Chase Sapphire Preferred Card vs. Bank of America Travel Rewards Card: Straightforward Rewards or Robust Travel Benefits
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Written by
Lee Huffman
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Edited by
Emily Gadd
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Reviewed by
Jasmin Baron
Looking for a new travel credit card before your next trip? When comparing the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card to the Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card, you’ll find both cards have a lot to offer based on what you value the most. The Sapphire Preferred Card has a $95 annual fee, but its earning power, redemption options and perks help to justify the cost.
The Bank of America Travel Rewards card has no annual fee and an intro APR offer, but travelers may be disappointed with its lack of travel protections. Here’s everything you need to know about these two travel credit cards to make your decision.
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How The Cards Compare: Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Bank of America Travel Rewards Card
Side-by-Side Comparison
Annual Fee
Purchase and Balance Transfer APR
Welcome Bonus
Ongoing Rewards
3 points per $1 spent on travel purchases booked through the Bank of America Travel Center.
If you’re a Bank of America Preferred Rewards® member, you can earn 25% – 75% more points on every purchase.
Pros & Cons
- Generous intro bonus
- Primary rental car coverage
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
PROS
- Lounge access or free checked bags are not available
- No intro APR for purchases or balance transfers
- Complicated rewards
CONS
- $0 annual fee
- Flat-rate rewards keep things simple
- No foreign transaction fees
PROS
- Elevated points for certain purchase categories are limited
- No additional travel perks offered
CONS
Learn More
Welcome Bonuses
The welcome bonuses of these two travel credit cards are vastly different with the value they offer and how much you need to spend to earn the bonus.
Chase Sapphire Preferred Welcome Bonus
To earn the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card welcome bonus of 75,000 points, you’ll need to spend $5,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening. These points are worth up to $1,312 in travel when booked through Chase or $750 in cash back.
In my opinion, you’ll get the best value from your points by transferring them to one of Chase’s airline and hotel transfer partners. For example, I regularly get at least 2 cents per point in value when booking through the World of Hyatt hotel loyalty program.
Bank of America Travel Rewards Card Welcome Bonus
New Bank of America Travel Rewards card members can earn a welcome bonus of 25,000 points after spending $1,000 on purchases within the first 90 days of account opening. Those points are worth $250 when redeemed as statement credits to cover eligible travel and dining purchases. While this bonus isn’t as high, it is much easier to earn for many people.
When evaluating credit card offers, make sure that you can easily meet the minimum spending requirement without overspending or going into debt.
CardCritics™ Opinion
The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card has the best welcome bonus offer if you can meet the minimum spending requirement. I like to time my applications with a major purchase, such as a home improvement project or an annual insurance premium. This helps to earn the welcome bonus when your monthly expenses aren’t high enough.
Earning Rewards
It’s a wise strategy to choose a rewards credit card that aligns with how you spend your money. One card has a flat rewards structure that applies to all purchases, while the other gives bonus points on select categories.
How To Earn Rewards With the Chase Sapphire Preferred
With the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, you’ll earn up to 5 points per dollar on eligible purchases. The bonus categories include:
- 5x on travel booked through Chase Travel℠ (excluding hotel purchases that qualify for the $50 annual credit)
- 2x on other travel purchases
- 3x on dining, select streaming services and online grocery orders (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- 1x points on other purchases
On your account anniversary, you’ll also receive a 10% bonus on the total points earned throughout the year.
How To Earn Rewards With the Bank of America Travel Rewards Card
This card is one of the best Bank of America credit cards for earning points. Bonus categories can be rewarding, but they can be tough to track and leave the bulk of your purchases earning just 1x points. With the Travel Rewards card, you’ll earn a flat 1.5 points per dollar on every purchase you make (except for purchases made through the Bank of America Travel Center, which earn 3x points).
Customers who have larger deposit and investment balances with Bank of America or Merrill can qualify for Bank of America Preferred Rewards. With this program, you can earn 25% to 75% more points on your purchases. This means that you could be earning 1.875 to 2.62 points per dollar on every purchase, without manually activating limited-time offers or needing to remember bonus categories.
