Quick facts
Time
9-minute read
Cost
$95 (Preferred) or $795 (Reserve) a year
Potential value
75,000 or 100,000 bonus points, plus credits that only pay off if you use them
Best for
anyone choosing their main Chase Ultimate Rewards card
TL;DR
- The Sapphire Preferred costs $95 a year and currently offers 75,000 bonus points after $5,000 in purchases in the first 3 months.
- The Sapphire Reserve costs $795 a year (plus $195 for each authorized user) and currently offers 100,000 bonus points after $6,000 in purchases in the first 3 months.
- The fee gap is $700 a year. The Reserve’s $300 annual travel credit is the easiest part to recover, which leaves about $400 a year that the lounges, The Edit hotel credit, dining credits, and subscriptions have to cover for you.
- Pick the Preferred if you’re new to points, want one low-fee travel card, or wouldn’t use lounge access and half-yearly credits.
- Pick the Reserve if you fly often enough to use Sapphire Lounges and Priority Pass, would book The Edit hotels anyway, and will actually track monthly and half-year credits.
Every card fact below was checked October 26, 2026 on Chase’s Sapphire Preferred and Sapphire Reserve card pages and Chase’s Sapphire Preferred benefits page. If we couldn’t confirm a detail on an official Chase page that day, we left it out or say so.
Side by side
| Sapphire Preferred | Sapphire Reserve | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual fee | $95 | $795; $195 per authorized user |
| Public welcome offer | 75,000 points after $5,000 in 3 months | 100,000 points after $6,000 in 3 months |
| Chase Travel | 5x | 8x (including The Edit) |
| Flights booked direct | 2x (other travel) | 4x |
| Hotels booked direct | 2x (other travel) | 4x |
| Dining | 3x | 3x worldwide |
| Gas, EV charging, vacation homes at top brands | 3x | 1x |
| Top streaming and online grocery | 3x (exclusions apply) | 1x |
| Everything else | 1x | 1x |
| Main travel credit | Up to $100 a year for hotels booked through Chase Travel | Up to $300 a year for travel purchases |
| Hotel collection credit | None | Up to $500 a year for prepaid The Edit stays ($250 per booking, two-night minimum) |
| Lounge access | None | Sapphire Lounges by The Club and 1,300+ Priority Pass lounges, up to two guests |
| Points Boost through Chase Travel | Up to 1.5x | Up to 2x |
| Global Entry, TSA PreCheck, or NEXUS | Up to $120 every four years | Up to $120 every four years |
| Foreign transaction fees | None | None |
Earning rates come from each card’s Chase page. Categories have exclusions and definitions in Chase’s terms, so check them before you count on a 3x or 4x.
The real cost of the Reserve
The headline gap is $700 a year. Here’s how it shrinks, using only Chase’s own numbers:
- The $300 travel credit. Chase calls it “the most flexible travel credit,” and it applies to travel purchases each account anniversary year. If you spend at least $300 a year on travel, this one is close to cash. That brings the Reserve to an effective $495, or $400 more than the Preferred.
- The Edit credit (up to $500). You get up to $250 back on each prepaid booking through The Edit, Chase’s hotel and resort collection, with a two-night minimum. This only counts as value if you’d stay at one of those hotels anyway. Prepaid luxury hotels can cost more than the credit.
- Lifestyle credits. Up to $300 a year at Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables restaurants on OpenTable ($150 from January to June and $150 from July to December), up to $300 a year for StubHub and viagogo through 12/31/2027 (also split in halves, activation required), $10 a month in Lyft credits through 9/30/2027, $10 a month in Peloton membership credits through 12/31/2027, and DoorDash promos of up to $35 a month through 12/31/29 for DashPass members.
- Subscriptions. Apple TV and Apple Music for at least a year when activated by June 22, 2027 (Chase lists a $324 value), and a 12-month DashPass membership when activated by 12/31/29.
Watch Out
Purchases covered by the $300 travel credit and The Edit credit don’t earn points, per Chase. And half-year and monthly credits expire if you don’t use them in their window. Count only the ones you’d use without changing your habits.
