Save on food, travel and more: How to maximize the benefits of the Chase Sapphire card

The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card is considered one of the best travel cards in the credit card world, and for good reason. It offers strong rewards on travel and dining purchases, lots of useful travel and non-travel rewards, and perhaps most importantly, the ability to transfer your points to travel partners and earn much more than a simple cash back card.

Taking full advantage of the card’s many benefits can easily offset the $95 annual fee. But you could be leaving money on the table if you can’t take advantage of the card’s full benefits. Here are my tricks for getting the most out of your Chase Sapphire Preferred, from earning and redeeming rewards to earning free bonuses.

1. Transfer your points to travel partners at the best price

Chase highlights a 25% bonus when you redeem your travel rewards through Chase Travel℠ (think Chase-run Expedia), giving you a flat 1.25 cents per point. But you can unlock a lot more with your points without even touching the portal.

By transferring your points to one of Chase’s 14 airline and hotel transfer partners and then booking travel directly through those partners’ own loyalty programs, you’ll earn an average of 2 cents per point to Scores by Points Guy (The Points Guy is owned by the same company as CNET). If you’re willing to do some research, you can find deals and “sweet spots” like a business class flight to Europe for many thousands of dollars via Iberia Airlines for just 34,000 Ultimate Rewards Points plus taxes and fees. If you don’t use an affiliate transfer, you’ll only get $425 of your points when redeemed for travel through the portal or $340 cash back.

2. Redeem your $50 anniversary hotel credit through Chase Travel

There are good reasons to use the Chase Travel portal, and one of them is the Chase Sapphire Preferred credit of up to $50 on anniversary hotel bookings through the portal. To take advantage of this credit, you must book your hotel through Chase Travel and pay with your Sapphire Preferred card. According to Chase, the statement credit will be credited to your account within one to two billing cycles. Note that you will not earn points on your first $50 in hotel purchases made through the Chase Travel portal, as you will receive a credit instead.

Although the credit will most likely not be enough for a completely free stay, it is a nice discount if you were already planning to book a hotel through the portal. Using this credit covers more than half of the card’s $95 annual fee.

3. Activate your travel protection benefits by paying for your card

Chase has a variety of travel protections to help you if something goes wrong while you’re traveling. They include:

• Insurance in case of trip cancellation and interruption: If your trip is canceled or interrupted due to a covered reason, such as illness or inclement weather, you may be reimbursed up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip for prepaid non-reimbursable travel expenses.
• Compensation for trip delay: If your flight or transportation is delayed for more than 12 hours or requires an overnight stay, you and your family will be reimbursed for any food and lodging expenses not reimbursed by your airline. Coverage is limited to $500 per ticket.
• Travel accident insurance: You’re covered up to $500,000 against accidental death or dismemberment if you pay for your flights with your card.
• Compensation for lost baggage and baggage delay insurance: If your baggage is delayed for more than six hours, Chase will reimburse you for essential purchases (such as personal care products or clothing) up to $100 per day for five days. If your baggage or that of an immediate family member is lost or damaged by your carrier, you may be eligible for reimbursement of up to $3,000 per passenger.
• Waiver of damages in case of collision from car rental: This benefit covers any theft or collision damage to most rental cars in the US and abroad, up to the actual cash value of the car. To qualify for this benefit, you must waive the rental company’s own collision coverage and pay for the entire rental car with Chase Sapphire Preferred or Ultimate Rewards points.

To take advantage of this protection, you must pay for part or all of your trip with your Ultimate Rewards card or points. If you book your trip using miles or points directly from an airline or hotel loyalty program, you can still get the benefits of travel protection by paying taxes and fees at the time of booking with the Chase Sapphire Preferred.

For complete terms and conditions of the travel protections listed above, please contact Chase Sapphire Preferred’s benefits guide.

4. Save on food delivery with a free DashPass trial

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is a great card for travelers dining out, but it also offers benefits for ordering takeout. Cardholders can get a free trial of DashPass, DoorDash’s premium membership, for a year or more (depending on when you activate the benefit).

