The Chase Sapphire Preferred remains to be the perfect first rewards card

I’ve been on this planet of factors and miles for a very long time, and I’ve been requested extra instances than I can depend which rewards bank card vacationers ought to get first.

My reply is nearly at all times the identical: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see charges and costs).

The Sapphire Preferred has been round for over 16 years, however that does not imply it’s stale. In reality, it simply bought a refresh that made it an even stronger card to begin with whereas retaining a low $95 annual price.

Plus, for a restricted time, the Sapphire Preferred is providing 100,000 bonus factors after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening.

Can you consider something that has saved the identical worth for over 16 years but added much more worth? Because I can not.

Getting began will be the largest, scariest step. So if that is the place you’re in your rewards journey journey, listed here are 5 explanation why the Chase Sapphire Preferred remains to be the cardboard I most regularly advocate to my very own family and friends members.

Earn 100,000 useful bonus factors shortly

I promise I’m not beginning right here simply because there is a limited-time supply. But it could be foolish to begin anyplace else, as a result of rewards are solely enjoyable if you happen to even have factors to make use of.

And the quickest strategy to construct a significant factors stability is with a robust welcome bonus. Right now, for simply the third time ever, the Chase Sapphire

To earn that bonus, you’d must cost a median of $1,667 to the cardboard every month for 3 months, which can sound like rather a lot at first.

But do not forget that on a regular basis bills depend. Groceries, gasoline, cellphone payments, insurance coverage premiums, medical bills and even some utility funds can all aid you attain the spending requirement. Those routine purchases can add up surprisingly shortly and unlock a welcome bonus that TPG values at greater than $2,000 based mostly on our June 2026 valuations.

Get award factors which are straightforward to make use of

Let’s discuss what makes the Chase Sapphire Preferred particularly beginner-friendly: the easy-to-use factors.

Use the factors for as much as $1,500 in flights and accommodations through Chase Travel

There are two predominant methods to make use of Chase Ultimate Rewards factors for journey, and the simplest choice is reserving straight by Chase Travel℠.

If you understand how to e-book a visit by Expedia or one other on-line journey company, you already know easy methods to use Chase Travel. You can seek for and e-book flights, accommodations, rental vehicles and extra utilizing both money, factors or a mixture of each.

At a minimal, your factors are price 1 cent every towards journey booked this fashion. However, choose accommodations and flights and experiences qualify for Chase’s Points Boost characteristic, which may improve the worth of your factors to as a lot as 1.5 cents every.

That means the present 100,000-point welcome bonus could possibly be price as much as $1,500 in journey booked by Chase Travel.

Or, stretch your factors even additional with switch companions

If you are keen to study just a few extra rewards redemption tips, you possibly can probably get much more worth by transferring your Chase factors to one in every of Chase’s 14 airline or resort companions.

You can switch factors to applications similar to United MileagePlus, JetBlue TrueBlue and Air France-KLM Flying Blue for flights, or World of Hyatt or Marriott Bonvoy for resort stays, to call just a few. Depending on the way you redeem them, 100,000 factors can go a surprisingly good distance — whether or not that is a number of home flights, just a few nights at a resort or perhaps a business-class flight to a different continent.

Admittedly, utilizing switch companions requires slightly extra analysis than reserving by Chase Travel. But that is a part of what makes Chase Ultimate Rewards factors so interesting: You can hold issues easy, or you possibly can unlock much more worth as your confidence and curiosity develop.

The present Chase switch companions are:

• Aer Lingus AerClub
• Air Canada Aeroplan
• Air France-KLM Flying Blue
• British Airways Club
• Emirates Skywards
• IHG One Rewards
• Iberia Club
• JetBlue TrueBlue
• Marriott Bonvoy
• Singapore KrisFlyer
• Southwest Rapid Rewards
• United MileagePlus
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
• World of Hyatt

Chase Ultimate Rewards factors on the Sapphire Preferred switch to those companions at a 1:1 ratio (besides Hyatt, which is 4:3) however generally go greater with occasional switch bonuses.

This implies that 100,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards factors might turn into the equal of 100,000 United miles, Aeroplan factors, Marriott factors and the record goes on. This is effective flexibility somewhat than being locked into incomes and redeeming with one loyalty program.

The annual price is low, and it has numerous useful perks

Premium journey rewards playing cards can completely be price their annual charges. But for somebody simply getting began, it is comprehensible to hesitate earlier than signing up for a card that prices $795 and even $895 per yr.

That’s one more reason the Sapphire Preferred is such a compelling place to begin. Its annual price is simply $95, but it nonetheless affords useful journey perks and rewards that may simply justify that price.

Some perks can shortly greater than offset the annual price.