CardCritics™ Opinion
For people new to travel rewards or with large balances, the Bank of America Travel Rewards card offers a straightforward program with lucrative rewards. Earning up to 75% more points based on your banking relationship is a huge benefit.
Redeeming Rewards
Redeeming your points strategically is the best way to get massive value from the rewards earned on purchases. Some credit cards have a straightforward redemption program, while others offer partners where you can transfer into airline and hotel loyalty programs.
How To Redeem Rewards With the Chase Sapphire Preferred
Chase Ultimate Rewards® is one of the best programs for earning and redeeming credit card points. Sapphire Preferred cardholders can redeem points for cash or statement credits at 1 cent a point, or book travel and transfer points to get a potentially higher value. You can redeem your points online or through the Chase mobile app:
- Transfer to travel partners: You can transfer Chase points on a 1:1 basis to over a dozen airline and hotel partners. These points combine with your existing balances to book award flights and hotel rooms.
- Purchase travel: When you book travel through Chase, your points are usually worth 1 cent toward travel. However, if your booking qualifies for Chase’s new Points Boost feature, you could get a value of up to 1.75 cents per point, making 75,000 points worth up to $1,312.
- Statement credit/cash back/gift cards: Get 1 cent per point in value when redeeming your points for cash back, statement credits or gift cards.
- Pay with points: You can redeem points at checkout with Apple, PayPal and Amazon (rates vary).
How To Redeem Rewards With the Bank of America Travel Rewards Card
Rewards earned with the Bank of America Travel Rewards card have a straightforward redemption process. Your points are worth up to 1 cent each on eligible redemptions.
- Statement credit for travel: Cover eligible travel purchases, such as flights, hotels, vacation packages, cruises, rental cars or baggage fees, charged to your card (1 cent per point).
- Statement credit for dining: Redeem points to cover dining expenses, like restaurants, fast food and takeout (1 cent per point).
- Cash back: Receive a check by mail or an electronic deposit into your Bank of America checking or savings account or Merrill Cash Management Account (0.6 cents per point).
- Gift cards: Purchase gift cards through the Bank of America portal. The value of your points varies on gift card purchases.
CardCritics™ Opinion
Chase has the more robust redemption program, including transfer partners and the ability to get a higher value on cash back redemptions and when booking travel.
Card Benefits
Credit card benefits offer added value beyond the rewards you’ll earn on purchases. These benefits, like the up to $50 annual Chase Travel hotel credit from the Sapphire Preferred Card, help to justify the annual fee.
Chase Sapphire Preferred Benefits
The Sapphire Preferred is one of the best Chase credit cards because of its range of benefits and reasonable annual fee. Here are a few of the Chase Sapphire Preferred benefits that I use the most:
- Transfer partners: I transfer points to airline and hotel partners to book award travel to save money on family trips. These redemptions also allow me to book aspirational flights and hotel stays that I otherwise wouldn’t pay for.
- Annual hotel credit: Up to $50 in statement credits for hotels booked through Chase Travel each account anniversary year.
- Anniversary bonus: On your account anniversary, you’ll earn a 10% bonus on the number of points earned over the last 12 months.
- Travel insurance: The Sapphire Preferred features robust travel protections against trip cancellation or interruption, baggage delay, rental car damage and trip delay at no extra charge.
- Purchase protections: Receive complimentary purchase protection against theft or damage and one year of extended warranty coverage on eligible purchases.
- No foreign transaction fees. Save up to 3% on hidden fees charged on purchases outside the US.
Bank of America Travel Rewards Card Benefits
Although this card is labeled as a travel rewards credit card, its only travel-related benefit is no foreign transaction fees. Bank of America Travel Rewards card benefits are fairly lackluster. It doesn’t include travel protections, lounge access, elite status or other perks available with competing travel cards.
- No foreign transaction fees: Avoids fees of up to 3% when traveling internationally.
- Intro APR offer: Save money on interest charges for purchases and eligible balance transfers during the promotional period. New cardholders receive a 0% Intro APR for 15 billing cycles for purchases, and for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days. After the intro APR offer ends a 17.99% - 27.99% Variable APR will apply.
- Bank of America Preferred Rewards: Customers with eligible Bank of America deposit and Merrill investment balances can earn up to 75% more points.
