Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Reserve: An overview
Why you might want to get the Sapphire Preferred
One of the most obvious advantages the Preferred has over the Reserve is its annual fee— over $450 less. In return, the Preferred has fewer benefits but it may still be the best choice. If you’re a casual traveler or prefer to stay on land, the airport lounge access and travel credit of the Reserve may not be worthwhile. Instead, you may benefit more from the Preferred’s smaller (and thereby more easily utilized) hotel credit and an annual points bonus, so you can rack up points over time and take a big trip when you want to.
Bottom line: The Sapphire Preferred is best for infrequent to semi-frequent travelers who want to earn points on everyday purchases.
▶︎ Read more: Chase Sapphire Preferred review
Why you might want the Sapphire Reserve instead
If you travel a lot (especially flying) and spend a pretty penny on travel each year, then the idea of airport lounge access, a Global Entry membership, and a $300 annual travel credit could put the Sapphire Reserve in the winner’s circle. On top of that, the points earned on the Sapphire Reserve are worth more than the Preferred. If you book your travel through Chase Travel, the Reserve’s points are worth 1.5 cents each, while the Preferred’s are only worth 1.25 cents each.
Bottom line: The Sapphire Reserve is best for frequent travelers who spend a lot of time and money at airports.
▶︎ Read more: Chase Sapphire Reserve review
Should I get both Chase cards?
You can’t. Chase has a “one Sapphire card only” rule, meaning you can’t be the primary cardholder on both the Sapphire Preferred and Sapphire Reserve card accounts. Even if you could, we wouldn’t recommend it; the benefits of these cards have a lot of overlap so it wouldn’t be of much use to you to have both.
Welcome bonuses
Winner: Chase Sapphire Preferred
You can earn the same sign-up bonus on both the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card— 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months after opening your account. However, currently on the Sapphire Preferred, you can also get up to $300 in statement credits on Chase Travel purchases within your first year.
If you redeem your points through Chase Travel℠, the Sapphire Reserve’s points are worth 1.5 cents each, whereas the Sapphire Preferred’s points are worth 1.25 cents each. This makes the welcome bonus worth $900 in travel rewards for Reserve cardholders and $750 in travel rewards for Preferred cardholders. With the up to $300 statement credit boost of the Sapphire Preferred, the potential Chase Travel℠ value goes up to $1,050.
Other redemption options are equal for these cards— points are worth 1 cent each when redeemed for gift cards or statement credits and they transfer to select travel partners at the same 1:1 ratio.
▶︎ See our picks: Best credit card welcome offers
Earning rewards
Winner: Sapphire Reserve
The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card earns 5X points per dollar on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠, 3X points on dining, select streaming services, and online grocery purchases (excluding Walmart, Target, and wholesale clubs), 2X points on non-Chase travel purchases, and 1X points on other purchases. On top of that, Preferred cardholders get a 10% anniversary bonus, so if you spend $10,000 in the year, you’ll get an extra 1,000 points just for being a cardholder.
The Chase Sapphire Reserve® earns 5X points per dollar on flights and 10X points on hotels and car rentals through Chase Travel℠ (after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases yearly). It also earns 10X points on Chase Dining purchases, 3X points on non-Chase travel and dining, and 1X points on all other purchases.
The winner of this category depends on your personal spending habits, but the Chase Sapphire Reserve card packs a bigger punch when it comes to earning rewards on travel.
If you’re not a frequent traveler, the Sapphire Preferred card provides a few reward opportunities for everyday spending that might make it a better all-around card for your wallet.
Overall, we chose the Reserve for this category because it earns more on travel, and these are travel cards.
Redeeming rewards
Winner: Chase Sapphire Reserve
With either card, you accrue Chase Ultimate Rewards® points. You can use those points in various ways:
Redeeming through Chase Travel
You’ll maximize point values with both cards by redeeming points through Chase Travel. In this case, points earned with the Reserve card are worth slightly more. Points on the Sapphire Reserve are worth 1.5 cents each through Chase Travel, while points on the Preferred are only worth 1.25 cents each.
Transferring to Chase’s travel partners
With either card, you can take advantage of a 1:1 point transfer option. If you’re a loyalty rewards member with a leading travel program, such as United MileagePlus or the IHG Rewards Club, you can transfer your credit card points to those programs. So, for example, if you have 5,000 Chase Ultimate Rewards points, you could transfer them and get 5,000 IHG Rewards Club points. This provides some flexibility in how you manage and maximize your points value.
Statement credits or gift cards
You can also use your points to purchase gift cards or get a statement credit. Either of these options nets you a value of 1 cent per point.
Transfer partners
Both the Sapphire Preferred and the Sapphire Reserve have the same transfer partners, and points transfer at a 1:1 ratio.
