The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card and the Southwest Rapid Rewards® Premier Credit Card are popular mid-tier options in the points and miles community.
Both cards come with an annual fee, but they offer a solid rewards program and a plethora of travel benefits to cardholders, which heavily offsets annual fee costs.
But which card is the better pick for you? In this article, we’ll compare the Sapphire Preferred vs Southwest Premier and highlight the key differences between these two cards.
Hopefully, this can help you make an informed decision on which card to pick.
Full Review: Chase Sapphire Preferred & Southwest Premier Card
Overview: Sapphire Preferred vs Southwest Premier
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- 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
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- 6,000 Points Each Cardmember Anniversary
- 2X Points on Transit, Ridesharing, Internet, Cable, Phone, and Eligible Streaming Services
- 2 EarlyBird Check-In Per Year
- 25% Savings on In-Flight Purchases
- Lost Luggage and Baggage Delay Insurance
- $99 Annual Fee
Welcome Bonus
The Chase Sapphire Preferred currently offers the following welcome bonus:
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The Southwest Premier Card currently offers the following welcome bonus:
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Winner: Chase Sapphire Preferred
The Sapphire Preferred has a higher welcome bonus in terms of points and its value. Plus, Chase points are transferrable to several hotel and airline partners.
However, the Southwest Premier card can still be a good choice if you want a more attainable welcome bonus since it has a lower spending requirement.
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 Southwest Premier Card allows you to earn Southwest Rapid Rewards points at the following rates:
- 3 points per dollar on Southwest Airlines purchases.
- 2 points per dollar on Rapid Rewards hotel and car rental partners.
- 2 points per dollar on local transit and commuting, including rideshare.
- 2 points per dollar on internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming.
- 1 point per dollar on all other eligible purchases.
Winner: Chase Sapphire Preferred
The Chase Sapphire Preferred card boasts higher earning rates across multiple spending categories.
Card Benefits
The Chase 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 Southwest Premier Card offers the following benefits to its cardholders:
- 6,000 points each cardmember anniversary.
- Two EarlyBird check-ins each account anniversary.
- 25% Back on In-Flight Purchases.
- Boost of 10,000 Companion Pass qualifying points every year.
- Secondary car rental insurance
- Baggage delay insurance (up to $100 a day for three days)
- Lost luggage reimbursement (up to $3,000 per passenger)
- Extended warranty (up to $10,000 per item and up to $50,000 per cardholder)
- Purchase protection for 120 days (up to $500 per claim and up to $50,000 per cardholder)
- No foreign transaction fees
Winner: Sapphire Preferred.
The Sapphire Preferred offers extra travel protections like trip delay insurance and primary rental car insurance, which can save hundreds of dollars each year.
But I do like the Southwest Premier’s anniversary bonus of 6,000 points and the welcome bonus and yearly spending help you obtain the super valuable Southwest Companion Pass, which allows someone to fly with you for free.
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 Southwest Premier Card has a $99 annual fee, which is offset by 6,000-anniversary bonus points, two EarlyBird check-ins, and a 25% in-flight savings.
You can also add authorized users to it for no additional fee.
Winner: Tie.
Both cards have very similar annual fees ($95 vs $99).
The Southwest Premier’s 6,000-point anniversary bonus helps partially offset the annual fee without any effort.
Whereas the Chase Sapphire Preferred has more potential to offset the annual fee if you can utilize the $50 hotel credit, travel protections, and other credits.
Redeeming Points
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card 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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The Southwest Premier Card earns Rapid Rewards points which you can redeem for domestic and international award flights on Southwest.
One of the best things about redeeming Southwest Rapid Rewards points is the simplicity of the process.
The cost of your award ticket is directly tied to the cash price of the flight. The higher the cash price, the more points are required.
Rapid Rewards points are worth 1.5 cents per point on average, but it’s not a fixed rate for all flights. You may get 1.6 cents per point on some routes, but only 1.4 cents per point on others.
Plus, there are no blackout dates, and you can use Rapid Rewards points to book any Southwest Airlines ticket for sale.
Another cool feature is that if the price of the flight goes down, you can just rebook your Southwest flight and the difference in points will go back to your account.
Winner: Chase Sapphire Preferred
The Sapphire Preferred card offers better redemption value and more flexibility. With access to multiple transfer partners, you have the option to transfer your points to several airline and hotel loyalty programs, potentially increasing their value.
The Verdict
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is likely the best option for most people because it offers more benefits and ways to earn points. Plus, you can transfer points to Southwest Rapid Rewards and other airline and hotel partners.
But the Southwest Premier could be a good option for frequent Southwest travelers to take advantage of the two EarlyBird check-ins, the 3 points per dollar on Southwest purchases, and the ability to earn points towards the Companion Pass.
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- 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
