Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
At Daily Drop, our mission is simple: to help you explore the world affordably and experience life-changing travel by maximizing miles and points. Our team of travel and credit card experts is here to help you make decisions about which cards belong in your wallet. Based on your travel goals, we offer unbiased advice to help you make the best choices. Keep in mind that our suggestions require responsible credit card use.
Here at Daily Drop, we score credit cards using a proprietary formula based on dozens of metrics across six key categories: annual fee, welcome offer, rewards rates, redemption value, benefits & perks, and travel protections. Higher scores indicate better overall value.
We net the annual fee against statement credits you'll likely use and focus on a welcome offer's true return on spending (ROI) rather than just the headline number. We value rewards by their actual worth in cents per point, which is why flexible, transferable points typically score highest. APR is not a standalone scoring category because we recommend paying in full to maximize points and miles, but an intro 0% APR counts as a perk.
Our reviews are editorial and experience-driven. Our team has earned and redeemed millions of miles and points and tested these cards around the world. After all, we would not be Daily Drop if we were not practicing what we preach.
Read our full methodology for more information.
Tiffany EasthamI’ve had the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card for several years and I can honestly tell you its benefits and flexibility make it one of the most consistent cards on the market, making it ideal for travel newbies and experts alike. The Sapphire Preferred usually has a solid welcome offer, which always feel nice no matter when you apply. And if you feel like spending those points, you can often get the most value by using Chase's transfer partners (more on that later).
Every single person on our team either owns the Sapphire Preferred or has in the past. Not only does its current welcome offer add value, but its everyday perks are just too good to pass up. If you’re looking to get started in the miles and points game, having the Sapphire Preferred in your wallet is simply a no-brainer. From personal experience, the Sapphire Preferred has been the gateway to some pretty sweet trips and award redemptions, all while paying a very small annual fee.
⚠️ Heads Up: Chase currently only allows you to earn a welcome offer once per Sapphire card. For example, if you previously received a welcome offer for the Chase Sapphire Preferred, that means you won't be eligible for another. Luckily, Chase does let you know if you're ineligible for the offer before you fully proceed with your application.
Annual Fee: $95
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
Ultimate Rewards points are extremely valuable given their flexibility for award bookings.
You can also transfer your points at a 1:1 ratio (except Hyatt, a 4:3 ratio) to a handful of transfer partners —and this is probably our favorite way to use Chase points to maximize their value.
This card does come with a $95 annual fee
5x per $1 on Chase TravelSM purchases, qualifying Lyft rides (through September 30, 2027), and Peloton equipment and accessory purchases over $150 (through December 31, 2027)
3x per $1 on dining, select streaming services, and online grocery (excluding Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs)
3x per $1 on vacation homes at top brands (like Airbnb and Vrbo)
3x per $1 on gas and EV charging
2x per $1 on travel purchases
1x per $1 on all other purchases
And, your points don't expire as long as your account is open.
When it comes to Chase Ultimate Rewards, the best way to maximize your points is to redeem them with travel.
[.dontreco] We don’t recommend: Turning your points into cash-back [.dontreco]
While you can redeem your points for cash back or gift cards at a rate of 1 cent per point, or use Chase's Pay Yourself Back option, it simply doesn’t provide the best value.
[.sometimesreco] We sometimes recommend: Using the Chase Travel Portal [.sometimesreco]
You can redeem your points through the Chase Travel portal through a system called Points Boost. Here, your points will be worth up to 1.5x when booking select airlines and hotels (or up to 1.75x if booking eligible premium cabin tickets!).
[.alwaysreco] We always recommend: Using transfer partners to stretch your points. [.alwaysreco]
The bottom line is — if a flight or hotel room can be bought with cash, you can use your points to book it. Transferring your Chase points to airline and hotel partners will often yield the greatest value.
[.favhotels] Our favorite hotels to book with this card [.favhotels]
Chase has three primary hotel transfer partners:
For most travelers, Hyatt tends to offer the best value due to its lower points requirements and high-quality properties. However, if you need more flexibility, Marriott Bonvoy and IHG Rewards Club are also strong choices.
[.favairlines] Our favorite airlines to fly with this card [.favairlines]
Here are the primary Chase airline transfer partners:
Transferring your Chase points is a super simple process. Simply log in to your Chase account and click on “points” in the top right corner. Then, you’ll see three dots on the top of the screen. Click those and select “transfer points to partners.” From there, you’ll be able to view any bonuses and available transfer options.
