Chase Sapphire Preferred vs Reserve

I have the Reserve and I like it. It's 3x instead of 2x on travel/food. The travel redemption multiple is also higher when booking travel with points through Chase (1.5x opposed to the Preferred's 1.25x). You also get Priority Pass which gives you access to some nice lounges and TSA Pre/Global Entry credit.

Reserve has a $300 annual travel credit which arguably offsets the annual fee a bit as well.

Also depends on how much you spend. One of the miles sites said break even was around 60k in typical spending between the extra miles on purchases and extra value when using the miles.

I've had both multiple times

I went preferred again. Reserve needs a refresh. It's 3x dining but the Freedom Unlimited and Preferred gets that too.

The bonus for Reserve usually isn't ever higher either. Preferred is 1x less on travel, but Amex Gold and Platinum are 4x and 5x on airfare. Chase's travel category is wider than Amex's airfare since it includes hotels and parking, etc.

After $300 credit you're paying $250 for 1x more travel, lounge access, and one use GE credit.

I can get the last two on the list elsewhere, so I'm paying $250 for 1x more on travel vs Preferred . If I value UR at 2 cents per point, I'd have to spend $12,500 on travel to counter the fee. This is difficult since, I'm playing the points game and not really spending that much on travel!

Anyway, I'm not holding long term so the biggest bonus for less money out of pocket rules the day.

The preferred is actually on a boost right now, but it's in branch applications only. But you gotta imagine it's not long from that boosted signup hitting online applications.

It’s like choosing between health coverage: low premium/high deductible Vs high premium/low deductible…. They’ve already figured out how to screw you and disguise it either way.

But I have the reserve and it pays for itself if you eat out and travel. I run work expenses through mine and in turn it offsets a large portion of personal travel. Otherwise I would just pass on both.

I have the Chase Sapphire Reserve and Chase Freedom cards currently. I use the Freedom card for the 5x point multiplier and for the better shopping perks through the ultimate rewards portal (shopping at a retailer through Chase to get additional points). I've noticed the Freedom card will offer one or more points for retailers versus the Sapphire through the shopping portal.

I don't spend enough/travel enough now to probably justify the Sapphire. I got the card right before COVID of course which slammed the doors on planned international travel. However, I still get some benefits from it that I enjoy such as combining points between the cards to take advantage of better redemption values with the Chase Sapphire. I've also benefited from some of the rebates they've offered in the Chase Offers section such as rebates at All Birds, Away, and Solo Stove. The Freedom card will have offers for 5% or 10% back to shop at certain retailers, but Sapphire will have some interesting deals come up from time to time.

I also took advantage of a warranty claim through Chase (Although this is not exclusive to Sapphire card holders). I had a pair of earbuds go bad and the manufacturer's warranty had recently expired. I opened a claim through Chase and took advantage of the extended warranty and received a check for the price of the earbuds that died.

I like the Sapphire card, but I definitely don't take advantage of all of the perks it offers. However, I don't have any plans to cancel the card. I am considering opening the Chase Freedom Unlimited card. There is an offer now to spend $500 and get $200 back plus 5% back at grocery stores. It would be a good way to accumulate extra points to combine with the Sapphire points.

And really if you combine the unlimited with reserve it's 2.25% on everything else (non-specific categories).