Chase Sapphire Preferred benefits guide

The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is one of the best rewards cards out there. With an outstanding welcome offer, the ability to earn valuable Chase Ultimate Rewards points and stellar benefits, it is a card that nearly everyone interested in rewards credit cards should consider. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the benefits that come with this popular mid-tier travel card.

Chase Sapphire Preferred benefits

For $95 a year, the Chase Sapphire Preferred packs in a punch with a slew of benefits, for travel, shopping and otherwise. Any travel you book through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal will earn you 5X points, whereas travel booked on other third-party sites will still garner 2X points. The card’s strength also lies in providing rewards in non-travel, fixed categories like restaurants, select streaming services and online grocery purchases earning 3X points.

You can also earn a 60,000-point welcome offer, after spending $4,000 in the first three months. The bonus can be worth up to $750 when redeemed through the Ultimate Rewards travel portal since each point is worth 1.25 cents if redeemed that way.

However, the Sapphire Preferred doesn’t stop its value at its rewards as it also offers various travel, shopping and dining perks.

Travel benefits

Annual hotel credit

You receive $50 in hotel credit annually when your account opens. When you book hotel stays through the Chase portal, a statement credit of up to $50 will automatically be awarded. You should know, the 5X points on Chase Ultimate Rewards travel won’t apply to any hotel purchases until you’ve used up the $50 hotel credit (which should be fairly easy to do).

New cardholders can take advantage of this benefit immediately, while existing customers can start using this credit after their next account anniversary.

No foreign transaction fees

The Chase Sapphire Preferred card has no foreign transaction fees, so it’s a great card to use when traveling abroad. You can request to be charged in the currency of the country where you’re traveling and not get hit with any additional fees.

Trip cancellation/interruption insurance

If a trip that you paid for with your Sapphire Preferred card is canceled or cut short due to sickness, severe weather, quarantine imposed upon you or other covered situations, you can take advantage of the Sapphire Preferred’s trip cancellation and interruption insurance. You can get up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip to reimburse you for costs like prepaid hotels, fares or activities.

This type of travel insurance is usually reserved for luxury travel cards, which tend to charge higher annual fees. It’s a great perk to have up your sleeve, especially as plans are still liable to change as the COVID-19 pandemic continues on.

Auto rental collision damage waiver

One of the best travel benefits of the Chase Sapphire Preferred is its car rental insurance. You can decline the insurance offered by your rental company, and the Sapphire Preferred will provide a collision damage waiver. This covers the cost of repairs to your rental if it is damaged or stolen but does not cover liability or personal injury. The best part is that unlike the car rental insurance with many credit cards, it is primary car insurance, which means you do not need to file a claim with your auto insurance provider first.

Baggage delay insurance

If your bags are lost or delayed for more than six hours when traveling on a trip paid for with your Sapphire Preferred, you can be reimbursed up to $100 a day for five days. This can cover travel necessities like toiletries and clothing. You, the primary cardholder and all immediate family members traveling with you are covered by the insurance.

To be eligible, you must report your lost or delayed baggage to your travel supplier, like the airline with which you flew. Some items are not covered like hearing aids, jewelry, cameras and more.

Lost luggage reimbursement

Has your luggage been lost, stolen or damaged during your trip? Once you’ve reported the lost or stolen baggage to your airline (or other transportation company), and the airline reimbursed you less than the cash value of your items, you can file a claim with the Chase Sapphire Preferred card.

Of course, if you accidentally left some possessions behind, they won’t be considered lost or stolen. This particular benefit can be quite useful — covering a max of $3,000 per person, per trip. There is also a sub-limit of $500 on jewelry and watches and $500 on cameras and other electronic equipment per person, per trip.

Shopping protections

Even though the Sapphire Preferred doesn’t give bonus rewards on any shopping categories, you may still want to use the card when making non-travel purchases thanks to the following benefits.

Purchase protection

If you pay for a purchase with your Chase Sapphire Preferred card, you are also covered for damage or theft for any recent retail items, up to 120 days from the date of purchase. You can be reimbursed up to $500 per claim and $50,000 on your account.

Extended warranty protection

Paying with your Chase Sapphire Preferred card can also give you an additional year of extended warranty protection. This is on top of any warranty offered by the manufacturer and on eligible warranties of three years or less.

Other perks

Besides travel and purchase protections, the Chase Sapphire Preferred offers a few other noteworthy benefits.

DashPass subscription

Sapphire Preferred cardholders receive a complimentary one-year subscription to DoorDash DashPass. This includes a $0 delivery fee and reduced service fees on orders over $12 for unlimited orders using the DoorDash or Caviar apps. New cardholders have until Dec. 31, 2024, to activate the subscription and take advantage of this offer.

Chase Dining

Chase has partnered with global dining reservation platform Tock to offer Chase Dining, a hub for Sapphire Preferred cardholders. Through your Ultimate Rewards account, you can book reservations and unique dining experiences at more than 4,000 restaurants across 200 cities and 30 countries worldwide.

Redemption options

Arguably one of the card’s main strengths is that it earns Chase Ultimate Rewards points, which can be used in many different ways. As previously mentioned, when you redeem points for travel via the Ultimate Rewards portal using the Sapphire Preferred, your points are worth 1.25 cents each, versus the standard 1 cent.

Other redemption methods available to you are statement credit, gift cards, Apple products through the Apple Ultimate Rewards Store, and cash back.

One of the best ways to stretch the value of your Ultimate Rewards points is to transfer them to a Chase hotel or airline travel partner. Most of Chase’s partners transfer at a 1:1 ratio, so your 60,000 Ultimate Rewards could turn into 60,000 World of Hyatt points (valued at 1.7 cents each by The Points Guy as of August 2022).

Additionally, if you have more than one Chase Ultimate Rewards card, like the Chase Freedom Flex℠ or Ink Business Cash® Credit Card, you can combine your points and redeem them for the highest possible value.

Maximizing your Chase Sapphire Preferred’s benefits

There are a few things you’ll want to do to get the most from your Chase Sapphire Preferred card. First, activate your DoorDash DashPass benefit right away. While it comes free with your Sapphire Preferred card, you must activate it before Dec. 31, 2022.

Use the card for large purchases to take advantage of the purchase protection benefit and additional extended warranty. And of course, using the card for travel purchases allows you to take advantage of trip cancellation/interruption, baggage delay and car rental insurance coverage.

Additionally, be sure to track your spending in the first few months so you can earn the sign-up bonus, and don’t forget to check your redemption offers in the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal to redeem your points for the best available value.

Bottom line

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is an outstanding credit card and is worth it for just about anyone interested in travel rewards. The 60,000 Ultimate Rewards points from its welcome offer are worth up to $750 when redeemed for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards, and it earns high rewards on some everyday categories. Between its rewards earning potential and array of travel benefits, it’s easy to see why the Sapphire Preferred is one of the most popular travel cards on the market.