New Look, New Benefits: Analyzing the “New” (Refreshed) Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Chase updated its popular Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card card. To be clear, it’s the same card — just with a new look and a host of new benefits and bonus categories.

But what’s new? Were any benefits or bonuses lost? Is the card worth it for you? Let’s check out the details now!

(All information about the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card was collected independently by Eye of the Flyer. It was neither provided nor reviewed by the card issuer.)

Who Can Get the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Earn the Welcome Bonus?

Chase says:

The product is not available to either (i) current cardmembers of any Sapphire credit card, or (ii) previous cardmembers of any Sapphire credit card who received a new cardmember bonus within the last 48 months. If you are an existing Sapphire customer and would like this product, please call the number on the back of your card to see if you are eligible for a product change. You will not receive the new cardmember bonus if you change products. (Bold mine)

So just keep that in mind given your respective “Sapphire” situation.

What Does The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card Earn?

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card earns Ultimate Rewards points. Those points can be used for several options, including:

• Transfer to one of Chase’s many travel loyalty program partners
• Redeem for 1.25 cents each on travel booked through Chase Travel℠. (For example, 100,000 bonus points alone are potentially worth $1250 of travel.) Keep in mind you can transfer points from other Chase cards to your Sapphire Preferred — and then redeem those points for 1.25 cents each!
• Redeem for statement credit

‘kay. So What’s New?

First, the card has a brand-new look:

Second — and more importantly — the product has a host of new benefits and bonus categories!

Did the Annual Fee Change?!

Nope. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card still carries a $95 annual fee.

10% Anniversary Bonus

Cardmembers earn bonus points equal to 10% of their total purchases made the previous year on the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. For example, $30,000 spent on the card one year will earn an additional 3,000 bonus points. And that’s on top of whatever else you earn in the card’s bonus categories.

Essentially, the least amount of points each purchase earns is 1.1X. It’s just that the “.1” doesn’t hit your account until your next year of card membership. (Hey, it’s always nice to have something to look forward to, right?)

5X: Travel Purchase Through Chase Travel

Like some other credit card providers, Chase offers its own travel booking service. (It’s like their version of Amex Travel.) So when you purchase travel through Chase Travel and pay for it on your Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, you’ll earn five (5) Ultimate Rewards points for each dollar spent.

This is a great return on flights. And, of course, you’ll still earn frequent flyer points — including elite status qualifiers.

Is it worth using the 5X for hotels? That’s up to you, of course, but I personally wouldn’t. Why? Chase Ultimate Rewards®’ travel booking service is an online travel agency (OTA). And hotels generally don’t honor elite status benefits or award loyalty program points for bookings made through OTA. (So if your hotel status and points-earning possibilities are a big deal to you, just book directly through the hotel.)

Speaking of which:

$50 Annual Credit on Hotel Stays Purchased Through Ultimate Rewards

Because Ultimate Rewards is an OTA, this is potentially a double-edged sword.

If you don’t hold (or care about) hotel status, then this statement credit is a nice discount. It’s just that you likely won’t receive your status benefits at the hotel. But even I can suck it up in most standard hotel rooms if it saves me $50.

What do you think about this benefit? Please share your thoughts in the Comments section below!

3X: Dining

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offered 2X on dining before the recent card refresh. It now offers 3X on dining purchases— including eligible delivery services (think DoorDash, Grubhub, etc), takeout, and dining out.

This is sort of a kick in the teeth to Chase Sapphire Reserve® cardholders — who also earn 3X on dining purchases but pay a significantly higher fee ($550). (All information about the Chase Sapphire Reserve® was collected independently by Eye of the Flyer. It was neither provided nor reviewed by the card issuer.)

RELATED: Chase DoorDash Benefits: A Quick Guide

3X: Select Streaming Services

If you don’t have a card that awards bonus points for streaming services, then the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is certainly a decent option. From my research, some of the eligible “select streaming services” include Apple Music; Disney+; ESPN+; Fubo TV; Hulu; Netflix, Pandora; Sling; SiriusXM; Spotify; Vudu; and YouTube TV.

But if you’re a heavy streamer, you may be more interested in checking out the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, which offers 6% cashback (as Rewards Dollars, which may be applied as statement credit or at Amazon.com checkout. Terms apply.) I believe Amex also specifically includes more eligible streaming services than Chase.

Still, 3X (or 3.3X after the 10% anniversary bonus) is good.

3X: Online Grocery Purchases (But With a Few Exceptions)

If you’re like my family, you “discovered” (or heavily ramped up your use of) online grocery services like Instacart and curbside pickup at supermarkets since March 2020. So this a certainly a welcome addition to the card.

Please keep in mind that Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs are excluded.

What’s Staying?

Chase didn’t sacrifice any benefits to make room for the new stuff. Here’s what remains the same:

• 5X on Lyft through September 2027
• 2X on travel purchases
• Receive unlimited deliveries with a $0 delivery fee and reduced service fees on orders over $12 for a minimum of one year on qualifying food purchases with DashPass (DoorDash‘s subscription service). This benefit must be manually activated by December 31, 2027.
• Redeem points for 1.25 cents each on travel booked through Chase.
• Chase Luxury Hotel & Resorts benefits
• Visa Signature benefits

Good Trip Coverage

We like that the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card comes with good trip interruption and cancellation coverage. And here’s a big plus: you only need to put a portion of your travel purchase on the card. For example, you may have a cashback balance left on a Delta Pay With Miles ticket. The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (or Chase Sapphire Reserve®) is a great card with which to pay that outstanding amount.

Yeah, Yeah. But Can I Earn Back the $95 Annual Fee?

If you’re an “I hate paying an annual fee!” person, let’s analyze how you can pretty easily recoup the card’s $95 annual fee.

First, there’s the bonus points promotion (if you’re not yet a cardmember). Even if you value Ultimate Rewards points at just a penny each, that’s hundreds of dollars back right there. (Assuming you spend $4,000 in purchases within three months of being approved for the card.) So you’ll earn back several years of the current annual fee right there alone.

$50 hotel benefit. If you take advantage of that, you’re down to $45 you need to earn back.

Again, if you value Ultimate Rewards points a cent each, you need to somehow get 4500 points to wash out that remaining $45.

Well, if you met the minimum spending requirement for the welcome bonus, you’re almost entirely there for the first year. But for each year after that, you can knock that out with just $1500 in spending across the 3X categories (dining, streaming services, online grocery purchases).

Everything after that is gravy.

And don’t forget that if something happens during a trip and you have to use the trip interruption-delay-cancellation benefits, you’ll likely recoup a lot more than that.

Final Approach

I’m impressed with the “new” Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card card. I like the new design. But more importantly, the new bonuses and benefits it offers cardholders keep in line with Chase’s other card refreshes — and offer more incentive to spend money on their cards.

Learn How to Apply

We receive a commission for certain products and services offered on this blog. If you want to apply for the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, would you please consider Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card? (Thank you!) Our affiliate partner does not give us anyone’s personal or business information; rest assured that your name and other private details aren’t revealed to us.

For rates and fees of Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, please visit this link.