Let the travel commence!
Oh yeah, did we mention the Chase Sapphire Preferred has possibly the best list of transfer partners in the world?
In case you need convincing, here’s that list:
Are you just getting started with the miles and points game? At Daily Drop, we’re always going to recommend the Chase Sapphire Preferred as a starter card. Not only does it have a manageable annual fee, but its earning on everyday spending is top tier.
Here’s some fun math for you: The average American household spends $475.25 per month on groceries, according to the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Using the Sapphire Preferred for three months of grocery deliveries would grant you about 4,277 points. Americans spend around $300 per month on dining out, which would give you about 2,700 points. This means you'd be over two-thirds of the way to meeting your minimum spend requirement and would have earned nearly 7,000 points just from groceries and dining out. So yeah, if you’re ready to step up from cash-back beginner cards and start earning super-duper-fantastical Chase Ultimate Rewards points on everyday purchases, the Sapphire Preferred is the way to go.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is what we call a “keeper card.” Do you find yourself flying through the air quite often? Our team can certainly relate, which is why we choose to keep this magical piece of metal closeby. Just to get your creative juices flowing, our fearless leader, Mike, booked a 9-week adventure across Mongolia, China, Laos, Thailand, and Indonesia (with a quick stop in London) all with his Sapphire Preferred.
How the heck did you he do that, you ask? He would tell you it was easy thanks to one powerful card that covered every single flight, hotel, and activity. For example, he transferred points to Marriott, IHG, United, and Aeroplan, and by doing so, his entire 9-week trip was possible with one card, which has an annual fee under $100 — pretty incredible!
Let’s face it — we can’t all travel around the world hopping from hotel to hotel (as much as we’d love to). But, we can maximize PTO for some pretty incredible trips.
And when it comes time to book said trips, it’d be reeaaaal nice to have the Sapphire Preferred handy. Remember that math we just did? Let’s say you’re spending that same amount on grocery deliveries and eating out each month. By the end of the year, you’re looking at 83,400 points (and that’s without the welcome offer). Tack that on, and you’ve got 158,400 points…woah. If you only traveled twice a year, you could easily stretch those points for multiple trips, making the Chase Sapphire Preferred worth keeping around, wouldn’t you say?
Here’s a good rule of thumb: You probably shouldn’t own a credit card if you: (1) have a bad credit score, (2) are a non-U.S. resident (for this particular card), and (3) cannot control your spending. If your credit score is low, you'll need to improve it before applying for travel credit cards, as approval for the best ones, like the Sapphire Preferred, is unlikely. Be honest with yourself: if a new credit card will tempt you to overspend, it's best to avoid it. Credit cards are crucial for earning miles and points, but they require responsible use.
The recommended credit score for the Sapphire Preferred is good to excellent. But again, if you’re in a solid place with your credit and feel you are ready for a new card, don’t let the fear of being rejected keep you from applying. We’ve known several people to be rejected on their first application, call Chase to please their case, and be granted the coveted Sapphire Preferred.
Daily Drop credit ranges are a variation of FICO® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.
I’ve had this card for two years now, and the rewards and redemptions have been amazing! I’ve used it to book flights, hotels, get cashback on purchases, transfer points to miles and waiting to use it for cashback! Best decision to get this card as the $95 fee is a spec in the dust as the benefits make up for it.
I absolutely love this card. I use my CSP along with two Chase Inc cards to build a mountain of points
I have found this card is by far the best. We have used it for 2 years with almost all of our purchases including Groceries, Travel, Amazon purchases, etc. and had enough points last year to go to Europe with 25K points and roughly $250 for R/T and then this year with all the additional spending we are going again for roughly 30K R/T, what a deal.
Thanks to dailydrop, I signed up for this card a little over a year ago. Since then we have redeemed quite a bit of travel on the card using miles/points. This is are main card that we use for everything now. I was skeptical about if the $95 annual fee was worth it but so far it's saved us a lot of money in travel expenses! I just wish it came with at least 1 complementary lounge visit perk but it does not. I may upgrade or get a 2nd card in the future if we get to travel more in a few years.
