Make sure you do these 5 things when you get Chase Sapphire Preferred

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and card details. 

There’s no question that the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card has historically been one of my all-around favorite credit cards. Before the Chase Sapphire Reserve launched, I used the Sapphire Preferred for most of my purchases, thanks to the 2x points earned on all travel and dining, including expenses such as Uber rides, tolls and food delivery, in addition to the obvious restaurants and hotels. I consider Ultimate Rewards points to be incredibly valuable. I’ve earned lots of points that I often put to good use. It also has a strong sign-up bonus of 80,000 points when you spend $4,000 within the first three months.

But as always, there are tricks to keep in mind in order to be a Chase Sapphire Preferred power user. Be sure to follow these steps to make the most of your card after it arrives in the mail:

1. Add an authorized user

Having an authorized user on your Sapphire Preferred account lets you earn points faster and makes it easier to hit the card’s $4,000 spending threshold to earn the current 80,000-point sign-up bonus. It takes less than a minute to add an authorized user online, and there are a ton of ways to maximize Chase points.

Related reading: Adding your kids as authorized users to your credit cards

2. Add your card to takeout and delivery apps

By adding the Chase Sapphire Preferred to delivery services such as Seamless and Grubhub, you’ll maximize your point-earning ability, since you get 2x points on all dining purchases. If you have other cards that earn extra points for dining, such as the American Express® Gold Card, you may want to use those cards instead. Regardless, be sure to add your CSP to dining rewards programs to earn bonus miles for eating at restaurants.

Related reading: The best credit cards for dining out, taking out and ordering in

Now that we’re all at home because of coronavirus, I’ve been ordering delivery on the nights when I don’t feel like cooking. It’s important to maximize those purchases to rack up as many points as possible.

Related reading: Google Maps has new takeout and delivery shortcut options 

3. Set the CSP as your default for future travel purchases

When you pay for travel with the Sapphire Preferred, you’ll earn 2 points for every dollar spent, even on expenses such as E-ZPass tolls and monthly parking. Based on TPG’s valuations, this equals a 4% return on spending.

Make sure you also add your CSP to your Uber account so you get 2x points and no foreign transaction fees when using Uber abroad. Chase defines travel very broadly, counting “airlines, hotels, motels, timeshares, campgrounds, car rental agencies, cruise lines, travel agencies, discount travel sites, operators of passengers trains, buses, taxis, limos, ferries, tolls, bridges, highways, and parking lots and garages” as travel for 2x points on the CSP.

Although we may not be traveling right now, going ahead and keeping this card top-of-mind for future travel purchases (including deals for 2021 travel that will likely pop up in the near future) will ensure you’re getting the most bang for your buck.

4. Update your rental car profile

Adding your Chase Sapphire Preferred info to your various rental car profiles lets you take advantage of CSP’s primary rental car coverage, which will save you a bundle on each car rental. This gives you full coverage for many car rentals around the world. Plus, car rentals count as travel and earn the 2x point bonus, so you’ll get double points and enhanced protection.

You probably aren’t using rental cars much these days, but doing this now will save you time later (and this way, you won’t forget).

5. Complete the Chase Quartet

By adding the Ink Business Preferred Credit Card, Chase Freedom and Chase Freedom Unlimited cards, you’ll be able to build your Ultimate Rewards balance more quickly. With Ink, for example, you can earn 3 points per dollar on the first $150,000 spent each account anniversary on travel, shipping purchases, internet cable and phone services and advertising purchases made with social media sites.

Meanwhile, the Freedom Unlimited offers 1.5% cash back on purchases, but that cash back comes in the form of Ultimate Rewards points that can be combined with the ones from your other Chase Trifecta cards and transferred to valuable airline and hotel partners. Finally, the rotating quarterly categories on the Chase Freedom let you rack up as many as 6,000 extra points every three months at specific types of merchants. Remember Chase’s 5/24 rule, under which Chase won’t approve your application for additional credit cards if you’ve opened more than four credit cards (from any bank) in the last two years, and make sure you sign up for these three cards before adding others to your portfolio.

The information for the Chase Freedom, Chase Freedom Unlimited has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Further reading: Maximize your wallet with the perfect quartet of Chase cards

Bottom line

Even after almost 10 years, I still love the Chase Sapphire Preferred, and you will, too. Just be sure to follow the steps above to make sure you’re earning as many points as possible. Your hard work can definitely pay off.

Feature image by Isabelle Raphael/The Points Guy