Official application link: Chase Sapphire Preferred Card with a 60,000-point bonus after you spend $4,000 in the first three months.

The 2019 TPG Awards were held on Monday, Dec. 9, on the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City, and for the second year in a row, the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card took home the honors for Best Travel Rewards Credit Card. This Readers’ Choice award looked at the top cards with annual fees of less than $300, and after votes from over 130,000 TPG readers, the Sapphire Preferred rose to the top.

The card has been a favorite of award enthusiasts for years thanks to a number of appealing characteristics: It’s simple to use and includes a valuable set of perks that allow even leisure travelers to maximize their daily spending and rewards. Here are the main reasons why the CSP defended its crown this year.

Earning rates

In order to use points or miles from a rewards credit card, you have to actually earn them first. The Chase Sapphire Preferred gives you many ways to do that. If you don’t currently have the card in your purse or wallet, you can apply today and take home an incredibly valuable sign-up bonus: 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months after account opening. At minimum, this is worth $750 in travel booked through the Chase travel portal, though if you leverage more lucrative redemption options (details below), you could get even more value.

In fact, this haul of points is worth $1,200 based on TPG’s valuations — among the highest of any travel rewards credit card out there.

Then you have the everyday earning rates on the card. You’ll earn 2 points for every dollar you spend on travel and dining purchases — and these categories are defined very broadly. Eligible travel purchases include flights, hotels, car rentals, cruises, campgrounds, taxis — even tolls and many parking garages. And your dining purchases aren’t limited to traditional restaurants — you’ll typically earn double points at bars, breweries, coffee shops and many vending machines. Even restaurant delivery services like Caviar, Grubhub and Seamless count as dining — though sadly not Postmates.

Chase also has an online shopping portal that earns Ultimate Rewards points, so if you’re buying holiday gifts for your friends and family members online, you can extend your earning rates even further.

Travel rewards

Once you’ve earned all these Ultimate Rewards points, it’s time to put them to good use. As noted above, your sign-up bonus (60,000 points) is worth $750 when used for travel purchased through Chase’s online travel portal. In other words, every Chase point you use this way will get you 1.25 cents in value. This redemption option applies to flights, hotels, car rentals, even tours and activities — and you’re not restricted to a specific airline or hotel chain.

The best part? Flights booked this way are typically treated as normal, paid tickets, so you can still earn miles and enjoy any perks of your elite status with the given airline.

Official application link: Chase Sapphire Preferred Card with a 60,000-point bonus after you spend $4,000 in the first three months.

Transfer partners

However, if you want to truly maximize the rewards you earn on the Chase Sapphire Preferred, consider using your points with one of Ultimate Rewards’ 13 travel partners. Each one of these programs allow you to transfer your Chase points at a 1:1 ratio, opening up the potential for more lucrative awards.

Here’s the current slate of Chase transfer partners:

Airlines: Aer Lingus, Air France/KLM, British Airways, Emirates, Iberia, JetBlue, Singapore Airlines, Southwest, United, Virgin Atlantic

Hotels: IHG Rewards Club, Marriott Bonvoy, World of Hyatt

As an example, if you wanted to book a two-night, weekend stay at the luxurious Park Hyatt New York in June 2020, you could pay for it — at a cool $1,900.

Coverage and protection

In additional to offering top-notch earning and redemption options, the Chase Sapphire Preferred also provides an array of protections when you travel. These include:

Primary car rental insurance: You can be reimbursed for theft or damage to a rental car in most countries around the world, and since it’s primary coverage, you don’t need to notify your personal insurance company in the event of an accident (though note that this coverage does not include liability or injury protection).

Trip delay reimbursement: If you book a flight with the Sapphire Preferred and are delayed by 12 hours (or overnight) for a covered reason — including mechanical issues and weather problems — you’re eligible for reimbursement of up to $500 in reasonable expenses per ticket.

Trip cancellation/interruption coverage: If you book a trip with the Sapphire Preferred and then must cancel or interrupt the trip due to a covered reason, you’re eligible for reimbursement for the forfeited, nonrefundable amounts paid for the tour, trip or vacation — up to $10,000 per covered traveler.

Baggage delay reimbursement: If you book a flight with the Sapphire Preferred and your baggage is delayed by 6+ hours, you’re eligible for reimbursement for up to $100 of reasonable expenses per day for up to five days.

While you’d hope to never need to use any of these, it’s fantastic to have them in your back pocket if things go wrong on your next trip.

Bottom line

The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card remains an incredibly popular credit card, and for the second straight year, TPG readers recognized this value by voting it as the Best Travel Rewards Credit Card at the 2019 TPG Awards. All of the above perks are provided for new and existing cardholders, so if you want to upgrade your wallet and enhance your travel rewards strategy moving into 2020, consider adding this card to your repertoire.

Official application link: Chase Sapphire Preferred Card with a 60,000-point bonus after you spend $4,000 in the first three months.

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