I applied for the chase sapphire preferred card when they were offering 75,000 bonus points! So glad I did, this card is excellent and I have already book a flight to california with my points for a week and a half vacation to visit my cousin! The card is genuinely easy to use and worth the $95 annual fee.
Love this card! We've used it in the past two years to stay at hotels near national parks where the big hotel chains have no presence. This year alone, we've redeemed almost 200,000 points. It's a great way to stay at a park without paying $300-$400 a night!
I am recently engaged (yay!) and my fiancé and I were thinking of which card to get to make the most of all we are spending. One of my best friends encouraged me to subscribe to Daily Drop and mentioned this card. When I started diving in, and reading everything you mentioned, I knew this was it! The Ultimate Rewards can be used so many ways, and the bonus alone is worth it honestly! This will be great for the wedding, honeymoon, and ensuring we are getting a lot back while spending for the wedding. If you are wavering, get this card!! You won’t regret it!
Lots of great ways to get good redemptions with this card. A favorite recent redemption... using just a few points, a few dollars out of pocket, and the $50 hotel credit, we blessed some friends with a very nice river view hotel room.
This was my first travel rewards card. I was so fortunate to pick it up with an elevated bonus. My first redemption was to use the points from the sign up bonus to transfer points to Aeroplan, so I could fly my family to Barcelona on our first trip to Spain! This is a keeper card for its ability to unlock the options to transfer Chase points to airline and hotel partners.
I got this card a few months ago when we needed to do some work on our house. With the sign up bonus, I was able to book flights to Ireland and a rental car for my husband and I! Redemption was easy transferring points from Chase to Aer Lingus. Would definitely recommend!
We signed up for this card last year and have earned over 130,000 points so far!
The Sapphire Card is the OG in my wallet. I've had it for a few years now and have already gotten two flights and a hotel room stay out of the bonus points with many to still spare. It's the card I always recommend to my friends when they want to start branching out into travel cards.
This card is a great for newbie. I love daily drop’s emails daily, they give us great tips, information, etc. it has been great for me. I became excited about earning points by using the card for my travels.
I wasn’t sure about adding another card to my wallet, but the big amount of points offered after hitting the spending minimum swayed me. Did that on some purchases I’d already planned to do, and points dropped into my account pretty quickly. I’d never played with the Chase travel portal before, but it was easy to navigate. A friend had been asking a few of us to gather at her new mountain home in Colorado so, voilà! A trip this fall to CO via United upgraded seats on points for a reasonable fee. Done! Can’t wait! Thanks for the tips, Daily Drop! I never would’ve gotten this card otherwise.
Love this card and have used a combo of it and Chase Freedom Unlimited for the last 6 months to build up points that I've used for many hotel nights this year (mostly Hyatt, love the Hyatt program!)
I think every traveler should have this card in their wallet. While some other cards have great category spending (like Amex for groceries) or lower fees (like Venture X), this is a super solid card whose points are transferable to so many places and whose travel benefits (like global entry fees, travel credits and triple points on restaurants) are a huge win. I personally have been banking points to fly Q Suites one day!
In early 2023, I started learning about the Miles and Points world through Nate and Kara's YouTube channel and signed up for the Daily Drop newsletter. For a few months I would read the newsletter but skim over the credit card offers. In May of that year I saw information about an elevated offer for this card (80k points after spending 4,000 in 3 months), and after examining the perks I was convinced to apply. Even forgetting about travel, a great deal of the annual fee has been offset just with credits I get from merchant offers. Of course, the main point of this game is to travel, and in May of this year I was able to take advantage. I transferred 63,000 of my points to the Avios program to book a trip to Ireland! 13,000 avios from Cleveland to Dublin in economy and 50,000 avios for Dublin to Boston in business class (all on Aer Lingus). I also booked a hotel in Dublin through the chase travel portal and got a $50 credit for that. I had a fantastic time in Ireland with my brother and friend (who both had to pay cash for their journey), and the trip home was my first ever experience in a business class cabin! I am hooked now, and seeing what's possible just through funneling my usual spend through the right cards has been mind blowing. I was also able to use the trip insurance when I got stranded overnight in Charlotte on a different trip. My first flight was delayed and I missed my connection. The airline provided a hotel but I had to pay for meals and such which I got reimbursed using the trip delay insurance. The card has definitely been worth the fee.