A simple test: list the Reserve credits you would use in a normal year at what they’re worth to you, not at Chase’s value. If that total, plus lounge visits you’d actually make, beats $400, the Reserve can make sense. If it doesn’t, the Preferred is the better deal.
Earning: where each card wins
The Preferred wins on everyday spending. It earns 3x on dining, gas stations, EV charging, vacation homes at top brands, top streaming services, and online grocery. The Reserve earns 3x on dining but only 1x on gas, streaming, and groceries.
The Reserve wins on travel. It earns 8x through Chase Travel (vs 5x) and 4x on flights and hotels booked directly (vs 2x on the Preferred, which falls under “all other travel”). Booking direct usually keeps your airline and hotel elite credit, so the Reserve’s 4x on direct bookings is the more useful of the two travel upgrades.
Illustrative example only. Say someone spends $6,000 a year on flights and hotels booked direct. The Reserve earns 24,000 points on that and the Preferred earns 12,000. That 12,000-point gap is real, but it’s worth roughly $120 to $240 depending on how you redeem, which doesn’t cover a $400 net fee gap by itself. Travel spending alone rarely justifies the Reserve. The credits and lounges have to do most of the work.
Both cards also have limited-time partner earning: 5x on Lyft rides through 9/30/2027 on both, and on eligible Peloton equipment and accessory purchases over $150 through 12/31/2027, 5x on the Preferred and 10x on the Reserve.
Redeeming points: transfers and Points Boost
Both cards earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points and both can transfer to Chase’s airline and hotel partners, according to Chase’s points transfer guide. The partner list includes United MileagePlus, Southwest Rapid Rewards, Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France-KLM Flying Blue, British Airways, Iberia, Aer Lingus, JetBlue, Singapore KrisFlyer, Virgin Atlantic, IHG One Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy, World of Hyatt, and Wyndham. Our Chase transfer partners guide covers the best sweet spots.
Chase’s Sapphire Preferred benefits page says points transfer to most partners at 1:1 and to World of Hyatt at 4:3, so 1,000 Chase points become 750 Hyatt points. Chase’s Reserve pages we checked don’t state a Hyatt ratio, so confirm it in your account before transferring. Our Bilt to Hyatt guide covers how that compares with Bilt.
Points Boost is where the cards differ. Chase says points are normally worth 1 cent each through Chase Travel, but on Points Boost offers they can be worth up to 1.5 cents with the Preferred and up to 2 cents with the Reserve on select flights and hotels. Offers rotate, and they show up with a Points Boost tag in Chase Travel search results.
Tip
Chase values the Reserve’s 100,000-point bonus at $2,000, but that assumes a 2x Points Boost booking. At the base Chase Travel rate it’s $1,000. Compare any Boost price with a transfer to a partner before you redeem. Our points value calculator helps with the math, and the transfer partners chart shows where Chase points can go.
Lounges and travel perks
The Preferred has no lounge access. The Reserve includes Chase Sapphire Lounges by The Club and a Priority Pass Select membership covering 1,300+ lounges, each with up to two complimentary guests, plus select Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounges and Air Canada Cafés with an eligible boarding pass.
The Reserve also comes with IHG One Rewards Platinum Elite status through December 31, 2027. If you spend $75,000 on the card in a calendar year, Chase adds World of Hyatt Explorist status, IHG Diamond Elite status, a $500 Southwest Airlines Chase Travel credit, Southwest A-List status, and a $250 credit for The Shops at Chase. That tier is out of reach for most households, so don’t count on it.
Travel and purchase protections
Both cards have strong coverage, but the Reserve’s is better in several places. From Chase’s card pages:
| Sapphire Preferred | Sapphire Reserve | |
|---|---|---|
| Auto rental coverage (primary) | Up to $60,000 (most vehicles with MSRP of $125,000 or less) | Up to $75,000 |
| Trip delay | After 12 hours or an overnight stay, up to $500 per traveler | After 6 hours or an overnight stay, up to $500 per traveler |
| Trip cancellation and interruption | Up to $10,000 per traveler, $20,000 per trip | Same |
| Baggage delay | $100 a day for up to 5 days | Same |
| Lost luggage | Up to $3,000 per traveler | Same |
| Travel accident insurance | Up to $500,000 | Up to $1,000,000 |
| Emergency evacuation | Up to $100,000 | Up to $100,000 |
| Emergency medical and dental | Not listed | Up to $2,500 ($50 deductible) |
| Purchase protection | 120 days, up to $500 per item | 120 days, up to $10,000 per item |
| Return protection | Not listed | Up to $500 per item, $1,000 a year |
For New York residents, Chase says rental car coverage inside the U.S. is secondary to personal auto insurance on both cards. Full terms are in each card’s Guide to Benefits.
