Without a doubt, the number one credit card anyone and everyone interested in getting in the points game should have is the Chase Sapphire Preferred. The *only* exception to this is if you can find value in it's sister card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve; which has a higher annual fee but additional benefits to off-set the fee. This post dives into the Reserve, where as the post below is dedicated to the Preferred.
Note: you can only hold ONE of these cards at a time. You will not be approved for one card if you already hold the other!
While I have a post from Spring 2025 about the Sapphire Preferred (CSP), it highlights an elevated offer that is no longer available and some older content. I wanted to make a fresh new post dedicated to the CSP and it's new standard offer!
Chase Sapphire Preferred
Annual Fee: $95
Current (Standard) Offer: Spend $3,000 in 3 months and earn 75,000 points
5/24: This is a personal card and therefore WILL take up one spot in your Chase 5/24 count. (What's Chase 5/24?
Benefits:
- Ability to transfer to travel partners*
- $50 annual hotel credit (for hotels booked in the Chase Portal and charged to this card)
- Doordash: Annual free DashPass (which saves you on delivery fees) AND monthly $10 credit for non-restaurant door dash purchases)
- Earn 3X points on dining (including food delivery services)
- Earn 3X points for online groceries (excludes Target, Walmart, and Wholesale Clubs)
- Earn 2X points on travel
- Travel insurance protection (for travel charged to this card)
I truly recommend starting with this card and starting with the Chase ecosystem because I find it the most straightforward and easiest to use. I know, some of you are rolling your eyes because I've thrown a lot of information at you that feels overwhelming and it IS a lot of info; but I promise - Chase Points Travel is user friendly!
Without a doubt, this is definitely the best place to start. Chase credit cards allow you to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards (CURs), which are their universal flexible points. While you can use CURs to book travel in the Chase Travel Portal, this is much like booking a trip through a third party service like Expedia. You don't earn any loyalty or benefits. The best way to maximize your value of your points (aka spend less points for travel) is to transfer to Chase Travel Partners. You can view all of Chase's Transfer Partners and how/why to transfer in this post.
However, there are only a few Chase credit cards that allow you to transfer your Chase points directly to travel partner. Basically any Chase card with an annual fee. The Sapphire cards are the only non-business cards that allow this. Chase points are considered highly flexible because they transfer to 3 hotel chains (Hyatt, Marriott, and IHG), and 11 airlines (but keep in mind, airlines work in alliances or partnerships. So while there are 11 airlines with a direct transfer, alliances give you the opportunity to book flights with over a dozen airlines).
Without a doubt, this is definitely the best place to start. Chase credit cards allow you to earn Chase Ultimate Rewards (CURs), which are their universal flexible points. While you can use CURs to book travel in the Chase Travel Portal, this is much like booking a trip through a third party service like Expedia. You don't earn any loyalty or benefits. The best way to maximize your value of your points (aka spend less points for travel) is to transfer to Chase Travel Partners. You can view all of Chase's Transfer Partners and how/why to transfer in this post.
However, there are only a few Chase credit cards that allow you to transfer your Chase points directly to travel partner. Basically any Chase card with an annual fee. The Sapphire cards are the only non-business cards that allow this. Chase points are considered highly flexible because they transfer to 3 hotel chains (Hyatt, Marriott, and IHG), and 11 airlines (but keep in mind, airlines work in alliances or partnerships. So while there are 11 airlines with a direct transfer, alliances give you the opportunity to book flights with over a dozen airlines).
I know a lot of people are hesitant to open credit cards with annual fees. The Sapphire Preferred DOES have an annual fee of $95/year, but there are benefits to offset that cost. (and honestly, the $95/year to have the ability to transfer to travel partners like Hyatt, Southwest, and United to take free trips we've taken is worth it alone to me).
Summary
I will forever hold a Chase Sapphire card to maintain my ability to transfer my Chase points to travel partners! The CSP, with it's low annual fee, is a great card to have at least one household member hold at all times. Keep in mind that when transferring points from Chase to a Transfer Partner (Hotel or Airline), the name on the CSP card MUST match the name on the loyalty account you're transferring too.
Since I generally like to have our flights and hotels booked under my name/accounts when I can, I will always hold a Sapphire card to have this ability.
If you open this card, I would truly appreciate if you use my referral link! This doesn't cost you a cent, but provided me with some extra points and keeps all of my content free! Thank you in advance!
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Looking for more information on points/miles? You can find all of my points talk posts linked here.
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Curious what cards I (and/or my husband) have, and why? Read here!
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