Chase Sapphire Rewards: What You Need to Know
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Chase Sapphire cards offer some of the best travel rewards. Here's what you need to know, including how to earn points and redeem them for maximum value.
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Chase has two cards in the Sapphire family: Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve.
Both are highly popular travel reward cards. Both offer a large sign-up bonus and extra points on travel and dining purchases.
You can use points to purchase travel on the Ultimate Rewards travel portal at a discount, or transfer them to Chase airline and hotel partners.
Read on for everything you need to know about Chase Sapphire Rewards.
Chase Sapphire Preferred vs Sapphire Reserve
First, let's go over how the two Sapphire Cards work:
Chase Sapphire Preferred | Chase Sapphire Reserve | |
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Interest Rates and Fees | ||
Purchase APR | 17.49% to 24.49% Variable based on your creditworthiness and other factors | 17.49% to 24.49% Variable based on your creditworthiness and other factors |
Balance Transfers APR | 17.49% to 24.49% Variable based on your creditworthiness and other factors | 17.49% to 24.49% Variable based on your creditworthiness and other factors |
Annual Fee | $0 Intro Annual Fee for the First Year, then $95 | |
Benefits and Features | ||
Points Deal | Introductory Bonus Reward Points: Earn 50,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $625 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards® | Introductory Bonus Reward Points: Earn 50,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 toward airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards® |
Points | Point Rewards: 2X points on travel and dining at restaurants & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases worldwide | Point Rewards: 3X points on travel and dining at restaurants worldwide & 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases. |
Airline Status | Airline Status: $300 Annual Travel Credit (as reimbursement for travel purchases charged to your card). Complimentary Priority Pass™ Select membership for access to 1,000+ airport lounges worldwide. Enrollment required for Priority Pass Select | |
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Read our detailed Chase Sapphire Preferred vs Reserve comparison for an analysis of which card is better for you.
How Does Chase Ultimate Rewards Work
Ultimate Rewards is Chase's credit card rewards program. It offers many ways to both earn and use your points.
For Sapphire cardholders, here are some ways to earn points fast:
- Bonus points on travel and dining. Both Chase Sapphire Preferred and Reserve give you extra points on travel and dining purchases. Sapphire Preferred gives you 2x points, while Sapphire Reserve gives you 3x points.
- Shop online through Chase's shopping portal. Chase has a great online shopping portal that gives you bonus points for every $1 spent at partner merchant websites. Many popular online stores offer 3-5x bonus points, with some going up to as much as 20x points. This helps you rack up the points faster.
- Refer your friends. Chase has a Refer-A-Friend program, where you can earn bonus points if your friends and family sign up for the card through you. You can get up to an extra 50,000 points per year by spreading the word on eligible cards. Note that not all Chase credit cards participate in this program.
What can you do with your rewards? There are several ways to redeem your points, including:
- Cash back or cash equivalent. You can get statement credit, direct deposit, or gift cards at the redemption rate of 1 cent = 1 point.
- Book travel on the Ultimate Rewards travel portal. Chase has a travel booking site where you can book flights, hotels, and car rentals. With both the Sapphire Preferred and Sapphire Reserve, your points are worth more when used for travel purchases on the travel portal.
- Sapphire Preferred: points are worth 25% more toward travel on Chase Ultimate Rewards (10,000 points = $125)
- Sapphire Reserve: points are worth 50% more toward travel on Chase Ultimate Rewards (10,000 points = $150)
- Sapphire Preferred: points are worth 25% more toward travel on Chase Ultimate Rewards (10,000 points = $125)
- Transfer points to Chase travel partners. You can also transfer your points 1:1 to one of Chase's 7 airline partners and 4 hotel partners.
Ultimate Rewards Airline and Hotel Partners
Chase has 7 airline partners and 4 hotel partners. All partners allow you to transfer your points 1:1 to their loyalty programs. In our opinion, this is the most valuable feature of the rewards program. This gives you the potential to use your points at a much higher value.
Chase's travel partners are:
Airlines:
- United MileagePlus
- Southwest Rapid Rewards
- British Airways Executive Club
- Air France Flying Blue
- Korean Air SKYPASS
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
Hotels:
- Hyatt Gold Passport
- Marriott Rewards
- IHG Rewards Club
- Ritz-Carlton Rewards
Be careful, not all airline partners are equal. In fact, some have downright terrible redemption value. Read our Do's and Don'ts of Chase Transfer Partners before you make a points transfer.
- Transfer to United as they never charge a fuel surcharge.
- Transfer to Hyatt as most redemptions are valued at well over 2 cents a point. Hyatt, which has a great award chart, is the most value hotel partner.
- Use Flying Blue or Korean Air SKYPASS to fly from the continental U.S. to Hawaii, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.
Is It Worth It
Both Chase Sapphire cards offer great rewards and benefits. If you're a frequent traveler, they're worth checking out. Chase Ultimate Rewards is one of the best credit card reward programs on the market. We love that it offers more value for Chase Sapphire cardholders when using their points on the travel portal. The ability to transfer to hotel and airline partners is another valuable feature that make your points worth even more.
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Next Step: View the issuer's official application, terms, and details
Editorial Note: This content is not provided by Chase. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by Chase. This site may be compensated through the Advertiser's affiliate programs.
Disclaimer: This content was first published on August 25, 2017. Information including APR, terms and benefits may vary, be out of date, or not applicable to you. Information is provided without warranty. Please check Chase website for updated information.
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