Sapphire Preferred: Who is It Good For?

When a newbie asks me “what’s the best rewards program out there” I often reply “Chase Ultimate Rewards.” The next question is usually “What’s the best credit card to earn those points?” My answer used to be “The Chase Sapphire Preferred.” The Sapphire Preferred card was kind of a big deal in its heyday ~5 years ago. It earned a generous sign-up bonus, the points were (and still are) valuable, and it came with a 7% annual dividend. The dividend was discontinued, a slew of new Chase credit cards were introduced, and the Sapphire Preferred lost its appeal. Especially with the Sapphire Reserve card. So what (or who) is the Sapphire Preferred good for?

I often lean towards recommending the Sapphire Reserve to most people who ask, but then I have to pull back because not everyone has $450 to spend on an annual fee. Sure, that number is reduced to $150 when you factor in the $300 annual travel credit, which is only $55 higher than the Sapphire Preferred’s fee. So then I’m tempted to recommend the Freedom Unlimited, but that card earns cash back unless you have another Ultimate Rewards-earning credit card. Then I settle on the Chase Sapphire Preferred, though somewhat reluctantly.

The Sapphire Preferred is a solid card, but for just $55 more you can get even more benefits with the Reserve. Factor in Global Entry/TSA PreCheck and it works out even cheaper. Throw in the 50% Ultimate Rewards Travel redemption bonus and you can easily off-set the extra $55. Or possibly even the entire $450 annual fee! So in terms of value, I think the Sapphire Reserve is really the card to recommend to most people. “Most” being the operative word….

A credit card with a $450 annual fee is scary to a lot of people. Especially people who got into this hobby because even that $300 annual credit may be less than what they can afford to spend on travel. These people may not travel enough to get ~$100 of value out of the Global Entry/TSA PreCheck benefit. Priority Pass Select doesn’t appeal to them because they would never pay to get into an airport lounge, so this benefit holds little value to them.

For people who don’t care about premium travel perks and just want a personal credit card that earns Ultimate Rewards points with a reasonable annual fee, the Sapphire Preferred is a good option. Don’t get me wrong: I would recommend the Ink Business Preferred before I recommend the Sapphire Reserve. However, not everyone will want or qualify for a business card, in which case the Sapphire Preferred might be a better alternative. It’s just easier for some folks to digest a $95 annual fee than a $450 fee with bells and whistles attached. For those folks, I’d recommend a Sapphire Preferred…though somewhat reluctantly.
I want to hear from you: Who do you think the Sapphire Preferred card is best for? Who would you recommend the card to?