The Chase Sapphire(SM) Card is one of the most popular credit card offers for travel rewards because it appeals to travelers who fly frequently, whether for business or for leisure, regardless of airline flown, or those who simply like earning points throughout the year to later redeem for a large reward such as a free flight or free hotel stay. Is the Chase Sapphire(SM) Card as good as it seems? Below are highlights of the main features of this card!
Things We Like About This Card
No annual fee. You don’t have to dish out any money to enjoy the many privileges of this card.
Receive $250 in rewards after you spend $3,000 in 3 months. This is one of the best features of this card. You will receive a 25,000 point bonus after spending $3,000 on the card within the first 3 months, or in other words, you receive $250 in rewards for free! You can redeem points for travel, merchandise, cash back, gift cards and more.
For every $1 spent, receive 1 point, 2 points or even 10 points.. You receive 2 points for every dollar spent on dining out, and air tickets and hotel stays booked through the Chase Ultimate Rewards website. For every dollar you spend shopping through the Ultimate Rewards mall (where you can shop online at over 300 of your favorite stores), you will get up to 10 points. For the rest of your purchases with this credit card, you will receive 1 point for each dollar of purchases.
Accumulate unlimited number of points and they never expire. This means you can keep on earning as many points as you like, without the pressure of having to use them right away because you’ve reached the limit of points you can earn. No more worries about your points expiring soon, and you will keep on receiving more points with your purchases.
Redeem your points for pure cash, airline tickets, hotel, car rental, cruise certificates, gift cards, or tons of products ranging from music downloads to HDTVs. If you prefer cold hard cash, rewards checks start at 2,000 points for $20.
No blackout dates or travel restrictions, when you use your points for air tickets on most major airlines, any class, anywhere. You can get it if a seat is available. When you use your card to pay for air tickets through the online Travel Booking Tool, you earn double points, and get the same low price you’d find on the open market.
Amazing travel benefits and insurance. This card has some of the best travel benefits and travel insurance in the market, and here are a few of them:
Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver. If you rent a car with your card and damage the car in an accident or if it gets stolen, don’t worry since you are covered up to the actual cash value of most rental vehicles.
Emergency. If you run into an emergency such as needing legal or medical help while you traveling and away from home, it will be provided for you.
Trip delay and cancellation insurance. If your covered trip is delayed for more than 12 hours, you will be covered for your expenses, for example, if you need to eat in a restaurant or sleep in a hotel. If your covered trip is canceled for any reason, you will be provided with a full reimbursement.
Delayed and lost luggage insurance. If you have any checked bags that have been delayed for more than 18 hours, you will be reimbursed for the emergency purchase of covered essential items. If your checked or carry-on luggage has been lost or stolen, you will receive a full reimbursement.
24/7 real-person customer service. Don’t you just hate it when you call customer service, and get a voice recording on the phone? Now you can speak to a customer service rep if you have any questions or need advice about your points, travel rewards or anything else. Simply call the number on the back of your card.
Blueprint program: This program from Chase is a free management tool that helps people set up a payment plan to reduce their card balance, and is especially helpful to those who want to tackle their card balance in an organized way. With it, you can set certain goals such as paying off big purchases, avoiding paying interest on certain types of purchases and monitoring your spending habits.
Protection and security benefits. You will not be liable for any unauthorized purchases made with your Chase Sapphire(SM) Card, and you get identity theft protection. You also get extended warranty protection, purchase protection and return protection.
Our Least Favorite Things About This Card
No introductory APR on balance transfers or purchases. You start out with a purchase and balance transfer APR (variable) from 15.24%, depending on your credit score, which is quite a low interest rate compared to other cards. Always pay your balance in full and on time if you want to avoid paying any interest.
If you are thinking of traveling or if you travel quite often, and are looking for a great travel rewards credit card, you should seriously consider obtaining the Chase Sapphire(SM) Card. This card gives you points whenever you spend on your card, or book air tickets or shop through Ultimate Rewards. Plus, you get 25,000 points worth $250 in rewards after you spend $3,000 in 3 months.
Chase Sapphire(SM) Card is a card you can count on while traveling. It provides free auto rental insurance, trip delay and cancellation insurance, and also baggage insurance. Its reward redemption options are so wide-ranging and flexible that you will be spoilt for choice.
Always remember to make your payments on time and try your best to pay in full since there isn’t any intro APR on purchases. Keep in mind that your purchase APR (variable) will start from 15.24%. If you don’t carry any balance, you won’t have to pay any interest. The Chase Sapphire(SM) Card is a good choice of card for those of you who like to earn points on all your purchases, especially air tickets, and to later redeem your points for travel, cash or merchandise.
Get this card while it still doesn’t have any annual fee!
Click here to go to Chase’s official application to apply online for Chase Sapphire(SM) Card now.
If you plan to spend more than $135,714 a year then you might want the Chase Sapphire(SM) Preferred Card (read our review of Chase Sapphire(SM) Preferred Card) as it gives you a 7% annual points dividend but has a $95 annual fee. It offers 50,000 bonus points to new sign-ups (which you can redeem for 2 free flights) who spend $3,000 during the first 3 months. For the first year, the $95 annual fee is waived, but thereafter you’ll have to pay an annual fee of $95. Since the 7% annual points dividend is one of the main benefits of the Chase Sapphire(SM) Preferred Card, how many points will you have to earn in a year just so they can cancel out the $95 fee? Let’s calculate now. For every 10,000 points earned (which equals $100 in reward), you get an extra $7 in reward. So to get $95 in reward (so that it cancels out the annual fee), you will have to earn: 95/7 x 10,000 = 135,714 points in a year. That is how many points you have to earn in a year just so that the 7% bonus covers the annual fee. But if you take into account the 50,000 bonus points and that it doesn’t have any foreign transaction fee, then its benefits are more than worth it.
