Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card vs. Chase Freedom Flex℠: Which Card Offers More Value?

Chase has recently added to its already impressive credit card lineup with the all-new Chase Freedom Flex℠. This new member of the Freedom family has created quite a stir in the credit card world with its excellent earning potential and high-quality benefits. But how does it stack up against other cards, like say the ever-popular Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card? 

If you’re on the fence about which Chase credit card to choose, use this comparison of the Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Chase Freedom Flex to see which credit card offers the most value for you.

Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Chase Freedom Flex

The Chase Sapphire Preferred is known as a beginner travel card that can help you start earning points toward future trips and vacations. It’s been around for more than a decade and is still counted as one of the best rewards credit cards available because of its useful perks and benefits.

The Chase Freedom Flex is a new Chase card that offers multiple ways to earn valuable rewards on everyday spending. It also has excellent benefits and has immediately become a top contender for one of the best cashback credit cards on the market.

Here, we’ll take a side-by-side look at how both cards match up against each other so you can see which one might be a better fit for you.

	Chase Sapphire Preferred	Chase Freedom Flex
Annual fee	$95	$0
Sign-up bonus	Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening of account opening	Earn a $200 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening of account opening
Earning rate	5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠; 3X points on dining, select streaming services, and online groceries; 2X points on all other travel purchases, and 1X points on all other purchases	5% cash back on rotating quarterly categories you activate (on up to $1,500 spent) and travel purchased through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal; 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants (including takeout and eligible delivery service); and 1% cash back on all other purchases
Redemption methods	Points can be redeemed for statement credits, electronic bank deposits, gift cards, travel, and to make purchases from participating merchants Points are worth 25% more when redeemed for travel through the Chase Travel℠ portal Points can be transferred to many travel partner loyalty programs	Cash back can be redeemed for statement credits, electronic bank deposits, gift cards, travel, and to make purchases from participating merchants
Intro APR	N/A	0% intro APR on purchases for 15 months (then 20.49%-29.24% Variable)
Travel perks	Up to $50 in annual statement credits for hotel stays through Chase Travel℠ Up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip in trip cancellation/interruption insurance Car rental collision damage waiver Up to $500 in baggage delay insurance Up to $500 per ticket in trip delay reimbursement Travel and emergency assistance services	Up to $1,500 per person and $6,000 per trip in trip cancellation/interruption insurance Car rental collision damage waiver Travel and emergency assistance services
Other benefits	An annual points bonus equal to 10% of your previous year's total card spend Chase purchase protection Extended warranty protection Complimentary year of DashPass from DoorDash	Chase purchase protection Extended warranty protection Cell phone protection Complimentary three months of DashPass from DoorDash Earn 5% back on Lyft rides through March 2025
Payment network	Visa	Mastercard
Foreign transaction fee	None	3%
Recommended credit score	Excellent, Good	Excellent, Good
	Learn more	Learn more

What both cards excel at

Both the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Freedom Flex were designed with different cardholders in mind: the Sapphire Preferred is primarily meant to be a travel credit card, whereas the Freedom Flex is a cashback credit card that earns big rewards on common purchases. However, you will see some overlap between the two cards:

• Redemption options: Although the Sapphire Preferred is a travel rewards card and the Freedom Flex is a cashback card, they both earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points. The best way to use Chase points is typically on travel through the Chase travel portal, but you can also use them for statement credits, bank deposits, gift cards, and to make purchases with certain retailers.
• Travel coverages: The Sapphire Preferred has a more extensive list of travel coverages and protections than the Freedom Flex, which is to be expected for a travel card. They both, however, offer trip cancellation/interruption insurance and auto rental collision damage waivers.
• Purchase coverages: Both cards also offer extra protection on your purchases. With either card, you can extend an eligible warranty for a year and also receive up to $500 for theft or damage on new purchases for a set period of time.

4 important differences between the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Chase Freedom Flex

To really compare the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Chase Freedom Flex, we need to dig into the differences between each card. Both Chase credit cards have a few similarities, but they’re ultimately different categories of cards. Knowing how they’re different will help you decide if one card might be a better match for you than the other.

1. Sign-up bonus

A hallmark of many of the best rewards credit cards is a generous welcome bonus. With the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you can earn 60,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first 3 months. With the Chase Freedom Flex, you can earn $200 cash back after spending $500 in the first 3 months.

Overall, the 60,000 points are worth much more than $200, though you do have to spend a bit more to earn the bigger bonus. If you also factor in the Chase Sapphire Preferred's 25% increased rate on travel redemptions booked through the Chase portal, you’re looking at a sizable amount of value to put toward your next trip.

If you can meet the spending requirement, the Sapphire Preferred’s sign-up bonus easily beats out the sign-up bonus from the Freedom Flex.

Learn more at our Chase Sapphire Preferred review.

2. Earning potential

This is a tough comparison because the earning potential on each card depends on what you’re using it for. For example, the Chase Sapphire Preferred earns 5X points on travel purchased through Chase Travel℠; 3X points on dining, select streaming services, and online groceries; 2X points on all other travel purchases, and 1X points on all other purchases. So if you frequently spend on travel, dining, online groceries, and streaming services, you can earn plenty of bonus points with the Sapphire Preferred.

With the Chase Freedom Flex, you earn 5% cash back on rotating quarterly categories you activate (on up to $1,500 spent) and travel purchased through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal; 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants (including takeout and eligible delivery service); and 1% cash back on all other purchases. With rotating bonus categories available on the Freedom Flex, you potentially have additional opportunities to earn bonus rewards. Plus, many of these bonus categories encompass areas in which people typically have common expenses. 