Airline partners
- Aer Lingus AerClub
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- Air France KLM Flying Blue
- British Airways Executive Plan
- Emirates Skywards
- Iberia Plus
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
- United MileagePlus
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
Hotel partners
- IHG One Rewards
- Marriott Bonvoy
- World of Hyatt
Travel perks
Winner: Chase Sapphire Reserve
▶︎ Learn more: Chase Sapphire Reserve benefits guide
These are both travel rewards cards, so you can expect a variety of hotel, airline and other travel perks regardless of which you hold in your wallet.
Overall, the Reserve perks outweigh the Preferred perks in quantity and quality, but that may differ when you consider individual factors, such as which hotel chains you prefer to stay with.
Airport lounge access
The Sapphire Reserve card provides access to a complimentary Priority Pass Select membership. That equates to entry into VIP airport lounges across the globe. You can bring two guests with you for free. You’ll need to activate this membership after receiving your credit card to use this perk. Sapphire Preferred cardholders don’t get any airport lounge access benefits.
Travel insurance and coverage
Sapphire Preferred cardholders who pay for travel bookings with their credit card can enjoy peace of mind thanks to trip cancellation and interruption insurance, auto rental collision damage coverage, baggage delay coverage, and trip delay coverage.
Reserve cardholders get all of the same Chase travel insurance benefits as Preferred cardholders, in addition to lost luggage reimbursement, roadside assistance, emergency evacuation and transportation coverage, and up to $2,500 in emergency medical and dental travel benefits.
TSA or Global Entry fee coverage
If you have a Chase Sapphire Reserve card, you can get a statement credit every four years to help cover the cost of either NEXUS, TSA PreCheck or Global Entry. The statement credit is up to $120. Sapphire Preferred cardholders don’t get this benefit.
Hotel access
Chase Sapphire Preferred cardholders get special perks at Ennismore Hotel Properties. If you book with your card and stay more than three nights, the fourth night is free. You can also get $30 in beverage and food credits and various potential free upgrades.
Reserve cardholders can book with The Luxury Hotel & Resort Collection to get access to free upgrades, breakfast and other special benefits.
Annual travel credit options
The Reserve card offers a $300 travel credit to cover qualifying travel expenses annually. It can be redeemed on various travel purchases, including airline and hotel bookings. In contrast, the Preferred card offers a $50 statement credit each year toward hotel stays.
Other benefits
Winner: Chase Sapphire Reserve
The Chase Sapphire Reserve is a pretty clear winner in this category.
It offers more than $1,000 in partnership benefits, including:
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Lyft: Up to two years of Lyft Pink All-Access, when activated by December 31, 2024
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DoorDash: Minimum 12 months of complimentary DoorDash DashPass subscription, when activated by December 31, 2027.
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Instacart: Up to a year of complimentary Instacart membership, when activated by July 31, 2024, plus up to $15 in credits for Instacart purchases monthly through July 2024
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Peloton: 10x points on Peloton purchases through March 31, 2025, as long as those purchases are more than $150
The Preferred card gets you a complimentary DoorDash DashPass subscription and six months of Instacart. You can also get a $15 credit for Instacart purchases, but it’s quarterly instead of monthly. You don’t get a Lyft membership, but you can earn 5x points on Lyft and Peloton purchases through March 2025.
Fees
Winner: Chase Sapphire Preferred
At this point, you might think the Chase Sapphire Reserve card is the no-brainer choice for your wallet. However, it’s not enough for a card to have a lot of perks and rewards benefits that you like. The right credit card for you is also affordable, which means it has rates and fee structures you can live with.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred card has a $95 annual fee, in comparison to the Chase Sapphire Reserve’s $550 annual fee. Additionally, it costs $75 per additional authorized user on Sapphire Reserve, whereas authorized users are free to add on the Preferred.
Neither card has any foreign transaction fees.
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Eligibility
Winner: Chase Sapphire Preferred
You’ll need good to excellent credit to get approved for either of these cards, which is common with higher-end travel rewards cards. However, you typically need a higher credit score to get approved for the Reserve card than the Preferred.
Eligibility for the cards also takes into account other factors, including your income and current debt load. There isn’t an exact formula you can use to determine whether you will be approved for one card or the other, but you can consider the Reserve card more exclusive.
Should you get the Sapphire Preferred or Reserve?
If you’re looking for a high-end travel card with plenty of perks and the ability to rack up rewards quickly on travel spending, opt for the Chase Sapphire Reserve card.
However, those who want a solid travel card but know they won’t be able to utilize the Reserve’s premium perks may want to consider the Sapphire Preferred card. The lower annual fee also makes it easier to benefit from the rewards you do earn with this card.
