The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card are two popular rewards cards.
The 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 Quicksilver Cash Rewards card is keeps rewards simple with unlimited 1.5% cash back on all purchases and includes useful benefits like no foreign transaction fees. The card works best for people seeking a low-maintenance rewards experience, though its earning rate falls behind more specialized cash back cards.
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.Full Reviews: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Capital One Quicksilver Cash Rewards Credit Card.
Overview of Each Card
- Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
- 5x Points on Travel Booked Via Chase
- 3x Points on Dining and Eligible Delivery Services
- 2x Points on All Other Travel Purchases
- 10% Anniversary Points Boost
- Trip Delay and Trip Cancellation Insurance
- Primary Rental Car Insurance
- $95 Annual Fee
Welcome Bonuses
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:
Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
Quicksilver Rewards:
The Quicksilver Card currently offers the following welcome bonus:
Earn $200 as a one-time cash bonus once you spend $500 within 3 months from account opening.
Earning Rewards
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.
Quicksilver Rewards:
The Quicksilver Card earns:
- 5% cash back on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel.
- 1.5% cash back on every purchase, every day.
Winner:
The Chase Sapphire Preferred since its rewards rates and points values are significantly higher.
Card Benefits and Perks
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.
Quicksilver Rewards:
The Quicksilver Card offers the following benefits and perks:
Intro APR: Enjoy a 0% intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases, then a 18.49% – 28.49% APR .
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.
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 Accident Insurance offers coverage for accidental death or dismemberment while traveling on a common carrier when the trip is purchased using the eligible credit card.
Winner:
The Chase Sapphire Preferred since it offers more travel and purchase protections.
Value of the Annual Fees
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.
Quicksilver Rewards:
The Capital One Quicksilver comes with a $0 annual fee, making it an accessible option for those wanting simple cash back rewards. While there's no annual fee to offset, the card does provide some valuable benefits including no foreign transaction fees, concierge service, extended warranty protection, and travel accident insurance.
Winner:
It’s hard to beat no annual fee with the Quicksilver Card.
Redeeming Rewards
Chase Sapphire Preferred:
The Chase Sapphire Preferred earns Ultimate Rewards points, one of the most flexible currencies in the rewards space. You can redeem them for statement credits, gift cards or purchases through Chase Travel, where the standard rate is one cent per point.
Sapphire Preferred cardholders also get access to Points Boost, which raises that value to between 1.25 and 2 cents per point on select bookings. You'll see 1.5 cents per point on stays booked through The Edit by Chase Travel, and 1.25-1.75 cents toward select flights depending on the airline and class of service.
Still, transferring to airline and hotel partners tends to deliver the most value. The Sapphire Preferred gives you access to all 14 of Chase's partners: Aer Lingus, Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France KLM Flying Blue, British Airways, Emirates, Hyatt, Iberia, IHG, JetBlue, Marriott, Singapore KrisFlyer, Southwest, United, Virgin Atlantic, and Wyndham.
Nearly all of these transfer at 1:1. World of Hyatt is the exception on this card: transfers moved from 1:1 to a 4:3 ratio, a real downside if you lean on Hyatt the way many cardholders do.
Even so, Hyatt's fixed award chart can produce outsized value. A Park Hyatt Maldives redemption starts around 33,400 transferred points, well below the cash rate of $1,000-plus a night. And moving 72,500 points to Virgin Atlantic can get you into ANA first class between the West Coast and Japan, a seat that would otherwise run into the thousands of dollars.
Quicksilver Rewards:
The cash back accumulated through your Capital One Quicksilver card can be utilized in a number of ways, including as a statement credit, a check, or a gift card. Alternatively, you have the option to use it directly towards a particular charge on your statement.
What's more, there's no requirement for a minimum amount to redeem your cash back. All you need to do is log into your account, either through the app or on your computer, and choose the redemption method that suits you best.
Winner:
Chase Sapphire Preferred since you have the added flexibility of transferring to airline and hotel partners.
The Verdict
The Sapphire Preferred and Quicksilver Cash are both solid options for earning rewards.
But, the Chase Sapphire Preferred is the better option because it offers higher rewards rates, and flexible redemptions. It also comes with more travel and purchase protections that are worth hundreds of dollars in value.
If you just want a simple cashback card that doesn’t have annual fees, go for the Quicksilver Card.
Which card are you going to choose?
- Earn 75,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.
- 5x Points on Travel Booked Via Chase
- 3x Points on Dining and Eligible Delivery Services
- 2x Points on All Other Travel Purchases
- 10% Anniversary Points Boost
- Trip Delay and Trip Cancellation Insurance
- Primary Rental Car Insurance
- $95 Annual Fee
