeem it.
- $50 Hotel Credit (each account year) – Automatically reduces the cost of prepaid hotel bookings made through Chase Travel (taxes and fees count). Easy win if you book one hotel night a year in the portal; $0 value if you never use the portal.
| What It Is: | $50 statement credit each account anniversary year for prepaid hotel purchases made through Chase Travel (taxes and fees eligible). |
| How It Works: | Pay with your card in the Chase Travel portal; the credit auto-applies against eligible prepaid hotel charges. |
| Gotchas: | Portal-only, prepaid only; if you always book direct or with points, you may not use it. |
| Who Actually Benefits: | Anyone who books at least one prepaid hotel night through Chase Travel each year. |
| Practical Value: | Very easy $50 if you use the portal annually; otherwise $0. |
Your credits reduce the annual fee. Any perks, protections, or earning rates you use are essentially free value on top.
Perks
- 3x Everyday Categories – 3x dining worldwide, 3x online grocery (excluding big-box stores), and 3x on select streaming services. Solid return in real life spending.
- Elevated Earn in Portal – 5x on flights, hotels, car rentals, cruises, and activities booked through Chase Travel helps points pile up quickly when you like keeping it simple.
- Lyft Earn Bonus – 5x on Lyft rides through September 30, 2027; use it when rides beat public transit.
- 10% Anniversary Points Bonus – Each account anniversary, you get a bonus equal to 10% of the total dollars you put on the card the prior year (spend $10,000 → 1,000 bonus points). Nice, set-and-forget extra.
- Boosted Portal Redemptions (Points Boost) – When you book through Chase Travel, your points get a built-in boost on many redemptions (for example, flights often price at 1.25×–1.5×, and some hotels up to 1.75×). It's a straightforward way to beat the 1¢ baseline without award-chart homework. Terms vary by category and property.
- Transfer to Airline & Hotel Partners (1:1) – Move points to major programs for potentially better value (think United, Southwest, JetBlue, Hyatt, Air Canada Aeroplan, British Airways Avios, and more). Great when award seats are cheap; use the portal when they aren't.
- DoorDash DashPass (1 year) – One year of complimentary DashPass; DashPass members also get up to $10 off each month on eligible orders (value is via DoorDash, not a Chase statement credit). Handy if you already use delivery.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees – Use the card abroad without the ~3% penalty many cards charge.
Protections
- Trip Cancellation / Interruption – Reimburses non-refundable expenses (like flights and hotels) if your trip is canceled or cut short for covered reasons, up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip. Think illness, severe weather, and more.
- Trip Delay – If your common-carrier trip is delayed 12+ hours (or requires an overnight stay), get up to $500 per ticket for meals and hotels. Keep your receipts.
- Baggage Delay – If bags are delayed 6+ hours, get up to $100 per day (max 5 days) for essentials like clothing/toiletries.
- Lost / Damaged Luggage – Coverage up to $3,000 per passenger if your checked or carry-on luggage is lost or damaged by the carrier (sub-limits apply for certain items).
- Rental Car Insurance (Primary CDW) – Decline the rental agency's collision coverage and pay with your card to get primary coverage for theft and collision damage (most rentals, up to $60,000 in the U.S.); great peace of mind on road trips.
- Travel Accident Insurance – Accidental death or dismemberment coverage up to $500,000 when traveling by common carrier. Hope to never need it, but it's there.
- Purchase Protection – New purchases covered for 120 days against damage or theft, up to $500 per claim; helpful for phones, gadgets, and small appliances.
- Extended Warranty – Adds 1 extra year on eligible U.S. manufacturer warranties of 3 years or less; good for electronics that always seem to fail at month 13.