For instance, there’s now a $100 annual Chase Travel resort credit score that may greater than offset the $95 annual price if you happen to use it. Cardholders may obtain an software price credit score price as much as $120 for Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or Nexus as soon as each 4 years.

Additional Sapphire Preferred advantages embody:

• Complimentary Apple TV and Apple Music subscriptions for one yr (enrollment required by Chase Benefits & Rewards by Dec. 31, 2026)
• Strong journey protections, together with journey cancellation and interruption insurance coverage, journey delay reimbursement, and emergency evacuation and transportation protection
• Complimentary DoorDash DashPass membership (activation required by Dec. 31, 2027)
• Up to $10 in month-to-month DoorDash credit for eligible nonrestaurant orders by Dec. 31, 2027

The Sapphire Preferred strikes a candy spot by delivering significant journey and different advantages with out a yearly dedication to a pricier premium card.

Related: The 8 greatest bank cards with annual charges beneath $100

Earn factors shortly

A terrific welcome bonus just like the one accessible now can get you began, however the perfect rewards playing cards proceed delivering worth lengthy after you have earned that preliminary pile of factors.

That’s one other space the place the Sapphire Preferred shines.

The card affords sturdy incomes charges throughout quite a lot of on a regular basis spending classes — a few of which even rival or outperform playing cards with a lot greater annual charges.

• 5 factors per greenback spent on journey booked by Chase Travel
• 5 factors per greenback spent on Lyft rides (by Sept. 30, 2027)
• 5 factors per greenback spent on eligible Peloton tools and accent purchases over $150 (by Dec. 31, 2027)
• 3 factors per greenback spent on eating
• 3 factors per greenback spent on gasoline purchases and electrical automobile charging
• 3 factors per greenback spent on choose streaming companies
• 3 factors per greenback spent on on-line grocery retailer purchases (excludes Target, Walmart and wholesale golf equipment)
• 3 factors per greenback spent on trip houses at manufacturers similar to: Airbnb, Vrbo, Plum Guide, HomeAway, Homestay.com and Vacasa
• 2 factors per greenback spent on all different journey
• 1 level per greenback spent on every thing else

What I particularly recognize is that the classes are broad sufficient to seize how many individuals actually spend their cash. For instance, journey contains every thing from airplane tickets and accommodations to subway passes and even some parking garages. Dining contains every thing from high-end eating places to quick meals and DoorDash supply companies.

Since these factors are price 2.05 cents every (based on TPG’s June 2026 valuations), you’re getting anyplace from 2.05 to 10.25 cents in worth per greenback charged to the cardboard, relying on the class you are spending in.

Related: The energy of the Chase Trifecta: Sapphire Reserve, Ink Preferred and Freedom Unlimited

It’s simpler to get authorized if you end up newer to rewards playing cards

Last however not least, there is a sensible cause to begin with the Sapphire Preferred. In brief, Chase makes it simpler to get Chase-issued bank cards earlier than you get too far into your rewards bank card journey.

Chase has an unwritten however well-documented rule that it usually will not concern a brand new bank card account after getting opened 5 or extra card accounts throughout all banks within the final 24 months. Informally, this is called the Chase 5/24 rule.

That appears straightforward sufficient if you’re used to solely getting a brand new bank card as soon as each few years, at most. However, when you get into bank card rewards, it may be straightforward to make use of up these slots as you get an airline card, a resort card, and many others.

I’ve seen loads of vacationers notice they need a Chase card after they’ve already crammed up these 5 slots and are compelled to attend earlier than they’ll qualify.

Related: Here’s who’s eligible for a Chase Sapphire Preferred

Because of this restriction, it is sensible to begin by getting a Chase card, just like the Sapphire Preferred, as one in every of your first playing cards earlier than you run right into a wall with opening new Chase accounts for a while.

Related: The greatest methods to fill your 5/24 slots

Bottom line

When family and friends ask me the place to begin with incomes factors and miles of their on a regular basis lives, my reply is nearly at all times the identical.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is straightforward to make use of, versatile and rewarding. It earns useful factors, affords cardholders a number of methods to redeem them, comes with helpful journey perks and — importantly — nonetheless prices simply $95 per yr. I can not consider a lot much less that prices the identical because it did 16 years in the past.

And it actually does not harm that proper now it’s providing its highest-ever bonus of 100,000 factors after assembly the spending requirement.

But even outdoors the large bonus, my recommendation can be the identical. In my expertise, the largest mistake folks make with journey rewards is considering they should do tons of analysis simply to get began. The reality is, you need not know every thing on Day 1. You simply want to begin incomes factors with a card that is versatile, inexpensive and rewarding.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is strictly that. And 16 years after its debut, it stays one of many best entry factors into the world of factors and miles.

To study extra, learn our full evaluation of the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

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Limited-time supply: Earn 100,000 bonus factors after spending $5,000 on purchases within the first three months from account opening with the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card.