Chase Sapphire Preferred

Rewards by category

Our take

The Chase Sapphire Preferred fits a household whose spending leans toward travel and everyday going-out categories. It earns 5x on flights, hotels, and other travel booked through Chase Travel, plus 3x on dining, gas, EV charging, and streaming with no caveats attached. Its 3x on EV charging is as high as any uncapped, condition-free rate we track — everything ranked above it is a rotating quarter, a warehouse-club card, or a capped mobile-wallet play — which is solid depth for one $95 card.

The tradeoff is structural. The 5x travel rate only applies when you book through Chase Travel; book direct and you drop to the card's lower direct rates (2x on flights and hotels, 3x on other travel). The base rate is 1x, and SwipeCaddy values Chase Ultimate Rewards points at one cent each, so uncategorized spending earns roughly 1%. Our data records a 100,000-point bonus (after $5,000 in 3 months), but past year one the $95 annual fee still has to be covered by the earning rates alone.

In a small wallet, treat it as the bonus-category card, not the floor. Route Chase Travel bookings, restaurants, fuel or EV charging, and streaming subscriptions to it, and let a flat-rate card absorb everything that would otherwise earn 1x. It also charges no foreign transaction fee and runs on the Visa network, which makes it a sensible card to carry abroad.

The math

Run $250 a month of flights through this card and you're earning about $150 a year at our conservative valuations. Against the $95 annual fee, that top rate needs roughly $275 a month of flights spend before it beats a no-fee flat 2% card.

Store bonuses

• Lyft5x

Common questions

Does Chase Sapphire Preferred have an annual fee?

Yes — $95 per year.

What does Chase Sapphire Preferred earn on flights?

5x on flights (book via chase travel).

What rewards does Chase Sapphire Preferred earn on everything else?

1x on all other purchases, in Chase Ultimate Rewards.

Do you have to book through Chase Travel to earn 5x with the Chase Sapphire Preferred?

For the 5x, yes — flights, hotels, and other travel earn that rate only when booked through Chase Travel. Direct bookings earn the card's lower direct rates instead: 2x on flights and hotels, 3x on other travel. If you prefer booking direct, compare the portal price first, and plan around the direct rates when you weigh this card.

Does the Chase Sapphire Preferred charge foreign transaction fees?

No. The card charges no foreign transaction fee, so purchases made outside the US are not marked up. It runs on the Visa network. That makes it a reasonable default for international trips, especially for dining, which earns 3x with no listed conditions. Just remember the 5x travel rates still require booking through Chase Travel.

Related reading

• How we value points and miles (and why our numbers are lower than everyone else's)SwipeCaddy ranks cards by reward rate × a conservative cash value per point: 1¢ for cash back and transferable points (Chase, Amex, Citi, Capital One, Bilt), 1.1–1.3¢ for airline miles, 0.4–1.4¢ for hotel points, and 0.8–0.9¢ for store currencies. Optimistic transfer values are recorded for context but never ranked, because most people never achieve them.