The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express are two popular rewards cards.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is one of the most popular travel rewards cards because it offers nice welcome bonus and extra points on travel and dining, which can be transferred to airline and hotel partners or redeemed directly for travel at a rate of 1.25 cents per point through Chase Travel℠. The Sapphire Preferred also offers great travel and purchase protections for a card with a $95 annual fee.
The Amex Blue Cash Preferred is designed to maximize cash back on common household expenses. If you spend heavily on groceries, streaming services, transit or gas, you’ll find the card’s bonus categories and earning rates hard to beat.
This article will compare each card based on several factors to help you make an informed decision on which card is the best to add to your wallet.
Overview: Chase Sapphire Preferred vs Blue Cash Preferred American Express
Welcome Bonus
Chase Sapphire Preferred
Let’s begin with one of the most attractive aspects of the Chase Sapphire Preferred: the welcome bonus. Currently, new cardholders can earn the following welcome bonus:
bonus_miles_full
Amex Blue Cash Preferred
The Blue Cash Preferred currently offers the following welcome bonus:
Earn a $250 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card within the first 6 months.
Winner:
The Chase Sapphire Preferred has a much higher welcome bonus than the Blue Cash Preferred, especially if you transfer to Chase Ultimate Rewards’ airline and hotel partners.
Earning Points / Cash Back
Chase Sapphire Preferred
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 Chase Travel;
- 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;
- 2 points per dollar on all travel not booked through Chase Travel; and
- 1 point per dollar on all other eligible spending.
Amex Blue Cash Preferred
The Blue Cash Preferred earns cash back at the following rates:
- 6% back at U.S. Supermarkets (up to $6,000 per year, then 1% back);
- 6% back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions;
- 3% back on transit, including taxis, rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, buses, and more;
- 3% back at U.S. gas stations; and
- 1% back on all other eligible purchases.
Cash back is received as Reward Dollars that can be redeemed for statement credits or at Amazon.com checkout.
Winner:
This one is very close, but the Chase Sapphire Preferred is the winner. It is hard to beat the Blue Cash Preferred’s 6% back at U.S. Supermarkets (on up to $6,000 per year), but the Sapphire Preferred tries to close with 3x points (approximately a 4.5% return) on online grocery store purchases.
I chose the Sapphire Preferred because 1x points with Sapphire Preferred is worth more than 1% cash back with the Blue Cash Preferred, plus the Sapphire Preferred offers 3x points on dining and 2x points on travel.
Card Benefits
Chase Sapphire Preferred
The Chase Sapphire Preferred offers nice benefits, including:
10% Points Bonus: You will earn bonus points equivalent to 10% of your total spending in points earned with your Chase Sapphire Preferred Card during the past account anniversary year. For example, if you spent $10,000 during your cardmember year, you would receive an additional 1,000 points ($10,000 * 10% = 1,000 points).
$50 Hotel Credit: The Chase Sapphire Preferred card offers up to $50 in statement credits every account anniversary year if you book your hotel stays through Chase Travel.
DashPass Membership: This card offers a one-year DashPass membership for free, which includes DoorDash and Caviar, offering unlimited deliveries with free delivery fees and reduced service fees for eligible purchases. The offer must be activated by December 31, 2027. Once the free membership is over, you will be automatically enrolled in DashPass at the prevailing monthly rate.
Instacart Membership: Have your groceries delivered to your doorstep with a complimentary 6-month Instacart+ membership plus a $15 credit once every quarter. Enrollment is required by July 31, 2024.
No Foreign Transaction Fees: You’ll save money on every purchase while traveling internationally since this card doesn’t add the typical 3% surcharge that many other cards impose.
Travel Benefits
Primary Rental Car Insurance: When you rent a car and pay with this card, you’ll receive comprehensive coverage including damage and theft protection. Simply decline the rental company’s collision damage waiver and charge the entire rental to your card to activate coverage. This insurance covers damage, theft, and valid loss-of-use charges worldwide.
Trip Cancellation & Interruption Insurance: This protection reimburses you for non-refundable, prepaid travel expenses if you need to cancel before departure or cut your trip short due to covered situations like severe illness or weather events. Coverage activates when you pay for your trip with the card, but it’s important to note that reimbursement only applies for specific covered reasons rather than any cancellation.
Trip Delay Insurance: When your trip is significantly delayed due to covered reasons like equipment failures or severe weather, this protection reimburses you for reasonable expenses including lodging, meals, toiletries, and medication. The coverage activates when you pay for travel with your card and extends to family members on the same itinerary, though you’ll need to seek reimbursement from the travel carrier first.
Lost Luggage Reimbursement: Your checked luggage gets extra protection against loss, theft, or damage beyond the basic compensation offered by carriers when you pay for travel with this card.
Baggage Delay Insurance: Missing luggage doesn’t have to derail your trip – this coverage steps in to reimburse you for essential purchases when your checked bags are delayed by airlines, trains, or other carriers. You can grab the necessities you need, from a fresh outfit to personal care items, while waiting for your bags to arrive.
Purchase Benefits
120-Day Purchase Protection: Get 120 days of protection against damage, theft, and even loss of your purchases – one of the longest windows available. This premium coverage automatically applies when you pay with your card.
Extended Warranty Protection: Your purchases gain an extra year of warranty protection when bought with this card, extending manufacturer warranties of three years or less without the inflated prices of store warranty plans.
Amex Blue Cash Preferred
The Blue Cash Preferred offers the following benefits and perks:
Intro APR: 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months from the date of account opening. After that, it will be a reg_apr,reg_apr_type APR.
