The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card are two of the most popular and highly sought-after credit cards offered by Chase.
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 Ink Business Preferred offers great rewards for small business owners. With bonus points on travel, shipping, advertising, and communication services, plus valuable travel protections, it’s a solid choice for companies looking to maximize their everyday spending.
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: Sapphire Preferred vs Ink Business Preferred
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- 3X Points on Travel, Shipping, Advertising (Social Media and Search Engines), Internet, Cable, and Phone on the First $150,000 Each Account Year
- 25% Additional Points Value in Travel Redemption
- Primary Rental Car Insurance
- Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance
- Cell Phone Protection
- Purchase Protection and Extended Warranty
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- $95 Annual Fee
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:
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Ink Business Preferred:
The Ink Business Preferred currently offers the following welcome bonus:
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Earning Points
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.
Ink Business Preferred:
The Ink Business Preferred offers several nice bonus categories that can be lucrative to small business owners, including:
- 3 points per dollar on travel;*
- 3 points per dollar on shipping purchases;*
- 3 points per dollar on internet, cable, and phone services;*
- 3 points per dollar on advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines;* and
- 1 point per dollar on all other eligible spending.
The 3x bonus points are limited to the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases every account anniversary year. After reaching the $150,000 cap in these bonus categories, your earning rate drops to 1 point per dollar spent.
Winner:
Draw. The Ink Preferred offers more points on travel (3x points vs. 2x points), but the other 3x categories may have little benefit to many cardholders.
Whereas the Sapphire Preferred offers 3x points on dining, which many people will be able to maximize.
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.
Ink Business Preferred:
The Ink Business Preferred offers the following benefits to cardholders:
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.
Cell Phone Protection: When you use your card to pay your monthly phone bill, you’ll receive valuable coverage against damage or theft of your device.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Winner:
The Chase Sapphire Preferred offers more extensive travel protections and extra perks with partners.
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.
Ink Business Preferred:
The Ink Business Preferred carries a $95 annual fee, which aligns with industry standards for a business card offering this level of rewards and benefits. For most businesses, the card’s bonus categories, sign-up bonus, and additional perks will more than offset this moderate fee, providing a net positive value.
To illustrate, earning just 4,750 points annually (worth about $95 based on a 2.0 cent per point valuation) will cover the annual fee cost. This equates to spending $1,584 across the 3x bonus categories, an easily attainable target for many businesses. In fact, many businesses will earn far more than this in rewards each year, making the annual fee a minor investment for a substantial return. The key is to ensure your business spending aligns well with the card’s bonus categories and benefits to extract the maximum value possible.
Winner:
Chase Sapphire Preferred because it offers a hotel credit and other perks to help better offset its annual fee.
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.
Ink Business Preferred:
The Ink Business Preferred Card also earns transferrable Ultimate Rewards points so redemption points are similar to the Sapphire Preferred.
The Ink Business Preferred® Card lets you redeem your points for cashback, gift cards, travel, and Apple purchases on the Chase portal.
However, using your points to book flights, hotel stays, car rentals, and cruises will let you enjoy a redemption rate of of 1.25 cents per point, meaning that 100,000 points would be equivalent to $1,250 towards travel expenses.
Additionally, by transferring rewards to Chase’s airline and hotel partners, you can potentially receive even greater value for your points.
Ultimate Rewards Transfer Partners [1 to 1]
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Aer Lingus
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Air Canada Aeroplan
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Air France/KLM
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British Airways
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Emirates
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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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Winner:
Both cards offer the same redemption options and values. Additionally, both cards also earn transferrable Chase points so they also have the same transfer partners.
The Verdict
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card offer unique benefits, making it difficult to declare a clear winner.
Your choice will depend on your specific needs and spending habits. Business owners will likely find more value in the Ink Business Preferred, while those using the card for personal use will find value in the Sapphire Preferred.
Regardless of which card you choose, both offer excellent rewards programs, valuable perks, and competitive sign-up bonuses.
We recommend carefully evaluating your needs and comparing the benefits of each card before making a decision. Ultimately, the right card for you is the one that helps you maximize your rewards and achieve your financial goals.
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- 3X Points on Travel, Shipping, Advertising (Social Media and Search Engines), Internet, Cable, and Phone on the First $150,000 Each Account Year
- 25% Additional Points Value in Travel Redemption
- Primary Rental Car Insurance
- Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance
- Cell Phone Protection
- Purchase Protection and Extended Warranty
- No Foreign Transaction Fees
- $95 Annual Fee
