Is the Chase Sapphire Preferred worth keeping?

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Trevor

Guest


Earlier this week I shared what credit cards I keep in my wallet on a day to day basis. One card that reader Shannon commented that she had cancelled her CSP in favor of the Barclay’s Arrival. That got me thinking even more (because, I had been thinking about cancelling before). A few months ago, my wife downgraded from the Chase Sapphire Preferred down to the Chase Sapphire. We haven’t really experienced any real impacts, because she still has 2-3 Inks so she maintains the ability to transfer Ultimate Rewards (UR) points to airline partners.

I figure everyone knows this by now, but a reminder that Ultimate Rewards points can be transferred to a ton of travel partners never hurts.


Chase Ultimate Rewards Transfer Partners.


Needless to say – it is always a good thing to keep the ability to transfer UR points.

Are the benefits worth it?

Briefly (since others have really gone pretty overboard already) the benefits are:

  • 2x Points on Travel and Dining
  • No Foreign Transaction Fee
  • 20% off travel when you redeem UR points for airfare, hotel, car rentals and cruises (you get this with the Ink though)
  • 1:1 Point Transfer to travel programs (again, you get this with the Ink)
  • 3x Points on dining on the First Friday of the month (see how Milesabound feels about it!)
While the 7% UR points dividend is no longer listed, I think those that do have the card get it for at least the next year. There are some other benefits that are rumored but don’t show on the link I can find, those include:

  • Primary car rental insurance (again, you get this with the Ink)
  • Double the trip cancellation / interruption insurance (now $10k) ($5K with Ink).
My conclusion

My card doesn’t come due until next March, so I might get my 7% dividend, but lets be honest, it won’t be much. Really, when you think about it, your opportunity cost for using the Chase Sapphire preferred is a minimum of 0.06% if you compare it to the Barclay Arrival (as many do). You might say that UR points are move valuable than cashback. Ok, but, then why aren’t you getting 5x instead of 2.14x? If we pull in the time-value of money, then waiting for that dividend is even worse of a deal.

So while I will try to milk the last bit that I can, I really can’t justify the annual fee.



Ed. Note: No affiliate links were included in this post and no blow torches were used on unsuspecting Chase Sapphire Preferred cards.

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ValueTravelerOZ

ValueTravelerOZ

Level 2 Member
I'm actually keeping my Sapphire Pref. card...In fact, I have paid the $85 annual feel every year cuz I actually use the bennies of it. I call that concierge line almost every week. I use it to find stuff aroiund town for MS....mostly books at bookstores...I have them call for me and find out if a particular book is there. I guess it depends on which aspect of hte card you use the most...then decide if you wanna pay the fee or not
 
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What The Heck?

Master Blaster
I think many people miss the point that UR points can be valued at 1.25 cents minimum if used for travel. Thus if i use my BA for dining, i get only 2.2% towards travel but minimum 2.5% from CSP (and whatever dividend you get on top of that). I am not saying CSP is better than BA but i guess both are complementary. If i have to continue after the first year, i will try to have both by calling the recon line. Only if i dont get a good recon, i would be willing to cancel any one of these but will try to get back after the cooling period. In fact one’s daily spend (outside MS) would have to be between CSP, BA, SPG and Amex EDP (for travel needs) depending on the category that one spends. In fact all these 4 cards are complementary to each other IMHO and one should always try hard through recon to get the annual fee waived for each one of them.
 
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LowHassleMS

Level 2 Member
I've got the CSP two years ago. The CSP is not worth it to me beyond first year so i converted it to freedom. My wife got the csp recently for the sign up bonus. If they don't wiave the fees for her next year, we will convert or cancel it.

There are many other cards with bonus categories that I will keep for a while. And I don't do very much paid travel. I buy my airfare with flexperks or travelocity points. If I need to pay award fees, I'll put those on arrival or citi hilton for 5x or fairmont for 2x. the hyatt card has 2x dining and it's worth keeping for the annual night.. I pay in cash at many restaurants especially small independent ones. The 2.5% I gain is lower than what the restaurant loses.

You can get the points transferability with Ink plus/bold and the ink bonus categories are much better.
 
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pillow25

Level 2 Member
Keep in mind that the Ink primary rental insurance is for business use only. Of course what constitutes "business use" is debatable. ;)

Also those of us who either don't want to / can't get approved for Ink cards will find that CSP is the only way to go for UR transferability.

I actually find the benefits of the CSP very useful (trip delay and trip cancellation in particular). Saved my butt once, and I'll gladly pay the AF for next year.
 
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LowHassleMS

Level 2 Member
pillow25 said:
Keep in mind that the Ink primary rental insurance is for business use only. Of course what constitutes "business use" is debatable. ;)

Also those of us who either don't want to / can't get approved for Ink cards will find that CSP is the only way to go for UR transferability.

I actually find the benefits of the CSP very useful (trip delay and trip cancellation in particular). Saved my butt once, and I'll gladly pay the AF for next year.
Click to expand...
That makes sense..

I use my fairmont card for primary insurance and the card is def worth the $95 AF. I like the trip protection benefits of CSP but often find that the few times I book paid flights, it is more cost effective to book with my travelocity card (10% rebate towards future bookings). If you can partially pay with CSP and still get the benefits, then that would be the way to go.
 
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Kendon

Level 2 Member
I'm canceling my CSP next month when the fee comes due. I've been using BA for everyday spend, and with the Chase Ink for UR points, I don't see a reason to keep this card in the fold. Some recent reports suggest that this card is churnable and you can get the bonus every 24 months, so it might come back to my wallet in a few months :)
 
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