Comparing credit cards can be tough. But you’ve got the knowledgeable WalletHub community on your side. We encourage everyone to share their knowledge while respecting our content guidelines. Please keep in mind that editorial and user-generated content on this page is not reviewed or otherwise endorsed by any financial institution. In addition, it is not the financial institution’s responsibility to ensure all posts and questions are answered. Show
The
Chase Sapphire Preferred benefits include high rewards on travel, plus thousands of dollars in travel insurance and coverage for damaged or stolen purchases. Chase Sapphire Preferred also offers one of the best initial rewards bonuses on the market. That's a big reason why its among WalletHub's choices for the year's
best rewards cards as well as the best credit card deals. The average person would earn more Preferred over the first two years of use than any other Chase credit card, according to WalletHub's latest Credit Card Rewards Report. And Chase Sapphire
Preferred's secondary benefits are impressive as well. Here are the Chase Sapphire Preferred's benefits: Another Chase Sapphire Preferred benefit is worldwide acceptance. Since
Chase Sapphire Preferred is a Visa, you can use it pretty much everywhere in the world credit cards are accepted. Using a Visa or a Mastercard is the best way to convert currency when traveling internationally, too, thanks to low exchange rates that could save you as much as 9%. Plus, Chase is one of the few major credit card companies that will send you a free replacement if you lose your card
while out of the country. In short, Chase Sapphire Preferred is an excellent rewards credit card for people with excellent credit. You can learn more about the offer from WalletHub's complete Chase Sapphire Preferred Card review. View more answers Maria Adams, Credit Cards Moderator You can get a
Chase Sapphire Preferred referral bonus for each friend that you invite to apply for the same card and gets approved. The referral bonus is 15,000 points for every referral who is approved and the limit is 75,000 points per calendar year. Whether you refer one friend or five, you're still looking at a lot of value, especially for travel booked through
Chase Ultimate Rewards. So, let's talk about exactly how to earn it. Here's how to get a Chase Sapphire Preferred referral bonus: Keep in mind that it may take a while for bonus points to show up in your account. Chase says it takes up to 8 weeks; it will appear on your Chase Sapphire Preferred statement as a “Refer-A-Friend” bonus. So, maybe you shouldn't
count on using your referral bonus the next time you travel. Lastly, you should know that Chase Sapphire Preferred isn't the only Chase Credit Card with a referral bonus. You can see what other cards are in the mix on Chase's Refer a Friend Page. View more answers What is the Chase Freedom Flex calendar for 5% categories?Maria Adams, Credit Cards Moderator The Chase Freedom Flex calendar for 5% categories for October, November and December 2022 are Walmart and PayPal, according to the Chase Freedom Flex rewards calendar. Chase Freedom Flex gives 5% cash back on the first $1,500 spent in a new set of bonus categories each quarter, and the calendar shows what those categories are. It also has a link to “activate” the current quarter's bonus categories, as you won't be able to earn the 5% rate without doing so. 2022 Chase Freedom Flex calendar for 5% categories:
The Chase Freedom Flex 5% calendar is pretty straightforward and easy to use. But there are a few other things you should know about its features and protocol. Here's how the Chase Freedom Flex calendar works:
Unfortunately, you can't see the whole year's cash back categories in advance. But you do get about a month's notice, and Chase is very transparent about the activation dates. Just be sure to activate the bonus categories each quarter. And read the fine print to see which purchases qualify for 5% cash back. How does the Chase Freedom Flex Refer a Friend program work?Maria Adams, Credit Cards Moderator The Chase Freedom Flex Refer a Friend program gives you a $100 cash back bonus for each friend who applies for a participating Chase Freedom card with your link and gets approved. The participating Chase Freedom credit cards are Chase Freedom Flex and Chase Freedom Unlimited®. You can get the Chase Freedom Flex referral bonus 5 times per calendar year, for a total of $500. To refer a friend for either Chase Freedom Flex or Chase Freedom Unlimited®, go to Chase's Refer a Friend page and enter your last name, your zip code and the last 4 digits of your card number. You'll get a link to share with your friends through email or social media. Then, all you have to do is sit back and let the referral bonuses roll in. Here's how to get the Chase Freedom Flex Refer a Friend bonus:
You can send Chase Freedom Flex Refer a Friend links to as many people as you want, but you're limited to 25 per 24hours. If someone applies for the card but isn't accepted, you don't get a bonus. But denied applications don't count against your five yearly referrals. Chase won't tell you if someone used your link, or whether they were approved or denied. So, you'll have to hear it from your friends. If you know you've earned a bonus, you should expect to wait up to 8 weeks for the bonus cash back to post to your account. How do I activate my Chase Freedom Flex credit card and rewards?Maria Adams, Credit Cards Moderator You can activate your Chase Freedom Flex credit card either by logging in to the Chase's verification page, or by calling customer service at (800) 432-3117. Apart from activating your Chase Freedom Flex for use, this card requires you to activate new bonus rewards categories, every three months, in order to earn 5% cash back on those purchases. If you don't, you'll only earn 1% cash back. To sign up for the latest categories, go to the Chase Freedom Flex activate 5% cash back page. Enter your last name, the last 4 digits of the card, and your zip code. Click the green “Activate your 5%” button and you'll be all set. Here's how to activate Chase Freedom Flex:
