The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Bilt Mastercard® are popular credit card options for those seeking travel rewards and benefits. While each card has its unique features, choosing between them can be a challenge for consumers.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is designed to suit the needs of travel enthusiasts, offering a range of benefits such as generous travel rewards, a low annual fee, and various travel protections.
On the other hand, the Bilt Rewards Mastercard is the first credit card that rewards users for paying rent without additional fees and offers great benefits for no annual fee.
As we dive deeper into the comparison, we’ll discuss reward rates, additional benefits, and the overall value proposition of each card.
Full Reviews: Chase Sapphire Preferred and Bilt Mastercard.
Welcome Bonus
The Chase Sapphire Preferred currently offers the following welcome bonus:
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The Bilt Mastercard® does not offer a welcome bonus, but you can easily earn up to 100,000 points per year when you pay your rent.
Winner: Chase Sapphire Preferred with its nice welcome bonus.
Earning Points
The Chase Sapphire Preferred earns Ultimate Rewards points and offers bonus points on spending in several categories:
- 5 points per dollar on travel booked through the Chase travel portal;
- 5 points per dollar on Lyft purchases (through March 2025);
- 5 points per dollar on Peloton equipment and accessory purchases of $250 or more (through March 2025, with a limit of 25,000 bonus points);
- 3 points per dollar on dining, including eligible delivery services, takeout, and dining out;
- 3 points per dollar on online grocery store purchases (excludes Target, Walmart, and wholesale clubs);
- 3 points per dollar on select streaming services, including Netflix, Disney+, Spotify, Youtube TV, Pandora, Apple Music, SiriusXM, Sling, Vudu, Fubo TV, Hulu, and ESPN+;
- 2 points per dollar on all travel not booked through the Chase travel portal; and
- 1 point per dollar on all other eligible spending.
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The Bilt Mastercard® earns the following rewards when you have at least five posted transactions per billing cycle:
- 5 points per dollar on Lyft purchases.
- 3 points per dollar on dining.
- 2 points per dollar on travel purchases.
- 1 point per dollar on rent payments without any transaction fees, up to a limit of 50,000 points per year.
- 1 point per dollar on everything else.
Plus, the first of every month is Bilt’s Rent Day, which allows you to earn double points on the first of each month. That means you’ll earn 6x on dining (normally 3x), 4x on travel (normally 2x), and 2x on other purchases (normally 1x).
Winner: It depends.
If you are a renter, the Bilt Mastercard is the winner because you can earn many points easily by paying your rent.
If you are not a renter, the Chase Sapphire Preferred has a slight edge because it offers 3x points on select streaming and online grocery.
Card Benefits
The Sapphire Preferred offers nice benefits, including:
- Receive 25% more value on points redeemed for travel through the Chase Ultimate Rewards® portal.
- $50 annual credit on hotel stays purchased through Ultimate Rewards.
- 10% Points Bonus for each Cardmember anniversary.
- A complimentary one-year subscription to DashPass by DoorDash when you enroll by December 31, 2024.
- Trip cancellation and interruption insurance (up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip).
- Primary car rental insurance.
- Lost luggage reimbursement (up to $3,000 per passenger)
- Baggage delay insurance (up to $100 per day for five days).
- Trip delay insurance (up to $500 per ticket for a delay longer than 12 hours or overnight).
- Extended warranty.
- 120 days purchase protection (up to $500 per claim and $50,000 per year).
- No foreign transaction fees.
- Free 6-month membership to Instacart+ (activate by July 31, 2024).
The Bilt Mastercard® offers nice benefits for a no annual fee card, including:
- Primary rental car insurance.
- Cell phone insurance (up to $800)
- 90-day purchase protection (up to $10,000).
- Trip cancellation and interruption insurance (up to $5,000).
- Trip delay insurance (up to $200 per day per covered traveler after 6 hours, up to $1,800).
- Mastercard discounts (Lyft, Doordash, Fandango, etc.)
- No foreign transaction fees.
Winner: Chase Sapphire Preferred. It has better trip protections, a $50 hotel credit, and an extended warranty.
But the Bilt Rewards offers many valuable benefits that no other no-annual fee offers.
Annual Fee
The Chase Sapphire Preferred comes with an annual fee of $95.
While some users might be initially deterred by this cost, it’s important to consider the value and benefits that come with the card.
The rewards points, travel benefits, and purchase protections can help offset the cost of the annual fee for frequent travelers.
The Bilt Rewards Mastercard has no annual fee making it an appealing credit card option for those who want to earn rewards and premium benefits without paying a large annual fee.
Winner: Bilt Rewards. It offers a lot of benefits and rewards all for no annual fee.
Redeeming Points
The earns Ultimate Rewards points, one of the most flexible points currencies.
You can use your points to book flights, hotel stays, and even rent a car through Chase Travel — all at a fixed rate of 1.25 cents per point. For example, 100,000 points are equivalent to $1,250 towards travel.
You can unlock even more value than 1.25 cents per point by transferring rewards to Chase airline and hotel partners.
Ultimate Rewards Transfer Partners [1 to 1]
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Aer Lingus
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Air Canada Aeroplan
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British Airways
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Emirates
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Air France/KLM
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Hyatt Hotels
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Iberia
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IHG Hotels
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JetBlue
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Marriott
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Singapore
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Southwest
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United
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Virgin Atlantic
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Bilt Rewards points can be redeemed in several ways, including:
- Travel portal for flights, hotels, rental cars, and activities (1.25 cents per point).
- Transfer to airline and hotel points programs (listed below).
- Amazon purchases (0.70 cents per point).
- Fitness classes (1.0 cents per point).
- Down payment on a home (1.5 cents per point).
- Rent payments (0.55 cents per point).
Bilt Rewards Transfer Partners [1 to 1]
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Aer Lingus AerClub
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Air Canada Aeroplan
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Air France/KLM Flying Blue
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American AAdvantage
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British Airways Executive Club
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Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
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Emirates Skywards
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Hawaiian Airlines
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World of Hyatt
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Iberia Plus
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IHG One Rewards
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Marriott Bonvoy
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Turkish Miles&Smiles
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United MileagePlus
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Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
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Winner: Bilt. It already has Chase’s four most valuable partners (Hyatt, United, Aeroplan, and Iberia), plus American Airlines and Turkish Airlines.
The Verdict
The best card for you will depend on if you pay rent or own a home.
If you pay rent each month, the Bilt Mastercard® is the best option. Personally, I use a combination of the Bilt Mastercard for rent, dining, and travel, the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (review) for everyday spending and airport lounge access, and the American Express® Gold Card (review) for groceries and dining.
But if you don’t pay rent, the Chase Sapphire Preferred® is an excellent option for a solid travel rewards credit card with only a $95 annual fee.
