Why I won't keep my Chase Sapphire Preferred after the first year
Quick summary
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The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is a card I frequently recommend to friends and family. After all, the Chase Sapphire Preferred is great for the average traveler. And there are many reasons the Chase Sapphire Preferred should be the first rewards card in your wallet. I even added the card to my wallet last summer after I finally dropped below Chase's 5/24 rule.
But I don't plan to keep my Chase Sapphire Preferred Card once its annual fee posts this summer. Of course, I'll see if I can get a retention offer before closing my card. But unless I get a compelling retention offer, I don't expect to keep my account open. After all, even though the Chase Sapphire Preferred can pay for itself for some cardholders, I don't get significant ongoing value from it.
Today, I'll start by reviewing the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card's benefits. Then, I'll describe why none of these benefits provide me enough incremental value to justify paying the annual fee. In the end, I believe you'll see why the Chase Sapphire Preferred is an excellent choice for many consumers — but simply isn't a good fit for me now.
Chase Sapphire Preferred benefits
There's a lot to love about the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card. And, if you don't already have the card, the 60,000-point sign-up bonus is undoubtedly a reason to apply now. Specifically, you can earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. Based on TPG's valuations, this bonus is worth about $1,200. However, make sure you're eligible for the Chase Sapphire Preferred's bonus before applying.
Related: What credit score do you need to get the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card?
On top of this bonus for new cardmembers, the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card also offers many ongoing perks. For example, the card earns valuable Chase Ultimate Rewards points as follows:
- 5x points on Lyft rides through March 2022
5x points on travel when book through the Chase Ultimate Rewards Portal
3x dining
3x on select streaming services
3x points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target and Walmart)
2x points on all other travel
- 1x points on all other purchases
And Chase Sapphire Preferred cardholders get access to many benefits, including:
- Complimentary DashPass subscription from DoorDash for a minimum of one year after activating by March 31, 2022
- Ability to transfer Chase Ultimate Rewards points to 10 airline and three hotel partners, including World of Hyatt and Virgin Atlantic, at a 1:1 ratio
- You can also redeem points for statement credits against existing purchases in select, rotating categories or travel booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal
- Travel insurance when you use your card, including primary car rental insurance, trip delay insurance, trip cancellation and interruption insurance and baggage delay insurance
- Shopping protection when you use your card, including extended warranty protection and purchase protection
- No foreign transaction fees
Check out the full Chase Sapphire Preferred Card review for more information. Then, come with me to the next section, where I'll explain why I don't plan to keep my card — despite all of its valuable perks.
Related: 5 reasons why the Chase Sapphire Preferred should be your first card
Why I don't plan to keep my Chase Sapphire Preferred
An alternate title for this article could have been why a Chase Sapphire Reserve and Ink Business Preferred Credit Card combination is excellent for couples who frequently travel. Specifically, my husband JT has the Chase Sapphire Reserve and I have the Ink Business Preferred. And this combination is precisely why I'm not getting much value from my Chase Sapphire Preferred Card.
Earning rewards
The Ink Business Preferred and Chase Sapphire Preferred both carry a $95 annual fee. But while the Chase Sapphire Preferred earns 5x points on Lyft rides through March 2022, 5x points on travel (including airfare), 3x dining, 3x on select streaming services, 3x points on online grocery purchases (excluding Target and Walmart), 2x points on all other travel, and 1x points on all other purchases, the Ink Business Preferred earns:
- 3x points on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases in the following categories each account anniversary year:
- Shipping purchases
- Internet, cable and phone services
- Advertising purchases with social media sites and search engines
- Travel
- 1x points on all other purchases
Plus I don't get any value from the Chase Sapphire Preferred's other bonus categories. We use JT's Chase Sapphire Reserve to earn 10x on Lyft rides, so earning 5x isn't helpful. And we have multiple of the best cards for dining
Related: Two-player mode: Credit card strategies for couples
Redeeming rewards
The Ink Business Preferred and Chase Sapphire Preferred both earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points. And you can transfer the points earned by either card to 10 airline and three hotel partners at a 1:1 ratio. Likewise, both cards allow you to redeem Ultimate Rewards points for travel booked through the Ultimate Rewards travel portal at a rate of 1.25 cents per point. But, since Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders can book at a rate of 1.5 cents per point, we'd use JT's account if we wanted to book travel through the portal.
The eligible categories and rates for Chase's Pay Yourself Back feature differ across cards. But, since I prefer to save my Ultimate Rewards points and transfer to airline and hotel partners, this doesn't concern me.
Related: Why I'm no longer chasing Ultimate Rewards
Other card benefits
The Ink Business Preferred and Chase Sapphire Preferred both provide extended warranty protection and purchase protection when you buy select items with your card. But I typically use a Citi card when purchasing an item that I expect may need extended warranty protection. After all, most Citi cards provide a two-year warranty extension, while most Chase cards only provide a one-year warranty extension.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred does offer several benefits not provided by the Ink Business Preferred. After all, the Ink Business Preferred is a small-business card, while the Chase Sapphire Preferred is a consumer card. But my husband's Chase Sapphire Reserve offers many of the same partner benefits as my Chase Sapphire Preferred. And most of these benefits aren't particularly useful since we're RVing full time now.
Related: Chase credit card showdown: Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Ink Business Preferred
Bottom line
The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is one of the best travel rewards cards on the market. In particular, it's great for consumers who want to earn Ultimate Rewards points and get travel protections while paying a modest $95 annual fee. However, as I've found, the Chase Sapphire Preferred may not be the best choice for you if you have other cards in your wallet that provide similar or better perks.