As someone who has covered travel and loyalty programs — and everything tied to them, including credit cards — for over a decade, it’s safe to say I’ve become a go-to resource for my friends and family. I’ve fielded all kinds of questions from them as they make decisions around where to go and how to fund their trips.
How can I go to Europe for less? How do you afford to stay at such nice hotels? How can I budget for trips when everything I already pay for (home expenses, gas, groceries, etc.) is so expensive?
But of all the questions I’m asked, one comes up most consistently: What credit card should I have to pay for everything?
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees): For a limited time, earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening.
While I’ve historically followed up such a question with a series of my own to better advise those close to me on which card may be worth having, as each credit card has its own strengths and weaknesses, recent changes to a popular travel rewards card have made it my new recommendation for most.
If you want a simple strategy for maximizing everyday purchases so you don’t have to worry about having different cards for different types of expenses, here’s why the recently refreshed Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is the only card you need in your wallet.
Related: Getting started with points, miles and credit cards to travel
Its earning rates are all-encompassing, no matter what you regularly purchase
For years, the Chase Sapphire Preferred has been a strong option for a number of everyday purchases. But on June 15, Chase announced two additional elevated earning categories that make it even easier to lean on for regular spending.
With the card, you’ll earn:
- 5 points per dollar spent on all Chase Travel℠ purchases, including flights, hotels, rental cars, vacation homes, cruises, activities and tours
- 5 points per dollar spent on Lyft rides (through Sept. 30, 2027)
- 5 points per dollar spent on eligible Peloton equipment and accessory purchases over $150 (through Dec. 31, 2027; a limit of 25,000 bonus points applies)
- New: 3 points per dollar spent on gas and electric vehicle charging
- New: 3 points per dollar spent on vacation homes booked through Airbnb, Vrbo, Plum Guide, HomeAway, Homestay.com and Vacasa
- 3 points per dollar spent on dining, select streaming services and online groceries (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- 2 points per dollar spent on all other travel purchases
- 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases
Whether you own a car or rely on ride-hailing services to get around, are regularly buying groceries for home-cooked meals or dining out, or prefer vacation rentals over hotels (or vice versa) when traveling, the Sapphire Preferred has you covered.
Related: Chase Sapphire Preferred’s new benefits and 100,000-point bonus are live: 5 things to do now
It comes with several easy-to-use benefits
While the Chase Sapphire Preferred isn’t the only card to offer a selection of monthly and annual benefits to those who have it, it has mostly avoided overcomplicating its various perks, unlike the often trickier-to-use, “coupon”-style statement credits common with more premium credit cards. Because of this, many of the extras available with the Sapphire Preferred are a cinch to use.
Sapphire Preferred Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or Nexus membership
One of the easiest benefits to use as a Sapphire Preferred Card holder is its new Trusted Traveler Program credit. Simply use your Sapphire Preferred when paying for a Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or Nexus membership — whether for yourself or a loved one — to see a statement credit for the full cost of the membership appear on your Sapphire Preferred statement. You’ll have access to this statement credit once every four years, meaning you can use it each time your Global Entry, TSA PreCheck or Nexus membership is up for renewal.
Even if you rarely travel outside the U.S. (or fly within the U.S.), I highly recommend enrolling in Global Entry, as the membership includes TSA PreCheck. Both programs can save you considerable time when passing through customs and security at U.S. airports.
Related: 7 ways to get free or discounted TSA PreCheck, Global Entry and Clear
Sapphire Preferred Apple TV subscription
Subscribing to more than one streaming service can quickly add up, so having an easy way to offset the cost of a streaming subscription can go a long way in keeping annual expenses manageable.
With the Sapphire Preferred, you’ll enjoy a complimentary Apple TV subscription for one year, so you can regularly stream popular shows like “The Morning Show,” “Severance” and “Shrinking” without much effort. All that’s required is signing into your Sapphire Preferred account, navigating to the “Card benefits” section of the “Benefits & rewards” page and selecting “Activate now” within the “Apple TV subscription” option. Just be sure to activate the perk by Dec. 31 to receive your statement credit.
Related: 5 credit cards that save you money on streaming subscriptions
Sapphire Preferred DoorDash DashPass membership
Food delivery services can get expensive fast, especially once additional delivery and service fees are tacked onto orders. Fortunately, the Sapphire Preferred offers a way to help reduce costs associated with food deliveries so you can save some money each time you place an eligible order through DoorDash.
Thanks to Chase’s partnership with DoorDash, Sapphire Preferred Card holders can sign up for a complimentary DoorDash DashPass membership (valued at $120 each year; through Dec. 31, 2027) by logging into their account (or creating one here), adding their card as their default payment method and following the onscreen prompts to activate the membership. The process takes just a couple of minutes and can save you an average of $5 per order, according to DoorDash, but I’ve easily saved closer to $10 an order when buying multiple items.