Subscription Credit: Get up to a $10 monthly statement credit after using your enrolled Blue Cash Preferred® Card for a subscription purchase, including a bundle subscription purchase, at disneyplus.com, Hulu.com, or Plus.espn.com U.S. websites. Subject to auto-renewal.
Amex Offers: As an American Express cardholder, you can access Amex Offers. These targeted, limited-time promotions provide discounts or bonus points on purchases with select merchants. Offers are added to your card, and you’ll receive either a percentage or dollar amount back as a statement credit when you meet the offer terms. While offers vary and may not always align with your spending habits, this perk can be valuable when an offer matches your preferences.
Secondary Rental Car Insurance: This card provides backup protection for rental car damage or theft when you charge the full rental to your card.*
Extended Warranty Protection: When you purchase items with your credit card, you’ll get an extra year of warranty coverage on eligible items that have original manufacturer warranties of up to five years. This valuable perk means you can protect expensive electronics and appliances that come with longer manufacturer warranties without paying extra for store protection plans*
90-Day Purchase Protection: Your new purchases are covered against damage and theft for 90 days when you use your card. This protection helps safeguard your eligible items right from the moment you buy them.*
Return Protection allows cardholders to receive a refund for purchased items within a certain timeframe for items that merchants may not accept for return.*
* Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions, and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details.
Winner:
The Chase Sapphire Preferred offers better travel protections like trip delay insurance and primary rental car insurance (better than secondary), along with the $50 hotel credit via Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Value of the Annual Fee
Chase Sapphire Preferred:
The Chase Sapphire Preferred has a $95 annual fee, which may give some people pause. However, as a frequent traveler, I’ve found that the card’s benefits and rewards can easily offset this cost.
Think about it this way: if you take advantage of the welcome bonus and redeem those points for travel, you’ve already recouped the annual fee many times over. Plus, the ongoing rewards and perks like travel insurance, hotel credit, and no foreign transaction fees can save you money and provide peace of mind during your trips.
Amex Blue Cash Preferred
The Blue Cash Preferred Card has a $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then a $95 annual fee after that (rates & fees).
You can offset this cost through the card’s generous cash back rewards and statement credits. Authorized user cards are available at no additional cost. These additional cardholders can earn cash back on their purchases, helping you rack up rewards even faster.
Winner:
Blue Cash Preferred for the first year and Sapphire Preferred thereafter.
The Blue Cash Preferred wins the first year with a waived annual fee. After the first year, its close.
The Blue Cash Preferred’s annual fee can be offset with the Disney Bundle credits, purchase protections, and extra cash back.
The Sapphire Preferred’s $95 annual fee is a better value because of the $50 hotel credit, great travel protections, points bonus, and special partner benefits.
Redeeming Points
Chase Sapphire Preferred
The Chase Sapphire Preferred offers exceptional flexibility when it comes to points redemption, allowing you to create the travel experiences you’ve been dreaming of.
One popular redemption option is booking travel through the Chase Travel portal. Here, your points are worth 1.25 cents apiece, meaning that a substantial amount of points can be redeemed for a significant value towards travel. I’ve used this option to book flights, hotels, and rental cars, and I appreciate the simplicity of the process. Plus, when you book through the portal, you can still earn airline miles and hotel points on your reservations.
If you’re looking to stretch your points even further, transfer to Chase’s airline and hotel partners. Some notable transfer partners include United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, British Airways, Air France/KLM, Hyatt, and Marriott. By strategically transferring points, you can unlock incredible redemption opportunities like first-class flights or luxurious resort stays.
In my experience, transferring points to Hyatt has yielded some of the most valuable redemptions. By leveraging my Ultimate Rewards points, I’ve booked top-tier properties like the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme and the Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort for a fraction of the cash price.
Of course, if you’re not in the mood for travel, you can always redeem your points for statement credits or gift cards at a rate of 1 cent per point. While this may not provide the most bang for your buck, it’s a decent option to have for those times when you need a little extra cash in your pocket.
Ultimate Rewards Transfer Partners [1 to 1]
|
||
|---|---|---|
Aer Lingus
|
Air Canada Aeroplan
|
|
Air France/KLM
|
British Airways
|
|
Emirates
|
Hyatt Hotels
|
|
Iberia
|
IHG Hotels
|
|
JetBlue
|
Marriott
|
|
Singapore
|
Southwest
|
|
United
|
Virgin Atlantic
|
|
Amex Blue Cash Preferred
The Amex Blue Cash Everyday Preferred offers a straightforward approach to redeeming rewards. Cash back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit or at Amazon.com checkout.
This simple system allows you to easily apply your earnings to your account balance or make purchases on Amazon, giving you flexibility in how you use your rewards.
With no minimum redemption amount, you can use your cash back whenever you want, making it an ideal choice for those who prefer straightforward rewards over complex point systems.
Winner:
The Chase Sapphire Preferred card offers a higher redemption value, so you can get more value out of your points than the Blue Cash Preferred.
Moreover, its points are incredibly flexible, allowing you to transfer them to multiple airline and hotel partners.
The Verdict
While the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Blue Cash Preferred may seem similar at first glance, there are several key differences that make the Sapphire Preferred the better choice overall.
With more spending categories and benefits, as well as flexible redemption options, the Sapphire Preferred offers a wider range of rewards and greater value for every dollar you spend.
So, whether you’re a frequent traveler or just looking to earn rewards, the Sapphire Preferred is a top-tier option that’s hard to beat.
