Head to head · issuer terms as read 2026-08-30
Sapphire Preferred vs Sapphire Reserve
Sapphire Preferred charges $95 a year; Sapphire Reserve charges $795 — a $700 gap the earn rates and credits have to close. Both earn Ultimate Rewards points, so a point is worth the same on either card and the comparison is purely rates, fee and credits.
On the published earn tables, Sapphire Preferred leads on gas, ev charging & transit, streaming, phone & online shopping; Sapphire Reserve leads on travel booked direct, travel booked through the issuer's portal; the rest tie. Credits, as the issuers state them, add up to $406 a year on Sapphire Preferred and $2,128 on Sapphire Reserve — if you would have spent that money anyway. Monthly credits have breakage; count only the ones you'd really use.
Chase Sapphire Preferred
Chase Sapphire Reserve
The terms, side by side
| Sapphire Preferred | Sapphire Reserve | |
|---|---|---|
| Annual fee | $95 | $795 |
| Foreign transaction fee | No foreign fee | No foreign fee |
| Earns | Ultimate Rewards points | Ultimate Rewards points |
| Transfers to partners | Yes · 14 on the official list | Yes · 14 on the official list |
| Credits stated | 4 · $406/yr if fully used | 12 · $2,128/yr if fully used |
| Welcome offer, as stated | Earn 75,000 points after you spend $5,000 in purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. | Earn 100,000 points after you spend $6,000 in purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. |
Earn rates by category, as stated
| Category | Sapphire Preferred | Sapphire Reserve |
|---|---|---|
| Dining & restaurants | 3X | 3X |
| Gas, EV charging & transit | 3X | base rate |
| Travel booked direct | 2X | 4X |
| Travel booked through the issuer's portal | 5X | 8X |
| Streaming, phone & online shopping | 3X | base rate |
| Everything else | 1X | 1X |
Green = the higher stated multiplier. Brand-specific, promotional and rotating rates are on each card page, not modeled here.
What each nets at sample spend
Three sample monthly budgets, every point at 1.0¢ (the Pay-with-Points floor we paid), fee subtracted, no credits counted. Estimates, not promises — your spend is the input that matters.
Run your own spendQuestions people ask
- Which has the lower annual fee, Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve?
- Sapphire Preferred: $95 versus $795, as stated on the issuers' pages on 2026-08-30.
- Does Sapphire Preferred or Sapphire Reserve charge foreign transaction fees?
- Sapphire Preferred: no foreign fee. Sapphire Reserve: no foreign fee. Read off each issuer's page on 2026-08-30.
- Which earns more on dining?
- Sapphire Preferred states 3X; Sapphire Reserve states 3X.
- Can I transfer points to airline and hotel partners?
- Sapphire Preferred: yes (14 partners on the official list). Sapphire Reserve: yes (14 partners on the official list).
- Which is better for me?
- It depends on where your spend goes. The receipts on this page use sample spend profiles at 1.0¢ per point; the Card Stack Optimizer runs your own numbers against every card we track, net of the annual fee.
- Sapphire Preferred: Network confirmed as Visa Signature via Chase's own 'Guide to Benefits Chase Sapphire Preferred, Visa Signature' PDF title and via Chase's /visa-credit-cards listing page (not stated in plain text on the main product page itself).
- Sapphire Preferred: 5x Peloton (over $150) and 5x Lyft earn promos are time-limited (through 12/31/2027 and 9/30/2027 respectively per issuer page) and were left out of the core earn-rate table since they are promotional, not permanent, categories — flag before publishing if precision on these is needed.
- Sapphire Preferred: Apple TV and DashPass credits are also time-limited promotional benefits as stated on the issuer page (activate by 12/31/2026); may not persist beyond that.
- Sapphire Reserve: Per-authorized-user fee stated on issuer page: $195 for each authorized user.
- Sapphire Reserve: Network confirmed as Visa Infinite via direct quote on issuer page: "eligible U.S. issued Chase Sapphire Reserve® Visa Infinite cards."
- Sapphire Reserve: Several credits are time-limited promotions active as of verification date (Apple subscriptions through 6/22/2027; DoorDash, StubHub, Peloton through 12/31/2027; Lyft through 9/30/2027) and may change or expire.
- Sapphire Reserve: The '$300 in DoorDash promos' credit is stated on the issuer page with a monthly cadence but the total/monthly split was not fully itemized in the fetched summary — verify exact structure against the live page before publishing a precise number.
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