The Chase Sapphire Reserve and Chase Sapphire Preferred are both popular travel rewards cards. Indeed, at the recent 2019 TPG Awards, readers voted the Sapphire Reserve as Best Premium Travel Card and Best Credit Card Perk while the Sapphire Preferred won Best Travel Rewards Card.
Related: Here are the credit cards that were honored at the 2019 TPG Awards
The Best Premium Travel Card award was for cards with annual fees of $300 or more while the Best Travel Rewards Card category was for cards with annual fees of less than $300.
Even so, some readers noted on social media that mathematically it rarely makes sense to get the Sapphire Preferred instead of the Sapphire Reserve. So, let’s consider by the numbers how the Sapphire Preferred and Sapphire Reserve compare.
Don’t like numbers? Check out Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve: Which card is right for you?
Comparing the cards
| Chase Sapphire Preferred | Chase Sapphire Reserve | |
| Annual fee | $95 | $450 |
| Earning rates | 2x points on travel and dining
1x points on everything else |
3x points on travel and dining
1x points on everything else |
| Sign-up bonus | 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months after account opening | 50,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months after account opening |
| Point value when redeeming for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through the Ultimate Rewards portal | 1.25 cents | 1.5 cents |
| Estimated point value when transferring to travel partners | 2 cents | 2 cents |
| Credits | n/a | $300 annual travel credit |
| Lounge access | n/a | Priority Pass Select membership |
Both cards offer various travel protections and shopping protections that can provide significant value. The protections offered by the Sapphire Reserve have higher limits and kick in sooner for some benefits — but for simplicity I won’t consider those differences when comparing the cards. If you want to see the travel and shopping benefits for these cards compared side by side, check out our comparison article.
Related: See our Sapphire Reserve card review and our Sapphire Preferred card review for more details about each card.
Comparing first-year return
When comparing return, we have to consider how you’ll redeem your points. In short, if you transfer your points to travel partners, TPG’s valuations estimate that you can get a redemption value of about 2 cents per point with either card. But if you redeem your points toward travel booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards travel portal, you’ll only get a redemption value of 1.5 cents per point with the Sapphire Reserve or 1.25 cents per point with the Sapphire Preferred.
Related: Why do Chase and TPG list different values for Ultimate Rewards points?
| Chase Sapphire Preferred (redeeming at 1.25 cents) | Chase Sapphire Preferred (redeeming at 2 cents) | Chase Sapphire Reserve (redeeming at 1.5 cents) | Chase Sapphire Reserve (redeeming at 2 cents) | |
| Sign-up bonus value | $750 | $1,200 | $750 | $1,000 |
| Travel credit | n/a | n/a | $300 | $300 |
| Annual fee | $95 | $95 | $450 | $450 |
| Value in first year excluding earning | $655 | $1,105 | $600 | $850 |
Remember, however, that the Sapphire Reserve earns three points per dollar spent on travel and dining purchases, while the Sapphire Preferred earns two points per dollar spent on travel and dining.
The break-even point between the cards for travel and dining spending in your first year is $3,425 if you plan to redeem your Chase Ultimate Rewards points through the Chase travel portal for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises. At this level of spending, you’d earn 6,850 points with the Sapphire Preferred that are worth $86 or 9,375 points with the Sapphire Reserve that are worth $141. Note that you won’t earn points on the $300 reimbursed by the Sapphire Reserve’s annual travel credit. The difference between the value of earnings is $55, which covers the difference between the value in the first year excluding earning.
If you plan to transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards points to hotel and airline travel partners, the break-even point for travel and dining spending in your first year is $13,650. At this level of spending, you’d earn 27,300 points with the Sapphire Preferred that are worth $546 or 40,050 points with the Sapphire Reserve that are worth $801. The difference between the value of earnings is $255, which covers the difference between the value in the first year excluding earnings.
Related: Sapphire Reserve math: When to book travel through Chase and when to transfer points
What about Priority Pass Select membership?
