Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card vs. Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card

Frequent travelers will want a credit card that offers a hearty welcome bonus and generous ongoing rewards. The question is, should you go for a co-branded airline card like the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, or should you go with the more flexible Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card? Both have advantages, so let’s compare them so you can figure out which is best for you.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Overall Rating
4.9

Welcome Offer
Get up to $1,050 in Chase Travel℠ value. Earn 60,000 bonus points

Rewards Range
1x - 5x points

Annual Fee
$95

Regular APR
20.99% - 27.99%

0% APR on Purchases

0% APR on Balance Transfers
N/A

Foreign Transaction Fee
$0

Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card

Overall Rating
4.5

Welcome Offer
Earn 50,000 Bonus Miles

Rewards Range
1x to 2x miles

Annual Fee
$0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150.

Regular APR
20.49% - 29.49%

0% APR on Purchases
N/A

0% APR on Balance Transfers
N/A

Foreign Transaction Fee
None

Welcome Offer

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: Get up to $1,050 in Chase Travel℠ value. Earn 60,000 bonus points after $4,000 in purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. That's worth $750 when redeemed through Chase Travel. Plus, get up to $300 in statement credits on Chase Travel purchases within your first year. Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card: Earn 50,000 Bonus Miles after you spend $2,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Terms Apply.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card certainly offers a more flexible bonus. You can use points to book hotels, flights, or car rentals. If you don’t have a preference as to which airline you fly, you can transfer your points to a Chase partner, which includes Southwest, Virgin Atlantic, Air Canada, Marriott, and IHG hotels, plus others. Delta Skymiles are only good on Delta, so we give Chase the win.

Cash Back Rewards

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card gets you 5x points on travel purchased through Chase Travel(SM), 3x points on dining, 3x points on grocery store purchases, 3x points on select streaming, 2x points on all other travel, and 1x point on all other purchases. You also get a $50 credit each year for hotel stays purchased through Chase Travel(SM) and on your account anniversary, you get bonus points equal to 10% of your total purchases for the year. So, if you spent $10,000, you’ll get an additional 1,000 bonus points. Free access to DashPass is included, which gets you $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027. You can also get 5x points per dollar on Lyft rides through 3/31/25. Points on this card are also worth 25% more when you redeem them for travel through Chase Travel(SM).

Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card gets you 2x points on Delta purchases, 2x at U.S. supermarkets, 2x points at restaurants worldwide and 1x point on all other purchases. You also get your first bag checked free on Delta flights, 15% off when you use miles to book Award travel through Delta, and a $200 Delta Flight Credit: After you spend $10,000 in purchases on your card in a calendar year, you can receive a $200 Delta Flight Credit to use toward future travel.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers better ongoing rewards and a greater variety of them, so Chase wins this category.

Here are the details for each card.

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Rewards:

1x points
On all other eligible purchases
1x points on all other purchases
2x points
Travel
2x points on all other travel purchases
3x points
U.S. supermarkets
Earn 3x points on online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
3x points
Streaming services
Earn 3x points on select streaming services
3x points
Dining
3x points on dining
5x points
Travel
5x points on travel purchased through Chase Travel(SM)

Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card

Rewards:  

1x miles
On all other eligible purchases
Earn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases.
2x miles
U.S. supermarkets
Earn 2X Miles at U.S. Supermarkets.
2x miles
Delta Purchases
Earn 2X Miles on Delta purchases.
2x miles
Dining
Earn 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the U.S.

Rates and Fees

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has an annual fee of $95. Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card has an annual fee of $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $150. Neither card has foreign transaction fees, and neither card is currently offering a 0% introductory APR rate.

Who the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is Best For

If you travel a few times a year and want a few perks, you can’t go wrong with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. You get a nice set of rewards, a generous sign-on bonus, and one of the most versatile, low-cost travel cards around. You can transfer your points to any of Chase’s travel partners. If you have other Chase cards, you can combine all of your Ultimate Rewards points and redeem them on Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. That gets you a 25% boost in value when you redeem your points for travel through Chase Travel(SM). It’s an excellent card and one we highly recommend.

Who the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card is Best For

If you travel a few times a year and prefer to fly Delta when you do, the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card is perfect for you. You get some nice perks with Delta, like a free checked bag and 20% off eligible in-flight purchases. You won’t get a lot of rewards other than the Delta benefits, but if you like Delta, this card could be a good fit.

Does it Make Sense to Get Both Cards?

Possibly. If you get both cards, you could use the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card card when you fly Delta and use the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card for all other travel. The Chase card also gets you better rewards on restaurants and groceries. When you book a trip, if your first step is to check Delta to see what flights they have, you’ll appreciate the perks of the Delta card.

Approval Odds

The credit score data 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

App StatusDateCredit ScoreBureauCredit Limit
Approved05/20/2024
750
Not Provided
$7,500
Approved05/02/2024
797
Experian
$22,500
Approved05/02/2024
848
TransUnion
$22,500
Approved06/03/2024
716
Not Provided
$5,000
Approved03/04/2024
590
Not Provided
$5,000
Approved01/30/2024
645
Equifax
$9,000
Approved01/30/2024
645
TransUnion
$9,000
Approved01/30/2024
666
Experian
$9,000
Approved05/06/2024
832
Not Provided
---
Approved05/06/2024
833
Not Provided
---
Denied01/04/2024
783
Not Provided
---
Denied04/18/2024
707
Equifax
---
Denied04/18/2024
714
Experian
---
Denied01/17/2024
795
Not Provided
---
Denied05/29/2024
727
Not Provided
---
Denied06/12/2024
770
Not Provided
---

Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card

App StatusDateCredit ScoreBureauCredit Limit
Approved06/14/2024
684
Experian
$1,000
Approved05/02/2024
756
Experian
$5,000
Approved09/20/2023
702
Experian
$10,000
Approved07/07/2024
669
Experian
$1,000
Approved07/07/2024
677
TransUnion
$1,000
Approved07/07/2024
686
Equifax
$1,000
Approved12/09/2023
678
TransUnion
$10,000
Approved12/09/2023
695
Experian
$10,000
Approved12/09/2023
698
Equifax
$10,000
Approved02/08/2024
654
TransUnion
$5,000
Approved02/08/2024
660
Equifax
$5,000
Approved02/08/2024
664
Experian
$5,000

Chase is a conservative lender, and you’ll need excellent credit to be approved for a card. On the other hand, American Express seems more willing to extend credit to those with fair credit (although not necessarily a high credit limit). If you have fair to good credit, the American Express card might be a better bet. Also, be aware of Chase’s 5/24 rule. If you’ve opened more than five credit cards in the past 24 months, Chase will likely deny your application.