You can’t plan for the rotating categories, but in the past, these categories have included purchases from grocery stores, Amazon.com, Walmart, gas stations, streaming services like Hulu and Apple Music, and more.

If you’re primarily focused on earning rewards from travel purchases, the Sapphire Preferred is a safe bet, though it also offers bonus points in other categories. However, the Freedom Flex provides a wide range of ways to earn bonus rewards and could be the better option depending on your typical spending habits.

3. Fees

The fees associated with a credit card can heavily affect your decision to get one. The Chase Sapphire Preferred has a $95 annual fee, whereas the Chase Freedom Flex has a $0 annual fee. By cost alone, the Freedom Flex is the winner here. However, $95 isn’t much to pay and can easily be offset if you can leverage the Sapphire Preferred’s multiple benefits, including its annual $50 hotel credit.

Keep in mind, the Sapphire Preferred also has no foreign transaction fees, but the Freedom Flex has a foreign transaction fee of 3%. So for making purchases abroad, the Sapphire Preferred makes a lot more sense.

4. Intro APR

An introductory APR period on a new credit card can be a great way to avoid interest on balance transfers or purchases for a set amount of time. The Chase Sapphire Preferred doesn’t have an intro APR offer, but you can find one on the Chase Freedom Flex.

With the Freedom Flex, you get 0% intro APR on purchases for 15 months (then 20.49%-29.24% Variable). This automatic offer for new cardmembers can help you better manage your finances because your purchases won’t accrue any interest for a while. So if you need to make some bigger purchases and want time to pay them off, the Freedom Flex provides a great opportunity to do so.

Learn more at our Chase Freedom Flex review.

Which card should you choose?

The Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Chase Freedom Flex competition doesn’t have a clear winner. The best card for you depends on what you need the card for and what you’re hoping to gain.

The Sapphire Preferred is best for individuals who want to earn rewards in common categories and then redeem them for travel. When you use your rewards to book travel through the Chase portal, they're worth 25% more. The Freedom Flex earns cash back from a variety of sources, which is helpful for racking up rewards from everyday spending. And then you have similar redemption options between the two cards, except the Freedom Flex doesn’t give you 25% more value for travel redemptions and you can’t transfer points to airline or hotel partners.

It’s difficult to choose between the two, which is why it makes a lot of sense to simply go with both credit cards. With both cards, there’s only a low annual fee of $95 to worry about, which can be offset by the rewards you earn. Chase allows you to combine points between some of its cards, so you can earn on your Freedom Flex and then move your points onto your Sapphire Preferred. This would give your points more value because they’re worth 25% more toward travel redemptions on the Sapphire Preferred.

You’d also have more earning potential with both cards. To maximize your earnings, simply use whichever card earns the highest rate on your purchases. For instance, the Freedom Flex would be better for restaurant and drugstore purchases, whereas the Sapphire Preferred is better for travel purchases that aren’t through Chase. Then, combine your points onto the Sapphire Preferred and get a higher rate for travel redemptions.

To offset the $95 annual fee on spending alone, you’d need to earn at least 7,600 points each year. This number of points is worth $95 (7,600 x 0.0125 = 95) toward Chase travel redemptions on the Sapphire Preferred. If you didn’t earn points in any bonus categories at all on either card, that’s $7,600 you’d have to spend to earn that amount of points. However, you’d likely be using these cards on purchases in bonus categories, so the target spend should realistically be much lower.

If you used your Freedom Flex on only the 5% rotating bonus categories, you’d need to spend $1,520 on the year to earn 7,600 (1,520 x 5 = 7,600) points. Of course, you can also have a combination of earnings from the two cards as you use them throughout the year. Overall, just spending a few thousand on the year could be more than enough to offset the $95 annual fee, though you can easily spend more than that on dining, groceries, travel, drugstores, utilities, gas, and other expenses.

Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Chase Freedom Flex FAQs

The bottom line

Although there’s no obvious winner between the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Freedom Flex, it’s clear both cards offer amazing value when you consider their benefits and rewards, though the Sapphire Preferred primarily focuses on travel and the Freedom Flex is designed for everyday spending.

Overall, the best option for you may be to go with both cards. This will give you the highest earning potential and more lucrative options for points redemptions. Learn about the Chase 5/24 rule before applying for Chase credit cards so you can avoid a few simple mistakes.

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Chase Freedom Flex℠

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Current Offer

Earn a $200 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening

Annual Fee

$0

Rewards Rate

5% cash back on rotating quarterly categories you activate (on up to $1,500 spent) and travel purchased through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal; 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants (including takeout and eligible delivery service); and 1% cash back on all other purchases

Benefits and Drawbacks

Benefits

• Earn a $200 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening
• Up to 5% cash back on spending
• Perks from Lyft, DoorDash, and more

Drawbacks

• Has foreign transaction fee

Card Details

• Earn a $200 Bonus after you spend $500 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening
• 5% cash back on rotating quarterly categories you activate (on up to $1,500 spent) and travel purchased through the Chase Ultimate Rewards portal; 3% cash back on drugstore purchases and dining at restaurants (including takeout and eligible delivery service); and 1% cash back on all other purchases
• Intro purchase 0% APR offer: 0% for 15 months then 20.49%-29.24% Variable
• Intro balance transfer 0% APR offer: 0% for 15 months then 20.49%-29.24% Variable