Chase Sapphire Reserve® vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

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Welcome Bonus

Chase Sapphire Reserve®: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® points are worth 50% more, 1.5 cents each, when you redeem them for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, whereas the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card points are worth 25% more, 1.25 cents each when redeemed for travel through Chase. Keep in mind that if you transfer the points to Chase partners, both cards are worth the same 1:1 transfer rate.

Rewards

Since the Chase Sapphire Reserve® is a premium travel card, it comes with more rewards. You get 10x points on hotels and car rentals and 5x points on flights when you book through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. You also get a $300 travel credit every year, as well as 10x points on Chase dining and 3x on all other dining.

The Reserve card also comes with airport lounge access and a Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card gets you a $50 hotel credit and 5x points on travel book through Chase. You get 3x points on grocery purchases and 3x points on select streaming services, which the Reserve does not offer. It also gets you a 10% anniversary point boost. So, if you spent $10,000 during the year, you can get 1000 anniversary bonus points.

Here are the details for each card.

Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Rewards:

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Rewards:

Rates and Fees

The biggest difference between these cards is that the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card has an annual fee of $95, whereas the Chase Sapphire Reserve® has an annual fee of $550. Neither card has foreign transaction fees, and neither card is currently offering a 0% introductory APR rate.

Obviously, this is a significant difference, equal to about $455. However, if you apply the $300 travel credit that you get with the Reserve card, this makes the annual fee a much easier to swallow $250. That's a difference of only $155.

Who the Chase Sapphire Reserve® is Best For

For people who travel at least three or four times a year and want airport lounge access, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® can be a terrific card. Your Chase Ultimate Reward® points are worth more when you redeem through Chase, plus you get 10x points on hotel and car rentals and 5x points on flights. If you redeem your points through Chase, that plus the $300 travel credit could make this card a great fit for the right person.

Another premium travel card to consider that doesn't have quite as high an annual fee is the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card. It also offers a $300 travel credit and TSA PreCheck credit, plus 10,000 anniversary bonus miles.

Who the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is Best For

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a fantastic card for most people. If you travel just a few times a year, don't care about airport lounge access, and want to earn rewards on everyday purchases like groceries, this is one of the best travel cards out there. Not only that, but you can get a 10% anniversary point boost, which you can apply to travel, statement credits, gift cards, or cash. The annual fee is reasonable and there is no cost to add authorized users to your card. If you're an occasional traveler, you can't go wrong with the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.

Does It Make Sense to Get Both Cards?

Chase won't let you hold more than one Sapphire branded card at once. So you really can't have both cards. For most people, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is a bigger bang for your buck. But frequent travelers may appreciate the perks of the Chase Sapphire Reserve®.

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 Reserve®

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

Both cards are issued by Chase, so they have very similar approval odds. Since you can't have both, apply for the card that's a better fit for you. If you're torn on which way to go, you may consider starting with the Sapphire Preferred and upgrading to the Reserve later.