In the calculations so far, I haven’t considered the value of the Priority Pass Select membership that comes with the Sapphire Reserve. You can’t purchase a Priority Pass Select membership, but the most similar membership that you can purchase is a Priority Pass Prestige membership for $429 that doesn’t include any complimentary guests. So, let’s assume that the value of the Priority Pass Select membership is $450, since it offers access to you and two complimentary guests per visit.
This assumption means that the value in the first year will be higher for the Sapphire Reserve than for the Sapphire Preferred before we consider earnings, regardless of whether you redeem your points for travel through the Chase travel portal or transfer your points to travel partners.
Related: The best credit cards for Priority Pass lounge access
Comparing subsequent-year return
Now, let’s consider how the cards compare after your first year. Since most travelers will want to keep their Sapphire Reserve or Sapphire Preferred long-term, you’ll likely want to lean toward the card which is better for you in the long run, not just during your first year.
| Chase Sapphire Preferred | Chase Sapphire Reserve | |
| Annual fee | $95 | $450 |
| Travel credit | n/a | $300 |
| Effective annual fee | $95 | $150 |
As you can see, after the Sapphire Reserve’s $300 annual travel credit, the Sapphire Reserve only has an effective annual fee of $150. And, since the difference in effective annual fee between the Sapphire Preferred and Sapphire Reserve is just $55, the Sapphire Reserve will provide a better return without even considering earnings if you at least value Priority Pass Select membership at $55 per year.
However, if you value Priority Pass Select membership at less than $55 per year, then we’ll need to dive back into the math. For the following calculations, I’ll make the conservative assumption that you won’t get any value from Priority Pass Select membership.
If you plan to redeem your Chase Ultimate Rewards points through the Chase travel portal for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises, you’ll need to spend $3,425 on travel or dining annually to justify having the Sapphire Reserve instead of the Sapphire Preferred after the first year. With the Sapphire Reserve you’d earn 9,375 points on these purchases, which are valued at $141 whereas with the Sapphire Preferred you’d earn 6,850 points on these purchases which are valued at $86.
If you plan to transfer your points to travel partners, you’d need to spend $3,650 on travel or dining annually to justify having the Sapphire Reserve instead of the Sapphire Preferred after the first year. With the Sapphire Reserve you’d earn 10,050 points on these purchases, which are valued at $201 whereas with the Sapphire Preferred you’d earn 7,300 points on these purchases which are valued at $146.
Related: How to maximize your Chase Ultimate Rewards points
Bottom line
So, based on the calculations in this article, here are my conclusions:
- If you plan to redeem your Chase Ultimate Rewards points through the Chase travel portal for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises, the Sapphire Reserve is a better choice if you spend at least $3,425 per year in travel and dining — that’s just $286 per month.
- If you plan to transfer your Chase Ultimate Rewards points to hotel and airline travel partners:
- In your first year, the Sapphire Reserve is a better choice if you spend at least $13,650 per year in travel and dining — that’s $1,138 per month.
- After your first year, the Sapphire Reserve is a better choice if you spend at least $3,650 per year in travel and dining — that’s only $305 per month.
However, the Chase Sapphire Reserve may be a better choice even for lower levels of spending if you value Priority Pass Select lounge membership and trip delay protection that kicks in after a six-hour or overnight delay (instead of after a 12-hour or overnight delay with the Chase Sapphire Preferred). Additionally, if you plan to redeem your Chase Ultimate Rewards points through the Chase travel portal for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises and have — or plan to get — additional Chase credit cards like the Chase Freedom and Chase Freedom Unlimited to boost your Ultimate Rewards earning rate on other types of spending, you may want to get the Chase Sapphire Reserve to boost your redemption rate to 1.5 cents per point instead of 1.25 cents per point.
Want to learn more about the Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and Ultimate Rewards points? Check out the following guides:
- Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve: Which card is right for you?
- The power of the Chase Trifecta: Sapphire Reserve, Ink Preferred and Freedom Unlimited
- Should the Chase Sapphire Preferred be your next card?
- Why Chase Sapphire Preferred and Freedom Unlimited are the perfect beginner combo
- Sweet spots: The best ways to use Chase Ultimate Rewards points
Apply here for the Chase Sapphire Reserve or Chase Sapphire Preferred Card.
Featured photo by Eric Helgas/The Points Guy.
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