How to use the Sapphire Preferred and Sapphire Reserve together

The only thing that might be better than devising a powerful points strategy for yourself is joining forces with your significant other to rake in even more rewards.

Devising a credit card strategy as a couple can help you earn more points and miles across the board, as well as allow you to maximize perks and other benefits. All of this planning will come in handy when it’s time to hit the road.

Assuming you have excellent credit and are financially responsible — i.e., you won’t be spending beyond your budget or carrying balances that zero out any rewards you accumulate — it’s generally advisable to diversify your rewards credit cards.

However, as a couple, it can also make sense to double down with a specific flexible loyalty program and credit card issuer if it means magnifying the power of your rewards.

One such circumstance where this is a good move is to get both the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card (see rates and fees) and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® (see rates and fees). Here are the benefits of doing so — and how to maximize each card if you opt to go this route.

Great bonuses, more points

The first and most significant reason to consider applying for both of these cards right now is to earn their current welcome bonuses.

New Chase Sapphire Preferred cardholders can earn a highest-ever offer of 100,000 points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.

Meanwhile, new Chase Sapphire Reserve cardholders can earn 60,000 points after spending $5,000 on purchases in the first three months of account opening.

You might think each member of a couple should get the Sapphire Preferred to avoid paying the Chase Sapphire Reserve’s $550 annual fee. This could work if what you want is a quick haul of points to use with Chase Ultimate Rewards partners.

But by doing so, you could miss out on some serious value offered by the Sapphire Reserve.

Eligibility requirements

Before we get to that, though, you’ll also want to make sure you’re eligible for one or the other of these cards.

The application pages of both cards state:

This product is available to you if you do not have any Sapphire card and have not received a new cardmember bonus for any Sapphire card in the past 48 months.

So, if you or your partner currently have one of the Sapphire cards, that person will likely be ineligible for either of these offers. But if one of you has one of the cards, the other can still apply for another one now.

Considering your credit card applications as a couple will also help you stay under Chase’s 5/24 rule. If you’ve been proactive about applying for some of the many credit card bonuses we’ve seen lately, you might have hit the ceiling Chase imposes on applicants.

If you’ve opened five or more new accounts in the past 24 months, Chase will more than likely deny your application.

But if your significant other remains under that threshold, having them apply for one of these cards is a good way to keep the points rolling in.

Amplify the value of your rewards

Aside from simply racking up even more Ultimate Rewards points with two credit cards instead of just one, carrying both the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve in your points-earning family dramatically increases the potential value of your points.

Chase Ultimate Rewards points earned with either card are equally transferable to the program’s 11 airline and three hotel partners at the same 1:1 rate.

Where the cards differ is in their redemption rates for certain travel bookings. Points earned with the Chase Sapphire Reserve are worth 1.5 cents apiece when redeemed for travel through Chase Travel℠.

If you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred, your points are only worth 1.25 cents apiece through Chase Travel. By transferring and ultimately redeeming through your family’s Chase Sapphire Reserve account, you already get 0.25 cents, or 20% more, for your points.

Leveraging your two accounts this way is possible because Chase allows you to transfer points to another Chase card with Ultimate Rewards that belongs to one household member. In other words, assuming you and your partner live together, you can swap points back and forth between your accounts as needed.

The how-tos aside, to put this into a more concrete context, let’s say you applied for the Chase Sapphire Preferred and earned all 100,000 bonus points.

With just the Chase Sapphire Preferred in your wallet, your points would be worth $1,250 toward travel when booking through Chase Travel.

However, if a household member has a Chase Sapphire Reserve, you can transfer those points to that account. That ups your value to $1,500 if you redeem them through Chase Travel.

We recommend transferring points to partners instead of redeeming them through Chase Travel. That said, if you’re looking for a simple way to use your points, you’ll want to take advantage of the Sapphire Reserve’s higher redemption rate.