- Overdraft protection: Link your card to an eligible Bank of America checking account to help prevent declined purchases and returned checks without incurring transfer fees.
CardCritics™ Opinion
The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card’s benefits are more robust, including travel and purchase protections, a $50 annual hotel credit and the ability to transfer points to airline and hotel partners.
Fees and Costs
When comparing rewards credit cards, it is critical to factor in fees and costs to understand the net benefits of the card. Common fees you need to be aware of include annual fees, late fees, foreign transaction fees and (if you carry a balance) the APR.
Chase Sapphire Preferred Fees and Costs
While the Sapphire Preferred Card has a $95 annual fee, the benefits outweigh the costs for cardholders who travel on a regular basis. Here are the fees and costs you need to be aware of:
- Annual fee: $95
- Intro APR offer: None
- Purchase APR: 19.74% - 27.99% Variable
- Balance transfer APR: 19.74% - 27.99% Variable
- Foreign transaction fee: None
- Late payment: Up to $40
- Returned payment: Up to $40
- Return check: None
- Balance transfer: Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater.
- Cash advance: $10 or 5% of the transfer amount, whichever is greater
Bank of America Travel Rewards Fees and Costs
The Bank of America Travel Rewards card has no annual fee, which makes it easy to justify keeping the card year after year. However, there are other fees and costs you should know about:
- Annual fee: $0
- Intro APR offer: 0% Intro APR for 15 billing cycles for purchases, and for any balance transfers made in the first 60 days. After the intro APR offer ends a 17.99% - 27.99% Variable APR will apply.
- Purchase APR: 17.99% - 27.99% Variable APR
- Balance transfer APR: 17.99% - 27.99% Variable APR
- Foreign transaction fee: None
- Late payment: Up to $40
- Balance transfer: 3% for 60 days from account opening, then 4%
- Cash advance: 4% of the transfer amount for direct deposit and check cash advances. 5% of the transfer amount for ATM, over-the-counter, same-day online and cash equivalent cash advances.
CardCritics™ Opinion
With no annual fee, an intro APR offer and the lowest standard APR, the Bank of America Travel Rewards card has a better cost structure than the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card.
How To Choose Between Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Bank of America Travel Rewards Card
The Bank of America Travel Rewards card is ideal for those who want a no-annual-fee travel credit card with a simple rewards structure that offers bonus points on every purchase. It is even more valuable for customers with larger Bank of America/Merrill balances that qualify for Preferred Rewards.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is the best choice for customers who want to earn bonus points on their highest-spend categories and want to unlock premium benefits. As a frequent traveler, I think that travel and purchase protections, airline and hotel transfer partners and up to $50 annual hotel credit make the Chase Sapphire Preferred’s annual fee worth it. If your flight is delayed, the trip delay reimbursement of up to $500 per person will cover the card’s annual cost for many years.
Frequently Asked Questions About Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Bank of America Travel Rewards Card
Is Chase Sapphire Preferred better than Bank of America Travel Rewards?
The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is a better credit card for people who travel regularly. It includes an up to $50 annual hotel credit, travel protections and purchase protections, and your points are worth more when booking travel or when transferring to partners. The Bank of America Travel Rewards card is better for people who prefer simplified earning rates and redemption options.
Does Chase have Preferred Rewards like Bank of America?
While Chase offers Chase Private Client services to high-end customers, this program does not provide higher earning power for its credit cards.
Is Chase Sapphire Preferred the best travel credit card?
The Sapphire Preferred Card is an excellent travel credit card with a reasonable price. With an annual fee under $100, you’ll receive generous perks and protections that most cards at this price point do not offer. You’ll get trip delay, baggage delay, primary rental car protection, and trip cancellation and interruption protection.
What are the downsides of Chase Sapphire Preferred?
While the Sapphire Preferred Card offers many valuable perks, it has a $95 annual fee and does not include an intro APR offer. New cardholders also have a higher minimum spend requirement to earn the welcome bonus compared to the Bank of America Travel Rewards card.
What is the 2/3/4 rule for Bank of America?
Banks have application rules to limit customers from getting cards over and over again. While not a published policy, Bank of America typically allows customers to open a maximum of two new cards within six months, three within one year and four within a 24-month window.