Who should get which
Get the Sapphire Preferred if you:
- Are getting your first travel card. Our Sapphire Preferred review explains why it’s still a strong starter, and Why start with Chase covers the 5/24 timing.
- Spend more on dining, gas, groceries, and streaming than on flights and hotels.
- Wouldn’t use airport lounges more than a few times a year.
- Don’t want to track monthly and half-year credits.
Get the Sapphire Reserve if you:
- Travel several times a year and would use Sapphire Lounges or Priority Pass with guests.
- Will easily use the $300 travel credit and at least some of the dining, StubHub, Apple, and DoorDash perks.
- Would book a prepaid stay through The Edit anyway.
- Value the shorter 6-hour trip delay trigger and the higher coverage limits.
Consider something else if you want premium perks for less. The Capital One Venture X review covers a $395 card with a $300 travel credit, and our Sapphire Preferred vs Venture X comparison puts it next to the Preferred. If dining and groceries are your biggest categories, read the Amex Gold Card review. For every option, see Best Travel Credit Cards and Best Credit Card Welcome Bonuses.
FAQ
Is the Sapphire Reserve worth $795?
Only if you use enough of its credits and lounges. After the $300 travel credit, it costs about $400 a year more than the Preferred. If the other credits and lounge visits you’d really use are worth more than that to you, it can be worth it.
Which card has the bigger welcome offer right now?
The Reserve: 100,000 points after $6,000 in purchases in the first 3 months, vs 75,000 points after $5,000 on the Preferred, per Chase’s public card pages on October 26, 2026. Targeted offers may differ.
Can I have both the Sapphire Preferred and Sapphire Reserve?
Each Chase card page says that card is unavailable if you currently have that same card open, and that the bonus may not be available if you previously held that card or got its new cardmember bonus. Chase also says it may consider how many cards you’ve opened and closed. The pages don’t address holding the other Sapphire card, so read the offer details on the day you apply.
Do both cards transfer to the same partners?
Chase’s transfer guide lists both cards as able to transfer points to its airline and hotel partners. The Preferred’s benefits page lists a 4:3 ratio for World of Hyatt and 1:1 for most others. Check the Reserve’s ratio in your account before a Hyatt transfer.
Which card is better for groceries and gas?
The Preferred. It earns 3x on gas, EV charging, and online grocery, while the Reserve earns 1x on those.
Does the Sapphire Preferred have lounge access?
No. Lounge access is a Reserve benefit.
Thinking about Chase’s premium card? Read our Chase Sapphire Reserve review for the 100,000-point offer, the real math on the $795 fee, and who it fits.
Bottom line
Bottom Line
For most people, the Sapphire Preferred is the right Sapphire card in 2026. It costs $95, earns 3x on more everyday categories, and has strong travel coverage. The Sapphire Reserve is worth its $795 fee only for frequent travelers who will use the lounges, the $300 travel credit, and a good share of the other credits. Run the $400 test above with your own habits before you apply.
New offers change often. To get the best ones each week, join Points & Miles Weekly, our free newsletter. New to points? Start with How to Use Credit Card Points.
Related: Best Airline Miles for Beginners and the Chase Freedom Unlimited Review (the no-fee card that pairs with either Sapphire)
The Points Quest
Points Quest is educational content only, not personalized financial advice. Offer, fee, earning, credit, protection, and transfer details were checked on creditcards.chase.com and chase.com on October 26, 2026 and can change at any time. Point values are estimates, not Chase figures. Publicly linked offers may differ from targeted offers. Advertiser Disclosure