Related: Better together: The ultimate guide to the best credit card combinations

Sharing perks

Carrying one of each card also lets you share (and thus maximize) their perks. In certain instances, it might even be worth having the person with the Chase Sapphire Reserve add their partner as an authorized user for $75 per year.

Doing so will not preclude the authorized user from earning the welcome bonus on either the Chase Sapphire Preferred or Chase Sapphire Reserve if and when they decide to apply for one of them.

Just to be safe, though, you might want to wait until after you apply and are accepted for the new card (and even until after you earn that welcome offer) to be added as an authorized user to the Chase Sapphire Reserve account.

The two cards do have several overlapping benefits, but the Chase Sapphire Reserve comes with a lot more advantages to make up for its annual fee.

Some of these perks are not duplicated for the authorized user. For instance, purchases by both the primary cardholder and authorized users all count toward the Chase Sapphire Reserve’s $300 annual travel credit (so you don’t get $300 per physical card).

Each account is eligible for one Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application statement credit of up to $120 once every four years. That means authorized users won’t get their own credit.

On the other hand, there are certain benefits that Chase Sapphire Reserve authorized users receive in addition to the primary cardholder that can be very valuable if you tend to travel or make purchases separately.

For one, both primary and additional cardholders can register for their own complimentary Priority Pass Select membership. This membership grants them, along with up to two guests, access to over 1,700 airport lounges around the world.

Both primary and secondary users are also eligible to receive their own complimentary DoorDash DashPass membership for at least 12 months if they activate by Dec. 31, 2027.

Folks with the Chase Sapphire Preferred are also eligible for complimentary DashPass benefits for at least 12 months if they activate by Dec. 31, 2027.

If one of you already has the Sapphire Preferred, it may make sense to add them as an authorized user on the other’s Sapphire Reserve to grant them Priority Pass lounge access. Being an authorized user on a Sapphire Reserve is one of the most affordable ways to gain a Priority Pass membership.

Related: The 7 credit cards with the greatest value for authorized users

Earn faster

The Chase Sapphire Reserve earns 3 points per dollar on travel booked outside of Chase Travel* and most dining purchases. The Chase Sapphire Preferred also earns 3 points per dollar on dining but only 2 points per dollar on travel purchased outside of Chase Travel.

So, if you and your partner tend to book travel separately, it could be worth adding the other person to your Chase Sapphire Reserve account so they can earn the extra point per dollar whenever they use it for those travel purchases.

In most cases, though, just carrying one Chase Sapphire Reserve between the two of you and using its benefits together will probably suffice and save you from unnecessarily paying $75 to add a second user to the account.

If you and your partner spend a lot on dining, holding both Sapphire cards will allow you to earn lots of Ultimate Rewards points without needing to share an account.

*Bonus points on travel are earned after the first $300 is spent on travel annually.

Better travel and purchase protections

The final reason you might want one person to get the Chase Sapphire Preferred while the other gets the Chase Sapphire Reserve is that the latter offers a few better travel and purchase protections.

The Chase Sapphire Reserve offers trip interruption and cancellation coverage of up to $10,000 per person and $20,000 per trip, and its trip delay coverage kicks in at six hours. Its purchase protection covers items against theft or damage up to 120 days out and up to $10,000 per item.

The Chase Sapphire Preferred includes identical trip interruption and cancellation coverage, but its trip delay coverage kicks in at 12 hours rather than six. Its purchase protection is capped at $500 per item, significantly lower than the Sapphire Reserve’s cap.

So, if you tend to pay for travel arrangements and other large purchases together, put them on the Chase Sapphire Reserve for more ironclad protections.

Bottom line

Teaming up on a credit card strategy as a couple can substantially boost your earning and redemption potential. Few card pairings illustrate the advantages of doing so as clearly as the combination of the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve.

By getting one of each in your partnership, you can score their current welcome bonus offers and balance your overall annual fee totals while taking advantage of a great set of benefits.

To learn more, check out our full reviews of the Sapphire Preferred and Sapphire Reserve.

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Apply here: Chase Sapphire Preferred
Apply here: Chase Sapphire Reserve

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