Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card vs. Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express

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Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express are both excellent rewards credit cards. The Chase card is geared towards frequent travelers, whereas the American Express card offers rewards on everyday purchases. Which one should you go for? Or should you apply for both?

Welcome Offer

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's over $900 when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.

Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express: Earn a $250 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card within the first 6 months. Terms Apply.

You can get a more lucrative welcome offer with the Chase Sapphire Preferred, but you only have three months to earn it. You get a smaller offer with Blue Cash Preferred, but it allows you a leisurely six months to earn it. Still, the Chase bonus is worth more, so the Sapphire Preferred wins this round.

Cash Back Rewards

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers excellent rewards for the globe-trotting consumer–or even for someone who only travels a few times a year. Not only do you get 5x points on travel when purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards, you also get 3x points on groceries, dining, and select streaming services. You also get a $50 annual hotel credit. Chase Ultimate Rewards points are highly sought after because of their value and their flexibility. You also get a 10% anniversary boost on your points, so if you’ve spend $10,000 on purchases, you can an additional 1,000 reward points.

Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express offers excellent rewards on everyday purchases. You get an industry-leading 6% cash back on groceries (up to $6,000 a year), 6% cash back on select streaming, and 3% on gas. Many families spend a good chunk of money at the grocery store, which makes this card a great deal for them.

Here are the details for each card:

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card 

Rewards:  

Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express

Rewards:

Rates and Fees

Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express has a 0% introductory APR offer for the first 12 months. After that, your rate will be 19.24% - 29.99% variable, depending on creditworthiness.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is not offering an introductory rate at this time. Your rate will be 21.49%-28.49% variable, depending on your creditworthiness.

Both cards have the same annual fee of $95, but for the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, the annual fee is waived for the first year. On the other hand, this card has a foreign transaction fee of 2.7% of each transaction after conversion to US dollars. The Chase card has no foreign transaction fee. The Chase card is better for traveling, internationally and otherwise.

Who the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is Best For

People who travel, even as little as twice a year, will be very happy with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. In addition to the generous welcome bonus and travel rewards, excellent travel benefits are included. Trip cancellation/trip interruption insurance, auto collision damage waiver, and baggage delay insurance offer peace of mind when traveling. Chase Ultimate Rewards can be extremely valuable, depending on how you redeem them. If you redeem them directly through Chase, points are worth 1.25 cents each, but you can earn more if you transfer them to Chase’s travel partners.

More frequent travelers might want to consider the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. Points are worth more, and you get a bigger welcome bonus. The annual fee is high, but you also get premium travel benefits, including airport lounge access, and you can get a $300 travel credit, which covers more than half of the annual fee.

Who the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is Best For

Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express offers excellent rewards, especially at the grocery store and on select streaming. If you’ve noticed that your grocery bill is much higher than usual, you can use this card and effectively get a 6% discount (up to $6,000 a year). You might spend more than $500 on groceries each month, but it’s also difficult to find a credit card that offers higher rewards on groceries. Anyone who values cash back rewards on everyday purchases will find this a great addition to their wallets.

If you don’t want to pay an annual fee but still want elevated cash back rewards on everyday purchases, consider the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express. This is a great card offering 3% cash back on groceries, online purchases, and gas.

Does it make sense to get both cards?

Yes, it does. Anyone who travels at all will appreciate the benefits of the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card when they’re on the road. Then they can use the cash back rewards of the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express card when shopping at home. You can easily justify both annual fees.

Approval Odds

The credit score data provided for the cards listed below comes from publicly available information in a number of forums. The accuracy of the information cannot be verified. Keep in mind that credit card issuers consider more than an applicant’s credit score and that underwriting standards change over time.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express

American Express seems more willing to consider lower credit scores than Chase (although your credit limit might not be very high). If your credit score is in the mid-700’s and you really want both cards, apply for the Sapphire Preferred card first to make sure you’re not violating Chase’s 5/24 rule, and then apply for the Blue Cash Preferred.