This card has been priceless in changing my family's ability to travel. I got it 1.5 years ago with plans for my husband and I to travel to Ireland. We had an epic trip, before this the last time we had the opportunity to travel internationally was in 2009. This reawakened our love for travel and now thanks to this card we are taking our family of 4 to Costa Rica this spring. You will not regret having this card in your wallet.
My husband sent me a referral link, which earned him 10K points. I was approved right away, but it did take almost 2 weeks for me to receive my card. I also had issues registering the card and that took 4 days to resolve with Chase. I was told they thought it wasn’t me trying to register the card each time I called. Even though each time I called from my registered cellphone. They asked me questions like which car have I owned and the answers were wrong. They had the year and make correct, but the wrong color. Because of that, they thought I wasn’t me. Once the card was registered, all has worked well. Once I met the offer spending amount, the points showed up right away. I was able to easily transfer the points to my husband’s Flying Blue account where we used those points to fly business class to Tahiti. Without those points, it would’ve been thousands to fly there. While you don’t seem to earn points as fast as some cards, the low annual fee is great and the benefits like Dash Pass more than make up for the yearly fee. The one downside is booking through their portal for travel. They claim you can save 25% booking in the travel portal, but every time we have ever tried using it, the prices were always more expensive than booking with the airline or even Expedia. So the perks where you need to use their travel portal aren’t really a perk at all. You won’t earn points with the hotel and you will pay more. So when taking in account what benefits you would use prior to applying, do not list any that require you to book through Chase.
I have had this card since 2015. Very much well worth it. Thanks to Daily Drop, I also recommended it to my younger sister to get her started on her points/miles journey :)
Best for dining and getting transferrable rewards! Love transferring to Hyatt and Southwest.
We had a $4000+ reno coming up and applied for the card. The 60,000 sub was what sealed the deal for us. We just keep spending on the card looking for that perfect trip. Then came Flying Blue. We had no intention to visit Europe this year until the August promo deals hit. 15K pp 1w or 60K RT for two. IAH to CDG then 10 days later AMS to IAH. If we fly to Houston it will be $500 but driving is just 3 hrs and $125 in parking. Thanks to DD for showing us the way to this great trip. Now to find a hotel for less than 250€
I just got my first flexible points card a few months ago...earned welcome points and booked 2 nights at Hyatt in Florida. Not a great redemption but acceptable as I had specific place for a specific time.
This card has saved us a lot in hotel and airline tickets. The chase travel app works great!
Given the staggering hotel rates at my destination, I took your advice and used my Chase Sapphire Preferred UR Points for my stay. What a lifesaver. I recommend this card for its benefits.
I applied to this card when the bonus was 75k points. It is been so easy to earn a bunch of points in less than 4 months. I am planning to redeem them for the end-of-the-year trip. I already used the $50 for the hotel through their portal for my next trip. What I like about this card the most is that is excellent because of the value of its points.
I have had this card for almost ten years. I have never spent one single point- but I am planning a large trip to Europe next year and will absolutely be using the advice from Dailydrop before I make my arrangements!
I absolutely LOVE this card! With the welcome offer plus all the points I accumulated, I have been able to fly to and from Europe multiple times using my points. It’s hands down my favorite card!
I use this card for all dining and travel purchases. We cruise a lot and all the cruise expenses go on this card for that 2x miles bonus. I'm redeeming miles for booking fancy hotels before cruises. I'm really excited for the one in Puerto Rico and Italy next year!
I love this card! This is the main card I use and I love the versatility of being able to transfer to multiple travel partners. I especially use Hyatt frequently and Southwest. My husband and I booked a 7-night all-inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic with our Hyatt points from this card. And I love the small perks like Instacart plus and For Dash grocery credits. I recommend this card to everyone I know!
This is my first travel card and just getting started in the miles and points game. So excited to use the SUB for my first redemption!
I have had this card in my wallet for almost 3 years now. It’s one of my favorites! I’ve made multiple redemptions on it (round trips to Europe and the Middle East). The most recent was a round trip to Europe in July; premium economy for 35000 points with Delta (flying blue being a transfer partner is a huge win). I wish this card had some lounge perks but for the annual fee and travel protections offered, it is probably my favorite card.
