Welcome Bonus
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offers 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 in the first 3 months. According to Chase, this bonus is worth $750 when you redeem them through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card offers 70,000 bonus points after you spend $2,000 in the first 6 months of card membership. Delta SkyMiles are worth about 0.01 each, so this bonus is worth roughly $700.
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, 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 Ultimate Rewards® 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 with your DoorDash subscription, as well as 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.
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 $100 flight credit when you spend $10,000 in a calendar year.
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:
Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card
Rewards:
Rates and Fees
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has an annual fee of $95. Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card has an annual fee of $99, but it's waived for the first year. 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. 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 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 Status | Date | Credit Score | Bureau | Credit Limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Approved | 03/23/2022 | Equifax | ||
| Approved | 03/23/2022 | Experian | ||
| Approved | 09/21/2022 | Experian | ||
| Approved | 05/28/2022 | Not Provided | ||
| Approved | 06/26/2022 | Equifax | ||
| Approved | 06/26/2022 | Experian | ||
| Approved | 06/26/2022 | TransUnion | ||
| Approved | 07/06/2022 | Experian | ||
| Approved | 09/21/2022 | Equifax | ||
| Approved | 12/04/2022 | Experian | ||
| Denied | 08/07/2022 | Not Provided |
Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card
| App Status | Date | Credit Score | Bureau | Credit Limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Approved | 07/20/2020 | Experian | ||
| Approved | 06/09/2021 | Not Provided | ||
| Approved | 03/09/2022 | TransUnion | ||
| Approved | 03/09/2022 | Experian | ||
| Approved | 04/01/2022 | Not Provided | ||
| Approved | 11/23/2021 | Experian | ||
| Approved | 10/10/2020 | TransUnion | ||
| Approved | 10/10/2020 | Experian | ||
| Approved | 10/10/2020 | Equifax | ||
| Approved | 12/03/2021 | TransUnion |
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.