As much as we love premium credit cards, you may find that you can’t maximize their benefits or want to keep your annual fee costs low. If so, a mid-tier travel card is perfect for you.
Today, we’re looking at two popular mid-tier travel rewards cards: the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card and the Citi Premier® Card (see rates and fees). Both come with valuable welcome bonuses, solid earning structures and extensive redemption options for a reasonable $95 annual fee.
Which is better for your wallet? This guide will help you make that decision.
Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Citi Premier comparison
Let’s start with a side-by-side comparison of the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Citi Premier:
| Card details | Chase Sapphire Preferred | Citi Premier |
|---|---|---|
| Annual fee | $95. | $95. |
| Sign-up bonus | 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening, worth $1,200 according to TPG valuations | 60,000 ThankYou points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening, worth $1,080 according to TPG valuations |
| Earning structure | 5 points per dollar on Lyft rides (through March 2025) and travel booked through Chase Ultimate Rewards
3 points per dollar on dining, select streaming and online grocery purchases 2 points per dollar on all other travel purchases 1 point per dollar on all other purchases |
10 points per dollar on hotels, rental cars and eligible attractions booked through the Citi travel portal (through June 30, 2024)
3 points per dollar on restaurants, supermarkets, gas stations, air travel and hotels 1 point per dollar on all other purchases
|
| Other benefits | 25% redemption bonus when you book travel through the Chase portal
$50 Annual Ultimate Rewards hotel credit 10% anniversary points boost 6 months of complimentary Instacart+ and up to $15 in quarterly Instacart statement credits (through July 2024) Complimentary DashPass membership for at least one year (when you activate by Dec. 31, 2024) $10 Gopuff monthly statement credit (through Dec. 2023) Robust travel protections |
$100 off a single hotel stay of $500 or more when booked through the ThankYou travel site (available once per calendar year)
World Elite Mastercard benefits Citi Entertainment access Extended warranty |
As you can see, both cards offer a similar rewards structure and comparable benefits — meaning they’re geared toward the same type of traveler. But there are a few differences to consider before applying for one over the other. Let’s dig into the details of both of these great mid-tier travel cards.
Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Citi Premier welcome bonus
While the sign-up bonus certainly isn’t the only factor you should consider when choosing a credit card, it is important. And both cards offer sign-up bonuses with extraordinary value, especially given their low annual fees.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is currently offering 60,000 points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first three months from account opening. TPG values Ultimate Rewards points at 2 cents each, making the Sapphire Preferred’s sign-up bonus worth $1,200. After subtracting the $95 annual fee, you’ll walk away with a net value of $1,105 in the first year.
The Citi Premier, meanwhile, is currently offering a similar welcome bonus of 60,000 points after you spend $4,000 in the first three months of account opening. However, TPG values Citi ThankYou points at a slightly lower 1.8 cents each, making this bonus worth just $1,080. After accounting for the $95 annual fee, this bonus net first-year value is $985.
Winner: Chase Sapphire Preferred. The higher valuation of Chase Ultimate Rewards gives it the edge.
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Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Citi Premier benefits
With the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you’ll get these benefits:
The Chase Sapphire Preferred’s statement credits and anniversary points boost are great perks with serious value, but the card’s travel protections really make it shine. Knowing you’re covered if something goes wrong on your trip will give you peace of mind in addition to potential monetary value, and it’s unusual to see this type of coverage on a mid-tier card.
If you opt for the Citi Premier, you’ll get these benefits:
While the list isn’t as extensive as the Chase Sapphire Preferred’s, the Citi Premier has some solid benefits. You’ll get a hotel credit worth double than that on the Chase Sapphire Preferred as well as World Elite Mastercard perks like cellphone protection and discounts on DoorDash and HelloFresh. And in today’s world of concert pre-sale tickets, having access to Citi Entertainment can help ensure you’ll get to your dream concert.
Winner: Chase Sapphire Preferred. Its statement credits and travel protections give it a more robust benefits list than the Citi Premier.
Earning points with the Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Citi Premier
With the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you’ll earn 5 points per dollar on travel booked through the Ultimate Rewards portal and 3 points per dollar on dining, select streaming services, online grocery purchases and Lyft (through March 2025). You’ll also earn 2 points per dollar on travel purchases and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases.