After you activate Chase Freedom Flex, you can use it right away. The steps to activate Chase Freedom Flex are the same as activating any other Chase credit card. Ultimately, Chase says they require quarterly Chase Freedom Flex bonus categories activation to make sure cardholders always know what the latest 5% categories are. But that's probably only part of it. Either way, activation only takes a minute. How do Chase Sapphire Preferred rewards work?The Chase Sapphire Preferred offers new cardholders 60,000 bonus points for spending $4,000 in the first 3 months. And you also get extensive ongoing rewards: 5 points per $1 spent on travel purchased through Chase, 2 points per $1 on all other travel purchases, 3 points per $1 on dining and online grocery purchases, 3 points per $1 on select streaming services, and 1 point per $1 on all other purchases. The rewards redemption process offers a number of good options through Chase's Ultimate Rewards portal. Chase Sapphire Preferred Rewards:
Chase Sapphire Preferred Rewards Redemption Options:
The Chase Sapphire Preferred card has a $95 annual fee, but its rewards definitely have the potential to offset it and bring you added value. And your reward points don't expire as long as your account remains open and in good standing. Chase Sapphire Preferred is one of the best rewards cards on the market, well worth getting if you use it regularly and travel often. What is the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card credit score requirement?You need a 700+ credit score for Chase Sapphire Preferred approval. That means applicants generally need at least a “good” credit score to qualify for the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, though it's possible to get approved with a lower score and a higher score may increase the odds. It's important to note that while your credit score is an important factor in determining whether or not you will be approved for Chase Sapphire Preferred, there are plenty of other things that will impact the decision, too. Some other important criteria include your income, existing debt load, number of open accounts, recent credit inquiries, employment status, housing status and more. If you'd like to see where your credit stands, and thus get a rough sense for your approval odds, you can always check your latest credit score for free on WalletHub. If you don't think you have what it takes to meet the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit score requirement, the good news is there are plenty of great rewards credit cards for people with good, fair, limited and even bad credit. You can check out WalletHub's review of 2022's best rewards cards for each credit level to learn more. But if you're confident that your approval odds are high, you can go ahead and get started on your Chase Sapphire Preferred application. View more answers What airlines can you use with Chase Sapphire?There are 11 airlines and three major airline alliances that you can use with Chase Sapphire, all of which are listed below: Airline Partners
Major airline alliances:
Here's how to redeem points for airfare: There are four ways to use a Chase Sapphire card to purchase airfare. That's true for all three Sapphire cards: The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card and the original Chase Sapphire® Card (no longer available to new applicants).
Keep in mind that how much you get for transferred points depends on how much the particular travel partner's points or miles are worth. This offers a certain amount of boom-or-bust potential. Your Chase Sapphire credit card points could wind up being worth a lot more than normal or a lot less. View more answers How much is the Chase Sapphire Preferred annual fee?The Chase Sapphire Preferred annual fee is $95. The card's annual fee is higher than the average annual fee among new credit card offers right now, but it's common for the best travel credit cards to charge fees as high or even higher than that. Chase Sapphire Preferred Fees
While the card's annual fee is $95, there are plenty of reasons why it's worth paying. Chase Sapphire Preferred awards cardholders with 60,000 bonus points for spending $4,000 in the first 3 months. Plus, this card offers 1 - 5 points per $1 spent on purchases. What's more, Chase Sapphire Preferred comes with several benefits like travel insurance, extended warranty, purchase protection and more. All of these features can help offset the card's $95 annual fee for years. What's the Chase Sapphire foreign transaction fee?Maria Adams, Credit Cards Moderator The Chase Sapphire foreign transaction fee is $0 for both the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card and the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card. A $0 foreign transaction fee means you won't have to pay extra to use a Chase Sapphire card abroad or online, with international merchants. Also, since both Sapphire cards are part of the Visa network, you can use them in over 200 countries. Chase Sapphire Travel Rewards and Perks Besides the $0 foreign transaction fees and worldwide acceptance, the Chase Sapphire cards also have some great travel rewards. Chase Sapphire Reserve has a high annual fee, at $550, but you'll get a signup bonus of 80,000 bonus points for spending $4,000 in the first 3 months. The card also offers 1 - 10 points per $1 spent. Chase Sapphire Reserve also awards cardholders with travel credit that reimburses you for travel expenses charged to your card each year. Chase Sapphire Preferred has a lower annual fee, at $95, and a signup bonus of 60,000 bonus points for spending $4,000 in the first 3 months. The card also offers 1.5 - 5% cash back. Regardless of which Chase Sapphire card you're interested in, you can rest easy knowing you won't be paying any extra fees to use your card abroad or online, with international merchants. View more answers Is Chase Freedom or sapphire better?Chase Freedom Unlimited is better for everyday use and intro APRs. But Chase Sapphire Preferred is the clear choice for travel rewards and a big initial bonus. Sapphire Preferred also has a $0 foreign transaction fee, while Freedom Unlimited charges 3% of each transaction in U.S. dollars.
Is Chase Freedom unlimited better than Chase Flex?Chase Freedom Unlimited® is the winner over Chase Freedom Flex℠. The difference between Chase Freedom Flex and Unlimited is how much cash back you'll earn on each purchase. Freedom Unlimited gives 1.5% back on most purchases, while Freedom Flex gives 5% in rotating categories and 1% on most other purchases.
|