DashPass normally costs $9.99 per month and gives you access to $0 delivery fees on orders over $12 from eligible restaurants on DoorDash and Caviar.

To get this benefit, simply add your Chase Sapphire Preferred as the default payment method to your DoorDash account, then follow the on-screen instructions to activate your free DashPass membership through December 31, 2027.

To be eligible for DashPass benefits for this order, you will need to pay with a Chase Sapphire Preferred card. The card earns triple the points on dining, takeout and eligible delivery services (including DoorDash), so you won’t miss out on rewards.

5. Increase your points earning potential with the Chase Trifecta

One thing I like about Chase is that you can combine your points between different cards as long as they earn transferable Ultimate Rewards points (this includes both cards in the Sapphire line, both cards in the Freedom line and three of the four cards in the Ink Business line). This feature is the basis of the “Chase Trifecta,” an unofficial but popular strategy developed by credit card rewards enthusiasts that combines multiple Chase cards together for maximum rewards.

The specific components of the trifecta will vary depending on who you ask, but it usually includes the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve® (you can only hold one Sapphire card at a time) and two other earning Ultimate Rewards cards.

Chase Freedom Flex®* and Chase Freedom Unlimited® are two popular options, but you can also switch Ink Business Cash® Credit CardInk Business Unlimited® Credit Card or Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card. There’s no official definition of what the Chase Trifecta should be, so choose the three cards (or two, or four, or five) that best suit your needs and spending habits.

The trick is to use each card in the spending categories in which it earns the most points to ensure you maximize your rewards.

Divide the rewards between your cards

Expense category	The best map to use	Reward Rate*
Travel booked through Chase Travel℠	Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Freedom Flex, or Chase Freedom Unlimited	5x points
Purchases that qualify for the current quarter’s Chase Freedom Flex revolving bonus category (past examples include Amazon, fitness clubs, and Target)	Chase Freedom Flex	5x points (up to $1,500 in purchases each quarter, then 1x)
Food	Chase Sapphire Preferred, Chase Freedom Flex, or Chase Freedom Unlimited	3x points
Pharmacies	Chase Freedom Flex or Chase Freedom Unlimited	3x points
Purchases that do not belong to the above categories	Chase Freedom Unlimited	1.5x points

*Chase Freedom Flex and Chase Freedom Unlimited cards offer 1% to 5% cash back on purchases. However, rewards are distributed in the form of Ultimate Rewards points, which can be redeemed for cash back, credits, gift cards, and more. Points from Chase Freedom Flex and Chase Freedom Unlimited can also be transferred to Chase Sapphire Preferred and then transferred to one of Chase Sapphire Preferred’s travel partners.

Then combine your points with the Chase Sapphire Preferred and take advantage of its travel partners or a 25% bonus when redeeming travel rewards through the Chase Travel portal. Compared to using just one of the above cards for all of your purchases, the Chase Trifecta helps you maximize your earning potential by taking full advantage of each card’s bonus categories.

6. Know when not to use the Chase Sapphire Preferred

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is one of the best travel cards on the market, but it’s not such a great card if you rarely travel.

Most of the main bonuses and benefits are related to travel. If you don’t use your travel rewards, you’re missing out on the card’s best feature—the ability to transfer your points to airline and hotel partners, some of which are unique to Chase.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred does allow you to exchange your points for cash back at a ratio of 1 point to 1 cent, but if you’re only interested in cash back rewards, you’re better off using one of the Freedom cards or cash. return card of another issuer. This way you can get most of the same benefits and potentially better rewards without paying an annual fee.

Even if you travel and can take advantage of the Chase Sapphire Preferred’s partner transfer benefits, it’s not the card you should be using for most of your everyday spending. Chase Freedom cards offer the same or better earning potential on essentials like food, groceries, gas and drugstore purchases. You can earn more rewards by using the Freedom card for everyday spending and then transferring your points to the Chase Sapphire Preferred for its travel partners.

*All Chase Freedom Flex information was independently compiled by CNET and not verified by the issuer.