With the Citi Premier, you’ll earn 10 points per dollar on hotels, car rentals and eligible attractions booked through the Citi Travel portal (through June 2024), 3 points per dollar on travel, dining, supermarket and gas station purchases, and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases.
While both cards earn bonus points on dining and travel purchases, the Citi Premier also earns bonus points on supermarket and gas station purchases, meaning you’ll likely be able to rack up points more quickly with it than with the Chase Sapphire Preferred.
Winner: Citi Premier. Its wider range of bonus-earning categories gives you more earning opportunities.
Redeeming points with the Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Citi Premier
The Chase Sapphire Preferred gives you the option to redeem your points for travel by transferring them to any of Chase’s 14 airline and hotel partners or by booking through the Ultimate Rewards portal at a rate of 1.25 cents per point.
You also have the option to use Chase’s Pay Yourself Back feature to redeem your points at a rate of 1.25 cents per point or for cash-back or gift cards at a rate of 1 cent per point. However, your most valuable redemption option is to transfer your points to Chase’s partners, which we’ll review in the next section.
With the Citi Premier, you can redeem your points for travel by transferring them to any of Citi’s 17 hotel and airline partners or book through ThankYou travel at a rate of 1 cent per point. Additionally, you can redeem them for gift cards or a statement credit for a value of 1 cent per point.
You can also use Citi’s Shop with Points option and use your points to pay directly at checkout at merchants like Amazon, Walmart and gas stations. However, you’ll get less than one cent per point going this route, so you’re better off using your points as a statement credit to cover your purchases after you’ve made them. Still, if you want to get the full 1.8 cents from each point that we do, transferring your points to travel partners is your best option.
Winner: Tie. Both cards allow you to transfer your rewards to travel partners, book through their travel portal or redeem your points for cash back and gift cards.
Related: How to redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards points and Citi ThankYou points for maximum value
Transferring points with the Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. Citi Premier
With the Chase Sapphire Preferred, you’ll earn Chase Ultimate Rewards points that you can transfer at a 1:1 ratio to 14 airline and hotel partners, including Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, United MileagePlus, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and World of Hyatt.
You can get incredible value from options like transferring your points to Iberia Plus and booking Miami to Madrid for as low as 21,250 points each way or transferring your points to United MileagePlus and taking advantage of its Excursionist Perk.
With the Citi Premier, you’ll earn Citi ThankYou points to transfer to 17 airline and hotel partners, including JetBlue TrueBlue, Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles and Choice Privileges.
You can get great value from your points by transferring them to airlines that allow you to book flights on its partner airlines, like transferring your points to Avianca LifeMiles and using them to book a domestic short-haul flight on United or a first-class flight to Europe on Lufthansa.
Winner: Tie. Both cards allow you to transfer your points to valuable transfer partners.
Should I get the Chase Sapphire Preferred or the Citi Premier?
Both the Chase Sapphire Preferred and the Citi Premier offer valuable welcome bonuses and solid earning rates on travel and dining purchases for the same $95 annual fee. Ultimately, which card is best for you will come down to which card’s transfer partners you use the most.
For instance, I frequently fly Southwest Airlines and stay at Hyatt properties, so I prefer earning Chase Ultimate Rewards and transferring my points to these programs.
TPG senior points and miles reporter Katie Genter, on the other hand, loves earning ThankYou points for the options they give her to transfer her points to partners she uses the most, which include Avianca LIfeMiles and Choice Privileges.
And, of course, for maximum versatility, you may decide you want to get both cards. If you go this route, make sure you’ll be able to earn the valuable welcome bonuses on both.
Bottom line
The Citi Premier and Chase Sapphire Preferred are two leaders when it comes to affordable, mid-level cards that earn valuable transferable points. Each card wins in different categories in our analysis, so the best card for you will depend on which benefits and redemption options you value most. No matter which way you go, you can feel great knowing you’re adding a fantastic mid-tier card to your wallet.
For more details, check out our full review of the Chase Sapphire Preferred and our full review of the Citi Premier.
Official application link: Chase Sapphire Preferred
Official application link: Citi Premier
Additional reporting by Ryan Wilcox, Stella Shon, Jennifer Yellin and Madison Blancaflor.