As an added bonus, after enrolling in your complimentary membership, you’ll also receive $10 a month in DoorDash credit for nonrestaurant orders (alcohol orders may be exempt; through Dec. 31, 2027), though this benefit could be trickier to use if you don’t regularly use DoorDash for grocery and convenience store orders.
Related: 6 ways to maximize the Chase Sapphire Preferred as a beginner
Sapphire Preferred travel protections
While you may not immediately worry about travel protections when planning a trip, with the Sapphire Preferred, you’ll have the added peace of mind that various issues that may arise when you’re traveling are covered.
Available travel protections include:
- Trip cancellation and interruption insurance (up to $10,000 per covered person for a maximum of $20,000 per trip and a maximum payout of $40,000 per 12-month period)
- Baggage delay insurance ($100 per day for you and your immediate family for up to five days after a baggage delay of six or more hours)
- Lost luggage reimbursement (up to $3,000 per covered person, per trip or up to $2,000 per covered person for New York residents)
- Trip delay reimbursement (up to $500 per covered traveler after a 12-hour or overnight delay)
- Primary rental car insurance (up to $60,000, excluding some higher-end and exotic cars)
- Travel accident insurance (up to $500,000 for losses when traveling on a common carrier and up to $100,000 for 24-hour coverage)
- New: Emergency evacuation and transportation coverage (up to $100,000 for a covered traveler who is injured or becomes sick during a trip that’s at least 100 miles away from home and requires emergency evacuation)
Although you may be required to submit a claim when using one or more of these travel protections — be sure to consult the Sapphire Preferred’s benefits guide before doing so to fully understand the process — you won’t need to activate any of them in advance of your trip. Simply use your card when making travel purchases to be eligible for these travel protections.
Related: Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve insurance benefits — which is better?
It offers access to an impressive roster of transfer partners
All the major credit card issuers — including American Express, Capital One, Citi and Wells Fargo — offer partnerships with various airlines and hotels so you can use your points or miles toward trip expenses, but Chase’s list of transfer partners is particularly notable.
As a Chase Sapphire Preferred Card holder, you’ll have 14 different airline and hotel partners at your disposal for straightforward transfers. While other issuers may have more transfer partners, Chase’s selection stands out for offering a bit of everything, no matter your travel preferences.
So, for example, if you’re traveling with others and prefer more affordable brands, you can transfer your points to Wyndham Rewards and JetBlue TrueBlue, two options that make it easier to stretch your points further thanks to their generally low starting award rates. But if you’d rather use your points toward a bucket-list redemption, you can instead transfer to higher-end options like Singapore KrisFlyer, Air France-KLM Flying Blue and Marriott Bonvoy.
Just keep in mind that while most transfers are at a 1:1 ratio, meaning you’ll get one point in your chosen program for every point you transfer from Chase, there’s one key exception for Chase Sapphire Preferred Card holders: Transfers from Chase to World of Hyatt are at a 4:3 ratio (as of June 15 for new cardholders and effective Oct. 1 for those who applied for the card prior to June 15).
Related: How (and why) you should earn transferable credit card points and miles
Its annual fee is low for all you get
You may feel inclined to automatically avoid considering a credit card with an annual fee, but given all that comes with the Chase Sapphire Preferred, its $95 annual fee is easy to justify.
For example, the card’s complimentary Apple TV subscription alone saves you more than $95 a year if you were already paying for this subscription. Similarly, the card’s complimentary DoorDash DashPass membership is valued at $120 a year, so you’d also offset the annual fee with this one benefit.
Factor in other perks like the elevated earning rates in popular spending categories and the aforementioned travel protections (which are more commonly found on pricier premium cards than those available for under $100 a year), and it’s clear the Sapphire Preferred offers a ton of value.
Related: Is the Chase Sapphire Preferred worth the annual fee in 2026? I say yes
Bottom line
Whether you’re choosing your first credit card or looking to shed some weight from your wallet and rely mostly (or entirely) on one card for purchases, the Chase Sapphire Preferred is a terrific option worth considering. Its elevated earning rates cover nearly every major type of purchase you’ll make, its benefits are expansive and lack confusing terms to successfully enjoy, and its selection of transfer partners appeals to every kind of traveler — all for a low annual fee.
Plus, now happens to be a great time to apply. New applicants can earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening, an excellent offer that’s above the card’s standard welcome offer.
To learn more, check out our full review of the Sapphire Preferred.
Apply here: Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
