For a limited time, Chase is offering 80,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months. Oftentimes, the sign-up bonus is only 60,000 points, so now is an especially good time to pick up the card.
How to earn points
The Chase Sapphire Preferred earns multiple points in a variety of spending categories, which makes it a flexible card that can meet the needs of many types of people. Let’s break them down.
First, the Sapphire Preferred earns five points per dollar spent on all purchases made through the Chase travel portal. This is the card’s most lucrative spending category. Personally, I only ever use the Chase portal to take advantage of the annual $50 hotel credit; last year, I put it toward an airport hotel for a long layover. Otherwise, I try to book directly with airlines and hotels so I can earn miles and points for my flights and stays.
That said, you can still use this card for travel spending. The Sapphire Preferred still earns two points per dollar spent on travel not purchased through Chase. For this card, “travel” has a generous definition: It includes airfare and hotel bookings, but also Airbnbs, car rentals, cruises, taxis—even parking garage fees. Two points per dollar isn’t the most lucrative earning rate (I use my American Express Platinum Card to earn five points per dollar spent on airfare instead), but the broadness of what counts as “travel” for the Sapphire Preferred can more than make up for it.
This card’s other spending categories are more competitive: You earn three points per dollar spent on dining worldwide (including eligible delivery services and takeout); on streaming services (Hulu, Netflix, Spotify, and Apple Music all count); and on online grocery stores (this excludes Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs, but includes meal kit delivery services). So even when you’re not on the road, the Sapphire Preferred can still earn points that could be redeemed for future travel.
Currently, there’s also a unique spending category for the card: You’ll earn five points per dollar spent on qualifying Lyft rides through March 2025. This promotion may or may not be extended, so if you’re a frequent Lyft user, this card is worth considering.
And finally, the Sapphire Preferred has one extra special benefit to it: the 10 percent anniversary points bonus. Every year, on your account’s anniversary, you’ll get a number of bonus points equal to 10 percent of the total amount of points you earned in the past 12 months. For example, if you spent $30,000 on the card in one year and earned 30,000 points, you’d get another 3,000 points simply for paying your annual fee and keeping the card for another year.
How to spend/redeem points
You can easily spend your points directly through Chase’s travel portal; the sign-up bonus of 80,000 points alone is worth $1,000 if you book flights, hotels, or rental cars via Chase. When you’re ready to make a redemption, however, I recommend transferring your points to one of Chase’s many airline and hotel partners.
For example, even just 55,000 points transferred to Air France could get you a one-way business class flight from New York to Paris—a ticket that could cost upwards of $5,000 if you paid for it in cash. This is the golden rule of points and miles: It takes a little time and research to find the right airlines and the right flights for you, but converting points into airline miles in this way will almost always get you more bang for your buck.
