Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. US Bank Altitude Reserve—Which is the Better Travel Card?
In the world of travel cards, there are several that rise to the top due to their helpful benefits and impressive rewards, such as the American Express Platinum or the Capital One Venture X. However, no matter if you’re a beginner or a seasoned credit card vet, there’s one card that often stands above the rest in popularity: the Chase Sapphire Preferred (CSP).
Related: Chase Sapphire Preferred vs. American Express Gold
For a long time, the Sapphire Preferred has been relatively unchallenged at the top of the credit card totem pole. However, US Bank—which normally focuses on more simple cash-back-focused cards—has decided to enter the travel card game with their new premium offering, the Altitude Reserve.
There is a world where it may make sense for you to hold both of these options; however, as both credit cards have some overlapping benefits and function in completely different reward ecosystems (Chase vs. US Bank), it may not make sense to have both in your wallet. While there are ways for you to combine your credit card points across some platforms, it is generally more efficient to use a selection of cards within one ecosystem to get the most value from your points. Given that, how do you know which card is a better fit for you?
To help you answer that question, we have pulled from the data and our personal experience to compare these two valuable options, exploring their features, rewards, and downsides. Whether you're a frequent traveler seeking to maximize your points or a foodie looking to earn rewards on dining, we'll provide you with an in-depth analysis to help you determine which card is a better fit.
Now with that background out of the way, let’s start by comparing the two cards individually.
Chase Sapphire Preferred (CSP)
The Chase Sapphire Preferred (CSP) is easily the most in-demand travel credit card on the market today. While some influencers may oversell how useful it is for everyone in all cases, there’s a reason that the Sapphire Preferred is one of the most highly-recommended Chase credit cards and is mentioned by every Youtuber, blog, and website out there: it offers excellent benefits and rewards that are easy to use and cheap to earn for both beginners and pros alike.
Let’s start by reviewing the basics of the Chase Sapphire Preferred:
Annual Fee: $95
Sign-On Bonus: 60,000 Ultimate Rewards Points after spending $4,000 in 3 months (though historically this has gone as high as 90,000 points)
Reward Earning: 5x points on travel booked through the Chase travel portal, 3x points on dining, takeaway/delivery, select streaming services, and online grocery delivery, 2x points on all travel (e.g., flights, trains, hotels, etc.), and 1x points on everything else
Other Benefits: $50 annual hotel credit, complimentary DoorDash DashPass, extra 10% points on each card anniversary
As you can see, the Chase Sapphire Preferred is built around giving you rewards on your dining and travel. The addition of the $50 hotel credit makes the effective annual fee only $45 (assuming you use it)—if you then spend at least $5000 a year on dining, food delivery, and travel, you’re almost guaranteed to get a net positive value out of holding the card.
While I’m not personally a fan of booking through travel portals, the additional 1.25x value you get for your points when redeeming through the portal can go a long way with any expensive point redemptions. Even with our hesitation, we always recommend checking the portal prices before booking any flights or hotel stays. However, the main value of the CSP comes from it’s incredible transfer partners (see the full list below).
Chase allows you to transfer all the points you earn to any of these partners at a ~1:1 ratio. With particularly valuable partners like World of Hyatt, United Airlines, and Southwest Airlines, Chase is one of the most efficient ecosystems for getting value out of the rewards you earn!
US Bank Altitude Reserve (USBAR)
The US Bank Altitude Reserve Visa Infinite is a new addition to the credit card market and is aimed at individuals seeking a comprehensive travel card. While US Bank is not typically associated with premier travel cards, the USBAR is their first significant offering to compete with American Express, Chase, and Capital One.
Before we get too far into the review, let’s review the basics of the USBAR card:
Annual Fee: $400
Sign-on Bonus: 50,000 bonus points after spending $4,500 in the first 90 days of holding the card
Spending Rewards: 5x points on hotels and car rentals booked through the Altitude Rewards Center, 3x points on all travel purchases, 3x points on mobile wallet spending (e.g., Apply Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay), 1x points on all other spending
Other Benefits: $325 annual credit for travel/dining/food delivery, Priority Pass airline lounge membership, $100 towards TSA Precheck/Global Entry every four years, points are worth 1.5% when booking travel through the Altitute Rewards Center, VISA Infinite perks (e.g., premium concierge)
The USBAR represents an interesting niche in the credit card world, with a focus on three main benefits:
3x points on travel and mobile wallet spending, 3x points back on mobile wallet purchases, and the $325 annual travel/dining credit
It’s clear that the two most notable spending rewards of the USBAR are travel and mobile wallet spending. While many cards offer 3x points/3% back on travel (e.g., the Sapphire Preferred), with the additional 1.5% when redeeming US Bank points for travel, the card nets out on effectively 4.5x points for travel! This matches the 1.5% bonus on points the CSP yields when booking through the Chase portal, but without the added pain of using the portal (though the Real Time Rewards system isn’t a huge improvement).
However, the mobile wallet spending reward is one of the most unique credit card benefits today. Using a mobile wallet or contactless payment (such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Samsung Pay) is becoming increasingly common in the US and is the standard in countries like the UK. Many common merchants in the US now accept contactless or mobile wallet payments, including grocery stores, pharmacies (such as CVS and Walgreens), bars, Costco, Target, and more. Overall, this allows its holders to get 3x points on a wide variety of goods and services that most cards would only return 1x points.
There’s no way around it: the USBAR card has a massive annual fee ($450). However, in a similar manner to how the Capital One Venture X offers a sizeable annual credit to help offset the fee and encourage use, the USBAR offers the same premise with a $325 credit for travel and dining spend. However, unlike the Venture X’s credit, the USBAR’s credit does not require the use of any portal. Simply use the card for any travel or dining purchases, and the credit is automatically applied.
US Bank Altitude Reserve vs. Chase Sapphire Preferred Comparison
Both of these credit cards can clearly provide significant value to cardholders—however, how do you decide which card makes more sense for you to hold?
We can summarize what we’ve discussed into the following points:
The Chase Sapphire Preferred is initially cheaper than the USBAR, but credits result in the annual fees being largely similar
The USBAR card gives cardholders $350 every year as a credit for travel
The USBAR generally gives more points for dollars spent (broader coverage of travel, mobile wallet rewards) but the points are largely worth less due to the lack of valuable transfer partners (which is where most of the value of the Chase ecosystem originates)
Therefore, we can make the following recommendations:
If you’re more interested in getting as many points as possible and don’t have any specific types of redemptions, get the US Bank Altitude Reserve
If you’re more concerned with redeeming your points for maximum value and are willing to work with specific travel partners, get the Chase Sapphire Preferred
We hope this article was helpful! Both of these credit cards are excellent options, and you can’t go wrong with either option.
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