This card is one of the simplest in my opinion. You can use the chase portal or transfer out.
I use this card for everything except my Bonvoy Amex. I just booked my first trip to Europe. I transferred points to Jet Blue for a one way ticket to Paris. Then I transferrer points for a one way ticket home on Air France from Bordeaux. 50000 points for Jet Blue and 62000 points for Air France. Most round trips were going to cost over 200000 points, so I felt really good with this card’s flying partners.
Great card that I've been using for awhile. I've used the rental car insurance and it was super easy and fast - even when all of my receipts were in Greek! I also love that you get DoorDash Pass for free with the card, which I use all of the time.
I signed up for this credit card in April 2023 when there was an increased sign up bonus of 90,000 points! Since then, I have used it on numerous flights including flying from Nashville to Zurich on Delta( using Virgin Atlantic points) and flights to Chicago and Florida on Southwest. I have also used this card to book hotel stays in Chicago and Indianapolis by transferring my points to Hyatt.
This was my very first travel card that I got that allowed me to transfer to travel partners... which is absolutely a game changer for the miles and points game! If you are a chase credit user, but don't have transferrable point card- this is the one you should get! For only a $95 annual fee you can usually also get a great sign up bonus and this card offers such good perks. I rated 4 stars because this is not my highest earning card as far as everyday purchases BUT it is absolutely necessary to have to be able to transfer points that I earn on my other Chase cards to this one to be able to book incredible travel deals. Great beginner travel card for anyone who doesn't want a high annual fee and already is familiar with Chase!
We just used our Chase Sapphire Preferred card to drive coast to coast across the US! We transferred points to Hyatt to book 6 hotel nights along the way. It was easy and done in the car each day.
My husband and I got this card after lots of research especially after reviewing the Daily Drop website and youtube! This card has a great point redemption value and we used this card to book our honeymoon/first international trip to get the welcome bonus. Due to all of the tips and tricks we learned from Daily Drop and Nate and Kara we are going to take the welcome bonus points and visit Germany or the UK next year! Nothing beats UR points! Thank you Daily Drop team!
I've had a Chase Sapphire Preferred card for almost 11 years. Have booked 2 flights through the Chase portal. Never understood transferring to partners. Just transferred to Singapore Airlines and my one-way ticket to Bali went from over 155,000 points to 78,500 points.
This was my first miles and points card and I used the sign up bonus and a 30% transfer bonus to book my first business class redemption. I transferred 102,000 Chase points to Iberia and paid $280 in taxes/fees to purchase two, one-way business class tickets for BOS > MAD > ZRH. Redemption value came out to roughly 10 cents a mile.
We both got the Chase Sapphire Preferred to start our miles and points journey and used the welcome offer for a trip to the Maldives in Qatar QSuites, including several hours in the fantastic lounge in Doha. I am not sure we will ever be able to travel in economy again! I recommend the CSP as the first card to all my friends and clients that are interested in miles and points.
The reviews above are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Customer reviews have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Typically speaking, you need to have good to excellent credit to be approved.
That being said, consider applying anyway (even if this is your first credit card). The reconsideration line is always there as a backup.
One of the greatest reasons to hold onto this card is its plethora of transfer partners.
Seriously, the list is insane (and it’s too much to include here). Click the link to see the full list.
With this card, you’re looking at 5x points on travel booked through Chase Travel℠, 3x points on dining, select streaming services, and online groceries, 2x points on other travel purchases, 1x points on everything else, and a $50 annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit, plus more. So yeah…lots to be excited about.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is perfect for travelers looking to get the most out of their flights and enter the miles and points game.
It offers great travel perks and a solid rewards program, letting you earn up to five points per dollar on travel purchases and three points per dollar on dining.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is a great choice, especially if you travel often. It’s perfect for those seeking a travel card without hefty fees, and its benefits can easily cover the $95 annual fee if you maximize its value. The Sapphire Preferred is a fan favorite for a reason.
Typically speaking, you need to have good to excellent credit to be approved. While it isn’t typical of Chase to give this card to someone with zero credit history, it’s also not impossible.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve has a higher annual fee than the Chase Sapphire Preferred, but it offers some premium travel perks. The answer is... it depends on your personal travel preferences.
Editorial disclaimer: opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Information was last updated Jul 3, 2026.
